All language subtitles for What.on.Earth.S04E06.1080p.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

THAT DEFY EXPLANATION.

[ BEEPING, DISTORTED MUSIC ]

AN IMAGE OF A MYSTERY ISLAND

AND REPORTED SIGHTINGS
OF ADOLF HITLER.

EYEWITNESSES CLAIM TO HAVE
SEEN ADOLF HITLER

LIVING INTO HIS OLD AGE.

Capps: THE MILLION-DOLLAR
QUESTION IS, WHERE DID HE GO?

HECK, IT'S A BILLION-DOLLAR
QUESTION.

Narrator: CANNIBALS AND ZOMBIES
IN AN ENGLISH GHOST VILLAGE.

PEOPLE FEARED THE LIVING DEAD.

THE BODIES HAVE BEEN BURNED, THE
SKULLS SMASHED AND DECAPITATED.

Narrator: DEAD MEN TALKING
IN THE EGYPTIAN DESERT.

Bruce: ONE CAN IMAGINE
THESE CLOSED LIPS

BEING AN ENTRYWAY
TO THE AFTERLIFE.

Narrator:
AND WHAT'S UP WITH THE WHALES?

NATURE'S GIANTS
ARE ACTING WEIRD.

THEY STARTED TO SEE GROUPS
OF 30 OR 40 ANIMALS

ALL IN ONE SINGLE AREA.

AND THIS IS TOTALLY CRAZY.

HUMPBACK WHALES DON'T DO THIS.

BAFFLING PHENOMENA.

MYSTERIES FROM SPACE.

WHAT ON EARTH ARE THEY?

-- Captions by VITAC --
www.vitac.com

[ BEEPING ]
[ CAMERA SHUTTER CLICKING ]

[ WHIRRING ]

CAPTIONS PAID FOR BY
DISCOVERY COMMUNICATIONS

**

[ FREQUENCY WARBLES ]
[ WHIRRING ]

OVER THE ARGENTINIAN ANDES,

A SATELLITE CAPTURES IMAGES
OF AN ISLAND IN A LAKE.

IT'S MEANT TO BE UNINHABITED.

FOR YEARS, THE GOVERNMENT HERE
DECLARED THIS A FORBIDDEN AREA.

BUT IN THE IMAGE,
THERE ARE BUILDINGS.

THESE LOOK LIKE MODERN
CONCRETE STRUCTURES,

NOT ANCIENT RUINS OR ANYTHING,

BUT THEY'VE BEEN
OVERGROWN BY VEGETATION.

Morgan:
THEY DON'T LOOK LIKE NORMAL
CONCRETE CONSTRUCTION.

THEY LOOK FAR MORE ROBUST.

[ CAMERA SHUTTER CLICKS ]

Narrator: WHATEVER THE PURPOSE
OF THESE BUILDINGS,

MILITARY HISTORIAN
MIKE PAVELEC

BELIEVES THEY WERE MEANT
TO BE KEPT SECRET.

Pavelec:
IF YOU WANT TO HIDE SOMETHING,
WHERE DO YOU PUT IT?

JUNGLE IS NICE.

AN ISLAND IS EVEN BETTER.

Narrator:
PAVELEC LOOKS FOR THE NEAREST
SETTLEMENT TO THE ISLAND,

A TOWN CALLED BARILOCHE.

Pavelec:
WHAT IS THIS SECRET FACILITY

THAT EVERYBODY
IS TRYING TO HIDE?

I REALLY NEED TO GO
TO BARILOCHE,

INVESTIGATE THIS MYSTERY,

AND HOPEFULLY GET ON THE ISLAND

AND SEE THESE BUILDINGS.

Narrator:
PAVELEC FLIES TO ARGENTINA
AND MAKES HIS WAY TO BARILOCHE.

**

THE TOWN LOOKS
STRANGELY OUT OF PLACE.

THE BUILDINGS ARE TIMBER-FRAMED
WITH SHARP SLOPING ROOFS.

Pavelec: THE ARCHITECTURE
LOOKS VERY GERMAN.

THE SETTING ITSELF WOULD MAKE
SOMEONE FROM GERMANY

FEEL VERY COMFORTABLE.

Narrator: PAVELEC WONDERS
IF THIS COULD BE A CLUE

TO THE ORIGIN OF
THE BUILDINGS ON THE ISLAND.

HE HEARS TROUBLING RUMORS
OF FORMER NAZIS

COMING IN NUMBERS TO BARILOCHE

IN THE CLOSING STAGES
OF WORLD WAR II.

Walters:
ON THE SURFACE, BARILOCHE IS
JUST A BEAUTIFUL RESORT TOWN.

HOWEVER, IT DOES HAVE
A MUCH DARKER SIDE.

IT'S A REFUGE.

IT'S A HIDING PLACE
FOR SOME OF THE WORST PEOPLE.

Narrator:
AIDED BY SENIOR FIGURES
IN THE CATHOLIC CHURCH,

FLEEING NAZIS ESTABLISH
A SO-CALLED RAT LINE

FROM EUROPE TO SOUTH AMERICA.

Walters: IT'S VERY HARD TO
ESTABLISH SPECIFICALLY

HOW MANY NAZIS
ENDED UP IN ARGENTINA

BECAUSE, OF COURSE,
THE RECORDS WERE NEVER MEANT

TO BE KEPT OR EXACT,

BUT I THINK WE CAN ESTIMATE
AROUND 5,000 NAZIS

OF VARIOUS LEVELS OF SENIORITY
ENDED UP IN ARGENTINA.

[ FLAG SNAPPING ]

Narrator: PAVELEC WONDERS
IF THE SECRET ISLAND'S RUINS

ARE PART OF
THE TOWN'S NAZI PAST.

HE ARRANGES TO MEET
A LOCAL JOURNALIST, GUISHE.

ARE THERE ANY NAZIS
SPECIFICALLY ASSOCIATED

WITH BARILOCHE ITSELF?

WELL, YES.

THERE IS ONE BIG CASE,
SO TO SAY.

THAT WAS ERICH PRIEBKE.

CONVICTED NAZI WAR CRIMINAL
AND GESTAPO OFFICER

ERICH PRIEBKE ESCAPES
PRISON IN 1946.

HE ARRIVES IN BARILOCHE
TWO YEARS LATER

AND BECOMES HEADMASTER
OF A LOCAL SCHOOL.

IN THE 1990S, INVESTIGATORS
EXPOSE HIS NAZI PAST.

HE IS EXTRADITED TO ITALY
TO FACE TRIAL.

FOR HIS NEIGHBORS, HE WAS,
LIKE, A NICE OLD MAN,

THAT NOBODY EXPECTED
THAT HE WAS A FORMER NAZI

THAT KILLED HUNDREDS
OF PEOPLES IN ITALY.

HISTORICAL EVIDENCE LINKS OTHER
TOP-RANKING NAZIS TO BARILOCHE,

INCLUDING THE MAN WHO ORGANIZED
THE HOLOCAUST, ADOLF EICHMANN,

AND THE TORTURER,
JOSEF MENGELE.

-DR. MENGELE?
-YEAH.

-THE ANGEL OF DEATH?
-CORRECT.

MEDICAL DOCTOR WHO DID
HORRENDOUS EXPERIMENTS,

HUMAN EXPERIMENTS ON PRISONERS,
ON JEWS DURING THE WAR.

-WOW.
-PRECISELY THAT ONE.

Narrator:
NAZI FUGITIVES, A CLUSTER
OF MYSTERY BUILDINGS

CAUGHT ON SATELLITE,
AND A FORBIDDEN ISLAND.

