All language subtitles for Mysterious.Islands.2024.S01E10.1080p.WEB.h264-EDITH_track3_[eng]

To the average person, it
might not look like anything,

but there are actually five
separate shipwrecks here.

- This could be the most
important maritime discovery

of the century, or
possibly of all time.

[narrator] A tiny remote island
in the middle of the Pacific

is under attack.

Yellow crazy ants
aren't the most toxic

or dangerous thing
on this island.

[narrator] A bizarre discovery
in a small Micronesian island

may be far more valuable
than first imagined.

- It's extraordinary.

They're on the beaches,
on the pathways,

and in the deep forest.

- There are dozens of them.

What are these things?

[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?

♪ ♪

[narrator] Goat Island sits at
Narragansett Bay,

an inlet on the northeastern
coast of Rhode Island in the US.

- Goat Island is a small,
narrow strip of land

just off the coast of
the city of Newport.

The island's name is
likely due to the fact

that early Newport
colonists used

the island as a goat pasture.

The town was founded in 1639 and
eventually established itself

as one of the
busiest ports in the

North American British colonies.

- The port has been such a
destination over the centuries

that Rhode Island's coastline
is littered with shipwrecks.

[narrator] In 2019, maritime
archaeologists investigating

shipwrecks in the harbor
are using sonar to survey

an area between 800
to 2,600 feet off the

northern tip of Goat Island when
they spot something strange.

To the average person, it
might not look like anything,

but there are actually five
separate shipwrecks here.

Given the region's history,
that isn't too surprising.

However, the positioning of
these ships are strange.

They're lined up in
a near perfect row,

one after the other.

How is that possible?

Buried beneath
silt and sediment,

the ships are lying in a
generally southern direction

with as little as 164
feet between them.

It's very odd.

They're almost too orderly to
even be considered shipwrecks,

vessels that crashed in
the harbor and sank.

There might be
another explanation.

Could this be an
artificial reef?

[narrator] An artificial reef is
a man-made structure

that mimics natural coral
reef structures in the ocean.

They are created in
areas that have lost

or have damaged natural reefs
and require new structure

for the protection of
marine life and seascapes.

[Alison Leonard] While
artificial reefs do exist in

Rhode Island, the first one was
constructed in 2019.

Only this wasn't
made of old ships,

but 64, 1,300-pound concrete
domes, known as reef balls.

So what happened to these ships?

[narrator] Needing more
information, the team

gears up and takes to the
water to explore the site.

They collect images and samples
of stone, coal, timber,

and sediment for analysis.

[Anthea Nardi] These are very
difficult conditions.

The waters are cold,
and visibility

is at best three feet and as
poor as only a few inches.

But it's obvious that the
wrecks have been here

for a long, long time.

And where elements of the wrecks
are closer to the surface,

you can see that
they're made from wood.

[narrator] Much of the wood has
been degraded over time

due to the water logging,
erosion, and marine organisms.

But analysis of timber samples
collected from the site

helps the marine
archaeologists narrow down

the origin of the ships.

[Anthony Cantor] The timbers
include planks of a British

variety of white oak and elm.

This is interesting,
as it suggests

that the ships could
have originated

in a British shipyard.

[narrator] The team focused
their effort on the largest of

the five ships, whose
remains lie within an

area approximately 60 feet
long and 24 feet wide.

The archaeologists
identify and examine

the number of artifacts
from the site

including ballast
stones, weights,

used to balance a ship, and
something even more exciting.

It's a cannon, and not just one.

There are four cannons poking up
from the sea floor of the site.

Two lie on the western edge
and are over five feet long.

Another sits to the
south, and the last

is halfway down
the ship's length

on the eastern edge of the site.

This is a huge discovery.

[Anthea Nardi]
This is no casual marine find.

If a cannon was aboard
any of these ships,

let alone four cannons,
then it's more than likely

that this is a naval vessel.

And if that's the case,
maybe these ships

were sunk in a battle.

[narrator]
In the mid-18th century,

tensions were building between
the 13 American colonies

and the British Empire.

