All language subtitles for What.on.Earth.S03E14.1080p.DSCP.WEB-DL.AAC2.0.H.264-BTN_track3_[eng]

Narrator: they're watching you.

More than 4,000 satellites
Circle the earth.

Every day, they uncover new,
Mysterious phenomena.

Some defy explanation.

Bam! This sticks out
Like a sore thumb.

It looks weird.

Narrator: iran's navy
Threatens to go nuclear.

This is a real show
Of iranian strength.

It's like a full-scale
Fireworks display.

Narrator: aerial archaeology
Uncovers a sinister structure

Close to the legendary
City of petra.

How is it possible
That a place as large as this

Has gone undiscovered
The entire time?

Narrator: and a monstrous mark
Scars the russian wilderness.

This is so strange.

It's like a bite mark
Taken out of the ground.

Narrator: baffling phenomenon,

Mysteries from space,

What on earth are they?

**

-- captions by vitac --
Www.Vitac.Com

Captions paid for by
Discovery communications

February 2014 --
A satellite photographs

Alarming activity
At the gachin shipyard, iran.

This area of the world,
The persian gulf in particular,

Is one of the most
Photographed areas

On the face of the earth.

Narrator: the shipyard opens
Into the strait of hormuz,

A critical artery for most
Of the world's oil supplies.

Seventeen million barrels pass
Through this channel everyday.

We all know that the iranians
Are very fond of referring

To the united states
As the great satan.

So we spend a great
Deal of effort

In order to know
What they're up to.

Narrator: the picture,
Taken in 2014,

Raises fears iran could
Be up to something.

2013, we have what looks
Like an ordinary shipyard.

Fast forward
To february of 2014.

And, suddenly, we're seeing
Something suspicious.

Narrator: the gachin shipyard
Is known for producing tankers

And container ships.

But the new vessel
Under construction

Is unlike anything
That's been seen here before.

From above,
That shape is unmistakable.

Only one thing
Looks like that --

An aircraft carrier.

Warren: this was unexpected.

We have not known the iranians

To have an aircraft
Carrier capability.

So this is something
That we wanted to keep

A very close eye on.

Narrator: the fleet carriers
Of the u.S. Navy

Terrify the iranian military

More than any other
Type of warship.

They know that, if it comes
To war with america,

It will be these ships

Unleashing destruction
Upon iran.

If the iranians can deploy
One of these super weapons,

They could dominate
The region's seas.

This would certainly
Indicate a significant shift

In the balance of power.

By march 2014,

The suspicious vessel
Is almost finished.

Narrator: new satellite images
Reveal a disturbing resemblance

In its shape and design.

This doesn't look just
Like any other ship.

It resembles the u.S.S. Nimitz,

The world's premier warship.

These ships carry more
Than 5,000 sailors,

Dozens of fighter aircrafts,
Helicopters.

They bristle with weaponry.

These capabilities are unmatched
Anywhere on earth.

Narrator:
The finished ship appears

To be an almost exact copy
Of the united states'

Most formidable symbol
Of naval supremacy.

It looks, unmistakably,
Like a challenge.

Warren: why would the iranians
Want to build

A nimitz-class
Aircraft carrier?

That's outrageous.

Narrator:
For iran, the construction
Of a nimitz-style carrier

Would be a mammoth undertaking.

A single vessel costs
Almost $5 billion

And requires two fully-
Functional nuclear power plants

For its engines.

Is this ship evidence

The iranians have defied
International pressure

And secretly developed
Nuclear technology?

Only a handful of nations
On earth have that capability.

That's really disturbing
Because our current intelligence

Says they don't have
Anything close to this.

Narrator: if iran can deploy
Nuclear-powered vessels,

It means the nation
Also has the potential

To develop nuclear weapons.

The idea of a nuclear-capable
Iran is frightening.

Narrator:
The motive seems clear.

But something
Doesn't quite add up.

Advanced nuclear technology
Is normally kept top secret.

Moran:
Iran is well aware that any time
They do something dubious,

It is being captured
By satellite imagery.

Orwoll: so if iran were building
An aircraft carrier,

Nuclear-powered or otherwise,
The obvious question is,

Why do it in full view
Of the world?

