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 ]

FROST MONSTERS RETURN FROM THE DEAD.

THIS ISN'T JUST SOME KIND OF FRANKENSTEIN FANTASY.

THIS IS CUTTING-EDGE GENETIC RESEARCH.

Narrator: VIBRATING ROCKS...

AND A FORTRESS FROM THE BOTTOM OF THE OCEAN.

IT'S KIND OF LIKE SOMETHING FROM AN "INDIANA JONES" MOVIE.

Narrator: THE MYSTERY CLOUD

CAUSING STRANGE SYMPTOMS IN LA LA LAND.

EVERYONE IS LOSING THEIR MINDS.

Narrator: AND ROBIN HOOD AND THE BURIED TREASURE.

Gough: ONE OF THE WORLD'S MOST LEGENDARY TREASURE TROVES

IS SAID TO LIE IN THIS AREA --

THE ROYAL JEWELS OF KING JOHN.

Narrator: BAFFLING PHENOMENA. MYSTERIES FROM SPACE.

WHAT ON EARTH ARE THEY?

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

CAPTIONS PAID FOR BY DISCOVERY COMMUNICATIONS

[ FREQUENCY WARBLES ]

[ WHIRRING ]

Narrator: JULY 2017.

ORBITING OVER THE WESTERN SAHARA DESERT

IN AN AREA KNOWN AS THE MAGHREB,

A MAPPING SATELLITE CAPTURES A CIRCULAR STRUCTURE

STANDING OUT FROM THE TERRAIN.

Carter: IT JUST DOESN'T LOOK LIKE IT BELONGS

WITH THE REST OF THE LANDSCAPE.

Narrator: WHATEVER IT IS, IT'S HUGE --

THE SIZE OF 46 FOOTBALL FIELDS.

IT'S HARD TO TELL JUST BY LOOKING AT THE IMAGE

EXACTLY WHAT IT IS.

Narrator: THE STRUCTURE IS IN A REGION OF THE DESERT

KNOWN FOR ITS ALIEN APPEARANCE.

IT LOOKS ALMOST OTHERWORLDLY,

LIKE SOMETHING YOU MIGHT SEE ON THE MOON.

Grush: IRONICALLY, THIS PLACE HAS BEEN NICKNAMED "MOON 2,"

BUT IT ACTUALLY HAS MORE OF A MARS VIBE.

Narrator: THIS DESERT LANDSCAPE IS SO SIMILAR TO MARS

THAT NASA IS STARTING TO USE IT

AS A BASE FOR MARS MISSION TRIALS.

Grush: WE'VE BEEN USING THIS AREA AS A TEST BED

TO TEST OUT THE INSTRUMENTS

THAT OUR CERTAIN SPACECRAFT AND ROBOTS

WOULD BE USING WHEN WE SEND THEM TO MARS.

YOU ONLY GET ONE SHOT WHEN YOU SEND YOUR ROBOT,

SO THE MORE WE CAN TEST THEM OUT

IN A MARS-LIKE ENVIRONMENT BEFOREHAND,

THE BETTER IT WILL BE WHEN WE ACTUALLY SEND THEM THERE.

Narrator: THE IMAGE COMES TO THE ATTENTION OF LAUREN CARTER,

A GEOLOGIST WORKING IN MARRAKESH.

Carter: UNLIKE THE SAND DUNES

OR ANYTHING WHERE THERE'S KIND OF A REGULAR PATTERN,

THIS SEEMS TO BE STANDING ALONE, BY ITSELF.

IT LOOKS LIKE IT'S WORTH THE TREK.

**

Narrator: CARTER HEADS INTO THE SAHARA --

MORE THAN 3.5 MILLION SQUARE MILES

OF BAKING SAND --

THE SIZE OF THE UNITED STATES.

IT WILL TAKE MORE THAN A DAY

FOR CARTER TO REACH THE PLACE CAPTURED IN THE SATELLITE IMAGE.

ONLY SAHARAN TRIBESPEOPLE

KNOW THIS DESOLATE LANDSCAPE FIRSTHAND,

AND, AS CARTER DISCOVERS, THEY HAVE EERIE STORIES

TO TELL ABOUT THIS STRANGE STRUCTURE.

ONE OF THE WEIRDER THEORIES THAT I'VE HEARD ABOUT THIS SPACE

IS THAT IT COULD HAVE BEEN SOME SORT OF VIBRATING ROCK

THAT ROSE OUT OF THE LANDSCAPE.

Narrator: TALES OF AN ALIEN VIBRATING STONE WERE RECOUNTED

BY BERBER TRIBESMEN TO A FRENCH ADVENTURER

CALLED PAUL PASCON IN 1952.

IF THERE REALLY WAS THIS STRANGE OBJECT THERE,

WHAT COULD IT POSSIBLY HAVE BEEN?

IT'S KIND OF LIKE SOMETHING FROM AN "INDIANA JONES" MOVIE.

Narrator: CARTER'S BEST GUESS IS THAT SHE'S HEADED

FOR SOME KIND OF MASSIVE CRATER FORMED BY A GIANT METEOR.

Stenstrom: IMPACT CRATERS ARE ROUND. IMPACT CRATERS ARE HUGE.

AND IMPACT CRATERS KICK UP SHEER, BIG CLIFFS.

SO IT TICKS ALL OF THOSE BOXES.

Narrator: AS CARTER APPROACHES THE SITE,

ITS ENORMOUS SIZE BECOMES APPARENT.

THE STRUCTURE THAT, FROM SPACE, LOOKS ROUND AND FLAT,

RISES UP HIGH ABOVE THE SURROUNDING DESERT PLAINS.

AND AS SHE GETS CLOSER,

SHE NOTICES A MASSIVE MAN-MADE WALL.

**

THIS PART IS CLEARLY NATURAL,

BUT OVER HERE, SOMEONE BUILT AN ABSOLUTELY MASSIVE WALL.

YOU CAN TELL FROM THE CONSTRUCTION WITH THE MORTAR

THAT IT'S ACTUALLY QUITE OLD.

THIS ISN'T A NEW WALL.

THIS HAS BEEN AROUND HERE FOR A LONG TIME.

BUT WHAT SOMEONE WANTED TO KEEP OUT...

I REALLY HAVE NO IDEA.

Narrator: THE WALL IS NO LESS

THAN 8 FEET THICK AND 25 FEET HIGH...

AND SEALS THE FEW ENTRANCES TO THIS NATURAL FORTRESS.

**

WHEN YOU HAVE AN IMPACT CRATER, YOU HAVE THIS LOVELY BOWL SHAPE.

BUT THAT'S DEFINITELY NOT WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE

NOW THAT I'M HERE ON THE GROUND.

Narrator: IF NOT AN IMPACT CRATER, WHAT ELSE?

THE MASSIVE STONE WALL DOES NOT RULE OUT A DORMANT VOLCANO.