Overtaxed and
heavily controlled,

the colonies united in a
revolution against the crown

that would last
from 1775 to 1783,

as they battled
for independence.

[Alison Leonard]
In 1776, British forces seized

the town of Newport and the
entirety of Rhode Island.

Newport's strategic location
allowed the British Navy

to potentially blockade major
colonial ports like New York,

Boston, and Philadelphia,
all of which

were essential for the
colonial war effort.

[James Ellis]
But the French had other plans.

In 1778, they entered the war in
support of the American rebels

and promptly sent a fleet
to Newport to try and drive

the British out.

So could these ships lying
at the bottom of the harbor

be casualties of this battle?

[narrator]
In the search for answers,

the archaeologists begin
careful excavation of the

largest of the five shipwrecks
and make a bizarre discovery.

While uncovering the elements
of the hull structure,

a clear hole is found on
the side of the ship.

It's large and oval in shape,

measuring 10 and 1/2
by 6 and 1/2 inches.

[Anthony Cantor]
This is not battle
damage of any kind.

In fact, the wood shows signs
of heavy and repeated blows

by tools, maybe a
crowbar or an ax.

This hole was cut into the
ship's hull intentionally.

Why would someone do that?

[James Ellis]
There's another hole discovered
toward the stern of the ship,

and it too has clear
evidence of tool marks.

The holes match with other
known scuttled British ships

from the time period.

[narrator]
The act of scuttling a ship

means to intentionally
sink or destroy it.

It can be done using valves
or hatches, explosive

or friendly fire, or by
cutting holes into the hull.

It's a practice performed
to dispose of old, damaged,

or captured ships, or as
an act of preservation

to destroy the ship before
capture by enemies.

Looking for answers,
the team turns to the

British Naval Archives for
reports regarding the war effort

and finds a very informative
document and map.

The map outlines British
defensive plans.

It seems that as the French
fleet approached in 1778,

the British, desperate
to avoid losing

their strategic position,
scuttled 13 ships

to prevent them from
falling into enemy hands.

[Anthea Nardi]
They also hope that the ship's

structures would be
obstacles to block

French vessels from
approaching Newport Harbor.

So these five must
be among the list of

the scuttled British vessels.

[narrator] In a letter from
Lieutenant John Knowles,

the agent for
transports in Newport,

to the Navy board on
12 September, 1778,

he confirms that five ships--
the Lord Sandwich, the

Earl of Orford, the Yoward,
the Peggy, and the Mayflower--

were sunk off the northern
tip of Goat Island.

The Earl of Orford is
an American-built ship,

so it can't be the large
wreck we're looking at.

The Mayflower is a
British-made transport

vessel that carried troops
and equipment to Newport,

but it can't be the
Mayflower either.

[Anthony Cantor]
When it comes to the Peggy,

this was actually a
relatively common ship name.

It's most likely
that the Peggy that

was sunk at Newport
in August of 1778

was an American-built,
single-decked, mid-sized vessel,

so not this wreck either.

[Anthea Nardi]
So the mysterious, large,

four-cannon, British-built
shipwreck is either the

Yoward or the Lord Sandwich.

Both vessels are registered
as British-made.

However, the Lord Sandwich
is over 100 tons larger

than the Yoward, which
has a 250-ton capacity.

So the largest excavated
wreck off the northern tip of

Goat Island is
the Lord Sandwich.

[narrator]
In November of 1776,

the Lord Sandwich
arrived in Newport with

574 German mercenaries hired
by the British crown to

fight the American rebels.

[James Ellis] After the ship
arrived at Newport,

the Lord Sandwich was
converted to a prison ship

anchored in the harbor.

Then, as its final act,
the ship was intentionally

sunk along with five other
ships as a line of defense

to protect the town.

But why sacrifice such a
large and impressive ship?

Was it damaged or run down?

[narrator]
Searching for answers,

the team again turns
to the archive

and discovers a strange and
exciting piece of history.

It appears that
the Lord Sandwich

was a new name for an
old ship that was sold

to a private investor in 1776.