Moran: another possibility is
That iran is doing this

Because they want
Everybody to see it.

They want to be provocative.

Could it be political
Posturing, taunting?

Narrator:
Analysts take a closer look
At the satellite images.

Although this is
A remarkably good copy

Of a nimitz-class
Aircraft carrier,

The length is wrong.

In fact, it's only two-thirds
The size of the nimitz itself.

From the top, it looks just like
An aircraft carrier,

Kind of except
For the size issue.

And in this situation,
Size does matter.

Narrator: the presence
Of aircraft lined up on the deck

Of the ship offers another clue
To iran's intentions.

You don't build
An aircraft carrier

And then, put the aircraft on it

While it's still
Being constructed.

Narrator: the inconsistencies
Puzzle analysts.

Why would the iranians need
A pint-sized version

Of the world's
Most dangerous warship?

It was very clear to us
That they were up to something.

Narrator: just months
After its completion,

The ship suddenly vanishes.

The obvious first question is,
Where is located now?

Where have they moved it?

Has it gone out to sea?

You need to find it now

To know what they're
Doing with this ship.

Narrator: eventually
The look-alike nimitz

Does show up as the star

Of a dramatic tv broadcast
That grabs world attention.

But this heavyweight killer

Isn't unleashing
Any destruction.

It's on the receiving end
Of a devastating bombardment

By the iranian navy.

**

Footage appears
On iranian television

Showing this vessel

Being attacked
By missiles and rockets.

Orwoll: you're seeing
Anti-ship missiles.

You're seeing handheld rockets
Being launched.

Narrator: it's
A military exercise

Intended to prove iran's boast

That they can sink
A u.S. Warship

In under a minute.

This is a real show
Of iranian strength --

Speedboats, missiles flying at
This mock-up of a u.S. Warship.

That's really what the goal was
For iran,

Was to show to their people
And to the world

That they had the capability

Of sinking
Any united states carrier.

Narrator: images
From the exercise reveal

The fake aircraft carrier's
Shortcomings.

The footage clearly shows
Where the explosions

Have blasted away
A flimsy outer shell,

Uncovering an ordinary
Barge beneath.

Even the jets aren't real.

The whole thing
Is a propaganda stunt.

It's basically an elaborate
Low-tech hollywood prop.

Narrator:
While the iranian navy attempts
To intimidate the west,

U.S. Satellites
Watch from above.

You have the propaganda machine
In iran stating

That they sunk this,

Aircraft carrier
During the exercise.

But in reality, they didn't.

They ended up having to tow it
Back to the shipyard.

Narrator: photos snatched
During the aftermath

Of the exercise confirm

That the barge only
Suffered minor damage.

It's difficult for us to know

Exactly what
The iranians' intent was.

Frankly, whatever it was
They had in mind failed.

Narrator: many western observers
Treat the display as a joke.

But to others,
The raw aggression

Of the exercise
Is a cause for concern.

Some people might
Find this silly,

But I don't.

One, for propaganda
Within the country to show

That they have
This great superpower

Against the united states

And then,
Just to show the world,

"Look, we are practicing
On striking on you."

Orwoll: this is a dangerous game
That they're playing,

This posturing,

Because it doesn't seem
To indicate a nation

That's trying to get
Along with others,

Not only in the region,

But throughout
The rest of the world.

Narrator: satellite images
Reveal thousands

Of mysterious mounds

In the shadow
Of a sacred mountain.

Whatever's going on here,
There's certainly a puzzle.

It almost looks like
Bubble wrap.

These mounds are one of the
Oldest unsolved

Geologic mysteries.

Narrator: july 2012 --

Satellites passing
High above the west coast

Of the united states photograph

Thousands of bizarre
Earth mounds.

You see these white
Kind of pimpled pock marks

All throughout the landscape.

You've got mounds that are maybe
Just a few inches tall

Up to about 160 feet
In diameter.

Maybe it's just, like,
Random piles of sand.

But why would
People pile up sand

In this type of a formation?

Narrator: the mounds are located
At the southern tip

Of the cascade mountain range
In northern california.

The mysterious features
Have puzzled scientists

Since their discovery
In the 19th century.