I HAVEN'T BEEN THERE YET.
IT'S A PROTECTED AREA.

COAST GUARD,
THEY ARE THE ONES

THAT ALLOW YOU TO GET
INTO THE ISLAND OR NOT.

GUISHE AGREES TO TRY TO
NEGOTIATE ACCESS TO THE ISLAND.

AT DAWN, THEY MEET
AT THE COAST GUARD STATION.

[ WATER LAPPING SHORE ]

-IT'S COLD.
-IT IS COLD.

-WE HAVE A BOAT?
-YEAH, WE HAVE IT.

HOPEFULLY,
WE'LL MAKE IT IN 1/2 HOUR.

FANTASTIC.

LET'S GO SEE
WHAT WE CAN FIND.

**

Narrator: FROM THE SHORE
TO THE RUINS IN THE IMAGE,

IT'S A HIKE
THROUGH DENSE FOREST.

PAVELEC'S FIRST CLUES
TO THE MYSTERY

COME FROM A RAVAGED BUILDING
IN A CLEARING.

LOOKS LIKE A HOUSE MAYBE?

YEAH, IT DEFINITELY
LOOKS LIKE A HOUSE.

DO THOSE LOOK LIKE
BULLET HOLES TO YOU?

**

NEARBY, PAVELEC FINDS
THE LARGER STRUCTURES

HE OBSERVED
IN THE SATELLITE IMAGE.

THESE ARE THOSE TWO
BIG BUILDINGS I WAS LOOKING FOR,

HUGE, THICK WALLS

AND BIG, HUGE DOORS.

**

THE TALLEST BUILDING
IS OVER 50 FEET HIGH,

TOO HIGH FOR A REGULAR HOUSE.

THIS WAS OBVIOUSLY BUILT TO
HOUSE SOMETHING VERY IMPORTANT.

THE CONSTRUCTION
IS JUST...

IT WAS MEANT TO LAST,
HOLY COW, LIKE, FOREVER.

Narrator: PAVELEC DISCOVERS FIVE
MAJOR BUILDINGS ON THE ISLAND.

THEIR PURPOSE IS NOT
IMMEDIATELY CLEAR.

IT'S LIKE A BOND VILLAIN SET UP
AN ISLAND BASE TO DO REALLY,

REALLY DANGEROUS
AND NASTY THINGS,

SO IT'S SUPER INTERESTING,

BUT IT'S UNCLEAR
WHAT WAS DONE HERE.

SO WE'RE GOING TO HEAD
INTO TOWN NOW

AND SEE IF WE CAN FIND
SOME LOCALS THAT CAN HELP US

EXPLAIN WHAT THIS ISLAND
FACILITY WAS FOR.

PAVELEC VISITS
THE LOCAL ARCHIVES

BUT FINDS NO INFORMATION

RELATING TO THE MYSTERY
BUILDINGS IN THE IMAGE.

Pavelec: THERE'S DEFINITELY SOME
INFORMATION MISSING.

WHETHER IT'S ACTIVELY
BEING SUPPRESSED OR NOT,

THAT'S ANOTHER QUESTION
ALL TOGETHER.

Narrator:
WHAT HE DOES FIND IS A BOOK
BY A LOCAL WRITER

AND NAZI HISTORIAN,
ABEL BASTI.

THEY ARRANGE TO MEET.

ABEL,
[SPEAKS FOREIGN LANGUAGE].

BASTI CLAIMS TO KNOW THE TRUTH
ABOUT BARILOCHE'S NAZI PAST.

THEY DIDN'T SNEAK IN.

THEY WERE INVITED.

ARGENTINA'S PRESIDENT,
JUAN PERóN,

WAS A FASCIST SYMPATHIZER
WHO PROVIDED A SAFE HAVEN

FOR FORMER NAZIS.

JUAN PERóN WAS DESPERATE
TO BE A MAJOR PLAYER

ALONGSIDE THE UNITED STATES

AND THE SOVIET UNION
IN THE NUCLEAR AGE,

AND IF YOU'RE WILLING
TO MAKE A DEAL WITH THE DEVIL

AND YOU'VE GOT NAZIS
WHO ARE COMING TO YOUR COUNTRY,

YOU'VE GOT A PERFECT
PATH TO THAT.

Narrator: RONALD RICHTER WAS
A GERMAN PHYSICIST

CLAIMING TO HAVE WORKED
ON THE NAZI NUCLEAR PROGRAM.

IN 1947, PRESIDENT PERóN
INVITES HIM TO ARGENTINA.

RICHTER
MANAGES TO PERSUADE PERóN

THAT HE CAN PRODUCE
CONTROLLED NUCLEAR FUSION

IN ORDER TO POWER ARGENTINA

FROM SOMETHING THE SIZE
OF A MILK BOTTLE.

PERóN LOVES IT AND EFFECTIVELY
GIVES HIM A BLANK CHECK.

Narrator:
HOW ARE THE BULLET-RIDDLED
STRUCTURES IN THE IMAGE

LINKED TO THE AREA'S
DARK NAZI PAST?

PAVELEC ISN'T LEAVING
UNTIL HE GETS TO THE TRUTH.

[ WHIRRING ]

COMING UP, FROM SATELLITES,
EVIDENCE OF THE UNDEAD

IN AN ENGLISH GHOST VILLAGE...

ZOMBIES?
YOU'VE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME.

Narrator: ...AND MIKE PAVELEC'S
INVESTIGATION

TAKES AN UNEXPECTED
AND DRAMATIC TURN.

Pavelec: HANG ON A SECOND.

HITLER IN BARILOCHE
AFTER THE WAR?

Narrator: IN ARGENTINA,
MILITARY HISTORIAN MIKE PAVELEC

IS INVESTIGATING
A SERIES OF STRUCTURES

ON A
GOVERNMENT-RESTRICTED ISLAND.

HE LEARNS THEY ARE CONNECTED TO
NAZI SCIENTIST RONALD RICHTER,

INVITED BY THE
ARGENTINIAN PRESIDENT

TO RUN
A SECRET NUCLEAR PROJECT.

YOU HAVE TO WONDER WHAT COULD
HAVE HAPPENED IF ARGENTINA,

IN THE '40s AND '50s AND '60s,

HAD DEVELOPED A NUCLEAR PROGRAM

THAT JUST CHANGED THE WHOLE
LANDSCAPE OF THE WORLD.

**

Narrator:
PAVELEC'S EXPLORATION OF THE
ISLAND REVEALS EMPTY STRUCTURES

AND NO VISIBLE EVIDENCE
OF A COMPLEX NUCLEAR FACILITY.

**

WHAT'S MORE, BULLET HOLES
SUGGEST THAT WORK ON THE ISLAND

COMES TO AN ABRUPT
AND VIOLENT END.

WHAT WAS DR. RICHTER
WORKING ON SPECIFICALLY,

AND HOW SUCCESSFUL WAS HE?

MOST HISTORIANS BELIEVE
THAT THE NAZIS

NEVER CRACKED NUCLEAR FUSION.

IT TRANSPIRES
THAT RICHTER WAS A CON MAN

WHO SCAMMED ARGENTINIAN
PRESIDENT JUAN PERóN

OUT OF MILLIONS OF DOLLARS.

**

RICHTER WAS A CHANCER.
HE WAS A CHARLATAN.

THERE WAS NO WAY HE WAS
GOING TO BE ABLE

TO PRODUCE NUCLEAR FUSION.