Kourounis: IT IS CERTAINLY NOT UNHEARD OF

TO HAVE VILLAGES INSIDE VOLCANIC CALDERAS AND CRATERS.

Narrator: VOLCANIC CRATERS ARE LIKE NATURE'S CASTLES,

PROVIDING NATURAL DEFENSE AGAINST EXTERNAL THREATS.

IF THAT'S WHAT THIS PLACE IS, A GEOLOGIST LIKE CARTER

WOULD EXPECT TO FIND IGNEOUS ROCK

FORMED BY COOL LAVA.

Carter: I'M PRETTY FAMILIAR WITH LAVA,

AND THERE'S USUALLY TWO KINDS.

YOU EITHER HAVE THE THICK, ROPY BANDS,

OR THE REALLY SHARP, FRAGMENTED LAVA.

AND IT'S JUST NOT REALLY WHAT I'M SEEING HERE.

SO I CAN PRETTY CONFIDENTLY SAY

THAT WHILE I DON'T KNOW WHAT IT IS YET,

IT'S NOT A VOLCANO.

Narrator: CARTER CAN FIND NO SIGN

OF ANY STRANGE VIBRATING ROCK,

BUT SHE DOES DISCOVER SOMETHING ALMOST AS WEIRD.

Carter: THESE ARE FOSSILS.

THIS HERE LOOKS LIKE AN AMMONITE,

WHICH IS KIND OF LIKE AN ANCIENT SEA SNAIL.

Narrator: IF THERE'S ONE PLACE YOU DON'T EXPECT TO SEE

THE REMAINS OF AN ANCIENT SEA CREATURE,

IT'S IN A BONE-DRY DESERT.

Carter: THESE FOSSILS ARE TELLING ME

THAT THIS USED TO BE UNDER WATER.

**

Narrator: IN THE TIME OF THE DINOSAURS,

THIS DESERT IS AT THE BOTTOM OF TETHYS, A VAST SEA.

THEN 50 MILLION YEARS AGO,

A TECTONIC-PLATE COLLISION CAUSES THE OCEAN TO SHRINK.

43 MILLION YEARS LATER, THIS SEA BED

BECOMES THE WORLD'S BIGGEST DESERT,

REVEALING ITS UNDERSEA CASTLE.

Carter: FOSSILS EXPLAIN THE CAULDRON-LIKE SHAPE

THAT WE SAW ON THE SATELLITE PHOTOS.

BUT THEY REALLY DON'T OFFER ANY INSIGHT

AS TO WHO BUILT THIS WALL.

Narrator: TO DISCOVER THE STRUCTURE'S HUMAN HISTORY,

CARTER WILL NEED THE HELP OF TRIBESPEOPLE

WHO HAVE LIVED IN THE SAHARA FOR GENERATIONS.

Carter: I REALLY WANT TO FIGURE OUT WHO BUILT THIS

AND WHAT, IF ANYTHING, IT WAS PROTECTING.

Narrator: COMING UP, AN INVISIBLE KILLER STALKS AMERICA...

THERE ARE THINGS AROUND US

THAT WE CAN'T SEE WITH OUR OWN EYES.

Narrator: ...AND THE SADISTIC SAHARAN SULTAN.

THE BLACK SULTAN WAS A TYRANNICAL DICTATOR

WHO OPPRESSED HIS POPULATION.

**

Narrator: GEOLOGIST LAUREN CARTER

IS IN THE MIDDLE OF THE SAHARA DESERT

INVESTIGATING A STRUCTURE WHICH SHE HAD ASSUMED WAS A CRATER.

THE INSIDE IS MUCH HIGHER THAN ACTUALLY THE OUTSIDE ELEVATION,

AND SO THAT DOESN'T MAKE SENSE.

Narrator: WHAT'S MORE, THERE'S A MASSIVE MAN-MADE DEFENSIVE WALL.

Carter: THERE'S NO REAL EXPLANATION

AS TO WHO BUILT THIS AND WHY THEY DID IT.

Kourounis: SOMEONE HAS BUILT THIS TREMENDOUS BARRIER

ACROSS THE ENTRANCE.

Narrator: THERE ARE STILL ARAB TRIBESPEOPLE

WHO LIVE IN THE SAHARA DESERT.

SOME ARE KNOWN TO TRADE AT ERFOUD,

A NEARBY TOWN BUILT BY THE COLONIAL FRENCH.

AND THAT'S WHERE CARTER HEADS NEXT.

[ CONVERSING IN NATIVE LANGUAGE ]

Narrator: SHE INTRODUCES HERSELF TO HASSAN.

HE SAYS THE LOCALS CALL THE STRUCTURE GARA MEDOUAR,

AND HE CLAIMS THE WALL WAS BUILT BY THE PORTUGUESE.

Carter: HE'S TELLING ME

THAT THE PORTUGUESE ACTUALLY CAME HERE

AND USED IT AS A PRISON FOR SLAVES.

Narrator: IN THE 16th CENTURY,

AS PORTUGAL IS CONQUERING THE LAND IT NAMES BRAZIL,

IT'S ALSO BUILDING AN EMPIRE IN AFRICA.

AND OF ALL THE OLD EUROPEAN POWERS,

PORTUGAL IS THE BIGGEST TRADER IN AFRICAN SLAVES.

THEY TRANSPORTED SLAVES FROM AFRICAN NATIONS

VIA THE OVERLAND ROUTES, INCLUDING THIS AREA OF MOROCCO.

Narrator: WARRING AFRICAN TRIBES TAKE PRISONERS

AND SELL THEM TO THE PORTUGUESE AND OTHERS.

MANY AFRICANS ARE KIDNAPPED BY EUROPEAN SLAVE TRADERS.

OTHERS ARE SENTENCED TO A LIFE OF SERVITUDE

IN COLONIAL LAW COURTS.

PLACES IN AFRICA BECAME KNOWN NOT ONLY FOR SLAVES THEMSELVES,

BUT ALSO AREAS WHERE THEY WOULD HOLD SLAVES

BEFORE THEY WERE SHIPPED OFF.

WE KNOW THAT SLAVES WERE KEPT IN STONE FORTRESSES

AT WAY STATIONS ALONG THIS SLAVE TRADE ROUTE,

AND THERE'S A BELIEF THAT THIS CRATER

WAS USED TO PEN IN SLAVES.

MAYBE THAT WALL WASN'T BUILT TO KEEP PEOPLE OUT.

MAYBE IT WAS BUILT TO KEEP PEOPLE IN.

Narrator: OF THE 30 MILLION AFRICANS SHIPPED OUT,

AROUND 3 MILLION DIE

BEFORE THEY EVER REACH THE SLAVE MARKETS.

MANY MAY HAVE DIED HERE IN THE HELLISH DESERT SLAVE PRISON

THE BERBERS CALL GARA MEDOUAR.

Carter: EVEN TODAY, IT'S 110 DEGREES,

AND IT GETS EVEN HOTTER HERE.

SO THE IDEA OF PEOPLE BAKING THERE IN...