Brand: the last
Hundred-some years,

We've had more
Than 30 explanations

For how these things formed.

And the fact that
We're still debating it

Makes it one of our longest
Unsolved mysteries.

Narrator: the mounds
In the satellite image

Lie in the shadow of
A 14,000-foot-high mountain,

Mount shashta.

There has to be something
About this location

That's significant.

Narrator:
The mounds' discoverers,

From the u.S.
Exploring expedition,

Suspected they might be evidence

Of a gigantic native
American graveyard.

I've come across these
In the field and thought,

"Wow, these must be
Burial mounds."

Narrator: the local wintu tribes
Are known to bury their dead

In earth-mounds
Near the sacred mountain.

Watkins: mount shashta overlooks
Hundreds and hundreds

Of these mounds.

If these are burial mounds,
What must have happened?

Was there an outbreak
Of disease?

Was there a huge battle?

People had to be
Mass buried in a hurry.

Krueger: if this is some type
Of native american cemetery,

Are we looking at

The aftermath of some type
Of great conflict

That happened in the past?

Narrator: archaeologists
Have searched this area

For signs of a battle
Or catastrophic epidemic.

Recent tests have shown
That there are no human remains

In any of these mounds.

And we haven't found
Any artifacts either.

**

Narrator: there's nothing sacred

About this particular
Stretch of prairie.

But nearby mount shashta
Has inspired legends,

Which could shed light
On the nature

Of the mysterious mounds.

One in particular describes
A mystical underground city

Located within the mountain.

Not everything I hear
About the mountain I believe in.

But that doesn't mean
It's not true.

I just haven't experienced it.

Narrator: according
To the legend,

When a continent called lemuria
Was destroyed,

The inhabitants needed to choose

Where to build
Their new settlements.

Ashalyn: one of the places
Some of the people ended up

Was underneath mount shashta

In the volcanic lava
Caverns there.

And it's called
The crystal city of telos.

Narrator: the mountain does have
A network of tunnels.

And digging them out could have

Brought heaps of earth
To the surface.

But searches of mount shashta
Have uncovered

No scientific evidence
For an underground city.

People haven't
Caused these mounds,

But something has.

The only question is, what?

It's a great example
Of having to go exploring,

Having to analyze on the ground

To understand a feature.

Okay, bring it up here.

Narrator:
The mystery of the mounds
Has attracted scientists

From the university
Of california at davis.

There's this huge mystery,
What formed these mounds?

Several different theories
Have been proposed.

And our goal here today is
To see if there's any evidence

That would allow us to determine
How these mounds formed.

Narrator: one theory is
That the mounds

Are sediment deposited
From mount shashta's glaciers.

Dahlgren: during the melting
Of the glaciers,

A lot of material
Would have been mobilized.

And among that material

That comes off
In the glacial waters

Is a lot of fine particles,
The silts, the sands.

Brand: glaciers can create a lot
Of very strange land forms

Just from a sub-glacial river

That transport a lot of sand
And gravel leaving a mound.

Narrator: as melt waters flow
Down slopes away from glaciers,

They tend to deposit sediment
Along the direction of flow

In fairly straight lines

Pointing away
From the mountain.

If we saw linear pathways
Through this landscape here,

Then we would start to think
About glacial out-wash

As being a mechanism.

Narrator:
To test the glacier theory,

The team uses a drone
To map the precise layout

Of the mounds.

Dahlgren: from looking at
The information from the drone,

We don't see
That linear striation

That would be indicative
Of water-transported material.

That's a very important
Piece of the puzzle.

To really understand
What formed them,

We really need
To dig into the soils

To see what's there.

Narrator: the soil sample
Contains a tell-tale clue

To what really
Formed the mounds.

The color is uniformly dark.

And that darkness
Is coming from organic matter.

So how did that organic matter
Get from the surface

All the way down to 2 feet?

Well, this is consistent
With mixing by animal.

And on this landscape,

The number one soil animal

That mixes it
Are pocket gophers.

**

Some have suggested that gophers
Are moving material around.

That doesn't seem
Too plausible to me.

Given the size and the sheer
Number of these mounds,

As a geologist, it's hard for us
To think about animals

Creating something like this.