PERóN SPENT AN ENORMOUS
AMOUNT OF MONEY

THAT HE COULD ILL AFFORD
ON THIS PROJECT.

HE SPENT $62 MILLION.

Narrator: RICHTER WASN'T
THE ONLY NAZI IN TOWN.

TORTURER DR. JOSEF MENGELE
AND ARCHITECT

OF THE HOLOCAUST ADOLF EICHMANN
ALSO SOUGHT REFUGE HERE.

PAVELEC PRESSES LOCAL HISTORIAN
ABEL BASTI TO NAME OTHERS.

WERE THERE MORE IMPORTANT
OR NOTABLE NAZIS

THAT LIVED IN BARILOCHE
AFTER THE WAR?

WHAT HE HEARS
IS COMPLETELY UNEXPECTED.

HANG ON.
HANG ON A SECOND.

I MIGHT HAVE MISSED
THE TRANSLATION.

MM-HMM.

HITLER IN BARILOCHE
AFTER THE WAR,

IS THAT WHAT HE JUST SAID?

Sí, Sí...

Narrator:
IN THE FINAL STAGES OF THE WAR,

BERLIN IS OVERRUN
BY SOVIET TROOPS.

OFFICIAL REPORTS
OF THE NAZI SURRENDER

CLAIM THE FUHRER
AND HIS WIFE, EVA BRAUN,

LEAVE INSTRUCTIONS WITH
SS OFFICERS FOR THEIR BODIES

TO BE URGENTLY INCINERATED
AFTER THEIR SUICIDE.

Reporter: [ British accent ]
THE ENTRANCE TO HITLER'S AIR
RAID SHELTER.

IT WAS JUST OUTSIDE THAT THE
BODIES OF HITLER AND EVA BRAUN

ARE SAID
TO HAVE BEEN DESTROYED.

AT ANY RATE,
THAT'S ONE STORY.

IT MIGHT BE TRUE.

IT MIGHT NOT.

Narrator:
MARSHAL ZHUKOV, THE SOVIET
GENERAL WHO TOOK BERLIN,

BELIEVED IT UNTRUE.

HE MAINTAINED ADOLF HITLER
FLEES THE CITY

BEFORE THE SOVIETS ARRIVE.

IF SOVIET GENERAL ZHUKOV
WAS RIGHT, THAT HITLER ESCAPED,

THE MILION-DOLLAR QUESTION
IS, WHERE DID HE GO?

HECK, IT'S
A BILLION-DOLLAR QUESTION.

Narrator:
THE ALLIES DECLARE HITLER DEAD,
BUT CLASSIFIED U.S. DOCUMENTS

AND LOCAL EYEWITNESSES
DESCRIBE A SUSPICIOUS U-BOAT

APPEARING OFF
THE ARGENTINIAN COAST 2 WEEKS

AFTER THE GERMANS SURRENDER.

Morgan: EARLIER IN MY LIFE,
I LIVED IN ARGENTINA BRIEFLY

AND WAS AROUND A FEW PEOPLE
THAT PROVIDED SOME TESTIMONY

THAT A SUBMARINE APPEARED
OFF OF THE ARGENTINE COAST

IN THE SUMMER OF 1945,

UNLOADED GOLD AND THEN
UNLOADED SUSPICIOUS PASSENGERS

WHO THEN DISAPPEARED INTO
THE ARGENTINE COUNTRYSIDE.

Narrator:
IN THE FOLLOWING DECADES, THERE
ARE ALLEGED SIGHTINGS OF HITLER,

FROM BRAZIL TO PARAGUAY,

BUT MANY BELIEVE HE SETTLED
IN PERóN'S ARGENTINA.

NUMEROUS PEOPLE HAVE CLAIMED TO
HAVE SEEN HITLER IN ARGENTINA.

SOME EVEN SAID THAT
THEY ACTUALLY SPOKE TO HIM.

Narrator:
PAVELEC'S CONTACT, ABEL BASTI,
IS CONVINCED THAT,

ALONG WITH EICHMANN AND MENGELE,

HITLER LIVED CLOSE TO BARILOCHE.

[ CAMERA SHUTTER CLICKS ]

HE HAS EVEN IDENTIFIED
WHAT HE SAYS

IS THE FUHRER'S HOME
ON THE SHORES OF THE SAME LAKE

WHERE THE ISLAND IN
THE SATELLITE IMAGE IS FOUND.

BASTI CLAIMS THAT
THE RANCH'S LAYOUT

IS REMARKABLY SIMILAR
TO THE BERGHOF,

HITLER'S HOUSE
IN THE GERMAN ALPS.

**

I'M GOING TO DRIVE THE 2 HOURS
AND FIND OUT

IF THERE ACTUALLY WAS A HOUSE
THAT HITLER MIGHT HAVE LIVED IN

AND IF THERE WAS SOMEBODY
THAT LOOKED LIKE HIM

OR WAS ACTUALLY HIM.

Narrator: BUT PAVELEC'S ATTEMPTS
TO EXAMINE THE HOUSE

ARE FRUSTRATED
BY SECRECY AND SUSPICION.

**

LOCAL AUTHORITIES PREVENT HIM
FROM APPROACHING THE RANCH.

I CAME TO ARGENTINA TO LOOK
AT BROKEN BUILDINGS

ABANDONED ON AN ISLAND.

WHAT I UNCOVERED WAS
AN UNDERCURRENT OF NAZIS.

Narrator: PAVELEC'S SATELLITE
MYSTERY HAS LED HIM

ON AN EXTRAORDINARY JOURNEY INTO
ARGENTINA'S SINISTER NAZI PAST,

ONE THAT CONTINUES
TO HAUNT THE ISLANDS

AND TOWNSFOLK
OF THIS PATAGONIAN LAKE.

IF, AT ANY TIME, SOMEONE WAS
ABLE TO PRESENT EVIDENCE

PROVING THAT ADOLF HITLER
LIVED IN A VILLA UNTIL HE DIED,

IT WOULD PROVIDE PROOF
THAT THE GREATEST WAR CRIMINAL

WHO EVER LIVED

WAS ABLE TO SLIP AWAY
FROM GERMANY AND ESCAPE JUSTICE

AND LIVE OUT HIS LATER
YEARS IN ARGENTINA.

IF HITLER GETS AWAY,
IF THE BAD GUY

AT THE END OF THE STORY
GETS AWAY, WE'VE FAILED.

Morgan: IT WOULD BE THE BIGGEST
NEWS STORY IN HUMAN HISTORY.

ADOLF HITLER ESCAPED GERMANY
AND SURVIVED IN ARGENTINA.

[ BEEPING, WHIRRING ]

Narrator: COMING UP...
SATELLITES DISCOVER

SOMETHING BIG LURKING
BENEATH THE INDIAN OCEAN.

THIS IS SUPPOSED TO BE
JUST EMPTY SEABED.

THE QUESTION IS,
WHAT IS DOWN THERE?

[ SHING! ]

Narrator:
AND THE LIVING DEFILE THE DEAD
IN AN ENGLISH VILLAGE.

Bellinger:
SO WAS THIS FEAR OF A ZOMBIE
APOCALYPSE ENOUGH

TO DRIVE PEOPLE
FROM THEIR VILLAGE?

Narrator:
NASA'S GRACE SATELLITES ORBIT
300 MILES ABOVE THE EARTH.

[ BEEP ]

THEIR MISSION IS TO MEASURE
GRAVITATIONAL ANOMALIES

IN THE WORLD'S OCEANS.

