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 ]

SATELLITES TRACK A MYSTERY MEGABEAST

IN THE TEXAS BADLANDS...

THEY'RE HUGE!

THESE ARE THE FOOTPRINTS OF A MONSTER.

...SIGNS FROM SPACE OF THE SORCERER'S KING...

ARTHUR PULLS THE SWORD OVER HIS HEAD

TO PROVE THAT HE IS THE RIGHTFUL KING.

...AND A VANISHING VILLAGE.

SATELLITES SPY ON THE TERROR TYRANT KIM JONG-UN.

THIS VILLAGE HAS LITERALLY BEEN

WIPED OFF THE FACE OF THE EARTH.

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 WARBLING ]

[ WHIRRING ]

JUNE 2014.

AERIAL CAMERAS CAPTURE A RIVERBED IN SOUTH TEXAS.

NOTHING UNUSUAL.

BUT WHEN THE SAME RIVER IS PHOTOGRAPHED THE FOLLOWING DAY,

SOMETHING APPEARS IN THE MUD.

THESE SPOTS ARE VERY OUT OF PLACE.

LIKE THEY DON'T BELONG THERE.

THEY COULD ALMOST BE LIKE REALLY LARGE FOOTPRINTS.

THEY'RE HUGE!

[ SUSPENSEFUL CHORD STRIKES ]

THESE ARE THE FOOTPRINTS OF A MONSTER.

[ SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC PLAYS ]

Narrator: ZOOLOGIST ROLAND KAYS STUDIES THE IMAGE.

HE BELIEVES THAT THE BEAST THAT LEFT THESE PRINTS

WALKS ON TWO LEGS.

BASED ON THE PATTERN, IT LOOKS LIKE THEY'RE CREATED

BY A BIPEDAL CREATURE,

BUT IT'S GOTTA BE SOMETHING WAY BIGGER THAN A HUMAN.

**

IT'S POSSIBLE THAT THESE FOOTPRINTS ARE ACTUALLY

MAYBE BEARS STANDING UP ON HIND LEGS OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT.

[ RUMBLING ]

Narrator: BUT EVEN THE BIGGEST BLACK BEARS

CREATE PRINTS JUST 9 INCHES LONG,

TOO SMALL TO BE SEEN FROM SPACE.

**

SO THE QUESTION IS: WHAT CAUSED THEM?

WHAT LEFT THEM THERE?

[ EERIE MUSIC PLAYS ]

**

Narrator: THE IMAGE COMES TO THE ATTENTION

OF WILDLIFE TRACKER BALDEMAR GALVAN.

**

GALVAN ANALYZES THE FOOTPRINT IN THE PICTURE

IN AN EFFORT TO RECONSTRUCT THE SCENE.

IT LOOKS LIKE IT WAS ACTUALLY COMING OUT OF THE FOREST

RIGHT THROUGH HERE,

AND IT PROBABLY SAW SOMETHING AROUND THIS AREA RIGHT UP HERE.

Narrator: THE SHAPE AND THE PATTERN OF THE FOOTPRINTS

ARE UNLIKE ANYTHING HE HAS COME ACROSS.

Galvan: IT RAISES A LOT OF QUESTIONS.

HE'S WALKING FORWARD LIKE THIS,

THEN ALL OF A SUDDEN, FROM HERE,

HE JUST STARTS PICKING UP SPEED, LIKE HE'S ACTUALLY RUNNING.

IT'S VERY, VERY FASCINATING.

**

Narrator: BUT THERE'S ONLY SO MUCH INFORMATION TO BE GLEANED

FROM THE IMAGE.

I HAVE TO GO DOWN OVER THERE AND JUST CHECK IT OUT FOR MYSELF.

IF I MISIDENTIFY SOMETHING, MY REPUTATION IS GONE.

[ SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC PLAYS ]

**

Narrator: HE AND HIS PARTNER HEAD 400 MILES TO THE STRETCH

OF THE BLANCO RIVER WHICH IS CAPTURED IN THE IMAGE.

**

IN THE AREA, THERE HAVE BEEN SEVERAL REPORTS

OF STRANGE SOUNDS, AND SIGHTINGS OF UNUSUAL CREATURES.

**

GALVAN STOPS OFF TO SPEAK TO SOME WITNESSES.

HE KNEW I WASN'T.

TELL ME EXACTLY WHAT YOU HEARD.

IT WAS A WEIRD SOUND.

I'D SAY IT WAS ABOUT 9-FOOT TALL AND IT WAS ALL HAIRY.

IT WAS COVERED IN HAIR.

THERE WAS NOTHING THAT WASN'T HAIR.

I DID NOT SEE THE FACE.

IT WOULD HAVE TO HAVE BEEN ANOTHER

COUPLE FEET TALLER THAN ME. -WOW.

AND I'M KIND OF LIKE SPELLBOUND: "WHAT THE HECK WAS THAT?"

Narrator: COULD REPORTED SIGHTINGS LIKE THESE HAVE ANYTHING TO DO

WITH THE GIANT FOOTPRINTS IN THE SATELLITE IMAGE?

**

[ LIGHTNING CRASHING, RAIN POURING ]

THE ANIMAL DESCRIBED IN THE REPORTS

DOES RESEMBLE A LARGE BEAST KNOWN TO HAVE EXISTED.

THIS THING SOUNDS LIKE A CREATURE CALLED

GIGANTOPITHECUS, WHICH WAS ACTUALLY REAL.

THIS THING WAS 10 FEET TALL, IT WEIGHED 1,200 POUNDS,

AND IT WAS RELATED TO ORANGUTANS.

IT'S THE LARGEST APE THAT SCIENTISTS KNOW ABOUT.

[ BIRDS TWEETING ]

SO JUST IMAGINE LIKE A GIANT ORANGUTAN

WANDERING AROUND THE EARTH.

[ OMINOUS MUSIC PLAYS ]

Narrator: BUT SCIENTISTS BELIEVE

GIGANTOPITHECUS DIED OUT THOUSANDS OF YEARS AGO.

[ EERIE MUSIC PLAYS ] [ CAMERA SHUTTER CLICKS ]

WHEN IT COMES TO THE PICTURES,

IT'S ALWAYS BLURRY [ SHUTTER CLICKS ]

OR DIFFICULT TO SEE,

SO THE CONCRETE EVIDENCE IS NOT THERE.

PEOPLE HAVE BEEN LOOKING FOR BIGFOOT FOR DECADES.

IF WE HAVEN'T FOUND INCONTROVERTIBLE EVIDENCE YET,

DOES IT REALLY EXIST?

[ SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC PLAYS ]

**

Narrator: MATCHING THE SATELLITE IMAGE WITH HIS GPS,

GALVAN FINDS THE SECTION OF RIVER

WHERE THE PRINTS WERE CAPTURED.

THE FOOTPRINTS SHOULD BE RIGHT UP AHEAD.