Narrator: but the ground radar
Sweeps suggest the mounds

Have been made by gophers.

Mccarten: we can search
For air space

So we can map out
The network of tunnels.

Narrator: the tunnels run
Through every mound.

And the evidence
Is even at the surface.

Just down for the major part
Of the mound here,

I found a series
Of two gopher holes.

Narrator: the gophers push
Soil and pebbles upwards

As they create their burrows,

Slowly adding layer
Upon layer.

Thousands of these
Little critters

Are frantically working away.

But why would gophers want
To build massive dirt mounds?

These areas get saturated.

And, if you have a gopher hole
That's in a soil

That's saturated,
That gopher's gonna get all wet.

So, by building
These mounds,

They get up and above
This water table,

Which keeps them dry.

Narrator: according
To computer models,

It would take gophers 700 years

To construct these vast mounds.

If you consider
A family of gophers,

Generations and generations
Of gophers

That build these over time,

Maybe that could work.

That's pretty cool,

That a little gopher
Can have a signature

That's seen from
Hundreds of miles up.

**

Narrator: an eye in the sky
Discovers a stone platform

That could reveal a violent,

Untold chapter
In the history of petra.

It's very possible
That hundreds or possibly

Thousands of people
Would come to this monument.

Narrator: like the legendary
Tomb of tutankhamen.

It's remained hidden
Beneath the desert sand

For thousands of years.

Kourounis: this discovery
Could change everything.

It could actually rewrite
The history books

And everything we know about
Middle-eastern archaeology.

**

Narrator: analysts studying
Pleiades' satellite images

Of jordan spot a strange shape
In the desert sand,

A football-field-sized rectangle

That has somehow eluded
Archaeologists for decades.

Tuttle: the evolutions
In technology,

Especially
With satellite imagery,

Really is a game changer
Now for archaeology.

This image is very subtle.
But dead center...

There's a fairly pronounced

Rectangle that stands out
Against the background.

Narrator: for investigators,
The location is intriguing.

It stands less than a mile

From petra's fabled
Ancient monuments.

Gijseghem: petra,
The city is, rightfully,

One of the archaeological
Wonders of the world.

Kourounis: petra is
Very well known.

It was even used in "Indiana
Jones and the last crusade"

As the city where they find
The holy grail.

**

Narrator: few of the tourists
Who visit here realize

That this is a city
Obsessed with death.

The site is littered
With more than 1,000 tombs

Engraved with curses.

And its most famous monument,
The treasury,

Was built to honor the dead.

Tuttle: kings may have been
Divinized upon their death.

So it has also been hypothesized

That this served
A bit as a temple

In the worship
Of that deceased king.

Narrator: the satellite image
Could be evidence

Of undiscovered secrets

Still hidden around
The ghostly city.

Thanks to the images,

We will be able to get actual
Measurements of this monument,

Which is very, very large.

It's about 180 feet per side.

Seems to be, potentially,

A religious platform
Of some sort,

Perhaps an arena of some sort.

Narrator: a clue to the
Structure's function could come

From another religious platform
Discovered at petra.

It's known as
The high place of sacrifice,

An area dedicated
To ritual killing.

It's not unusual
In ancient societies,

To find these very carefully
Prepared communal spaces

That are used for displays

Of power and rituals
And ceremonies.

**

Narrator: the founders of petra,
The nabataeans,

Are rumored to have
Slain children

As offerings to their gods.

The new discovery
Is almost four times bigger

Than the high place
Of sacrifice.

Could it point to bloodletting
On a much bigger scale

Than previously believed?

Kourounis: this discovery
Could change everything.

It could actually rewrite
The history books

And everything we know about
Middle-eastern archaeology.

Narrator: in 2016, archaeologist

Christopher tuttle
Visits the site.

His study of the stone
Masonry concludes

That it's part of
A genuinely ancient structure.

Tuttle:
I remember the first time
I walked to the site.

And knowing it was,
In fact, a monument

Was a great relevatory moment.

Narrator: the discovery
Of the remains

Of a giant staircase leading up
To the structure raises

A new and intriguing possibility

For what it could be --

A vast arena
For massive public events.