CHAINS OR WHATEVER, IT'S PRETTY HORRIBLE.

[ CHAINS RATTLING ]

Narrator: BUT WHY HERE?

SOME DOUBT THIS STRANGE FORTRESS FROM THE SEA

WAS EVER A PRISON.

Stenstrom: WHY WOULD YOU BUILD A SLAVE PRISON

IN THE MIDDLE OF THE DESSERT?

IT JUST DOESN'T MAKE SENSE.

HIMSELF, HE'S NOT SURE. THESE ARE RUMORS.

BUT HE HAS TOLD ME THAT IF I WANT TO KNOW MORE,

I NEED TO GO OVER THE SAND DUNES TO TRY

AND FIND THE NOMADS WHO HAVE BETTER INSIGHT

INTO WHAT THIS CRATER WAS USED FOR

AND WHETHER OR NOT IT WAS A PRISON

OR IF THEY HAVE OTHER IDEAS.

**

Narrator: BERBER NOMADS ARE STILL TO BE FOUND IN THIS REGION.

THEY GATHER AT OASES,

ISOLATED WATER SPRINGS FROM UNDERGROUND AQUIFERS.

CARTER FINDS ONE AND TALKS TO A NOMAD TRIBESMAN -- MOHAMMAD.

JUST 8 MILES FROM THE WEIRD STRUCTURE,

THERE WAS ONCE A DESERT CITY CALLED SIJILMASA...

FOUNDED IN THE 8th CENTURY AS A TRADING POST

FOR EXOTIC GOODS TRAVELING BETWEEN EGYPT IN THE EAST,

THE BARBARY COAST TO THE WEST, AND THE GOLD COAST TO THE SOUTH.

ACCORDING TO A 1,000-YEAR-OLD ARAB TEXT

CALLED "MEADOWS OF GOLD,"

SIJILMASA GROWS FABULOUSLY RICH.

Dr. Altaweel: IT WAS CONSIDERED THE WEALTHIEST CITY

IN THE MAGHREB AREA OF AFRICA.

IN THE ANCIENT WORLD, GOLD WAS POWER.

IT MADE YOU KING.

Narrator: BUT HOW TO PROTECT ALL THE GOLD FROM DESERT BANDITS?

WHENEVER WARRING TRIBES OR ANYONE WOULD COME IN,

ALL THE PEOPLE FROM THE CITY WOULD BRING

ALL THEIR VALUABLES -- GOLD, DATES, CAMELS, CARPETS --

ANYTHING, INTO THIS CRATER TO PROTECT IT,

BECAUSE IT WAS THE MOST SECURE PLACE THAT THEY COULD THINK OF.

AND SO THAT'S WHY THEY BUILT THIS GIANT WALL.

Narrator: THIS WEIRD STRUCTURE, IT SEEMS,

WAS LIKE A DESERT FORT KNOX.

BUT THE GOLDEN CITY OF SIJILMASA EVENTUALLY FALLS

TO A MOORISH WARLORD KNOWN AS "THE BLACK SULTAN."

THE BLACK SULTAN WAS A TYRANNICAL DICTATOR

WHO OPPRESSED HIS POPULATION.

[ WAR SHOUTS ]

Narrator: SIX CENTURIES AGO,

THE BLACK SULTAN PILLAGES SIJILMASA.

SOME SAY THE SURVIVORS OF THE CITY SOUGHT REFUGE

IN THIS PLACE WE SEE ON THE IMAGE.

IT SEEMS LIKE A GREAT PLACE FOR REFUGE.

IT'S A CRATER. IT'S NATURALLY DEFENSIVE.

Narrator: FOR ALL THE STORIES OF VIBRATING ROCKS,

SLAVE PENS, AND HOARDS OF GOLD,

THERE ARE NO WRITTEN RECORDS OF WHAT HAPPENED HERE.

Carter: IT'S ALL PART OF THE MYSTERY

OF WHAT ACTUALLY FORMED THE CRATER.

I STILL HAVEN'T FIGURED OUT WHY EXACTLY OR WHO BUILT THAT WALL.

IT COULD HAVE BEEN TO PROTECT GOLD OR OTHER VALUABLES.

SLAVES, PRISON, FORTRESS -- ANY OF THOSE THINGS.

BUT WHAT EXACTLY? STILL NOT SURE.

SO TO ME, IT'S STILL A MYSTERY.

Narrator: A FORTRESS FROM THE BOTTOM OF THE SEA,

A RELIC FROM THE AGE OF DINOSAURS.

THE TRUTH OF WHAT TOOK PLACE HERE REMAINS UNKNOWN.

ITS TREASURES, IF ANY, BURIED BENEATH THE DESERT SANDS.

COMING UP, ROBIN HOOD AND THE LOST CROWN JEWELS...

CAN YOU IMAGINE IF YOU FOUND THAT,

SOMETHING THAT'S WORTH ESTIMATED TO BE $70 MILLION TODAY?

Narrator: ...AND FRANKENSTEIN MONSTERS IN THE ARCTIC.

Dr. Kays: COULD THIS BE THE SITE OF A SECRET GENETIC LAB

TRYING TO RE-CREATE A MODERN JURASSIC PARK?

Narrator: APRIL 2017.

PASSING OVER THE COUNTY OF NORFOLK IN EASTERN ENGLAND,

A SATELLITE CAPTURES AN IMAGE OF A HEAVILY PITTED LANDSCAPE.

IT'S REALLY POCKMARKED WITH CRATERS.

BUT WHAT CAUSED THEM?

ARE THEY HUMAN-CAUSED? IS IT NATURAL?

WHAT'S GOING ON?

Narrator: THE MARKS IN THE IMAGE COVER 20 ACRES

AND RESEMBLE AERIAL PHOTOGRAPHS

TAKEN OF A WORLD WAR I SITE 200 MILES AWAY.

THE BANKS OF THE RIVER SOMME STILL BEAR THE SCARS

OF ONE OF THE DEADLIEST BATTLES IN HUMAN HISTORY.

BRITISH GENERALS FIRE TWO MILLION ARTILLERY SHELLS

AT THE GERMAN LINE...

THEN ORDER THEIR MEN OUT OF THE TRENCHES.

SOON, OVER A MILLION MEN WILL BE DEAD OR WOUNDED,

AND THE BLOOD-SOAKED FIELDS ARE CHANGED FOREVER.

THE FIRST WORLD WAR LEAVES AN ABSOLUTELY INDELIBLE MARK

ON THE LANDSCAPE -- ALL THESE GREAT BIG CRATERS

WHERE ARTILLERY ROUNDS HAVE EXPLODED

AND LEFT THESE HUGE CRATERS.

IT'S A VERY DISTINCT,

ALMOST WHAT LOOKS LIKE NOW A GEOLOGICAL FORMATION.

BUT, ACTUALLY, THIS IS ALL MANMADE.

Narrator: BUT WARFARE CAN'T EXPLAIN THE POCKMARKS

IN THE SATELLITE IMAGE.