THE GRAVITY MAPPING IS A REALLY
REVOLUTIONARY TECHNOLOGY

THAT JUST UNLOCKS
THESE MYSTERIES OF EARTH.

Narrator:
EVERYTHING THAT HAS MASS
EXERTS A GRAVITATIONAL PULL.

THE GREATER THE MASS,
THE STRONGER THE GRAVITY.

THE NASA SATELLITES
DETECT STRUCTURES

HIDDEN BENEATH THE OCEAN

BY MEASURING VARIATIONS
IN EARTH'S GRAVITATIONAL PULL.

THIS TECHNOLOGY WILL MAP
THE EFFECT OF GRAVITY

ON THE OCEAN'S SURFACE,

WHICH TELLS US WHAT'S GOING ON.

Narrator: IN AUGUST 2012,

AS THE SATELLITES PASS
OVER THE INDIAN OCEAN,

THEY DETECT SOMETHING UNDER
THE WAVES, SOMETHING BIG.

Stenstrom: THIS IS SUPPOSED
TO BE JUST EMPTY SEABED.

THE QUESTION IS,
WHAT IS DOWN THERE?

Narrator:
THE GRAVITY DATA SUGGESTS THAT,
WHATEVER IS HIDING DOWN THERE,

IT WEIGHS BILLIONS OF TONS.

FURTHER TESTS CONFIRM
THAT THE EARTH'S CRUST

IN THIS PART OF THE OCEAN
IS STRANGELY THICK.

Mosher:
SO ALL AROUND THIS ARE IN
THE MIDDLE OF THE IMAGE,

YOU HAVE PRETTY THIN CRUST.

IT'S ABOUT 5 MILES THICK.

BUT IN THE MIDDLE, YOU HAVE
THIS BANANA-SHAPED FEATURE

THAT IS FOUR TIMES THICKER.

IT'S ABOUT 20 MILES THICK.

Narrator: FOR THE SCIENTISTS,
THE SIZE OF THE ANOMALY

AND THE THICKNESS OF THE CRUST
CAN ONLY MEAN ONE THING.

THIS IMAGE INDICATES
THAT THERE IS A CONTINENT BELOW

THE SURFACE OF THE WATER,
WHICH IS REALLY AMAZING.

THERE'S A GHOST CONTINENT
THAT'S BENEATH THE OCEAN

IN A PLACE WHERE WE HAD
NO IDEA IT COULD POSSIBLY BE.

Narrator: THE DISCOVERY
OF THE GHOST CONTINENT

STUNS THE SCIENTIFIC WORLD,

BUT INVESTIGATORS DISCOVER
A CLUE TO ITS ORIGIN

IN A SERIES OF
15TH CENTURY INDIAN TEXTS.

ANCIENT SCROLLS TELL OF A LAND
THAT WAS LOST BENEATH THE WAVES,

AND WHERE WAS THIS
SUPPOSED TO BE?

RIGHT WHERE THE SATELLITE
IMAGE WAS TAKEN.

THE NOTION OF A LOST CONTINENT
IS NOT QUITE AS FAR-FETCHED

AS WE WOULD THINK.

IN ANCIENT LITERATURE, THERE ARE
STORIES ABOUT A CONTINENT

THAT WENT MISSING MANY,
MANY YEARS AGO.

Narrator:
THE INDIAN TEXTS SPEAK OF
A MYTHICAL CONTINENT

STRETCHING FOR
THOUSANDS OF MILES.

IT IS KNOWN AS KUMARI KANDAM.

Gough: THIS WOULD HAVE BEEN
A FORMIDABLE CIVILIZATION.

THIS IS SOMETHING THAT WOULD
HAVE BEEN THE MOST

GRANDIOSE SIGHTS
OF THE ANCIENT WORLD.

Narrator: ACCORDING TO LEGEND,
THE KINGDOM IS RULED BY WOMEN

BUT DEFENDED BY
SAVAGE MALE WARRIORS.

FORGET "300."

FORGET THE SPARTANS.

THE KUMARI KANDAM WARRIORS
WERE THE BADASSES

OF THE ANCIENT WORLD.

THESE GUYS WERE
MYTHOLOGICAL WARRIORS,

ANCIENT SPECIAL FORCES.
[ SWORD STRIKE RINGS ]

Narrator:
KUMARI WARRIORS KNOW NO MERCY.

STRANGERS ENTERING THEIR CAPITAL
ARE BEHEADED.

BUT, SO THE LEGEND GOES,

THE KUMARI'S WICKEDNESS IS
PUNISHED BY AN ENORMOUS FLOOD.

A CATASTROPHIC FLOOD DESTROYED
THIS LAND MASS 10,000 YEARS AGO.

IMAGINE TSUNAMIS THE SIZE
OF SKYSCRAPERS, A WHOLE CULTURE,

A WHOLE WAY OF LIFE
WIPED OUT IN SECONDS.

NOW THAT'S CHILLING.

Narrator:
THE IDEA OF A LOST CONTINENT
IS NOT CONFINED TO MYTHOLOGY.

[ CHURCH BELLS RING ]

NINETEENTH-CENTURY ZOOLOGISTS
ALSO SPECULATED

ABOUT ONE IN THIS PART
OF THE PLANET.

IN THE 1860s,
THERE WAS A ZOOLOGIST

BY THE NAME OF PHILIP SCLATER

WHO PROPOSED THAT
THERE WAS A LAND MASS

THAT STRETCHED FROM MADAGASCAR
ALL THE WAY TO INDIA.

Narrator: SCLATER SUGGESTED
THAT SUCH A LAND MASS

COULD EXPLAIN
AN APPARENT DISCREPANCY

IN THE EVOLUTIONARY
TREE OF SPECIES

FOUND IN AFRICA AND INDIA.

HIS REASONING
FOR THINKING THIS IS

THAT YOU CAN FIND
LEMURS IN MADAGASCAR.

YOU CAN FIND LEMURS IN INDIA
BUT NOT IN AFRICA,

AND MADAGASCAR IS A LOT CLOSER
TO AFRICA THAN INDIA.

AT SOME POINT IN HISTORY,
MADAGASCAR AND INDIA

HAD TO BE CONNECTED
BY A GIANT LAND MASS.

Narrator:
SCLATER NAMES THE LOST
LAND MASS LEMURIA.

SEVERAL OTHER VICTORIAN
ACADEMICS SUGGEST

THAT LEMURIA COULD
EVEN HOLD THE KEY

TO ONE OF THE GREATEST
MYSTERIES OF HUMAN EVOLUTION.

**

SOME SCHOLARS SUGGEST
THAT THIS LOST LAND MASS

IS WHERE WE ORIGINATED
FROM, MANKIND.

THIS IS WHERE WE CAME DOWN
FROM THE TREES,

WHICH IS NOW WHAT
WE CALL THE MISSING LINK.

MAYBE ALL THE EVIDENCE
WE NEED IS ON LEMURIA,

AND IT'S THIS LAND BRIDGE,
AND IT'S NOW BURIED UNDERWATER.

Narrator: THE MISSING LINK
IN HUMAN EVOLUTION

MAY JUST HAVE BEEN
FOUND FROM SPACE.

THEN, ON THE ISLAND OF
MAURITIUS, COMES ANOTHER CLUE.

**

SCIENTISTS GO TO MAURITIUS

AND SCOOP UP SOME SAND
AND OTHER SOIL,

AND WHAT THEY FOUND
WAS SOMETHING VERY SURPRISING.