THIS IS AS FAR AS WE CAN GO WITH THE VEHICLE.

[ KEYS JINGLING ] [SPEAKS INDISTINCTLY] BLANCO.

**

Narrator: THIS STRETCH OF RIVER IS ISOLATED AND ROCKY.

[ STONES RATTLING ]

**

THE PRINTS ARE NOT AT ALL WHAT GALVAN WAS EXPECTING.

WOW. THIS IS AMAZING,

BREATHTAKING.

[ SUSPENSEFUL CHORD STRIKES ]

**

GALVAN'S MONSTER HUNT TAKES A STRANGE TURN.

[ SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC CLIMBS ]

THEY'RE NOT FRESH AT ALL.

THESE TRACKS HAVE BEEN HERE FOR A VERY,

VERY LONG TIME, FOR A VERY LONG TIME.

THIS ANIMAL IS WAY BIGGER THAN I EXPECTED.

[ SINISTER MUSIC PLAYS ]

THIS ONE HERE IS LIKE

5 FEET LONG AND 4-FOOT ACROSS.

**

UP CLOSE, [ SHUTTER CLICKS ]

GALVAN REALIZES THIS IS NO TWO-LEGGED BEAST.

THIS MONSTER WALKS ON FOUR LEGS.

THE PRINTS ARE GIGANTIC.

THIS THING IS IMMENSELY BIG AND HEAVY.

I DON'T KNOW THE SPECIES OF THE ANIMAL

THAT MADE THESE TRACKS, BUT ALL THAT I KNOW:

IT'S A HUGE ANIMAL.

MANY TIMES BIGGER THAN THE BIGGEST ELEPHANT,

THERE IS ONLY ONE KIND OF CREATURE

THAT COULD POSSIBLY LEAVE FOOTPRINTS LIKE THIS.

[ EERIE MUSIC CLIMBS ]

THIS IS ANOTHER MYSTERY THAT WE HAVE HERE.

**

THE ANIMALS THAT MADE THESE TRACKS,

THESE ARE PREHISTORIC ANIMALS,

LIKE THE DINOSAURS.

**

[ OMINOUS CHORD STRIKES ]

[ WHIRRING ]

COMING UP...

REVEALED FROM ABOVE,

THE HORROR OF THE JUNGLE GHOST CITY...

SOMETHING DISASTROUS HAPPENED TO ANGKOR,

BUT WHAT WAS IT?

...AND GALVAN'S TEXAS MONSTER HUNT.

THIS HERD OF DINOSAURS WOULDN'T HAVE BEEN ALONE.

IT JUST SHOWS THAT THERE'S A TON OF STUFF OUT THERE

WE HAVE NOT DISCOVERED YET.

[ SUSPENSEFUL CHORD STRIKES ]

[ WHIRRING ]

[ WHIRRING ]

[ SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC PLAYS ]

Narrator: WILDLIFE TRACKER BALDEMAR GALVAN

IS ON THE TRAIL OF A MYSTERY MEGABEAST IN TEXAS,

WHOSE PRINTS WERE SNAPPED FROM SPACE.

**

ARRIVING AT THE SITE, HE'S AMAZED AT WHAT HE SEES...

[ EERIE MUSIC PLAYS ]

...DINOSAUR FOOTPRINTS.

I DON'T KNOW WHAT KIND OF DINOSAUR MADE THESE TRACKS.

ALL THAT I KNOW: IT'S A HUGE ANIMAL.

[ SINISTER MUSIC PLAYS ]

SO, WHAT DO WE GOT HERE?

Narrator: PHOTOGRAPHS ARE SENT TO A TEAM OF EXPERTS FOR ANALYSIS.

SO HOW LONG IS ONE OF THESE AS A GIVEN TRACK HERE?

THEY'RE ABOUT 3 FEET ACROSS AND ABOUT 3 FEET LONG.

EXAMINATION OF THE ANIMAL'S GAIT, THE SIZE OF THE PRINTS,

AND THE SHAPE OF THE FEET

LEADS THE SCIENTIST TO AN EXTRAORDINARY CONCLUSION.

THESE ARE SAUROPOD TRACKS.

[ CREATURE WARBLING ] [ THUDDING HEAVILY ]

SAUROPODS WERE THE LARGEST DINOSAURS

-[ROARING] -EVER TO HAVE ROAM THE EARTH.

**

THIS MONSTER HERBIVORE WAS 100 FEET LONG,

STOOD 60 FEET HIGH,

WITH A NECK SIX TIMES LONGER THAN A GIRAFFE'S.

IT WEIGHED OVER 60 TONS.

[ ROARING ]

COULD YOU IMAGINE A HERD OF THESE

THUNDERING THROUGH YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD?

Schuttler: EVEN THOUGH THEY WERE GIGANTIC, THEY WERE ACTUALLY VEGETARIANS.

THEY'D WALK TOGETHER IN GROUPS, ROAMING AROUND IN TEXAS.

Narrator: FURTHER ANALYSIS OF THE RIVERBED REVEALS

OVER 90 INDIVIDUAL TRACKS.

YOU COULD IMAGINE THEM COMING DOWN TO THIS RIVERBED,

PERHAPS TO GET SOMETHING TO DRINK.

[ RUMBLING ]

-[SCREECHING] -SAUROPODS WERE SO MASSIVE,

[ SCREECHING ]

ONLY THE MIGHTY T. REX DARED TO TAKE THEM ON.

AN AMBUSH PREDATOR,

THE T. REX WOULD CHOOSE LOCATIONS LIKE RIVERBANKS

TO MOUNT AN ATTACK.

Kourounis: THIS HERD OF DINOSAURS WOULDN'T HAVE BEEN ALONE.

THERE WOULD'VE BEEN PREDATORS HIDING IN THE BUSHES AND TREES.

**

-[ROARING] -[WAILS]

[ EERIE MUSIC PLAYS ]

THE TEAM STUDIES THE LOCAL GEOLOGY

TO GUESS WHEN THESE PRINTS MIGHT'VE BEEN MADE.

THE GEOLOGY ON IT SHOWS THAT THEY ARE

ABOUT 100 MILLION YEARS OLD.

[ SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC PLAYS ]

THESE TRACKS WERE MADE

WHEN TEXAS WAS ALIVE WITH DINOSAURS...

[ PIERCING CRIES ]

-[SCREECH] -...THE CRETACEOUS PERIOD.

100 MILLION YEARS AGO, NORTH AMERICA LOOKED

NOTHING LIKE IT DOES TODAY.

-[SCREECHING] -IT WAS LUSH. IT WAS GREEN.

IT WAS WARM.

THIS WAS DINOSAUR TERRITORY.

Narrator: THE FOSSILIZED TRACKS HAVE BEEN BURIED UNDER MUD

FOR COUNTLESS MILLENNIA.