NO MAJOR LAND BATTLES WERE FOUGHT ON BRITISH SOIL

IN EITHER WORLD WAR.

IS THIS THE RESULT OF A BATTLEFIELD SIMULATION?

THESE WERE UNTRAINED PEOPLE. THEY WERE SOLICITORS.

THEY WERE TRADESMEN, THEY WERE SHOPKEEPERS.

AND SO BEFORE THEY WENT OUT TO NORTHERN FRANCE,

THEY WERE TAUGHT HOW TO DIG TRENCHES, FOR EXAMPLE,

HOW TO OPERATE ARTILLERY, ARTILLERY FIRE, AND SO FORTH.

Narrator: BUT THE NORFOLK IMAGE

LACKS ONE VITAL PIECE OF EVIDENCE.

THERE ARE NO TRENCHES NEAR THESE CRATERS OR MOUNDS.

SO WHAT ARE THEY?

Narrator: A CLUE MIGHT LIE IN THE HISTORY OF THIS AREA.

[ METAL DETECTOR BEEPING ]

THERE IS A WEALTH OF TREASURE BURIED AROUND THIS AREA.

AND SOME OF IT IS WORTH HUGE AMOUNTS OF MONEY.

Dr. Kays: COULD THESE PITS BE THE RESULT OF SOMEBODY

LOOKING FOR BURIED TREASURE?

Narrator: IN RECENT TIMES, $15 MILLION OF IRON AGE TREASURE

HAS BEEN DISCOVERED IN THE IMMEDIATE AREA.

BUT THE BIGGEST PRIZE IS STILL TO BE UNEARTHED.

Gough: ONE OF THE WORLD'S MOST LEGENDARY TREASURE TROVES

IS SAID TO LIE IN THIS AREA --

THE ROYAL JEWELS OF KING JOHN.

Narrator: THE LEGEND OF ROBIN HOOD

IS BASED ON REAL 13th-CENTURY EVENTS.

TAX REBELS RISE UP AGAINST ENGLAND'S HATED KING JOHN,

FORCING HIM TO SIGN THE FAMOUS MAGNA CARTA.

BUT JOHN'S CRUEL EXACTIONS

HAVE ACCRUED INTO A VAST FORTUNE,

AND IN 1216,

WHEN HE IS FORCED TO FLEE FROM HIS REBELLIOUS BARONS,

JOHN PACKS HIS GOLD AND JEWELS INTO A WAGON,

A WAGON THAT, AS HE MAKES HIS ESCAPE,

WILL SINK AND BE LOST FOREVER IN MUD FLATS

CLOSE TO THE SPOT SEEN IN THE SATELLITE IMAGE.

CAN YOU IMAGINE IF YOU FOUND THAT,

SOMETHING THAT'S WORTH ESTIMATED TO BE $70 MILLION TODAY?

Gough: IF YOU THOUGHT YOU KNEW WHERE THAT TREASURE WAS,

WOULDN'T YOU KEEP DIGGING HOLE AFTER HOLE AFTER HOLE

UNTIL YOU FOUND IT?

I SURE WOULD.

Narrator: BUT ARCHAEOLOGICAL INVESTIGATION

REVEALS THAT THE HOLES HAVE NOT BEEN DUG IN RECENT TIMES.

IT TURNS OUT THAT THESE HOLES DATE

TO WAY BEFORE KING JOHN'S TIME,

BUT THEY WERE DUG BY PEOPLE

WHO WERE LOOKING FOR BURIED TREASURE.

IT'S JUST THAT THAT TREASURE WAS FLINT.

Narrator: THESE HOLES DATE BACK TO THE LATE STONE AGE.

BENEATH THE 433 HOLLOWS

ARE 30-FOOT-DEEP SHAFTS, CHAMBERS, AND TUNNELS

DUG BY PREHISTORIC MINERS IN SEARCH OF FLINT.

THIS TYPE OF FLINT THAT'S FOUND IN THESE BAYS IN THE CHALK

IS OF THE HIGHEST QUALITY.

IT'S REALLY EASY TO KNAP.

Gough: OVER 4,000 YEARS BEFORE THE NOTION OF FACTORIES

WAS EVEN CONCEIVED,

IS THIS ONE OF THE EARLY FOUNDATIONS OF TECHNOLOGY

IN THE ANCIENT WORLD?

Narrator: FLINT IS USED TO MAKE EARLY ARROWHEADS AND TOOLS.

INSIDE ONE OF THE TUNNELS

ARE FOUND CRUDE CARVED FERTILITY FIGURES,

A PRAYER PERHAPS TO THE GODS TO KEEP THE MINE PRODUCTIVE.

FURTHER EXCAVATION REVEALS SOMETHING EVEN STRANGER --

STONE AGE HUMAN SKELETONS ENTOMBED WITH VALUABLES

IN WHAT APPEAR TO BE RITUAL BURIALS.

THIS IS ONE OF THE EARLIEST LOCATIONS

OF CEREMONIAL GRAVESITES IN BRITAIN.

Wolter: ONCE THE FLINT EITHER WAS EXHAUSTED

OR THEY COULDN'T DIG ANY DEEPER, IT BECAME A BURIAL SITE.

SO IT STARTED OFF AS SACRED

FOR THE MATERIAL THAT THEY WERE ABLE TO MINE,

AND THEN IT CONTINUED TO BE SACRED,

WHERE THEY WOULD BURY THEIR DEAD.

Narrator: PART MINE, PART CITY OF THE DEAD.

BUT WHY DID NEOLITHIC HUMANS

CHOOSE TO PILE UP THEIR DEAD HERE?

THERE'S A CLUE IN THE NAME GIVEN TO THIS AREA IN LATER TIMES.

THE SAXONS CALLED THIS PLACE GRIME'S GRAVES.

AND GRIME'S IS ANOTHER WORD

FOR ODIN, THE ANCIENT GOD OF WAR.

Horton: ODIN WAS A VERY IMPORTANT DEITY

IN THESE GERMANIC ANGLO-SAXON SETTLERS

THAT CAME INTO NORFOLK IN THE LATE 5th, EARLY 6th CENTURY.

PROBABLY THE MOST IMPORTANT FIGURE, ACTUALLY.

Narrator: THE GOD OF WAR, WARRIORS, AND DEATH,

ODIN, OR WODEN,

IS REMEMBERED IN OUR WODEN'S DAY, OR "WEDNESDAY."

HE IS THE LORD OF VALHALLA,

THAT HALL OR HOLE IN THE UNDERWORLD

RESERVED FOR SLAIN WARRIORS CHOSEN TO DIE

BY FEMALE WARRIOR SPIRITS CALLED VALKYRIES.

DOES THIS IMAGE DEPICT A NEOLITHIC VERSION

OF WHAT THE NORSEMEN CALLED A "HOLE" --

A WORD THAT LIVES ON AS OUR HELL?