WHAT THEY FOUND IN THOSE
SAMPLES WERE ZIRCONS.

Narrator: ZIRCON CRYSTALS
ARE MINERALS CREATED

WHEN CONTINENTS FIRST FORMED

DURING THE EARTH'S
TURBULENT GEOLOGICAL PAST.

THE FACT THAT YOU FIND ZIRCON
CRYSTALS ON THIS YOUNG ISLAND

SUGGESTS THAT THERE MUST BE
SOME KIND OF CONTINENTAL CRUST

THAT'S BENEATH THE ISLAND.

Narrator:
GEOLOGISTS NOW BELIEVE THAT
THE LOST CONTINENT

DETECTED BY THE NASA SATELLITES

WAS ONCE PART OF
AN ANCIENT SUPER CONTINENT.

ONE HUNDRED AND
EIGHTY MILLION YEARS AGO,

THE GIANT LAND MASS
BEGAN TO BREAK UP,

CREATING AFRICA, SOUTH AMERICA,
AUSTRALIA AND ANTARCTICA.

APOCALYPTIC TECTONIC FORCES
PULL THE LOST CONTINENT APART

AND SUBMERGE IT
BENEATH THE WAVES.

Goldfinger:
WHEN A CONTINENT BREAKS UP,

THE ENTIRE EARTH'S CRUST
WILL JUST BE RIPPED OPEN

AND LEAVES CHUNKS
OF THESE CONTINENTS

JUST STRANDED IN
THE MIDDLE OF NOWHERE.

Narrator: GRAVITY MAPPING
OF THE EARTH'S OCEANS

IS REVEALING
PREVIOUSLY UNDISCOVERED

PARTS OF THE PLANET.

AS TO WHAT ELSE LIES BENEATH THE
WAVES, WE CAN ONLY SPECULATE.

Brand:
WE NOW HAVE THE TECHNOLOGY
TO APPLY WHAT WE HAVE FOUND

IN THIS ONE PARTICULAR PLACE
TO THE ENTIRE GLOBE.

THIS MIGHT BE THE FIRST OF MANY
MORE ANCIENT CONTINENTS

THAT WE FIND
BENEATH THE WAVES.

[ WHIRRING, BEEPING ]

Narrator: COMING UP...

SOMETHING IS MESSING
WITH THE OCEAN'S GIANTS...

Kays: THIS IS TOTALLY CRAZY.
HUMPBACK WHALES DON'T DO THIS.

REALLY WANT TO KNOW
WHAT'S GOING ON HERE.

Narrator:
...AND CANNIBALS AND LIVING
CORPSES IN NORTHERN ENGLAND.

[ GROWLING ]

YOU CAN IMAGINE THEM
FEELING LIKE THEY WERE

IN "THE WALKING DEAD."

[ UNEARTHLY GROANING ]

Narrator: MAY 2008.

A SURVEY PLANE FLIES
OVER NORTHERN ENGLAND.

JUST SOUTH OF
THE YORKSHIRE MOORS,

IT CAPTURES A CLUSTER
OF REGULAR SHAPES

APPARENTLY CARVED
INTO THE LANDSCAPE.

Bellinger: WHEN YOU LOOK
CLOSELY, YOU CAN SEE

THERE'S CLEARLY SOMETHING
UNDERNEATH THE FIELDS.

IT LOOKS QUITE LINEAR.

IT LOOKS CLEARLY HUMAN-MADE.

Narrator:
INCREASINGLY, ARCHAEOLOGISTS
USE AERIAL IMAGES

TO IDENTIFY ANCIENT SETTLEMENTS.

ALL YOU CAN SEE IS
THE GHOSTLY OUTLINES

OF THE STRUCTURES
THAT WERE ONCE THERE,

BUT THE STRUCTURES
THEMSELVES ARE GONE.

SO WHAT WAS THIS PLACE?

Narrator:
ANCIENT VILLAGES USUALLY EITHER
GROW INTO LARGER TOWNS

OR DECAY OVER TIME,

BUT HISTORIAN
ANDREW GOUGH'S ANALYSIS

SUGGESTS THIS VILLAGE CAME
TO A SUDDEN, VIOLENT END.

AS I ZOOM IN, YOU SEE
THESE RECTANGLES,

LONG SORT OF FOUNDATION MARKS,

AND IT'S PECULIAR THAT THE ONLY
THING STANDING IN THIS AREA

IS WHAT APPEARS
TO BE A CHURCH.

THE REMNANTS OF THE VILLAGE,
THEY'RE GONE.

IT'S LIKE IT'S BEEN
WIPED OFF THE MAP.

Narrator:
GOUGH LEARNS THIS GHOST VILLAGE
WAS CALLED WHARRAM PERCY.

HE HEADS NORTH TO YORKSHIRE
TO INVESTIGATE.

Gough: THERE'S RECORDS
OF PEOPLE IN THIS PLACE

UNTIL THE 15TH CENTURY,

AND THEN IT ALL GOES QUIET,

SO THAT TELLS ME SOMETHING
CATASTROPHIC MUST HAVE HAPPENED

THAT FORCED
THESE PEOPLE TO LEAVE.

THE QUESTION IS, WHAT?

**

Narrator:
GOUGH CONSULTS THE FAMOUS
MEDIEVAL DOMESDAY BOOK.

ACCORDING TO THIS 1,000-YEAR-OLD
SURVEY OF ENGLAND,

IN 1086, THE VILLAGE OF
WHARRAM PERCY WAS FLOURISHING.

Gough:
THE DOMESDAY BOOK TELLS ME
THAT THERE WERE 200 PEOPLE

LIVING HERE,

SO THIS WOULD HAVE BEEN A REALLY
THRIVING COMMUNITY OF ONE HOUSE

AFTER ANOTHER AFTER ANOTHER,
ALL FACING THE CHURCH.

WHERE DID THE HOMES GO?

IT'S LIKE THEY WERE VAPORIZED.

WE REALLY HAVE NO IDEA.

I'M HOPING THE CHURCH
WILL GIVE ME SOME CLUES.

Narrator:
FOR A CHURCH OF THIS SIZE, THE
CEMETERY LIES PRACTICALLY EMPTY.

GOUGH DISCOVERS FEW GRAVES
PREDATE THE 18TH CENTURY.

WHARRAM PERCY'S MEDIEVAL
DEAD ARE MISSING.

Gough: THIS WAS OCCUPIED
FOR HUNDREDS OF YEARS.

BUT LOOK AT THE CEMETERY.

THERE'S SO FEW GRAVESTONES.

IS THAT BECAUSE THEY
HAD THE PLAGUE,

AND THEY HAD TO BURN THEM?

Narrator:
DURING THE 14TH CENTURY,
THE BUBONIC PLAGUE,

KNOWN AS THE BLACK DEATH,

KILLED 200 MILLION
PEOPLE WORLDWIDE.

Bellinger: THE BUBONIC PLAGUE
WAS ONE OF THE MOST

IF NOT THE MOST VIRULENT
ILLNESS KNOWN TO HUMANITY.

Bruce:
WE KNOW THAT THE LORD OF THE
MANOR CONTRACTED THE PLAGUE,

AND PERHAPS IT STRUCK DOWN THE
REST OF WHARRAM PERCY AS WELL.

Narrator:
BUT RECORDS REVEAL THAT
TWO-THIRDS OF THE VILLAGERS

ARE SAID TO HAVE SURVIVED
THE PLAGUE OUTBREAK OF 1349.