When the war broke
out, that investor

offered the ship under its
new name to the British Navy.

And after a patch and
repair, it was accepted.

[narrator] A ledger known as
Lloyd's Register from

1776 and 1777 notes the Lord
Sandwich's original name.

The original name
of this ship is

one of the most famous names in
naval history, the Endeavor.

This could be the most
important maritime discovery

of the century or
possibly of all time.

- The Endeavor's captain
was James Cook,

the famed 18th century British
naval captain and navigator.

He was one of the most prolific
naval explorers in history

until his death in 1779
in the Kingdom of Hawaii.

While on the Endeavor,
Cook's mapping and claiming

of New Zealand and the
east coast of Australia

on behalf of King George
III between 1768 and 1771

changed the course of
the region's history

for better and for worse.

- With the passage of
time and the storied

history of the Endeavor,
it's likely that most of

the unfixed items that
were once part of the ship

have been lost or replaced.

So the team will need to
examine the ship's structure

to solve this puzzle.

[narrator] In 2019, the team
returns to the site for another

dive and discovers something
that may help conclusively prove

that the Lord Sandwich and the
Endeavor are the same ship

once and for all.

[James Ellis] It's the remains
of the ship's bilge pump well,

a crucial system for managing
the water that collects

in the bottom of boats.

The pump removes this water
and sends it overboard.

It might not sound exciting,
but this is a key piece

of the ship's design.

- When you look at the British
Admiralty survey of the vessel

from 1768 and superimpose the
location of the pump well

over archival drafts
of the Endeavor,

the pump wells are
a perfect match.

[narrator] This matching
allows the archaeologists

to use predictive modeling, a
technique where known data is

used to predict unknown
aspects of the site

to locate other
parts of the ship.

And in a 2021 dive, they made
another remarkable discovery.

- They found a very unique joint
in the bow area of the ship.

This joint, called
the half-lap scarf,

is crucial for connecting two
timber pieces end to end,

and it's essential
in shipbuilding.

The only other half-lap
scarf joint on record

from the 18th century is
recorded in ship plans

held at the National Maritime
Museum in Greenwich, England.

And they're from a ship built
by the same shipbuilder

as the Endeavor.

Another match.

[Anthony Cantor]
Incredibly, the Endeavor,

a ship that many
marine enthusiasts

and archaeologists have been
searching for for decades,

has been lying at the
bottom of Narragansett Bay

for nearly 250 years.

Now its storied history
has a final chapter.

[narrator] Today, Goat Island is
home to marinas and hotels,

where people come
from far and wide

to enjoy the scenic views and
rich history of the region.

With the famed
Endeavor being added

to the thousands of sunken
vessels in the waters

off Rhode Island,
surely this site

will be a draw for marine
history buffs and divers

from all over the world.

Deep into the Pacific Ocean,
about 700 nautical miles

southwest of Hawaii,
lies a US territory,

a cluster of four small
islands called Johnston Atoll.

- These tiny islands are
uninhabited by humans,

but have a massive
bird presence,

which is why they
are collectively a

protected national
wildlife refuge.

Johnston Atoll is a haven
for hundreds of thousands

of migrating shorebirds
and nesting seabirds.

[Anthony Cantor] These tiny
islands are so remote,

it takes three days to get
here by boat on open water

from Honolulu.

This is one of the most isolated
patches of land on the planet,

and it feels like it's in
the middle of nowhere.

- That's why these islands are
so valuable to seabirds.

Long distance flyers like
the Black-footed albatross,

the Laysan albatross, they
journey all over the Pacific

and use places like this
to stop, rest, and nest.

[narrator] In 2010,
ornithologists are studying the

diminishing nest bird
populations on the main island

and are entirely shocked
by what they find.

- The birds of the island, like
the red-tailed tropic birds,

are suffering a dangerous
insect infestation.

Some are crawling with them,
and others have been blinded.

What's going on here?

[Anthony Cantor] The ground
looks like it's vibrating

with swarms of thin,
yellowish-brown,

practically clear ants.