Horton: THE ANGLO-SAXONS MUST HAVE THOUGHT

THAT THIS WAS A GREAT CEMETERY,

AND IN THERE WERE BURIED ODIN'S ARMY.

HUMAN SACRIFICES WERE OFTEN MADE TO WIN HIS FAVOR.

SO COULD THESE BURIAL SITES HAVE ACTUALLY BEEN SACRIFICIAL SITES?

Narrator: SO FAR, JUST 20 OF THE HUNDREDS OF GRIME'S GRAVES'

PREHISTORIC PITS HAVE BEEN FULLY EXPLORED.

BUT ARCHAEOLOGISTS ARE JUSTIFIABLY EXCITED

AT FINDING WHAT MAY BE A STONE AGE VALHALLA,

FILLED WITH THE LIFELESS REMAINS

OF WARRIORS SENT HERE BY THE VALKYRIES.

[ HORSE NEIGHS ]

Wolter: WORK THAT'S BEEN DONE SO FAR,

THE ARTIFACTS THAT HAVE BEEN FOUND

ARE REALLY JUST PIECES TO A MUCH BIGGER JIGSAW PUZZLE.

WE MAY NEVER KNOW WHAT WENT ON HERE IN THE PAST.

Narrator: STILL TO COME, SEEN FROM SPACE,

A SIBERIAN HELL HOLE...

IF I HAD TO CHOOSE BETWEEN ALCATRAZ AND THIS PLACE,

I THINK I'D CHOOSE ALCATRAZ.

Narrator: ...AND A MYSTERY CLOUD ATTACKS L.A.

Dr. Spicer Rice: NOBODY HAD ANY IDEA WHAT WAS CAUSING THIS,

AND THE GOVERNMENT WASN'T SAYING.

Narrator: JANUARY 2016.

ORBITING OVER LOS ANGELES

IS NASA's EARTH OBSERVING-1 MISSION SATELLITE,

ARMED WITH AN INFRARED SPECTROMETER.

IT IS SEARCHING FOR ABNORMALITIES

IN THE SKIES OF PORTER RANCH IN CALIFORNIA'S ALISO VALLEY.

THERE ARE THINGS AROUND US THAT WE CAN'T SEE WITH OUR OWN EYES.

THEY'RE THERE. THEY'RE OCCURRING.

AND WE CAN GET A BETTER VIEW

BY ENLISTING THINGS BEYOND OUR COLOR VISION.

Narrator: THE SATELLITE CONFIRMS

THAT SOMETHING'S NOT RIGHT DOWN BELOW.

Dr. Schuttler: WHEN YOU LOOK AT THE SPECTROMETER IMAGE,

YOU'LL SEE THIS REALLY CONCENTRATED AREA OF BRIGHTNESS,

AND THAT INDICATES THERE'S SOMETHING REALLY TERRIFYING

GOING ON IN THAT AREA.

[ THUNDER RUMBLES ]

Narrator: THE IMAGE SHOWS A TERRIFYING, WEIRD CLOUD

SPREADING ACROSS THE SUBURBS OF L.A.

ON THE GROUND, RESIDENTS ARE CALLING 911.

THEY'RE HAVING TROUBLE BREATHING.

THEIR NOSES ARE BLEEDING.

SOMETHING IS POISONING THIS ENTIRE COMMUNITY.

Dr. Spicer Rice: NOBODY HAD ANY IDEA

WHAT WAS CAUSING THIS OUTBREAK.

AND THE GOVERNMENT WASN'T SAYING.

EVERYONE IS LOSING THEIR MINDS.

Narrator: THE AUTHORITIES DECLARE A STATE OF EMERGENCY.

THEY EVACUATED 11,000 PEOPLE FROM THIS AREA.

IT'S AWFUL.

Narrator: EMERGENCY MEDICAL TEAMS TEST VICTIMS' BLOOD.

Williams: TURNS OUT, THERE'S NO EVIDENCE FOR THE NOROVIRUS

OR ANY KIND OF VIRAL INFECTION WITH THESE PEOPLE,

SO SOMETHING ELSE MUST BE HAPPENING.

Narrator: SATELLITE DATA CONFIRMS THAT WHATEVER IT IS,

IT'S COMING FROM THE SKIES.

HAS SOMEBODY RELEASED TOXINS INTO THE AIR?

Moran: BIOWEAPONRY IS VERY MUCH A REALITY.

WE'VE SEEN IT USED IN PLACES LIKE IRAQ

AND EVEN RECENTLY IN SYRIA.

[ EXPLOSIONS ]

Narrator: ISLAMIC STATE AND OTHER TERROR GROUPS

DO NOT CLAIM RESPONSIBILITY.

BUT AT THE NEARBY LOS ANGELES AIR FORCE BASE

IS THE U.S. MILITARY'S DEFENSE WEATHER SYSTEMS UNIT.

IS THIS AN EXPERIMENTAL WEAPONS TEST GONE WRONG?

IT WOULDN'T BE THE FIRST TIME.

IN THE 1950s, THE U.S. NAVY

SECRETLY RELEASED TWO TYPES OF BACTERIA

OVER 800,000 PEOPLE IN SAN FRANCISCO.

Narrator: IT'S CALLED OPERATION SEA-SPRAY.

IN 1950, A U.S. NAVY MINESWEEPER SPRAYS CLOUDS OF BACTERIA

OVER THE SAN FRANCISCO BAY AREA.

Moran: THEY SPECIFICALLY CHOSE SAN FRANCISCO

BECAUSE THEY THOUGHT THAT THE FAMOUS FOG

WOULD ACTUALLY SHROUD THEIR ACTIVITY.

AND IT ACTUALLY RELEASES A BRIGHT-RED PIGMENT

SO YOU CAN TRACK IT, SEE HOW IT SPREAD.

AND IN THAT WAY, THEY CAN LEARN ABOUT

OTHER POTENTIALLY DEADLY BIOLOGICAL WEAPONS.

Narrator: DECADES LATER, THE U.S. GOVERNMENT IS TAKEN TO COURT...

BUT IS DECLARED IMMUNE FROM PROSECUTION.

DOCTORS DISCOVERED THAT ONE OF THE BACTERIA THE NAVY USED

ACTUALLY CAUSES RESPIRATORY AND URINARY-TRACT INFECTIONS.

SO IT WASN'T ACTUALLY THAT HARMLESS.

Narrator: IN 1977, A SENATE HEARING

REVEALS THAT OVER TWO DECADES,

THE U.S. MILITARY HAS CARRIED OUT

MORE THAN 200 OPEN-AIR TESTS OF BIOLOGICAL AGENTS.

Moran: SHOCKINGLY, TESTS OF THIS NATURE

HAVEN'T ONLY OCCURRED IN SAN FRANCISCO.

THERE HAVE BEEN HUNDREDS OF THEM IN NEW YORK, WASHINGTON, D.C.,

AND EVEN IN THE U.K.