IT MAY WELL BE THAT THE
POPULATION WAS REDUCED

AT THAT POINT,

BUT IT SEEMS THAT, THAT WASN'T
THE CAUSE FOR THE ABANDONMENT.

Narrator:
IN A NEARBY TOWN, RUMORS PERSIST
THAT WHARRAM PERCY'S LANDLORD

FORCED THE VILLAGE'S INHABITANTS
TO LEAVE THEIR HOMES

AND CLEARED THEIR LAND
FOR AGRICULTURAL USE.

**

GOUGH HITS THE LOCAL ARCHIVES
FOR MORE INFORMATION,

**

BUT A REPORT OF
AN ARCHAEOLOGICAL DIG

AT THE VILLAGE

TAKES HIS INVESTIGATION
IN A VERY DIFFERENT DIRECTION.

I KNEW THIS PLACE WAS WEIRD.

BUT GUESS WHAT?
IT JUST GOT MUCH WEIRDER.

THIS REPORT SAYS THAT,
AT WHARRAM PERCY,

THERE IS A PIT, NOT A GRAVE
BUT A PIT, FULL OF BONES.

THE BODIES HAVE BEEN BURNED, THE
SKULLS SMASHED AND DECAPITATED.

Narrator:
THE REPORT'S AUTHOR REVEALS
THAT LOCALS HAD EXHUMED

AND MUTILATED MORE THAN
10 BODIES FROM THE VILLAGE.

I HAVE MORE QUESTIONS
THAN ANSWERS.

I NEED TO MEET WITH THIS GUY.

Narrator: GOUGH TRACKS DOWN
THE ARCHAEOLOGIST

INVESTIGATING THE MACABRE

FIND TO THE UNIVERSITY
OF SOUTHAMPTON,

220 MILES AWAY.

HE PROMISES TO SHOW GOUGH
SAMPLES OF THE BONES.

I'M EXCITED ABOUT GOING TO MEET
THIS GUY BECAUSE,

HOW OFTEN DO YOU GET A CHANCE

TO INVESTIGATE REAL-LIFE
ARCHAEOLOGICAL EVIDENCE?

**

Narrator:
BONE DETECTIVE DR. SIMON MAYS

IS INVESTIGATING WHY
THESE CORPSES WERE MUTILATED.

**

GOUGH HAS A THEORY FOR
THE DISMEMBERMENT AND BURNING.

**

DO YOU EVER CONSIDER
THE POSSIBILITY OF CANNIBALISM?

WE KNOW SUCH COMMUNITIES
ARE VERY VULNERABLE TO FAMINE

IN THE MEDIEVAL PERIOD,
SO ONE THING WE THOUGHT,

AH, YES, THE BURNING
FROM COOKING

OR THE KNIFE MARKS
THAT WE SEE ON SOME BONES

DUE TO THEM FILLETING THEM
TO EAT THE FLESH.

Wallace: AS ABHORRENT
AS CANNIBALISM IS TO US,

IT HAS HAPPENED
AT DIFFERENT PERIODS

THROUGHOUT HUMAN HISTORY.

Bellinger: LET'S SAY THIS IS
A TIME OF FAMINE,

DESPERATE PEOPLE DESPERATE
TO SURVIVE IN ANY WAY POSSIBLE,

HOWEVER GRUESOME.

BUT THE TROUBLE WAS, WHEN WE
LOOKED AT THE REST OF THE BONES,

THAT REALLY DIDN'T
SEEM TO ADD UP.

SO WHAT WE'RE SEEING IS NOT CUTS
THAT ARE ASSOCIATED

WITH LOOSENING BIG BITS OF MEAT
OR DISMEMBERING BIG JOINTS,

BUT A LOT OF THE CUTS SEEM TO BE
TO DO WITH MUTILATION

AND DECAPITATION.

Narrator: DR. MAYS BELIEVES
THE MUTILATION SERVED

AN EVEN MORE TERRIFYING PURPOSE,

TO STOP THE DEAD RISING
FROM THEIR GRAVES.

[ SCREAMING, GROANING ]

WELL, I THINK
WHAT THE TREATMENT WAS AIMED AT

WAS OBLITERATING
THE IDENTITY OF THESE PEOPLE.

SO IT'S TO STOP THE BODY
FROM COMING BACK

AND TORMENTING
THE LIVING?

YES, TO OBLITERATE
THE IDENTIFY OF THE BODY

AND TO DISMEMBER IT
SO IT'S NO LONGER INTACT,

SO IT CAN NO LONGER
POSE A THREAT.

MAYS AND HIS COLLEAGUES BELIEVE
THEY HAVE UNCOVERED

A ZOMBIE PIT.

PEOPLE, ON THE ONE HAND,
YEARNED FOR AN AFTERLIFE,

AND YET, ON THE OTHER END,
THEY FEARED THE LIVING DEAD.

Bruce: IN THE MIDDLE AGES,
IT WAS WIDELY BELIEVED

THAT PARTICULARLY
SINFUL INDIVIDUALS

COULD ACTUALLY RETURN FROM
THE DEAD IN THEIR BODILY FORM

TO HAUNT COMMUNITIES
WHERE THEY LIVED.

**

SO WAS THIS FEAR OF
A ZOMBIE APOCALYPSE

ENOUGH TO DRIVE PEOPLE
FROM THEIR VILLAGE?

DID IT CLEAR EVERYBODY OUT?

[ GROWLING ]

Narrator:
ARCHAEOLOGISTS SPECULATE THERE
COULD BE MORE ZOMBIE PITS

NEAR GHOST VILLAGES LIKE
THE ONE CAPTURED BY SATELLITE.

FOR THE PEOPLE HERE,

ZOMBIES WEREN'T JUST
THE STUFF OF NIGHTMARES.

THEY WERE A TERRIFYING REALITY.

[ WHIRRING, BEEPING ]

COMING UP...

WHY ARE WHALES
BEHAVING STRANGELY

OFF THE AFRICAN COAST?

Friedlaener:
WHAT YOU'RE LOOKING AT
IS 100 HUMPBACK WHALES.

THE SEA IS ALMOST
BOILING WITH THEM.

Narrator: AND THE LIPS OF DEATH
IN THE DESERT SANDS.

THIS RITUALISTIC PROCESS
STARTS BY INSERTING A HOOK

THROUGH A HOLE NEAR THE NOSE
AND PULLING OUT THE BRAINS.

Narrator:
THEY'RE THE OCEAN'S LONERS.

HUMPBACK WHALES ARE FAMOUS
FOR BEING SOLITARY,

BUT IN NOVEMBER 2015,

A MARINE BIOLOGIST FLYING OVER
THE SOUTH AFRICAN COAST

CAPTURES THIS IMAGE.

WHAT YOU'RE LOOKING AT IS A VIEW
OF ABOUT 100 HUMPBACK WHALES.

THESE ARE 15-TO-18-METER-LONG
ANIMALS.

THE SEA IS ALMOST
BOILING WITH THEM.

Cade:
YOU CAN SEE NOT JUST THE ANIMALS
THAT ARE AT THE SURFACE,

BUT YOU CAN ALSO SEE THE ANIMALS
THAT ARE JUST BELOW THE SURFACE,

BOTH FROM A DIVE
AND THE ANIMALS

THAT ARE COMING UP FROM BELOW
FOR THEIR FIRST BREATH.

[ CAMERA SHUTTER CLICKING ]

AND THIS IS TOTALLY CRAZY.

HUMPBACK WHALES DON'T DO THIS.