And the birds that
nest on the ground

here are entirely
overtaken by them.

[Dan Riskin] These are
Anapolopus gracilipes,

or yellow crazy ants.

That is very bad.

They're called crazy
ants because they have

these erratic
defensive movements.

And while they don't bite or
sting like other ants do,

they are able to spray formic
acid to defend themselves

or to attack.

[narrator] Formic acid, named
after ants themselves,

causes localized
burning or irritation

on contact with skin or
eyes and, over periods

of extended exposure, can be
life-threatening to birds.

[James Ellis] Yellow crazy ants
are actually one of the world's

top 100 most invasive species.

They are able to amass
huge super colonies

with multiple queens and
millions of workers, which

become threatening to any
habitat, especially one

as remote as Johnston Atoll.

[Dan Riskin] In all likelihood,
they were accidentally

moved around the world
through the trade of produce

and materials by humans.

And these harmful
but resilient ants

have spread throughout
the Indo-Pacific.

By the 1990s, they were
wreaking havoc far and wide

on tons of different islands.

[narrator] After reporting the
issues to the authorities and

Parks Department, a team of
experts is assembled to address

the situation and
defend the birds.

They're called the
Crazy Ant Strike Team.

- To eradicate the
ants, insecticide-laced

cat food, corn syrup,
and water are sprayed

along the infestation area.

The worker ants will
then unknowingly

take the poisoned food
back to their queens,

killing them and any future
generations they may birth.

It is an effective tactic
for ant elimination,

but it takes time
and consistency.

[narrator] The strike team,
members of the US Fish and

Wildlife Service, will stay on
Johnston Atoll for six months.

But life here is no
tropical paradise.

- This is a huge undertaking,
so far from civilization

with no fresh water
source or plumbing,

and nowhere to bathe
other than the ocean.

Life here isn't just
rough for the birds.

[narrator]
While hunting ant colonies,

the team begins
exploring the island.

And past the beach, thick
palms, and vegetation,

they find traces
of a strange past.

Through the brush
and grasses, there

are remnants of massive
stretches of pavement

cutting across the
narrow island.

So many roads, but
where do they lead?

[Anthony Cantor]
Only it's not just old roads,

but something much, much larger.

Running down the center of
the island for two miles,

practically its complete length,
is a huge asphalt runway.

Why is there an airstrip
all the way out here?

- Maybe the atoll was
a refueling station.

You can imagine airlines
may have needed access

to an emergency landing strip
in case they ran into issues.

[James Ellis]
However, modern airplanes,

even massive commercial
aircraft like the Boeing 747,

can fly for 16 hours
or 9,500 miles

without landing or
refueling, which

could explain how this
airstrip fell out of use.

But given the atoll's
extremely remote location,

it seems an unlikely destination
for commercial use at all.

Perhaps it has a
military history.

[narrator]
Records show that in 1934,

under President
Franklin D. Roosevelt,

the atoll became a
US Naval station.

And the island was a base
for Naval and Air Forces

operations leading up to
and during World War II.

It was a well-used
refueling station.

But on December 7, 1941,
this remote island

was drawn into
something much larger

when the Japanese attacked
the American Naval Base

at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii.

Johnston Atoll was shelled
by the Japanese on

December 15th and 21st of 1941.

While this information
does solve the question

about the runway and its
purpose on the island,

it doesn't explain everything
about this strange,

ant-infested birders' paradise.

[narrator] Exploring further,
the team encounters

a bizarre, imposing
structure that stands out

like a sore thumb along
the horizon of the island.

The lone, multi-story building
has an ominous appearance.

It's made of thick concrete,
and it is entirely windowless.

[James Ellis] The now crumbling
structure is heavily reinforced

and has none of the features
you would expect if it were

associated with the runway,
like a control tower.

And inside, there
are strange signs

that detail how to have a
decontamination shower.

What is this?

[narrator] Records state that
this four-story building

is the Joint Operations
Center, or JOC,

a control center for a
nuclear testing operation.