Narrator: IN 1969, PRESIDENT NIXON

BANS BIOLOGICAL WARFARE TESTS.

[ CAMERA SHUTTERS CLICKING ]

EXPERIMENTS LIKE THIS JUST DON'T HAPPEN ANYMORE.

SO IT CAUSES US TO QUESTION WHAT'S HAPPENING HERE.

Narrator: INVESTIGATORS TURN TO THE SATELLITE DATA.

Dr. Miller: DIFFERENT GASES HAVE DIFFERENT EMISSION SIGNATURES.

AND SO IF YOU MEASURE AT CERTAIN WAVELENGTHS OR FREQUENCIES,

IT ALLOWS YOU TO IDENTIFY WHAT KIND OF GAS IT MAY BE.

Narrator: FROM SPACE, THE INFRARED SPECTROMETER

ON THE SATELLITE IS ABLE TO IDENTIFY

THE CHEMICAL COMPOSITION OF THE CLOUD.

IT IS PREDOMINANTLY METHANE GAS

COMBINED WITH SEVERAL OTHER TOXINS.

Dr. Spicer Rice: NEARLY 100,000 TONS OF METHANE

WAS LEAKED OUT INTO OUR ENVIRONMENT.

THEY ALSO FOUND BENZENE AND TOLUENE

AND XYLENES, WHICH ARE TOXIC, NOXIOUS CHEMICALS,

WHICH CAUSE MEMORY LOSS, BIRTH DEFECTS.

THEY'RE CARCINOGENS. THEY'RE TERRIBLE.

Narrator: TO FIND THE MYSTERY CLOUD'S SOURCE,

INVESTIGATORS RETURN TO THE SATELLITE IMAGE.

FROM THIS IMAGE, WE CAN READILY TELL

THAT IT'S COMING FROM A POINT SOURCE AT THE SURFACE,

AND IT LOOKS VERY LOCALIZED.

Narrator: THE TRAIL LEADS TO A NATURAL-GAS STORAGE PLANT

IN THE NEARBY SANTA SUSANA MOUNTAINS.

Dr. Schuttler: IN THIS AREA,

THERE IS A GIGANTIC STORAGE TANK OF METHANE GAS.

AND ONE OF THESE RUPTURED, ALLOWING FOR THIS GIGANTIC LEAK.

Narrator: ENGINEERS IN PROTECTIVE SUITS

MOVE IN TO PLUG THE LEAK AND SHUT THE FACILITY.

[ CROWD CHANTING "SHUT IT ALL DOWN" ]

Dr. Schuttler: NOBODY EVEN KNOWS THE LONG-TERM EFFECTS

FOR THE PEOPLE THAT WERE EXPOSED.

IT'S UNCERTAIN WHAT THEIR FUTURE HEALTH HOLDS.

Narrator: COMING UP, GOVERNMENTS PREPPING

FOR A GLOBAL APOCALYPSE...

Pappalardo: WE WON'T DIE BECAUSE OF NUCLEAR FALLOUT.

WE'LL DIE BECAUSE WE CAN'T GROW ENOUGH FOOD TO LIVE.

Narrator: ...AND BARBARIAN CHIEFS, MISSING PRINCESS BRIDES,

AND A MYSTERY IMAGE FROM SPACE.

IT'S VERY "GAME OF THRONES."

Narrator: SEPTEMBER 2017.

PASSING OVER ARCTIC ICE SHEETS, A COMMERCIAL SATELLITE

SEES NOTHING BUT A BLANKET OF WHITE...

UNTIL IT CAPTURES, PROTRUDING FROM THE ICE,

PART OF A CONCRETE STRUCTURE.

Mosher: IN THE MIDDLE OF NOWHERE,

THERE'S MORE POLAR BEARS THAN PEOPLE,

IT'S A BARREN WASTELAND, THERE'S ICE AND MOUNTAINS.

BUT IN THE MIDDLE, WE SEE THIS STRANGE STRUCTURE.

IT LOOKS AS IF IT'S SOME SORT OF UNDERGROUND BUNKER OR LAIR.

Mosher: THIS REMINDS ME OF "SUPERMAN"

AND THE FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE,

YOU KNOW, ALIENS HIDING THIS, YOU KNOW, UPLOAD CENTER

FOR SUPERMAN TO FIGURE OUT WHERE HE'S FROM.

AND SO THE QUESTION IS, WHAT ARE THEY DOING THERE?

Narrator: SCIENCE WRITER JOE PAPPALARDO

INVESTIGATES THE IMAGE

AND SPOTS THAT THE STRUCTURE HAS A ROAD LEADING TO A DOOR.

ANY TIME YOU SEE A ROAD THAT LEADS INTO A TUNNEL

AND NO EXIT, YOU WONDER, "WHAT ARE THEY HOUSING IN THERE?

WHAT'S ACTUALLY BEING HELD INSIDE OF THAT FACILITY?"

Narrator: IT IS KNOWN THAT THERE ARE

SUPERPOWER MILITARY BASES IN THE ARCTIC.

Dr. Kays: DURING THE COLD WAR, THE U.S. HAD

AN INCREDIBLY AMBITIOUS IDEA THEY CALLED PROJECT ICEWORM.

THEY WERE GOING TO CREATE

THOUSANDS OF MILES OF TUNNELS THROUGH THE ICE

AND STORE 600 MISSILES

THAT THEY COULD MOVE AROUND TO DIFFERENT SITES.

Dr. Pavelec: THIS FANTASTIC IDEA STEMS IN THE 1960s

FROM THE IMPRECISION MISSILES HAD AT THE TIME.

THE AMERICANS WANTED TO GET THE MISSILES

CLOSE ENOUGH TO THE SOVIET UNION SO THAT IF THEY HAD TO USE THEM,

THEY COULD ACTUALLY REACH THEIR TARGETS.

[ EXPLOSION ]

Narrator: OFFICIALLY, THE U.S. MILITARY'S

NORTHERNMOST AIR BASE IS THULE IN GREENLAND.

IT OPERATES A BALLISTIC-MISSILE EARLY-WARNING SYSTEM...

AND SERVES TO DEFEND U.S. CLAIMS TO THE ARCTIC'S

ESTIMATED $30-TRILLION FOSSIL-FUEL RESERVES.

IN 2017, RUSSIA OPENS TREFOIL,

A NEW STATE-OF-THE-ART ARCTIC BASE.

**

BUT BOTH SUPERPOWERS TRY

TO KEEP THEIR ARCTIC ACTIVITIES UNDER WRAPS.

Harrison: THE RUSSIANS, THE AMERICANS --

EVERYONE IS TRYING TO BE AS SECRETIVE AS THEY CAN UP THERE

TO KEEP THEIR ACTIVITIES

AS SHIELDED FROM THE ADVERSARY AS POSSIBLE.

Narrator: BUT THE STRUCTURE IN THE IMAGE

IS NOWHERE NEAR ANY KNOWN MILITARY BASE.