People, in order
To get to the site,

Would've had to work their way

Through a series of
Interconnected small valleys

And then climb up
This monumental staircase.

If it's an arena,
One possibility is

That there would of been
A kind of public gathering

For contests,
Like gladiator displays perhaps.

Narrator: an arena this size
Could have hosted

The gladiatorial super bowls
Of its era

With huge crowds coming here

To witness ferocious
Battles to the death.

Artifacts found at the site
Indicate it was built

Around the time that rome saw
Its first gladiators.

Tuttle: the pottery that was
Found on the surface tells us

That it could have been built
As early as the beginning

Of the founding
Of the city of petra,

Which was about the middle
Of the second century, b.C.

Narrator: when analysts study
A drone image of the site,

They discover another clue --
Evidence of a small building.

Tuttle: based on what
Little bit of architecture

We can see that's there today,

We really think that
This was most likely

Some sort of sacred shrine.

Narrator: the purpose of this
Sacred spot is unknown.

If the remains of sacrificial
Victims lie here,

They are yet to be discovered.

Despite
The structure's proximity

To one of the world's most
Famous archaeological sites,

It still holds secrets.

Archaeologists have been pouring

Over the petra site for decades.

How is it possible that,

In a place where there's been
So much excavation

And so much discovery,
That a place as large as this

Has gone undiscovered
The entire time?

Narrator: was it deliberately
Destroyed by its creators

To conceal evidence
Of their barbaric bloodletting?

Or demolished
By rampaging conquerors

In some long-forgotten war?

For now, what lies beneath
These sands remains an enigma.

The internet lights up
When an eye in the sky

Photographs a car appearing
To mock the law of gravity.

There's some things on earth
When we see them from space

That just make
Absolutely no sense.

This is an image
Which totally defies logic.

It almost feels
Like the movie "Inception,"

Where the world
Is just topsy-turvy,

Flipping over itself.

Narrator: an arrow data
Eye in the sky passes over

The hague, netherlands.

It photographs
Something that appears

To defy the laws of nature.

When I see a car parked
On the side of a building,

I have to start wondering
If I'm in "The matrix."

Porges: this is strange.

There's no way this
Could be really a car

Stuck to the side of a building.

Narrator: if it's not
An actual car,

The simplest explanation is
That it's an optical illusion.

We've seen these
Optical illusions before.

A few years ago, someone spotted
What looked like a flying car.

Narrator: the famous flying car

Was spotted
In perth, australia.

The image went viral
And prompted a frenzy

Of speculation
About what it really was.

At first glance,
This looks really weird, right?

This white car is floating
With its shadow underneath it.

There is no question.
This is very strange.

Narrator: the explanation
For the flying car

Is that it's a trick of the mind

Where the brain misinterprets
Light and shade.

It turns out that
This image is nothing

But a white car
Parked next to a black car.

Once you realize that,

It's completely obvious
What you're looking at.

Narrator: detailed examination
Of the mysterious car

On the side
Of a building reveals

It can't be the result
Of a similar optical illusion.

Not only is the car stuck
To the side of the building,

But so are
The road markings.

Narrator:
Some internet speculation
Around the image

Suggests it could be
A computer glitch.

Data processing errors
Can sometimes transform

An ordinary satellite photograph
Into something surreal.

There's this thing
Called the escher effect.

It's named after
The artist m.C. Escher

Who'd draw these
Impossible structures.

It's when tall buildings
In satellite images,

They appear to defy
The very laws of physics.

Narrator: the effect is caused
By the way computers

Put satellite images together.

The effect itself is
A real mind-bender.

The pictures are super trippy.

But the explanation itself
Is actually really simple.

As a satellite makes consecutive
Orbits around the earth,

It doesn't pass
The same place twice.

One satellite pass that captured
This set of buildings

And then another satellite pass

Which captured this
Set of buildings.

To a stitching program,

Which puts all those images
Together, it doesn't care.

It just needs to know
That this coordinate

Is next to this
Geographical coordinate.

And it puts 'em
Next to each other.

Narrator:
While the escher effect
Is fairly common,

It can't be responsible
For the mystery image.