In 1958, Johnston Atoll became
the site of Cold War-era

nuclear weapons
tests, and the island

was kept in a state of readiness
for such uses until 1970.

In 1964, the JOC was built
out of steel and thick layers

of concrete to withstand up
to Category 4 hurricanes

and nuclear fallout,
hence the 55 showerheads

for decontamination.

[James Ellis]
During these tests,

there were a number of
catastrophic failures.

The quick cleanup attempt from
the failure of a test known

as Bluegill Prime resulted in
radioactive waste being dumped

into a lagoon that
subsequently polluted

the marine environment.

In the end, plutonium
contamination

left radioactive pollution
that still lingers today.

[narrator] Today, the shore is
lined with a number of signs

warning against the consumption
of fish or shellfish caught

in the waters off the island.

So it appears that
yellow crazy ants

aren't the most toxic or
dangerous thing on this island.

[narrator] After a long day of
work combating the ants,

the team goes to their
makeshift research facility.

But this is no
regular laboratory.

- This is a bunker.

It's made of thick
concrete and metal

with a sign that clearly reads,

"US government property,
no trespassing."

Was this also built to
support the nuclear testing?

- These days, the bunkers
are filled with supplies

and used as temporary
storage facilities

for the crazy ant strike team.

But a little research
reveals that they

were likely added to
the island in the 1970s

after nuclear testing
was canceled.

So what were they used for?

[narrator]
At the end of its nuclear era,

the US government converted
over 40 acres of the tiny island

into heavy duty and highly
sensitive storage that

included the construction of
a series of concrete bunkers,

most of which are concentrated
in the Red Hat Zone

of the south side of the island,

an area used to store
chemical weapons.

- This tiny island stored
over 6% of the total

US chemical stockpile, including
every version of weapon designed

for a toxic chemical payload,
including rockets, bombs,

and mines.

So there are crazed acid spewing
ants, radioactive pollution,

and now chemical weapons?

What's up with this island?

[narrator] Everywhere the team
goes, more of the bizarre

history of this deserted
island is revealed.

Farther along a stretch of
abandoned crumbling concrete,

there is yet another sign.

Only this one is a
large official plaque.

[Anthony Cantor] The plaque
identifies the site of the

Johnston Atoll chemical
agent disposal system,

a massive incinerator.

It was constructed in 1985,
just 15 years after the island

became a storage facility.

And by 1990, the incinerator
was operational.

[James Ellis] Unfortunately,
there were a number of

accidents and leaks
tracked by the

Environmental Protection
Agency along the way.

Ultimately, between
2001 and 2003,

the facility was
shuttered, and the US Army

completed their cleanup and
demolition of the site.

- Clearly, the yellow
crazy ant infestation

was not the only threat to
the birds and other wildlife

in this tropical paradise.

The military structures and
the lingering contamination

are stark reminders of
Johnston Atoll's dark history.

[narrator] 20 years have passed
since the Army left the island

in the hands of the US Fish
and Wildlife Services.

And since 2017, the
Crazy Ant Strike Team

has not detected a single
yellow crazy ant colony.

Now, slowly but surely,
nature and the seabirds

are reclaiming the
island for themselves.

Tucked within Conception
Bay, just off Canada's North

Atlantic coast, is Bell Island,
an 11-square-mile expanse

of relatively flat land bordered
by redstone cliffs that

drop hundreds of feet
into the ocean below.

- Although it's only about 12
miles northwest of St. John's,

the provincial capital of
Newfoundland and Labrador,

and a mere 20-minute ferry
ride from the mainland,

Bell Island feels like
a world unto its own.

Today, the population of the
island is roughly 2,200 people.

But there was a time when it
was almost seven times that.

[narrator] In 2005, a team
of divers is exploring

the frigid, murky
depths near Lance Cove

off the southeastern
shore of Bell Island

when they come across
an astounding sight.

Lying on the ocean floor at
a depth of around 150 feet,

there's a massive shipwreck.

What ship is this?

And how did it end up at the
bottom of Conception Bay?