THE OTHER THING THAT BRINGS PEOPLE INTO THIS REMOTE REGION

IS SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH.

COULD THIS ISOLATED BASE BE SOME KIND OF SECRET RESEARCH STATION?

Dr. Schuttler: IF THERE WAS SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH BEING DONE THERE,

IT'S BECAUSE PROBABLY SOMETHING WAS FOUND THERE.

Narrator: SVALBARD'S LOCATION WITHIN THE ARCTIC'S PERMAFROST

COULD PROVIDE A CLUE.

THERE HAVE BEEN SOME AMAZING FOSSIL DISCOVERIES

IN THE PERMAFROST OF THE NORTH,

AND THEY AREN'T EVEN REALLY FOSSILS.

THEY ARE ANIMALS THAT DIED AND WERE FROZEN

AND HAVE STAYED FROZEN FOR THOUSANDS OF YEARS.

Narrator: SCIENTISTS ARE NOW TALKING ABOUT

A REAL-LIFE ARCTIC JURASSIC PARK --

OF TAKING THE DNA

OF LONG-EXTINCT MONSTERS FROM THE ICE

AND BRINGING THEM BACK TO LIFE.

WOOLLY MAMMOTHS HAVE BEEN FOUND IN FROZEN PERMAFROST LAYERS,

AND THIS IS REALLY HELPFUL TO SCIENTISTS,

BECAUSE COLD ACTUALLY HELPS PRESERVE DNA REALLY WELL.

Dr. Kays: INCREDIBLY, A GROUP OF GENETIC SCIENTISTS

ARE TRYING TO RESURRECT THE WOOLLY MAMMOTH.

THIS ISN'T JUST SOME KIND OF FRANKENSTEIN FANTASY.

THIS IS CUTTING-EDGE GENETIC RESEARCH.

Dr. Schuttler: WE'RE BRINGING BACK A SPECIES

THAT HAS BEEN EXTINCT FOR THOUSANDS OF YEARS.

[ MAMMOTHS GROWLING ]

Narrator: THE WOOLLY MAMMOTH IS A SIX-TON ELEPHANTINE BEAST

WITH TUSKS 15 FEET LONG

WHO ROAMED THE ARCTIC TUNDRA 4,500 YEARS AGO.

THE END OF THE ICE AGE SENDS THE CREATURE INTO EXTINCTION.

NOW SCIENTISTS HAVE DECODED

KEY SEGMENTS OF THE WOOLLY MAMMOTH'S DNA,

INCLUDING THE GENES RESPONSIBLE FOR ITS ANTIFREEZE BLOOD

AND DENSE THERMAL COAT.

THE DISCOVERY BRINGS A WOOLLY MAMMOTH-ELEPHANT HYBRID

ONE STEP CLOSER.

Dr. Schuttler: WE'RE DOING SOMETHING

THAT WE COULD ONLY DREAM ABOUT IN THE PAST,

AND WE'RE MAKING IT REALITY.

Narrator: ACCORDING TO REPORTS, SCIENTISTS ARE CLOSE

TO BRINGING BACK THEIR FIRST EXTINCT MEGA-BEAST.

[ SNARLS ]

COULD THIS BE THE SITE OF A SECRET GENETIC LAB

TRYING TO RE-CREATE A MODERN JURASSIC PARK?

YOU CAN IMAGINE WHY THEY'D WANT TO STAY OUT OF SIGHT.

**

Narrator: BUT THE IMAGE SHOWS SOMETHING FAR SCARIER

THAN ANY JURASSIC PARK.

THE STRUCTURE GLIMPSED BY THE SATELLITE

IS THE ENTRANCE TO AN UNDERGROUND VAULT --

A BUNKER TO BE USED IN THE EVENT OF A GLOBAL APOCALYPSE.

THERE ARE 15,000 ATOM BOMBS IN THE WORLD --

ENOUGH TO THREATEN THE HUMAN RACE WITH EXTINCTION.

THE U.S. AND OTHER GOVERNMENTS ARE PREPPING FOR A DISASTER

ON THE SCALE OF A NUCLEAR HOLOCAUST.

Pappalardo: THERE'S ALL SORTS OF WAYS FOR LIFE TO END ON EARTH.

WHATEVER HAPPENS, THE REASON WE'LL DIE IS STARVATION.

WE DON'T DIE BECAUSE OF THE NUCLEAR FIRE.

WE DON'T DIE FROM THE FALLOUT AS A SPECIES.

WE'LL DIE BECAUSE WE CAN'T GROW ENOUGH FOOD TO LIVE.

Narrator: SATELLITE CAMERAS HAVE CAPTURED THE ENTRANCE

TO AN APOCALYPSE SURVIVAL BUNKER

AIMED AT SAVING THE HUMAN SPECIES.

Dr. Pavelec: TURNS OUT, AT THE TURN OF THE MILLENNIUM,

THE NORWEGIANS, AS WELL AS THE UNITED NATIONS,

BEGAN THIS PROJECT TO BUILD A MASSIVE SEED VAULT

IN CASE ANYTHING REALLY, REALLY BAD HAPPENED TO THE PLANET.

Mosher: THE VAULT IS CURRENTLY STORING

MORE THAN 900,000 SAMPLES OF PLANT LIFE,

BUT IT CAN STORE UP TO 4.5 MILLION VARIETIES

AND 2.5 BILLION SEEDS.

THIS SEED VAULT IS LIKE THE NOAH'S ARK, BUT FOR PLANTS.

**

Narrator: IF A GLOBAL NUCLEAR WAR WIPES OUT MOST OF HUMANITY,

THE FEW SURVIVORS WILL HAVE THE SEED TOOLS

TO REINVENT BASIC AGRICULTURE.

ALL THEY HAVE TO DO...

IS FIND THE BUNKER.

STILL TO COME, WARRIORS AND WEDDINGS

IN THE LAND OF GENGHIS KHAN.

YOU'RE A BARBARIAN WARLORD,

WHAT DO YOU DO TO IMPRESS YOUR NEW BRIDE?

Narrator: PASSING OVER A LAKE IN THE HARSH SIBERIAN WILDERNESS,

A MAPPING SATELLITE CAPTURES A SMALL ISLAND

AND, ON IT, THE RUINS OF A BUILDING.

[ CAMERA WHIRRING ]

THIS STRUCTURE IS VERY BIZARRE.

THERE'S NOTHING FOR MILES AROUND.

Dr. Altaweel: IT'S AN EXTREMELY ISOLATED LOCATION.

WHO ON EARTH WOULD BUILD IN THE MIDDLE OF NOWHERE LIKE THIS?

Narrator: SIBERIA IS HUGE,

COVERING 5 MILLION SQUARE MILES --

SIGNIFICANTLY BIGGER THAN THE U.S.

BUT IT'S ONE OF THE MOST SPARSELY POPULATED PLACES ON EARTH,

NOTORIOUS FOR ITS COMMUNIST GULAG TORTURE CAMPS

WHERE 30 MILLION PEOPLE ARE BELIEVED TO HAVE DIED.