Problem is the escher effect
Only really happens

To tall buildings,
Things like skyscrapers.

Narrator:
Investigation at the site

Of the gravity-defying car
Reveals the surprising answer.

The truth of the situation
Is a lot more down to earth.

What we're actually looking
At is an art installation.

The piece is called
"Extreme parking".

It's by an artist
Named theo van laar.

And he's extended the parking
Lot up the side of the building.

That's an actual mini
Cooper up there.

Narrator: van laar created
The work to demonstrate

How congested our towns
And cities have become.

He had no idea that his piece
Could be seen from space.

I never looked at google earth.

But somebody sent me
An e-mail note,

"You have to look."
And then I looked.

And there it was.

And I thought it was
Very, very nice.

Narrator: remarkably,
Van laar's car is still

Parked on a wall over 30 years
After he raised it up

Using a specially adapted crane

And 16 high-strength bolts.

This image is exactly
What it appears to be.

It's a car that's parked
On the side of a building.

Narrator:
Strange markings spotted deep
In russia's caucasus mountains

Pose disturbing questions.

Clearly,
Something's created it.

What? Force of nature or man?

You have to ask why
Would anyone build

Such a structure up
In the mountains?

Narrator:
Russia, october 2004 --

During an inspection
Of aerial photographs

From the soviet union,

Archaeologists discover a series
Of weird shapes on the ground.

Podges: this is so strange.

It's like a bite mark
Taken out of the ground.

This is one of these things
Where you really don't know

What's going on.

If I was looking at it,
And I was in the military,

I'd want to investigate.

I wouldn't be happy
To leave that alone.

Narrator: the photograph
Dates from the 1970s.

But all other information
About it has been lost.

The only thing
Investigators know

Is that it was taken somewhere

Over the caucasus mountains
In southern russia.

Petford: the caucasus
Mountain range

Is one of the less known
Mountain ranges on the planet.

But it's actually a very,
Very big range.

Narrator: to try to uncover
The exact location of the site,

Image analysts compare
The old aerial photo

With modern topographical maps.

The shape appears to be in
The foothills of mount elbrus --

Europe's tallest mountain.

This newfound information raises
The possibility that the scar

Could be connected
To another local mystery.

Back in 1948, a soviet plane

Went missing
Between azerbaijan and georgia.

And to this day,
We don't know what happened.

Narrator:
The location of the image
Is tantalizingly close

To the flight path
Of the missing soviet plane.

It leads some to suspect
This could be the crash site.

Podges: the missing plane's
Planned flight course

Was just 165 miles south
Of this site.

That's barely any distance

If the plane went off course

Even a little bit.

Narrator: the unpredictable
Weather around mount elbrus

Could easily have
Brought down an old plane.

But the image
Doesn't back up the theory.

Podges: there's no
Visible debris.

I don't see any wings,
No tires, no engines.

If this was a plane crash,
It was a very neat one.

Narrator: analysts consider
What else could have made

Such a bizarre imprint
On the mountain.

It looks like something that
Would've been created by humans.

But we have to ask, also,
"Why would anyone build

Such a structure
Up in the mountains?"

Narrator: one possible answer
Has sinister indications.

Narrator:
In the old soviet union,

Isolated parts of the country
Often concealed dark secrets.

The soviet union used
Remote locations

As a way of making people...
Disappear.

Narrator: under joseph stalin's
Tyrannical rule,

18 million men and women were
Sent to brutal labor camps

Called gulags

At the most hostile frontiers
Of the red empire.

While many gulag camps
Are a matter of public record,

Others remain
Top-secret and classified.

And we don't know
Where they are.

Narrator: the circular,
Cell-like shapes

Around the edge of the structure
Support the idea

That this could be
The remains of a gulag.

There was, in many ways,
No rhyme or reason

To why you ended up in a gulag.

People would arrive having
No idea what their crime was.

If you went to the gulag,
It was literally hell on earth.

You were nowhere near
Your friends and family.

And the labor
Was utterly exhausting.

People were worked to death.

**

Narrator: the image doesn't
Show any evidence

Of watch towers or fences.

But gulags often
Didn't need them.

Robertshaw: the gulags were
Very, very simple.