[Anthony Cantor] It's a pretty
substantial vessel.

450 feet long.

It's fairly well preserved by
the cold North Atlantic water.

But given the amount of
marine life clinging to it,

it's clear that this vessel
has been on the ocean floor

for a significant
amount of time.

[narrator] Continuing to explore
the exterior of the wreck

in search of clues as to
the identity of the ship,

the team makes its
way to the stern

and are shocked by
what they find.

It's covered in anemones,
but you can make out

what looks like a gun on
the front deck of the ship.

So could this be a military
vessel of some kind?

[Amma Wakefield] But there's
only one gun on the stern.

If this was a military ship,
there would be a lot more

and they would be positioned
all over the decks.

[narrator] A short distance to
the northeast of the shipwreck

overlooking Conception Bay,

a strange and somewhat
ominous sight

greets any curious
visitors to the area.

There are two large guns
sitting on concrete platforms

pointing out over the water.

They're British-made QF
Mark IVs with a barrel

length of 190 inches and
a 4.7-inch diameter.

According to Canadian
government archives,

installation of the guns
began in the spring of 1940,

the year after Canada
entered World War II.

So we've got a wrecked ship
with a gun on its stern deck

on the bottom of the
ocean off the coast

and two rather large
guns positioned

overlooking the shoreline.

Clearly, something on Belle
Island needed protecting.

But what?

- There's a flooded tunnel that
extends over 1,000 feet,

leading from the island
out under the seafloor

of Conception Bay.

And although there are plenty of

natural caves dotting these
shores, this is a man-made

structure with concrete walls
and reinforced ceilings.

What is this place?

[narrator] Swimming deeper into
the claustrophobic murky depths,

braving frigid North
Atlantic temperatures,

the team notices something
odd on one of the walls.

- There's a small white cross
etched into the concrete.

Not only that, they also
find a drawing on the wall,

depicting a man with a pipe and
beside him the name,

"James Bennett" is scrawled.

[narrator] Continuing
through the darkness,

the team comes across
several curious items

scattered haphazardly
around the tunnel.

They find what looks to be a
bucket sitting on the ground.

And a little further
along, they discover a

broken wooden ladder
leaning up against the

wall and some stray tools.

I think we can safely
say that at some point,

this tunnel was not underwater.

[Sarah Klassen] There's an
overturned cart lying on the

ground with its four
wheels exposed.

They're metal with raised
rims along the inside edges,

similar to a train's wheels.

This is an ore cart.

So what we're looking at
here is an abandoned mine.

[narrator] Mining operations in
Belle Island began in the 1890s

after the discovery of large,
high-quality iron ore deposits,

a vital ingredient in
the production of steel.

The island would
eventually become

one of the world's leading
suppliers of iron ore,

producing roughly
80 million tons.

In the early days, it
was all surface mining.

But after a few years, they
depleted those deposits

and were forced to
go underground.

At first, they dug two
subterranean mines

near the shoreline, but
they quickly realized

that the real
bonanza lay beneath

the seafloor of Conception Bay.

[narrator] Four offshore miners
were dug under the Atlantic,

covering an astonishing
40 square miles

off the northern shore
of Bell Island,

each one a labyrinth,
running between three

and five miles in length
and reaching as deep as

1,600 feet below the seafloor.

The working conditions were
nothing short of horrific.

The miners worked
10 to 12-hour shifts,

six days a week
for a pittance,

only seeing sunlight on Sundays.

And it was extremely dangerous.

In total, 106 men lost
their lives in the mines.

They are commemorated by
a number of white crosses

etched into the walls.

Despite the risks and hardships,

people were drawn to the island
by the lure of steady work.

The population ballooned to as
high as 15,000 at its peak,

But it didn't last.

- Starting in 1950,
the mines began to

close one by one due to
foreign competition,

and in 1966, the last
one was shuttered.

The pumps that once kept
it dry were turned off,

and the shafts were
left to flood.