ONE DAY, THIS IS SORT OF JUST

ANOTHER BORING LANDSCAPE IN AMERICA.

THE NEXT, A FLOOD COMES THROUGH AND EXPOSES THESE TRACKS.

**

Narrator: A GIANT DINOSAUR, SEEN FROM SPACE.

BUT THE REAL PUZZLE REMAINS:

WHAT'S A VEGETARIAN DOING IN TEXAS?

THIS JUST SHOWS THAT THERE'S A TON OF STUFF OUT THERE

WE HAVE NOT DISCOVERED YET.

**

[ WHIRRING ]

Narrator: JUNE 2012.

A SATELLITE PASSES OVER THE DENSE JUNGLES OF CAMBODIA.

**

BELOW IS ANGKOR,

AN ANCIENT SITE SO MYSTERIOUS, ARCHAEOLOGISTS ARE TURNING

TO REVOLUTIONARY AERIAL TECHNOLOGY

TO UNLOCK ITS SECRETS.

ANGKOR'S BEEN THIS... ENIGMA FOR CENTURIES

BECAUSE YOU HAVE ALL THESE TEMPLES

DOTTED AROUND THE LANDSCAPE, NO REAL DISCERNIBLE PATTERN.

**

Narrator: FROM THIS EERIE PLACE,

KINGS ONCE RULED OVER THE KHMER EMPIRE,

SO POWERFUL, ITS FOUNDER WAS DECLARED KING OF THE WORLD.

**

BUT SOMETHING HAS ALWAYS PUZZLED HISTORIANS.

**

WHY IS IT HERE?

GREAT CIVILIZATIONS OF THE ANCIENT WORLD

WERE BUILT AROUND WATER, GROWING UP BY MIGHTY RIVERS,

LIKE THE NILE, EUPHRATES, AND THE TIBER.

[ ROMANTIC TUNE SWEEPS ]

THE WEIRD BUILDINGS HERE ARE BREATHTAKING,

BUT THEY'RE IN THE MIDDLE OF DENSE,

ALMOST IMPENETRABLE JUNGLE.

**

WHY IS THIS CITY HERE, AND WHAT HAPPENED TO IT?

AS FAST AS THE KHMER CIVILIZATION ROSE, IT FELL.

THE TEMPLES WERE ABANDONED.

THE JUNGLE JUST COVERED OVER EVERYTHING.

[ BIRDS CHIRPING, INSECTS BUZZING ]

**

Narrator: HOW DID THIS CITY WORK,

AND WHY WAS IT ABANDONED 600 YEARS AGO?

TO FIND OUT, ARCHAEOLOGISTS FROM THE UNIVERSITY OF SYDNEY

HAVE EQUIPPED HELICOPTERS

WITH AN ULTRAVIOLET LIGHT DETECTION SYSTEM,

KNOWN AS LIDAR.

[ ROTORS WHIRRING ]

LIDAR IS LIKE TAKING AN X-RAY OF THE GROUND.

YOU'RE ABLE TO REALLY GET A SENSE OF WHAT'S GOING ON,

TO A GREAT DEGREE OF DETAIL.

**

Narrator: THE LIDAR ALLOWS THE AIRBORNE ARCHAEOLOGISTS

TO SEE ANGKOR AND THE SURROUNDING JUNGLE

LIKE THEY'VE NEVER SEEN IT BEFORE.

**

WHAT THEY FIND AMAZES THEM.

IT'S, I THINK, ONE OF THE MOST EXCITING

NEW DISCOVERIES IN ARCHEOLOGY.

[ WHIRRING ]

Narrator: COMING UP...

SATELLITES SPY ON NORTH KOREA'S DERANGED DICTATOR.

[ ANTHEM PLAYS ] [ APPLAUSE ]

IF YOU CROSS KIM JONG-UN, HE'S GONNA WIPE OUT

ALL TRACES OF YOUR EXISTENCE.

AND, REVEALED FROM THE SKIES, THE SECRET JUNGLE MEGALOPOLIS.

THIS DISCOVERY ISN'T JUST BIG.

IT REWRITES THE HISTORY BOOKS.

[ WHIRRING ]

[ WHIRRING ]

[ SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC PLAYS ]

Narrator: DEEP IN THE JUNGLE, ARCHAEOLOGISTS ARE USING

CHOPPERS ARMED WITH X-RAY LIDAR CAMERAS

TO STUDY THE MYSTERIOUS ANCIENT RUINS OF ANGKOR.

THEY HOPE TO FIND OUT

[ EERIE MUSIC PLAYS ] WHY THE CITY IS HERE

AND WHY IT WAS ABANDONED.

WHAT THEY SEE SHOCKS THEM...

[ WHIRRING ]

...A TRULY GIGANTIC MEGACITY, HIDDEN FROM VIEW,

COVERING HUNDREDS OF SQUARE MILES.

THIS ISN'T JUST SCATTERED TEMPLES.

IN FACT, THERE WERE THOUSANDS OF HOUSEHOLDS

AND THIS WHOLE THING STRETCHED OUT FOR HUNDREDS OF MILES.

[ BEEPING ] Narrator: A LOST WORLD.

AN ANCIENT MEGALOPOLIS ON PAR WITH SPRAWLING MODERN CITIES.

**

WE KNEW THE CITY WAS BIG.

BUT WE DIDN'T REALIZE HOW BIG IT WAS.

THIS DISCOVERY ISN'T JUST BIG, IT REWRITES THE HISTORY BOOKS

OF HUMAN CIVILIZATION.

**

Narrator: THE X-RAY EYES IN THE SKY REVEAL

A CITY, AND CIVILIZATION, MORE ADVANCED AND SOPHISTICATED

THAN ARCHAEOLOGISTS EVER IMAGINED.

[ BIRDS TWEETING ]

BUT THE IMAGES ALSO LEAVE THEM BAFFLED.

WHY WAS THIS MEGACITY EATEN BY THE JUNGLE,

ITS BUILDINGS STRANGLED BY THE TREES?

THREE-QUARTERS OF A MILLION PEOPLE THAT LIVED HERE

IN THE ANGKOR AREA, AND THEY'RE ALL GONE.

[ BIRDS TWEETING ]

WHAT CAUSED A CITY OF THIS SIZE TO BE ABANDONED SO QUICKLY?

[ BEEPING ]

Narrator: INVESTIGATORS STUDY THE LIDAR IMAGES FOR CLUES.

THEY REVEAL A GRID OF LINES RUNNING ACROSS THE ENTIRE CITY.

ANALYSIS SUGGESTS THEY ARE THE REMNANTS

OF A HIGHLY ADVANCED WATER SYSTEM.

IT'S A NETWORK OF WATER CHANNELS

THAT FORM THE LIFEBLOOD OF THE CITY.

[ BEEPING ]

WATER IS THE KEY TO LIFE AND WHAT THE KHMER CIVILIZATION

WERE ABLE TO DO WAS HARNESS WATER IN ALL SORTS OF WAYS.