Narrator: AT THIS TIME OF YEAR,
THE 60-FOOT GIANTS

MAKE THEIR 3,000-MILE MIGRATION

TOWARDS THE RICH FEEDING
WATERS OF THE ANTARCTIC,

BUT SOMETHING HAS
HALTED THEIR JOURNEY

AND FORCED THEM TO CONGREGATE
IN SEEMINGLY UNNATURAL NUMBERS.

**

INVESTIGATORS WONDER IF
THE WHALES HAVE GATHERED

IN A DEFENSIVE FORMATION
TO REPEL A PREDATOR.

**

HUMPBACKS HAVE NOT
BEEN RECORDED

DISPLAYING SUCH
DEFENSIVE BEHAVIOR,

BUT OTHER WHALES HAVE.

Friedlaener:
SPERM WHALES, WHEN THEY
GET THREATENED OR ATTACKED,

THE YOUNG GO INTO THE CENTER,

AND THE LARGER ANIMALS
WILL FORM SORT OF A WAGON-WHEEL

ROSETTE AROUND THEM,

ALL FACING OUTWARD.

Narrator:
WHAT KIND OF GIANT PREDATOR
SCARES A 44-TON ADULT

HUMPBACK WHALE
AND SCARES THEM BIG?

LOCAL FISHERMEN
TELL OF A GIANT BEAST

LAUNCHING ATTACKS ON APEX OCEAN
PREDATORS IN THESE WATERS.

THEY CALL IT TRUNKO.

TRUNKO IS A HUGE SEA MONSTER
WITH A TRUNK LIKE AN ELEPHANT,

FUR LIKE A POLAR BEAR,
AND A HUGE TAIL LIKE A LOBSTER.

Narrator:
TRUNKO IS A LEGEND, A FANTASY.

A SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY
PROVIDES A MORE DEFINITE CLUE.

THESE CREATURES
CAN DETECT SOUNDS

ACROSS MORE
THAN 1,000 MILES.

INVESTIGATORS CONSIDER
WHETHER BIZARRE SOUNDS

FROM THE ANTARCTIC OCEAN
ARE STOPPING THE WHALES

FROM COMPLETING
THEIR JOURNEY SOUTH.

THERE'S SOME CONCERN
THAT THEY'RE VERY SENSITIVE

TO OTHER NOISES

MADE UNDERWATER BY SHIPS

OR ESPECIALLY SUBMARINES
OR OTHER MILITARY COMPLEXES.

Narrator:
LARGE-SCALE NAVAL WAR GAMES

HAVE AFFECTED WHALE
BEHAVIOR IN THE PAST.

**

Kays: SPERM WHALES,
WHICH ARE FAMOUSLY DEEP DIVERS,

HAVE BEEN SEEN FLOUNDERING
AT THE SURFACE

ABOVE THESE MILITARY EXERCISES,

AND SOME SCIENTISTS THINK
THAT THE SOUND FREAKS THEM OUT,

MAKES THEM SURFACE
REALLY QUICKLY,

WHICH, OF COURSE,
GIVES THEM THE BENDS.

Narrator:
ONE SUPERPOWER WITH A LARGE NAVY
IS EYEING UP THE ANTARCTIC.

Moran: PRESIDENT PUTIN
HAS OPENLY EXPRESSED

HOW VITALLY IMPORTANT THE
ANTARCTIC REGION IS TO RUSSIA.

THE ANTARCTIC HOLDS VALUABLE
RESOURCES IN TERMS OF MINERALS

AND OILS AND GAS,

SO ANY COUNTRY HUNGRY
FOR MONEY AND/OR POWER

IS GOING TO WANT
TO HAVE A PRESENCE.

Narrator: THE NIGHTMARE SCENARIO
IS THE HUMPBACKS

ARE PICKING UP ILLEGAL MILITARY
ACTIVITY IN THE ANTARCTIC,

BUT SOME EXPERTS DOUBT
THAT THIS IS THE CAUSE

OF THE WHALES' WEIRD BEHAVIOR.

Friedlaener:
THERE'S MORE VESSEL ACTIVITY
IN THE ANTARCTIC

THAN THERE USED TO BE,

BUT IT'S STILL, RELATIVE
TO OTHER PARTS OF THE WORLD,

AN INCREDIBLY SMALL AMOUNT.

Narrator:
INVESTIGATORS CONSIDER WHETHER
SOMETHING IS DISTURBING

THE CREATURES'
INTERNAL NAVIGATION SYSTEMS

ON THEIR MIGRATIONS SOUTH.

SCIENTISTS KNOW THAT WHALES,
LIKE BIRDS,

HAVE A SUBSTANCE CALLED
BIOMAGNETITE IN THEIR BRAINS.

THEY USE IT TO SENSE
THE DIRECTION OF THE EARTH'S

MAGNETIC FIELD,

WHICH HELPS GUIDE THEM.

THE MYSTERY HUMPBACK
GATHERING COULD SUGGEST

THAT THE EARTH'S
MAGNETIC FIELD IS CHANGING.

Kays:
EVERY 2 TO 300,000 YEARS,

THERE IS A COMPLETE REVERSAL
OF THE MAGNETIC POLES ON EARTH,

SO YOU WONDER, ARE THESE
WHALES PICKING UP ON THIS

JUST AS IT'S ABOUT TO HAPPEN?

ANYTHING THAT USES A MAGNETIC
COMPASS TO NAVIGATE

IS GOING TO BE ALL SCREWED UP.

Narrator: BUT OTHER SCIENTISTS
DON'T BUY IT.

Friedlaener: IF THAT WAS THE
CASE IN THIS IMAGE,

I'D EXPECT TO SEE OTHER
ANIMALS BEHAVING SIMILARLY,

AND THE FACT THAT
IT'S JUST HUMPBACK WHALES

HERE AT THIS POINT

MAKES ME THINK THAT IT DOESN'T
HAVE ANYTHING TO DO WITH THAT.

**

Narrator:
WHAT'S MORE, IN RECENT MONTHS,

THE PHENOMENON APPEARS
TO BE SPREADING.

SOMETHING, IT SEEMS, IS WRONG,

BUT SCIENTISTS DON'T KNOW
WHAT THAT COULD BE.

[ WHIRRING ]

COMING UP...

THE KISS OF DEATH
IN THE LAND OF THE PHARAOHS.

Bellinger: HE WOULD
TOUCH A BLADE TO THE MOUTH,

WHICH WOULD ENABLE THE MUMMY
TO SPEAK IN THE AFTERLIFE.

Narrator: JANUARY 2006.

A SATELLITE PASSES
OVER NORTHERN AFRICA.

TO THE WEST OF KHARTOUM,
ON THE RIVER NILE,

IT CAPTURES THE IMAGE OF A MOUTH
IN THE DESERT SANDS.

THIS IS A REALLY
ARRESTING IMAGE.

I MEAN, IT JUST SO CLEARLY
STRIKES YOU AS A PAIR OF LIPS

SMACK IN THE DESERT.

IT LOOKS LIKE THERE'S A DARK
INDENTATION IN THE MIDDLE,

ALMOST LIKE THE PLACE
YOU WOULD EXPECT LIPS TO PART.

AND IT'S EVEN KIND OF
REDDISH IN COLOR,

SO WHAT IS THAT ALL ABOUT?

Narrator:
THE GIANT STRUCTURE IS IN THE
DESERT REGION KNOWN AS DARFUR.