[narrator] Exiting the mine,
the team decides to

have one last look
around the shipwreck in

an attempt to identify her
and determine how she ended

up on the ocean floor,

And what they find
leaves them stunned.

There are two gaping
holes in the ship's side,

one near the stern
and one near the bow.

This must have been
what brought her down,

but what could have caused
such catastrophic damage?

[narrator] Probing the seafloor
for clues around 130 feet from

the stern of the ship,
the team makes a

shocking discovery.

There is a long,
narrow, cylindrical piece

of metal debris resting
on the ocean floor,

and if you look closely,
you can make out a small

propeller on one end of it.

This is a torpedo.

This ship was attacked and sunk.

[narrator] In the early morning
hours of November 2, 1942,

German submarine U-518
crept into Conception Bay

and fired two torpedoes
at the SS Rose Castle,

a Canadian steamship
loaded with iron ore

from Bell Island's mines
destined to produce steel

for the Allied war efforts.

The Rose Castle went down
in less than 90 seconds,

and 28 men perished.

But it didn't end there.

A second ore ship, the
French steamer PLM 27,

was also sunk,
taking an additional

12 sailors to their
watery graves.

[Anthony Cantor] The SS Saganaga
and the Lord Strathcona

were sunk by a German
U-boat, resulting in an

additional 29 deaths and
the loss of an enormous

amount of vital iron ore.

I guess the Germans figured that

if they could disrupt the
iron ore supply chain,

it would interfere with
the Allies' ability

to produce the machinery of war.

Thankfully, they were only
successful in the short term.

[narrator] The four shipwrecks
at the bottom of Conception Bay

are a somber reminder
of the sacrifices made

in the name of
combating tyranny.

And for the residents
of Belle Island,

ghostly relics of a
once-thriving mining industry

are now relegated to the
fading memory of history.

Deep in the heart of the
Western Pacific Ocean,

a group of 607
islands and islets

comprises the federated
state of Micronesia.

On the western side
lie the Yap Islands,

a small archipelago that's
surrounded by coral reefs,

turquoise waters,
and thick mangroves.

The Yap Archipelago is
barely over 45 square miles,

and it's made up of
four separate islands.

The largest one is
also named Yap.

- The Yapese people have lived
here for over 3,000 years.

It's a calm, tropical
paradise with no more than

12,000 residents.

Camouflaged in the shadows
of thick jungle leaves

stands a massive
human-sized rock.

From a distance, you might think
it's just a large boulder,

but up close, this rock
shape is entirely unnatural.

It's all rounded and
flat like a disc,

and there's even a hole
through the middle.

And it's not the only one.

There are dozens of these things
ranging from a few inches

to over 10 feet tall.

All their edges are smoothed
out like they've been polished,

but a lot of them are cloaked
with moss and lichen,

so they've been here
for a long time.

What are these things?

[narrator] More than
7,000 miles away from the

Micronesian island of Yap,
similar rocks found in the

Peak District National
Park of central England

may hold the key to unraveling
the stone disc mystery.

♪ ♪

On the grassy slopes of the park

are strange clusters of
huge, rounded stones

that look a lot like the
stones found on Yap Island.

These stones are
also disc-shaped

with holes in the center.

Most of them are
similar in size,

with the largest one measuring
7.2 feet in diameter

and weighing over 3 1/2 tons.

- They're known as the
Peak District millstones.

Millstones are large rock discs
usually used in pairs to grind

grains for food production.

In England, these millstones
are an integral part

of the local cultural heritage.

The rise and fall
of medieval milling

was critical for the
history of agriculture.

[narrator] Starting from
the 13th century,

stonemasons came
to take advantage

of the region's
abundant gritstone,

a special type of sandstone.

The Peak District millstones
were even shipped

thousands of miles away to
parts of Europe and America,

and it's estimated that there
are still 1,500 millstones

scattered throughout the park.

- Millstones have been used
for millennia by farmers

to grind grains like
wheat or corn into flour.

It's entirely possible
that Yap Islanders

could have developed
similar tools

to crush or process
local products

like betel nuts or
dried coconut meat.