TO THINK THAT THIS COMPLEX ENGINEERING FEAT WAS ACHIEVED

OVER 600 YEARS AGO REALLY SHOWS HOW COMPLEX THE SOCIETY WAS.

Narrator: THE LIDAR IMAGES REVEAL, AT LAST, THE INCREDIBLE STORY

OF HOW THIS REMARKABLE JUNGLE CITY WAS CREATED.

[ BIRDS TWEETING ]

A WATER ENGINEERING SYSTEM OF SUCH SOPHISTICATION,

IT WOULD'VE CALLED FOR TECHNIQUES

LIKE THOSE USED TODAY IN THE DUTCH NETHERLANDS.

**

INCREDIBLY, THAT'S HOW THIS JUNGLE CITY MANAGED TO THRIVE.

BUT DID THE WATER CHANNELS THAT BROUGHT LIFE

ALSO BRING DEATH?

**

IF YOU'RE FACED WITH A WATER SYSTEM THAT'S FAILING,

YOU HAVE A FEW OPTIONS.

ONE IS GO SOMEPLACE ELSE,

AND THE OTHER IS TO TRY TO MODIFY IT.

Narrator: THE HUMID JUNGLES OF SOUTHEAST ASIA

ARE A BREEDING GROUND FOR PARASITES

AND VIRULENT WATERBORNE DISEASES.

COULD IT HAVE BEEN SOME MEGAPLAGUE

THAT JUST WIPED EVERYTHING OUT?

Narrator: HISTORY TELLS US THAT LIVING CLOSE TO STAGNANT WATER

CAN BE DEADLY.

[ MELANCHOLY TUNE PLAYS ]

WATERBORNE PLAGUES, LIKE CHOLERA,

HAVE KILLED HUNDREDS OF MILLIONS OF PEOPLE.

WITH ANGKOR, WHAT YOU'VE GOT IS VERY LARGE NUMBERS OF PEOPLE

LIVING VERY CLOSE TO ONE ANOTHER

AND SO THEY'RE VERY VULNERABLE TO DISEASE.

Narrator: BUT DISEASE WAS A CONSTANT THREAT

AND SCOURGE IN THE ANCIENT WORLD.

POPULATIONS WERE USED TO DEALING WITH IT AND RECOVERING.

**

[ SINISTER MUSIC PLAYS ] [ BIRDS CHIRPING ]

Horton: IT'S ONE OF THOSE EXPLANATIONS.

WE CAN SAY, "WELL, LET'S NOT RULE IT OUT, BUT, AT THIS STAGE,

WE HAVE NO EVIDENCE TO SUPPORT THAT."

Narrator: ARCHAEOLOGISTS RETURN TO THE LIDAR IMAGES OF THE CITY'S DAMS.

THEY NOTICE SOMETHING UNUSUAL.

[ SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC PLAYS ] [ PINGING ]

[ WHIRRING ]

SOME OF THE DAMS HAVE BEEN BREACHED

IN KEY AREAS, WHICH COULD'VE LED

TO CATASTROPHIC FLOODING OF THE CITY.

Narrator: IS THE DAMAGE THE RESULT OF DECAY, OR VIOLENCE?

ATTACKING WATER MANAGEMENT INFRASTRUCTURE

IS A GOOD WAY TO GO BECAUSE, WITHOUT WATER, THERE'S NO LIFE.

**

Narrator: HISTORICAL TEXTS OF THE REGION

YIELD A POSSIBLE CLUE.

THERE IS RECORD OF A MILITARY CAMPAIGN

FROM WHAT'S NOW MODERN THAILAND INTO THE KHMER AREA.

[ NEIGHING ]

Narrator: 600 YEARS AGO,

THE EMPIRE OF THE KHMER IS OVERSHADOWED BY ANOTHER:

THE SIAMESE KINGDOM OF AYUTTHAYA,

WHOSE WARRIORS INVADE THE GREAT CITY OF ANGKOR.

100,000 PRISONERS ARE TAKEN,

THE CITY OCCUPIED AND PILLAGED

[ SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC CLIMBS ] FOR 7 TERRIBLE MONTHS.

[ SUSPENSEFUL CHORD STRIKES ]

[ BIRDS CHIRPING ]

BUT WHEN ARCHAEOLOGISTS ATTEMPT TO DATE THE BREACHED DAMS,

IT SEEMS THEY COLLAPSED BEFORE THE CITY WAS ATTACKED.

CLEARLY, SOMETHING DISASTROUS HAD ALREADY HAPPENED TO ANGKOR,

BUT WHAT WAS IT?

[ CLANKING ]

Narrator: ARCHAEOLOGIST MARK HORTON HAS SPENT 20 YEARS

STUDYING ABANDONED ANCIENT CITIES.

HE DISCOVERS POSSIBLE EVIDENCE IN CLIMATE RECORDS OF THE AREA.

ITS COLLAPSE HAS SEEDS, I THINK,

IN ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS, RATHER THAN MILITARY ONES.

Narrator: THE SO-CALLED MEDIEVAL WARM PERIOD

WAS A TIME WHEN EARTH WAS HOT, POSSIBLY MUCH HOTTER THAN TODAY,

BAKED DRY AT TIMES, BUT ALSO, IN THIS REGION,

SUBJECT TO TROPICAL DOWNPOURS.

FOR OVER 150 YEARS, THE CITY WAS WRACKED

WITH THIS EXTREME WEATHER, FROM CRAZY MONSOONS TO DROUGHT.

LIKE HURRICANE KATRINA COMES IN, DESTROYS EVERYTHING.

REBUILD. A DROUGHT.

YOU CAN'T EVEN GROW CROPS.

AS SOON AS YOU GET THROUGH THAT PERIOD,

[striking palm] A NEW HURRICANE KATRINA

COMES IN, WIPES EVERYTHING OUT.

IT WOULD FEEL LIKE THE WHOLE WORLD WAS COMING TO AN END.

FINALLY, YOU'RE JUST GONNA SAY, "SCREW IT. LET'S LEAVE."

[ WHIRRING ]

Narrator: BUT A CIVILIZATION CAPABLE

OF BUILDING A COMPLEX MEGACITY

COULD SURELY REBUILD AFTER STORMS, NO MATTER HOW VIOLENT.

DESPITE RECENT DISCOVERIES, ANGKOR WAT IS A PLACE

THAT STILL HIDES ITS SECRETS WELL.

**

[ WHIRRING ]

COMING UP...

A MYSTERY MOUND IN THE LOST REALM

OF KING ARTHUR...

NOBODY KNOWS EXACTLY WHAT THIS ROUND FORMATION IS

OR WHO BUILT IT OR WHAT IT WAS FOR.

[ APPLAUSE ] ...AND MADMAN KIM JONG-UN

GOES CRAZY.