DARFUR LITERALLY STANDS
FOR THE REGION OF THE FUR,
[FOR]

AND THOSE WERE THE DOMINANT
ETHNIC TRIBAL GROUPS

IN ANCIENT TIMES IN THIS AREA.

Narrator:
INVESTIGATORS KNOW THAT THE FUR
PEOPLE BUILT IMPORTANT BUILDINGS

WITH A SIMILAR SHAPE TO
THE ONE CAPTURED IN THE IMAGE.

THE STRUCTURE OF THIS SITE IS
REMINISCENT OF AN ANCIENT BARROW

OR TOMB WHERE SOME HIGH-RANKING
INDIVIDUAL WOULD'VE BEEN BURIED.

Bellinger: THERE WAS A LOCAL
TRADITION TO MAKE PILGRIMAGES

TO THESE LONG BARROWS,

AND THEY WOULD CRAWL
ALONG THE BOUNDARIES,

WHICH COULD PRODUCE
THE RIDGES THAT WE SEE.

Narrator: THE LAND OF THE FUR
PEOPLE HAS A TURBULENT PAST.

FOR MANY CENTURIES, ARAB SULTANS
FOUGHT TO CONTROL THIS AREA.

THEY MIGHT HAVE BUILT A TOMB
LIKE THIS, BUT LONG BEFORE THEN,

ACCORDING TO LEGEND,
SO MIGHT THE ANCIENT GREEKS.

LOCAL TRADITION HOLDS
THAT ALEXANDER THE GREAT

WAS THE FIRST LOCAL RULER
OF THE FUR TRIBES,

AND HIS SONS ARE THOUGHT TO HAVE
BEEN BURIED IN THIS REGION.

Narrator: HAS THE SATELLITE
CAPTURED THE BURIAL SITE

OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT'S SONS?

IT TOTALLY STANDS OUT
IN THE LANDSCAPE.

IF IT'S MADE FOR
A MAN-MADE PURPOSE,

IT MUST BE SOMETHING
VERY IMPORTANT.

Narrator: MARC D'ANTONIO
MEASURES THE STRUCTURE.

WHEN WE LOOK AT THE SCALE,
THESE ARE LITTLE, TINY TREES.

THIS IS NOT SMALL.

THIS IS HUGE.

Narrator:
THE MOUTH IS 3,300 FEET LONG,
TOO BIG FOR A BURIAL MOUND.

**

INVESTIGATORS LOOK BACK BEYOND
THE AGE OF ALEXANDER TO A TIME

WHEN TRULY GIGANTIC MONUMENTS
WERE ERECTED BY THE RIVER NILE.

**

THIS AREA WAS ONCE PART
OF THE EMPIRE OF ANCIENT EGYPT.

THIS IS THE LAND
OF THE PHARAOHS.

Altaweel: THIS AREA WAS PART
OF UPPER NUBIA.

IT WAS AN AREA KNOWN
FOR ITS WEALTH IN THE PAST.

WE KNOW THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS
COLONIZED SOME PLACES,

BUILT PLACES AROUND THE REGION

AND CERTAINLY CONTROLLED
MUCH OF THE AREA AT ONE POINT.

Narrator:
INVESTIGATORS KNOW THAT
THE MOUTH HAS AN IMPORTANT PLACE

IN EGYPTIAN RELIGION AND MAGIC.

WE HAVE WHAT LOOKS LIKE
A PAIR OF LIPS IN A REGION

WHERE PEOPLE PERFORMED
A DEATH CEREMONY

CALLED THE OPENING OF THE MOUTH.

THIS HAS TO BE
MORE THAN COINCIDENCE.

Narrator:
THE RITUAL IS THE FINAL STAGE

IN THE GORY PRACTICE
OF MUMMIFICATION.

Sanford:
THIS RITUALISTIC PROCESS
STARTS BY INSERTING

A HOOK THROUGH A HOLE
NEAR THE NOSE

AND PULLING OUT THE BRAINS

AND THEN CUTTING A HOLE
IN THE SIDE

AND REMOVING THE INTESTINES.

AFTER REMOVING ALL OF THE ORGANS
AND ALLOWING THEM TO DRY,

THEY WOULD THEN RINSE
THE INSIDE OF THE BODY

WITH WINE AND SPICES.

THEN THEY COVERED THE BODY
IN SALT FOR 70 DAYS,

WHICH WOULD DRY IT OUT MORE,
AND WRAP IT IN BANDAGES.

Narrator: AT THE CLIMAX
OF THE MUMMIFICATION PROCESS,

THE PRIEST RECITES
THE SPELLS NECESSARY

TO BRING
THE DECEASED BACK TO LIFE.

AND FINALLY,

HE PERFORMS THE MAGICAL
OPENING OF THE MOUTH RITUAL.

HE WOULD TOUCH A BLADE
TO THE MOUTH OF THE MUMMY,

WHICH WOULD ENABLE THE MUMMY
TO SPEAK IN THE AFTERLIFE

AND ALSO TO EAT AND TO DRINK.

NOW THE MOUTH REPRESENTS LIFE.

IT'S WHAT SUSTAINS US,
SO ONE CAN IMAGINE THEN

THIS IMAGE
OF THESE CLOSED LIPS

BEING A KIND OF ENTRYWAY
TO THE AFTERLIFE.

COULD IT BE THAT THIS IS
THE PLACE

WHERE A CEREMONY
SUCH AS THIS TOOK PLACE?

Narrator:
KAREN BELLINGER IS NOT CONVINCED
THAT THE STRUCTURE WAS USED

TO SEND THOUSANDS OF BODIES
TO THE AFTERLIFE.

THE REALITY IS, THERE ARE NOT
ANY OTHER SITES LIKE IT

THAT WE KNOW ARE ASSOCIATED
WITH EGYPTIAN PRACTICES,

AND FURTHERMORE,
THE LOCAL INDIGENOUS TRIBES,

THE FUR AS WELL AS OTHERS,

REALLY NEVER ADOPTED
EGYPTIAN BELIEFS.

THEY PURSUED THEIR
OWN RELIGIONS,

WHICH TENDED TO FOCUS MORE
ON WORSHIP OF THE NATURAL WORLD.

Narrator:
HISTORIANS ARE STUMPED,
BUT WHEN GEOLOGIST

ALLEN LESTER IS SHOWN THE IMAGE,

HE REALIZES THESE DESERT LIPS
ARE NOT WHAT THEY SEEM.

Lester: SO THERE IS A DARK LINE
RUNNING BETWEEN THE LIPS,

OR WHAT APPEAR TO BE THE LIPS,

AND IT REALLY LOOKS LIKE
SORT OF A DIP IN THE GROUND,

BUT IN FACT,
ON CLOSER INSPECTION,

IT TURNS OUT THAT
THIS IS A RIDGELINE.

IT'S A DARK RIDGELINE, PROBABLY
SOME KIND OF IGNEOUS ROCK,

DARK IN COLOR.

Narrator:
THREE-DIMENSIONAL MODELING
REVEALS THAT THE RIDGE

IS 115 FEET TALLER

THAN THE HILL
IT IS PERCHED UPON.

THESE LIPS, SEEN FROM SPACE,
ARE A TRICK OF THE EYE.

Bellinger:
THAT'S REALLY REMARKABLE,
THAT SOMETHING NOT HUMAN-MADE

COULD APPEAR SO DELIBERATE

AND RECOGNIZABLE TO US,
YOU KNOW.

REALLY, WHATEVER IT IS,
IT'S A KISS FROM ABOVE,

WHICH IS SOMETHING TO SMILE
ABOUT.