They were camps where,
Basically,

You didn't need to have
Barbed wire, many guards.

Why? 'cause, if you leave,

If you get out,
You're gonna die.

There's just nowhere to go.

Narrator: the isolated location

Would explain the simplicity
Of the structure.

But closer inspection
Of the image reveals

A detail which casts doubt
On the gulag theory.

Altaweel: this feature seems
To be made out of stone.

So I don't think this
Is evidence of a gulag.

Gulags generally don't have
Wall-remains made of stone.

Narrator: for years
After its discovery,

The structure remained
Unexcavated

Until a team of archaeologists,

Led by sabine reinhold,
Stumbled across the site.

We were traveling in the area,

Doing survey there.

And our driver said,
"Okay. Look.

At the end of the bush,
There is something."

And we weren't sure at the time.

We said, "Oh, no, no, no."

But we decided to go there.

When we arrived at the site,

We understood that
We have discovered a real,

New archaeological phenomenon,

Absolutely unknown features

And unknown things

Nobody had seen ever
In this area.

It was clear that it
Is a settlement.

It was clear because
It was possible to decide

That these are houses.

We found a lot of ceramics

And animals bones
On the surface.

Narrator: no one knows
Who these people were

Or how they came to be here.

But the construction methods

Used suggest the site
Is truly ancient.

There's no written records

Of any colony
In these mountains.

So you got to ask,
Just how old is this place?

It's not clear.
But we know, in the bronze age,

Which was about
4,000 years ago,

People were building
Features like this.

Narrator: radio carbon dating
Puts the age at 3,600 years old,

The right ballpark
For the bronze age.

It also reveals
Something extraordinary.

The people who lived here

Survived on this
Harsh mountainside

For over 1,000 years...

And then vanished.

In these high mountain plateaus,
It's rather harsh and windy.

And it's not the best place
To live constantly.

But then they stayed there
For about 1,000 years.

And then, suddenly, they moved.

But why they moved,
We don't know.

Narrator: perhaps the conditions
Became too harsh for them.

Or perhaps they were taken
Against their will.

All we do know is that,
Over 3,000 years ago,

Some enigmatic people chose

This desolate site
To make their home.

It's so little to go on.

We may never know who they were

And why they built
This impressive complex.

Narrator: a social media storm
Draws high-tech surveillance

To one of the world's
Biggest manhunts.

Green:
This is one of the world's
Deadliest terrorist groups.

Without warning,
276 girls disappear.

How do almost 300 people
Go missing without

Anyone knowing
Where they've gone?

Narrator: across the globe,
State-of-the-art aerial imagery

Is being used to hunt

For the world's
Most wanted terrorists.

In april 2014,
A shocking attack

On a school directs
The gaze of satellites

To a remote corner
Of sub-saharan africa.

Fighters from
The boca haram guerrilla group

Stormed into a school at chibok
In northeastern nigeria

And kidnapped 276 schoolgirls.

Narrator: the mass kidnapping

Sparks outrage
Across global media.

It was an attack
That took the world

Completely by surprise.

Suddenly, there was
An outpouring

Of concern on social media.

We saw the hashtag,
#bringbackourgirls.

Everybody can probably
Remember that picture

Of michelle obama
Holding up that sign.

Everybody suddenly wanted
To get these girls back.

Bale: the school that the girls
Were kidnapped from was

Actually a government school

Where they were teaching
People science and math.

[ shouting ]

[ gunfire ]

Pavelec:
The incredible thing is,
They just seemed to disappear.

How can that many people be
Hidden anywhere on this planet?

Narrator: authorities
Use satellites to search

For the suspected perpetrators,

The extreme islamic terror
Group, boco haram,

Who've spent over
A decade seizing control

Over large swaths
Of northeast nigeria.

Goal of the group, boca haram,

Is to establish
An islamic state.

Of course, the name of the group
Literally means,

"Western influence or western
Education is forbidden."

They're driven towards power.

They're incredibly violent,

And they conduct raids
And murder and rape.

Narrator: as soon as the search
For the kidnapped girls begins,

Military and civilian satellites

Urgently direct their cameras

Towards the terrorists'
Last-known hideout

Near the border with cameroon.