SEEING A VILLAGE COMPLETELY GONE

IS FRIGHTENING FOR ANYONE.

THEY WOULD'VE BEEN OBLITERATED.

[ WHIRRING ]

[ WHIRRING ]

Narrator: AUGUST 2015.

A U.S. SATELLITE SPIES A VILLAGE IN NORTH KOREA.

[ EERIE MUSIC PLAYS ]

A YEAR LATER, WHEN IT FLIES OVER THE SAME AREA...

**

...IT'S LIKE A NUCLEAR BOMB HAS DESTROYED IT.

IT LOOKS AS IF THIS VILLAGE HAS LITERALLY BEEN

WIPED OFF THE FACE OF THE EARTH, LIKE SOMEBODY ERASED IT.

SEEING A VILLAGE COMPLETELY GONE IS FRIGHTENING FOR ANYONE.

**

COULD THERE HAVE BEEN PEOPLE HERE WHEN THIS HAPPENED?

IF SO, THAT WOULD BE DISASTROUS

BECAUSE THEY WOULD'VE BEEN OBLITERATED.

[ OMINOUS CHORD STRIKES ]

**

Narrator: COMMUNIST NORTH KOREA IS PERHAPS THE MOST SECRETIVE,

ISOLATED COUNTRY IN THE WORLD.

THERE'S VERY FEW PEOPLE THAT HAVE BEEN INTO NORTH KOREA

AND ARE ABLE TO GET INFORMATION AND GET IT OUT.

BECAUSE THEY'RE SO CLOSED AND BECAUSE THEY'RE SO CENSORED,

WE REALLY ON IMAGERY FROM ABOVE

TO TELL US WHAT'S GOING ON IN NORTH KOREA.

Narrator: ANALYSTS SCOUR THE IMAGE FOR CLUES AS TO WHAT HAPPENED HERE.

YOU CAN SEE THE REMAINS OF SOME BUILDINGS THAT WERE HERE

AND THERE'S EVEN QUITE A BIT OF DEBRIS LEFT OVER.

SATELLITE ANALYST AMANDA MARCHETTI

TAKES A CLOSER LOOK, TO CHECK FOR SIGNS OF A NATURAL DISASTER.

**

AS I LOOK AT THE SATELLITE IMAGERY

WE HAVE OF THE SURROUNDING AREA, NOTHING ELSE WAS AFFECTED.

[ EXPLOSION ]

SO WHAT I'M MOST FEARFUL OF

IS THAT THIS WAS CAUSED BY HUMANS.

[ OMINOUS CHORD STRIKES ]

Narrator: ANALYSIS SUGGESTS THAT WHATEVER HAPPENED HERE

WAS AN ACT OF DELIBERATE DESTRUCTION.

EACH BUILDING IS DESTROYED PERFECTLY.

IT'S PINPOINT DESTRUCTION, LIKE A SURGICAL MILITARY STRIKE.

Narrator: EVIDENCE POINTS TO A CRIMINAL ACT OF STATE-SANCTIONED TERROR.

[ ANTHEM PLAYS ] [ APPLAUSE ]

THE IMPOVERISHED COUNTRY IS RULED BY KIM JONG-UN,

CHAIRMAN OF THE WORKERS' PARTY OF KOREA.

KIM JONG-UN, HE'S A MADMAN.

KIM JONG-UN HAS THREATENED TO BEAT AMERICA LIKE A RABID DOG

AND TO REDUCE IT TO ASHES AND DARKNESS.

THEY'VE GOT ATOMIC WEAPONS.

THEY'VE GOT MISSILES.

THEY HAVE CHEMICAL AND BIOLOGICAL WEAPONS.

Narrator: ANALYSTS BELIEVE THE DICTATOR IS EASILY CAPABLE

OF TESTING WEAPONS ON HIS OWN PEOPLE.

I WOULDN'T BE SURPRISED IF THEY WERE TESTING

TARGETED SURGICAL-STRIKE MUNITIONS

ON AN OCCUPIED VILLAGE, JUST TO PROVE THAT THEY WORK.

Narrator: BUT WHEN MARCHETTI STUDIES PREVIOUS SATELLITE IMAGES,

SHE NOTICES SOMETHING STRANGE.

**

HERE'S BEAUTIFUL STRUCTURES AND MONUMENTS AND FEATURES

THAT JUST LOOK LIKE THEY WERE DESIGNED

TO ATTRACT PEOPLE TO COME.

Narrator: ACCORDING TO THE SOCIALIST GOVERNMENT,

THE PEOPLE OF NORTH KOREA ARE DELIRIOUSLY HAPPY AND FULFILLED,

MUCH MORE SO THAN THE POOR, OPPRESSED MASSES

OF THE CAPITALIST WEST.

TO PROVE IT, THEY HAVE BUILT THEIR OWN SOCIALIST THEME PARK.

**

THIS IS ACTUALLY SORT OF A NORTH KOREAN DISNEYLAND,

YOU KNOW, FOCUSING ON THE HISTORY OF NORTH KOREA

AND, OF COURSE, THE MIGHT OF THEIR GREAT LEADER.

KIM'S UNCLE IS GIVEN THE JOB

OF BUILDING THIS COMMUNIST DISNEYLAND.

BY WESTERN STANDARDS, IT IS TRULY DREADFUL,

BUT THE NORTH KOREAN COMMUNISTS CONSIDER IT A SUCCESS.

[ APPLAUSE ]

KIM JONG-UN BEGINS TO SEE THE MAN WHO BUILT IT AS A THREAT.

KIM JONG-UN IS KNOWN FOR HIS PARANOIA

AND HE FELT THREATENED

THAT HE WOULD SOMEHOW OVERTAKE HIS POWER.

[ CHEERING AND APPLAUSE ]

Narrator: KIM JONG-UN, LIKE OTHER COMMUNIST DICTATORS,

RULES BY TERROR.

THE SMALLEST PERCEIVED INSULT CAN RESULT IN EXECUTION.

FOR CALLING HIM SHORT AND FAT,

THE AMERICAN PRESIDENT HAS BEEN SENTENCED TO DEATH.

KIM'S UNCLE IS, IN THE WORDS OF THE DICTATOR,

"DESPICABLE HUMAN SCUM, WORSE THAN A DOG,

AND HE IS SENTENCED TO DEATH."

HE SIGNS THE ORDER TO HAVE HIS OWN UNCLE EXECUTED.

[ APPLAUSE ] IT'S ABSOLUTELY ATROCIOUS.

Narrator: AS WELL AS KILLING HIS UNCLE,

KIM JONG SETS OUT TO ERASE ALL MEMORY OF HIM.

**

HE EXECUTES HIS UNCLE'S FAMILY.

HE ERASES HIS DIGITAL SIGNATURE.

HE HAS ALL RECORDS OF HIS UNCLE REMOVED.