So could the stone discs found
on Yap be millstones too?

The Peak District millstones
are relatively uniform in size,

but the stones found on Yap
Island vary drastically.

While the larger Yap
Island stone discs

weigh thousands of pounds,
the lighter ones only

weigh about 30 ounces.

They couldn't grind anything,

so they must be used
for something else.

But what?

[narrator] Continuing to
explore the island,

the botanist begins to
see the strange stone

discs everywhere.

There are hundreds of them
all over the islands.

[Sarah Klassen]
It's extraordinary.

They are on the beaches,
on the pathways,

and in the deep forest.

And wherever they are, they
have an imposing presence,

denoting some kind
of importance.

But for what?

The locations of these
discs are not random.

A lot of them are placed
right next to private homes

or neatly arranged on pathways
leading to important sites,

like cultural gathering places.

So maybe these stones
function as landmarks

or waypoints that help travelers
navigate on the islands.

[narrator] Stone landmarks have
been used throughout history

to guide people to
their destinations.

In the Canadian Arctic,
Inuit people stack

stones into shapes to
communicate with each other.

They're called inukshuk.

In Inuktitut, it means "to act
in the capacity of a human."

[James Ellis] But unlike
inukshuk, the stone discs on

Yap Island have a pretty
homogenous style,

regardless of their placement.

If they were used as landmarks
to communicate important

information to the community,
wouldn't there be different

shapes or combinations?

They're made from limestone.

Now, you might be thinking,

"That's not so weird.
Limestone's really common."

Well, that is true
in most places,

but it's not true
on the Yap Islands.

There is no natural limestone
on these islands at all.

Yap Island is composed mostly
of rocks like schist and basalt.

So where did these
stone discs come from?

[narrator] Approximately 300
miles southwest of Yap

is the archipelago of
Palau, a group of islands

composed of a combination of
volcanic material and limestone.

Inside one of the
limestone caves....

There are three
massive stone discs.

These are the same stones
discovered on Yap.

The completed stone disc
is almost 10 feet wide

and weighs an astonishing
8.4 metric tons.

[Sarah Klassen] This cave is a
limestone quarry site

and the likely origin of
many Yap stone discs.

Based on remnants and tools
discovered at the site,

archaeologists conclude
that the stones

were meticulously chiseled
from the limestone base,

then polished and
shaped before they were

transported to Yap.

These stones would be
hard to transport,

even with modern means.

The holes carved into the
centers of these stones

were integral to their
transport and balance.

The Yapese inserted bamboo
poles through those holes

to support their weight and
then used wooden rollers

or bamboo scaffolding to
move them into canoes

or onto bamboo rafts.

Given the size and the
weight of these stones,

as well as the long
distances from Palau to Yap,

and the great risk to
the people involved,

the level of effort
and dedication

that these Yap islanders poured
into these circular rocks

is truly remarkable.

These discs must have been
very valuable to the Yapese.

[narrator] According to
Yapese oral tradition,

groups of courageous seafarers
brought these beautiful stones

carved into the shape
of a full moon to Yap.

They were deemed as the
most prestigious item

to trade on the islands.

[Sarah Klassen] They're
known to locals as Rai,

and they've been used as
a version of currency

for centuries.

Today on Yap Island,
there are sites where

the Rai are concentrated,
referred to as money banks.

For the Yapese, the value of Rai

is not only determined by
its size or craftsmanship,

but age and even
the number of men

sacrificed on the voyage
to get the stone to Yap.

When the value is settled,
Rai can be used as a payment

for fishing equipment,
animals, or even land.

[narrator] On the Yap Islands,
the Rai stones serve

as a living memory that
connects the Yapese

with their communities,
other villages,

and the rich history
of Micronesia.

Although modern money
has replaced the stones

as everyday currency,
the Rai stones are

still exchanged in traditional
social transactions,

such as marriage, inheritance,
or political deals.

They are another
wonderful aspect

of this beautiful,
jungle-cloaked,

wildlife-rich tropical paradise
deep in the Pacific Ocean.