Blasina:
It was an incredible display
Of international cooperation.

You know, the u.S., the french,

All of these different countries
Stepped in to find these girls.

Narrator: the satellites are
Attempting to pinpoint

The schoolgirls in an area

Nearly the size
Of south carolina.

Green: fact of the matter is,

This is ideal country
For guerrilla operations.

We're talking about a very
Remote area, forest, hills,

And the rebels always seem
To be one step ahead.

Narrator:
Despite knowing the rough
Whereabouts of the girls,

A months-long search fails
To pinpoint a precise location.

To make matters worse,

Boca haram continued
To terrorize the region,

Kidnapping more children
And raiding villages.

Koettl: boca haram
Does not have, like,

One specific headquarters
That they operate out from.

They move around very quickly.
They're very mobile.

That's their advantage.

They can play
A cat-and-mouse game

With the security forces.

They can leave
A very light footprint.

It's very difficult
For the authorities to keep up.

Pavelec: finding
These kidnapped schoolgirls

Is an incredibly difficult task.

But boca haram is
A growing organization.

And they leave traces
Everywhere that they go.

Narrator: nine months
After the girls' abduction,

Satellites detect boca haram's
Current whereabouts.

Two images of a village,

Taken just one week apart,

Expose the scale
Of their latest atrocity.

2015 -- boca haram committed
One of the biggest attacks

That they have ever done.

Narrator: terrorism expert
Melissa hanham

Analyzes the images for clues

That might reveal a connection
With the kidnappers.

We're trying to see
Where attacks have happened.

This is a healthy village

That has just what you would
Normally expect --

Cars, tidy roadways,

Lots of healthy trees.

These people
Are probably farmers.

There are no
Military targets here.

There's no access
To independent observers

Of independent reporters.

So we deployed satellite images
To see what's going on.

And it was a really
Shocking picture, what we saw.

2,000 people are feared
To have been killed

In the barbaric massacre.

Hanham: walls we were
Looking at before

Are now completely gone.

You see blast marks.

All of this are homes that have
Just been reduced to rubble.

Narrator: satellites focus
Their attention

Around this
And other devastating villages,

Hoping for signs
Of the girls' whereabouts.

While they identified
Many villages

That had suffered really,
Just catastrophic damage,

They had not, unfortunately,

Been able to find
The girls themselves.

Green: with all this
Satellite technology,

One would think that it
Would be possible

To at least narrow down the area

Where these girls
Have disappeared to.

But it seems like they've
Vanished into thin air.

Narrator: the manhunt
Finally gets a lead

When several of the girls
Manage to escape.

Blasina: some of the girls
Have been able to escape.

But there are still
More than 200 girls missing.

So we're not in a position
To stop looking yet.

Narrator: the free girls provide
Authorities with information

About where the survivors
Are still being held.

Some of them are already
Explaining where they came from.

Narrator: satellites are joined
By military drones

To pinpoint
The precise location.

The satellite is
In orbit over the earth.

On the other hand, a drone can
Maintain surveillance on a spot.

Then, you can get a better image

Of what's going on
On the planet.

Narrator: drones catch glimpses
Of boca haram

And even attack teams
Of terrorist gunmen.

But there is still no sign
Of the missing girls.

Authorities are forced
To try radical new techniques.

Amnesty international
Image specialist

Christoph koettl analyzes

The terrorists'
Smart phone footage

And cross-references it
With satellite data.

A lot of people use
Camera-enabled cell phones.

And they document everything
That's going on around them.

That allows me
To use the footage

And match it up
With satellite imagery

And confirm
The exact location,

Sometimes, you know,
Only maybe the town.

But, in a lot of cases, we can

Really zoom in
On a specific house.

And we know the exact
Street corner

Where something has happened.

Narrator: but boca haram seemed

To be growing wise
To these techniques.

When the militants release

A video showing the girls
They still have captive,

They disguise the background
To hide their location.

The search for
The surviving girls is ongoing.

Pavelec: although some
Of the schoolgirls

Have escaped from boca
Haram's clutches,

A lot of them are still
In captivity.

We are not gonna stop
Until we've found them

And rescued them.