Narrator: THE SATELLITE REVEALS WHAT HAPPENED NEXT.

HIS UNCLE'S SOCIALIST FUN PARK?

THAT, TOO, WOULD HAVE TO GO.

[ OMINOUS CHORD STRIKES ]

**

KIM JONG-UN BELIEVES THAT THIS PLACE

IS A PHYSICAL REPRESENTATION OF HIS FORMER UNCLE.

HE WOULD DRIVE PAST, ALMOST EVERY DAY,

THIS LITTLE NORTH KOREAN DISNEYLAND

THAT HIS UNCLE HAD BUILT,

AND SO IT WAS THE OBVIOUS DECISION: RAZE IT.

**

Narrator: THE COMMUNIST SYSTEM HERE HAS GIVEN ABSOLUTE POWER,

NOT TO THE PEOPLE,

BUT TO A TYRANT WHO RULES WITH SHOCKING BRUTALITY.

IF YOU CROSS KIM JONG-UN,

HE'S GONNA WIPE OUT ALL TRACES OF YOUR EXISTENCE.

[ MELANCHOLY TUNE PLAYS ]

[ WHIRRING ]

Narrator: COMING UP...

THE PRINCESS, THE MONSTER,

AND THE BRIDGE BUILT BY MONKEY GODS...

THE EVIL, 10-HEADED MONSTER RAVANA

TAKES HER TO THIS FARAWAY ISLAND.

...AND THE REAL KING ARTHUR.

HE PUT HIS FOOT INTO THE FOOTPRINT,

LITERALLY TOOK A SWORD FROM A STONE.

[ SUSPENSEFUL CHORDS STRIKING ]

[ WHIRRING ]

[ WHIRRING ]

[ SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC PLAYS ] Narrator: 2014.

A NASA SATELLITE PASSING OVER STIRLING CASTLE IN SCOTLAND

CAPTURES AN OCTAGONAL SHAPE SET INTO THE EARTH.

**

IT LOOKS LIKE SOMEONE'S TAKEN A GIANT ORNATE STAMP

AND PUNCHED IT INTO THE GROUND.

IT LOOKS TO ME LIKE AN ORNAMENTAL GARDEN,

BUT, THERE ARE NO BUSHES OR OTHER PLANT LIFE.

IT'S A LITTLE BIT STRANGE.

[ EERIE MUSIC PLAYS ]

Narrator: ARCHAEOLOGISTS CALL THIS SITE THE KING'S KNOT

AND BELIEVE IT'S WHAT'S LEFT OF A 17th-CENTURY ROYAL GARDEN.

**

BUT HISTORIAN ANDREW GOUGH HAS COME ACROSS A 1983 AERIAL IMAGE

THAT SUGGESTS THIS SHAPE IS NOT WHAT IT SEEMS.

IT'S NOT JUST ABOUT NICE, ORNAMENTAL GARDEN.

IT'S A MESSAGE IN THE GROUND.

**

Narrator: GOUGH THINKS THIS ROYAL GARDEN IS HIDING

AN INCREDIBLE ANCIENT SECRET.

**

WHAT REALLY STRIKES ME ARE THESE THREE LINES,

THESE THREE DITCHES.

**

THEY CLEARLY PREDATE THE 17th-CENTURY DESIGN

THAT IS THE KING'S KNOT.

Narrator: BESIDE THE SHAPE IS A HILL,

ON WHICH FORTS AND CASTLES HAVE STOOD FOR HUNDREDS OF YEARS.

THIS IS OBVIOUSLY A VERY COMPLICATED SITE,

WITH LOTS OF LAYERS OF HISTORY IN IT.

SO WHAT I'M WONDERING IS: WHAT IS BURIED UNDERNEATH IT?

**

Narrator: TO FIND OUT, GOUGH SETS OUT TO EXAMINE THE SITE.

**

HE DRIVES 400 MILES NORTH FROM LONDON TO STIRLING CASTLE,

ONE OF THE GRANDEST AND MOST IMPORTANT IN SCOTLAND.

WHAT A HISTORICAL PLACE.

WILLIAM WALLACE, "BRAVEHEART," FOUGHT HERE.

ROBERT THE BRUCE ALSO FOUGHT, AND WON, AGAINST THE ENGLISH.

YOU CAN SEE WHY ROYALTY HAVE LIVED HERE

AND, WHEN YOU HAVE ROYALTY, YOU HAVE TREASURE.

**

Narrator: AT THE KING'S KNOT, GOUGH IS STRUCK BY THE SIZE OF THE MOUND.

[ WIND WHIPPING ] IT'S REALLY ELEVATED,

MAYBE 10 FEET OR MORE,

MUCH BIGGER [panting] THAN I THOUGHT IT WAS.

**

Narrator: AS HE SURVEYS THE SITE, HE IDENTIFIES

THE SAME THREE DITCHES HE SAW IN THE AERIAL PHOTO.

Gough: YOU SEE THOSE SORT OF LUMPS OVER THERE?

IT'S KIND OF GOING IN A CIRCLE.

IT'S CUTTING THROUGH THE SQUARE.

Narrator: THIS IS NO GARDEN.

IN THESE DITCHES, GOUGH SEES THE ECHOES OF AN ANCIENT HENGE,

A CIRCULAR EARTHWORK MADE UP OF DITCHES AND BANKS,

DATING BACK AS FAR AS THE STONE AGE.

IF THIS IS A HENGE, THOSE ARE NEOLITHIC.

I MEAN, THOSE ARE THOUSANDS OF YEARS OLD.

**

WHAT'S SO EXCITING ABOUT THAT IS THERE MAY HAVE BEEN

AN ANCIENT MONUMENT RIGHT WHERE I'M STANDING NOW.

**

Narrator: GOUGH'S HUNCH MAY BE CORRECT.

ARCHAEOLOGISTS FROM THE UNIVERSITY OF GLASGOW

RECENTLY CONDUCTED A GEOPHYSICAL SURVEY

OF THE KING'S KNOT.

**

IT APPEARS THERE IS SOMETHING BURIED HERE,

DEEP UNDERGROUND.

WHAT THEY FOUND, USING GROUND-PENETRATING RADAR,

IT'S REMARKABLE.

APPARENTLY, ANOMALOUS STONE CIRCULAR STRUCTURES

UNDERNEATH THE KING'S KNOT.

THESE CIRCULAR STRUCTURES HAVE BEEN BUILT

UPON LAYER AFTER LAYER AND GO BACK TO THE IRON AGE.

THE REALLY INTERESTING THING, THOUGH, IS,

IN THE VERY CENTER OF THE SITE

IS PROBABLY THE OLDEST PART OF THE FORMATION.

**

Narrator: A WIDE, RAISED, ANCIENT, CIRCULAR STONE STRUCTURE

LYING NEXT TO A CASTLE

OCCUPIED BY KINGS SINCE THE EARLY MIDDLE AGES.

