Original subtitles

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.