WHAT SOME OF THE HISTORIANS ARE NOW SAYING

IS THAT THESE ANOMALOUS CIRCULAR STONE OBJECTS

[ ICE RATTLING NEARBY ] ARE NONE OTHER

THAN THE ROUND TABLE OF KING ARTHUR,

HERE IN SCOTLAND.

[ SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC CLIMBS ]

**

[ OWL HOOTS ] OUR KNOWLEDGE OF THE ROUND TABLE

DATES BACK 1,000 YEARS.

HISTORICAL ACCOUNTS SAY THE WIZARD MERLIN CREATES IT

IN IMITATION OF THE TABLE USED BY CHRIST AT THE LAST SUPPER.

THE TABLE HAS 12 SEATS:

ONE LEFT EMPTY FOR THE MISSING JUDAS.

IT WILL REMAIN EMPTY

UNTIL A KNIGHT RETURNS WITH THE HOLY GRAIL.

[ NEIGHING ]

MERLIN ERECTS THE ROUND TABLE AT CAMELOT,

THE MIGHTY FORTRESS WHERE ARTHUR AND HIS KNIGHTS HOLD COURT.

CAMELOT AND THE ROUND TABLE

FIRST APPEAR, REALLY, FROM THE 12th CENTURY.

THE IDEA OF THE ROUND TABLE IS A FASCINATING ONE:

THAT EVERYONE IS EQUAL AROUND THIS GREAT CIRCULAR TEMPLE.

**

Narrator: IN THE EARLIEST TEXTS,

ARTHUR IS DESCRIBED AS A MONSTER-SLAYER,

LEADING A SMALL GROUP OF SUPERHUMAN HEROES.

BUT THE REAL IDENTITY OF ARTHUR AND THE LOCATION OF CAMELOT

IS DISPUTED.

MOST HISTORIANS BELIEVE KING ARTHUR WAS ENGLISH.

PEOPLE IN CORNWALL LIKE TO THINK THEY HAVE THE REAL KING ARTHUR.

Narrator: HUNDREDS OF MILES SOUTH OF STIRLING

IS THE MEDIEVAL CASTLE OF TINTAGEL,

WHICH SOME CLAIM IS KING ARTHUR'S BIRTHPLACE,

BUT NO ONE HAS YET FOUND CAMELOT AND THE ROUND TABLE.

**

GOUGH HAS NOW DISCOVERED

A 14th-CENTURY MEDIEVAL SCOTTISH POEM

THAT HE THINKS PROVIDES MORE EVIDENCE.

THE FIRST LINE TALKS ABOUT BENEATH THE CASTLE,

BENEATH STIRLING CASTLE.

THE SECOND LINE REFERENCES THE ROUND TABLE

[chuckle] BELOW STIRLING CASTLE.

**

Narrator: WHAT'S MORE, GOUGH LEARNS OF AN ANCIENT HILLFORT,

59 MILES FROM THE KING'S KNOT AT STIRLING CASTLE,

WHICH HAS BEEN LINKED TO THE KING ARTHUR LEGEND.

THIS LAND, ACCORDING TO ANCIENT SCOTTISH TEXTS,

WAS ONCE RULED BY A GREAT WARLORD.

HIS NAME?

ARTHUR.

GOUGH ARRANGES TO MEET SCOTTISH HISTORIAN ADAM ARDREY

AT THE SITE.

FANTASTIC VIEWS UP HERE.

I CAN'T WAIT TO SEE WHAT YOU'RE GONNA SHOW ME.

**

[ MELANCHOLY TUNE PLAYS ]

ON TOP OF THIS HILLSIDE IS A STONE WHICH, ARDREY BELIEVES,

GAVE RISE TO ONE OF THE MOST FAMOUS ARTHURIAN LEGENDS.

THIS IS THE STONE OF DUNADD

AND IT WAS HERE -WOW!

IN ABOUT 574 THAT ARTHUR,

THE ONLY HISTORICAL ARTHUR,

LITERALLY TOOK A SWORD FROM A STONE.

ACCORDING TO LEGEND,

ARTHUR PULLS THE MAGIC SWORD EXCALIBUR FROM A STONE.

ARDREY BELIEVES IT WAS A REAL STONE, A REAL SWORD,

AND A REAL MAN:

A 6th-CENTURY SCOTTISH WARLORD CALLED ARTUR mac AEDAN.

HE PUT HIS FOOT INTO THE FOOTPRINT

AND WAS GIVEN A SWORD TO HOLD

AND, WHEN HE STEPPED OUT OF THE FOOTPRINT, HOLDING THE SWORD,

HE LITERALLY TOOK A SWORD FROM A STONE.

[ BLADE SLICES ]

ARTHUR STANDS ON THE STONE,

PULLS THE STONE OVER HIS HEAD,

TO PROVE THAT HE IS THE RIGHTFUL KING.

Narrator: AND THERE ARE MORE HISTORICAL CLUES IN THE AREA.

[ EERIE MUSIC PLAYS ]

GOUGH LEARNS THAT 95 MILES TO THE EAST IS ANOTHER STONE,

THIS ONE DATING FROM THE 8th CENTURY,

DEPICTING A WOMAN BEING SAVAGED BY BEASTS.

Rose: SHE WAS TORN TO DEATH BY A PACK OF WILD DOGS.

THIS GRISLY SCENE IS SAID TO BE PORTRAYED ON THE STONE

AS HER MEMORIAL.

Narrator: THIS, ACCORDING TO ONE ACCOUNT,

WAS THE FATE OF KING ARTHUR'S WIFE GUINEVERE

WHEN HE LEARNED OF HER LOVE FOR LANCELOT.

[ EERIE MUSIC CLIMBS ]

[ SNARLING ]

[ MELANCHOLY TUNE PLAYS ]

BACK AT THE KING'S KNOT,

GOUGH REFLECTS ON THE AERIAL IMAGE

AND THE SUPPORTING EVIDENCE THAT,

BURIED HERE, IS ARTHUR'S ROUND TABLE.

I HAD NO IDEA THERE WAS SO MUCH EVIDENCE FOR ARTHUR IN SCOTLAND.

THERE ARE MANY PLACES ASSOCIATED WITH KING ARTHUR IN SCOTLAND,

SO IT'S NOT IMPOSSIBLE THAT KING ARTHUR

HAS BEEN GIVEN A SCOTTISH IDENTITY

THAT'S THEN BEEN REFLECTED AT STIRLING CASTLE.

Gough: IS THE ROUND TABLE BENEATH ME?

NOW, I'M THINKIN'

THIS COULD BE IT.

THIS COULD BE THE REALM OF KING ARTHUR, AFTER ALL.

**

Narrator: UNTIL ARCHAEOLOGISTS FULLY EXCAVATE THE KING'S KNOT,

THE MYSTERY OF WHAT REALLY LIES BENEATH HERE

WILL REMAIN JUST THAT.

[ WHIRRING ]

COMING UP...

SEEN FROM SPACE, A HIDDEN BRIDGE BENEATH THE WAVES.

AND THE BUILDERS ARE EVEN STRANGER.

A WHOLE ARMY OF SEMIDIVINE MONKEYS.

[ SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC PLAYS ]

[ WHIRRING ]

[ WHIRRING ]

Narrator: MAY 2012.

A NASA SATELLITE PASSES

OVER THE SHALLOW WATERS OF THE INDIAN OCEAN.

IT SENDS BACK IMAGES OF A CHAIN OF LARGELY SUBMERGED OBJECTS

RUNNING BETWEEN SRI LANKA AND INDIA.

**

LOOKS LIKE A STRING OF PEARLS BETWEEN TWO ISLANDS.

IT LOOKS TO ME LIKE A ROCKY JETTY,

BUT, THIS THING LOOKS PRETTY BIG.

Narrator: ON CLOSER ANALYSIS OF THE SATELLITE IMAGE,

INVESTIGATORS CALCULATE THE LINE OF ROCKS IS OVER 30 MILES LONG.

**

WHAT MAKES THE IMAGE ESPECIALLY INTRIGUING

IS THAT THE ROCKS ARE IN AN AREA OF SEA MENTIONED

IN AN ANCIENT HINDU POEM.

A POEM WHICH ALSO REFERS TO A MAGIC BRIDGE.

THERE ARE HINDU LEGENDS THAT THE GOD RAMA PLACED A BRIDGE HERE,

CONNECTING INDIA TO SRI LANKA.

THE HINDU POEM "RAMAYANA" TELLS AN EPIC STORY

IN WHICH LORD RAMA BATTLES TO RESCUE HIS WIFE

FROM THE MANY-HEADED RAVANA.

[ SINISTER MUSIC PLAYS ]

THE EVIL, 10-HEADED MONSTER RAVANA

CAPTURES HER AND TAKES HER TO THIS FARAWAY ISLAND.

[ EERIE MUSIC PLAYS ]

Narrator: LORD RAMA ENLISTS THE HELP OF A MAGIC ARMY

TO BUILD A BRIDGE LONG ENOUGH TO REACH HER.

A WHOLE ARMY OF SEMIDIVINE MONKEYS

BUILD THIS CHAIN OF ISLANDS,

CARRYING STONES TO CREATE A LAND BRIDGE.

Narrator: THE STONES IN THE SATELLITE IMAGE ARE SITTING ON SOMETHING

OCEANOGRAPHERS CALL A SHOAL, OR SANDBAR.

THESE OCCUR IN AN AREA WHERE THERE ARE SHALLOW WATERS

AND SAND COULD ACCUMULATE BETWEEN THE TWO LAND MASSES.

Narrator: THE SANDBAR MAY BE NATURAL.

BUT WHAT'S SITTING ON TOP OF IT IS NOT.

THIS ISN'T JUST A SIMPLE SANDBAR.

THERE'S OBJECTS IN HERE THAT HAVEN'T BEEN ERODED AWAY.

THERE ARE STONES THAT HAVE BEEN BROUGHT FROM AFAR

AND SET ON TOP OF OUR SANDBAR ISLAND CHAIN.

**

Narrator: HOW THESE STONES GOT HERE IS A MYSTERY.

AND WHEN A TEAM OF GEOLOGISTS DATE THE STONES,

THE MYSTERY DEEPENS.

THE ROCKS ON TOP OF THE SAND ACTUALLY PREDATE THE SAND.

SO THERE'S MORE TO THE STORY.

Narrator: SCIENTIFIC ANALYSIS REVEALS THE ROCKS ARE 7,000 YEARS OLD,

BUT ARE SITTING ON TOP OF SAND THAT IS ONLY 4,000 YEARS OLD.

THESE RESULTS SUGGEST THE STRUCTURE IN THE SATELLITE IMAGE

ISN'T NATURAL, BUT BUILT BY HUMANS.

OR, ACCORDING TO SACRED TEXTS, DEMIGOD MONKEYS.

IT'S POSSIBLE THAT ANCIENT PEOPLE

TRANSPORTED STONES IN TO COVER AREAS, TO MAKE THEM HIGHER

AND MAKE IT MORE PASSABLE, TO KEEP THE BRIDGE INTACT.

[ SINISTER MUSIC PLAYS ]

Narrator: SOME SCHOLARS BELIEVE THE ANCIENT TEXTS REFER

TO A TIME 5,000 YEARS AGO.

AT THIS POINT IN HISTORY, BUILDING SUCH A LONG BRIDGE

WOULD'VE BEEN A SUPERHUMAN ACHIEVEMENT.

HOW COULD HUMANS, SO LONG AGO, BUILD SUCH STRUCTURES?

BUT WE ACTUALLY KNOW THAT THEY CAN.

[ SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC PLAYS ]

THE PYRAMIDS OF EGYPT THAT ARE 4,500 YEARS OLD,

GIGANTIC STRUCTURES.

AND EVEN PLACES TODAY IN TURKEY, ANCIENT ANATOLIA,

LIKE GOBEKLI TEPE,

HUGE TEMPLE STRUCTURES, 20 FEET AND HIGHER,

AND WE KNOW WE CAN SECURELY DATE THESE, AT GOBEKLI TEPE,

TO 11,000 YEARS AGO.

[ BIRDS CHIRPING, CAWING ]

Narrator: IN INDIA AND SRI LANKA,

POWERFUL ANCIENT DYNASTIES RULED THE LAND,

CAPABLE OF MOBILIZING THOUSANDS TO BUILD

INCREDIBLE, GRAND PALACES AND MYSTERIOUS RELIGIOUS MONUMENTS.

WE SHOULD NEVER UNDERESTIMATE PEOPLE OF THE PAST.

THEY ACTUALLY WERE VERY CLEVER ENGINEERS

AND THEY CERTAINLY WOULD'VE FOUND THE WAY

TO MAINTAIN THIS CONNECTION USING OTHER STONES

AND BRING THEM IN TO ACTUALLY MAKE

SOME TYPE OF A BRIDGE BETWEEN SRI LANKA AND INDIA.

**

NOW, A TEAM OF INDIAN ARCHAEOLOGISTS ARE

ABOUT TO EMBARK ON THE FIRST-EVER UNDERWATER EXPEDITION

TO EXPLORE THIS MYSTERY STRUCTURE.

IF ARCHAEOLOGICAL INVESTIGATION ACTUALLY FINDS

THAT THESE CHAINS OF ISLANDS WAS, INDEED, MADE BY HUMANS,

IT REALLY COULD CHANGE OUR UNDERSTANDING

OF ANCIENT PEOPLES AND TIMES AND TECHNOLOGIES.

[ SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC CLIMBS ]