Wallace: IT WOULD BE A VERY SPARTAN EXISTENCE

LIVING IN THIS LOCATION.

Narrator: IMAGE ANALYSIS REVEALS THE STRUCTURE'S SCALE --

ROUGHLY THE SIZE OF SIX FOOTBALL FIELDS,

NOT BIG ENOUGH FOR A GULAG.

BUT FOR SOME, THE BUILDING'S SOLITUDE AND MODULAR STRUCTURE

SUGGESTS SOME KIND OF PRISON.

WHEN I LOOK AT THIS, I THINK OF ALCATRAZ.

IF I HAD TO CHOOSE BETWEEN ALCATRAZ AND THIS PLACE,

I THINK I'D CHOOSE ALCATRAZ.

Narrator: A PRISON, PERHAPS.

OR A PLACE OF QUARANTINE.

THROUGHOUT HISTORY, MANKIND HAS FOUGHT THE SPREAD OF DISEASE

BY SENDING INFECTED PEOPLE TO LIVE ON ISLANDS.

THESE PLACES OF QUARANTINE

ARE CALLED LAZARETTOS, OR LAZARETS,

AFTER LAZARUS, THE BEGGAR FROM THE BIBLICAL SCRIPTURES.

Dr. Kays: THERE ARE OTHER EXAMPLES WHERE WE KNOW

THAT PLAGUE VICTIMS WERE ISOLATED ON ISLANDS.

FOR EXAMPLE, THERE'S ONE ISLAND IN VENICE

WHERE THEY FOUND THE REMAINS OF THOUSANDS OF PLAGUE VICTIMS.

YOU CAN IMAGINE WHAT A MISERABLE PLACE THIS WOULD BE,

TO BE SENT TO DIE ON AN ISLAND IN SIBERIA

WITH A BUNCH OF OTHER PEOPLE WITH THE PLAGUE.

Narrator: THE 14th CENTURY'S BUBONIC PLAGUE

SPREADS FIRST HERE IN ASIA.

BUT INVESTIGATORS FIND NO EVIDENCE OF QUARANTINE

IN SIBERIA.

THEY CONSIDER INSTEAD IF THE STRUCTURE IS MEANT

TO KEEP PEOPLE OUT RATHER THAN IN.

IT LOOKS LIKE A DEFENSIVE POSITION,

A FORTRESS THAT WOULD BE EXTREMELY DIFFICULT TO BREACH.

Rose: IF THIS WAS A FORTRESS,

IT WOULD BE PRETTY MUCH IMPREGNABLE.

YOU WOULDN'T BE ABLE TO GET IN THERE IF THEY DIDN'T WANT YOU TO.

Narrator: ARCHAEOLOGISTS CONSIDER

THE STRUCTURE'S PROXIMITY TO MONGOLIA.

Rose: THIS AREA IS ONLY 20 MILES FROM THE MONGOLIAN BORDER.

AND WHO'S THE MOST FAMOUS WARRIOR OF MONGOLIA?

GENGHIS KHAN.

Narrator: AT THE BEGINNING OF THE 13th CENTURY,

GENGHIS KHAN LEADS THE MONGOL AND TURKIC TRIBES

ON A BLOODY RAMPAGE FROM BEIJING IN THE EAST

TO THE CASPIAN SEA IN THE WEST.

[ INDISTINCT SHOUTING ]

IN JUST TWO DECADES, THE MONGOL EMPIRE

ENCOMPASSES 15 MILLION SQUARE MILES --

FOUR TIMES LARGER THAN THE ROMAN EMPIRE.

Rose: EVEN BY TODAY'S STANDARD, GENGHIS KHAN

IS ONE OF THE MOST HORRIFYING WARLORDS IN HISTORY.

HE KILLED OVER 40 MILLION PEOPLE.

Narrator: WHEN ARCHAEOLOGISTS EXCAVATE THE SITE,

THEY DISCOVER FRAGMENTS OF ROOF TIMBER...

WHICH THEY USE TO DATE THE STRUCTURE

TO THE 8th CENTURY A.D.

Dr. Hoffman: WE USED DENDROCHRONOLOGY TO FIND OUT

THAT THEY CAME FROM 770 TO 790.

Dr. Altaweel: THE MONGOLS DON'T GET TO THIS REGION

UNTIL ABOUT THE 13th CENTURY, SO THE DATES DON'T MATCH UP.

Narrator: BUT THE STRUCTURE'S AGE DOES CORRESPOND

TO ANOTHER ARCHAEOLOGICAL FIND IN THE SAME REGION.

THE MORIN KHUUR STANDING STONE

IS ALSO ERECTED IN THE 8th CENTURY

AND CARRIES AN INTRIGUING INSCRIPTION.

THIS IS ACTUALLY LIKE A REAL-LIFE "INDIANA JONES,"

WHERE YOU HAVE A CLUE WRITTEN ON A TABLET

ABOUT THIS ANCIENT SITE.

Narrator: THE MORIN KHUUR STONE

SPEAKS OF A WARRIOR RACE CALLED THE UYGHURS,

WHO RULE OVER A LARGE PART OF CENTRAL ASIA.

IT WAS A SOPHISTICATED CIVILIZATION

THAT CERTAINLY HAD THE TECHNOLOGY

TO CONSTRUCT SOMETHING LIKE THIS.

Dr. Altaweel: ALL THESE PIECES OF THE PUZZLE TELL US

THAT THIS IS PROBABLY A UYGHUR PALACE.

Narrator: USING LASER MAPPING AND CLUES FOUND AMONG THE RUINS,

INVESTIGATORS RECONSTRUCT THE BUILDING IN VIRTUAL 3-D.

THE RESULTS ARE CONFUSING.

Dr. Hoffman: THE WAY THE ROOFS WERE BUILT,

IT'S A UNIQUE STYLE OF ARCHITECTURE

THAT'S USED IN CHINA.

WHAT'S A CHINESE PALACE DOING IN THE MIDDLE OF SIBERIA?

Narrator: AN ANCIENT TEXT CONTAINS A CLUE.

WHEN CHINA'S TANG DYNASTY IS FACING A REBELLION,

THE UYGHUR BECOMES ITS ALLY.

TO SEAL THE ALLIANCE,

A TANG PRINCESS BRIDE IS SENT TO SIBERIA.

Dr. Hoffman: IT'S A CLASSIC POLITICAL MOVE

THROUGHOUT ANCIENT TIMES

TO MARRY A DAUGHTER INTO ANOTHER ROYAL FAMILY

TO UNITE TWO KINGDOMS OR EMPIRES,

AND THAT'S EXACTLY WHAT HAPPENED.

IT'S VERY "GAME OF THRONES."

IF YOU'RE A BARBARIAN WARLORD,

WHAT DO YOU DO TO IMPRESS YOUR NEW BRIDE?

YOU BUILD HER A PALACE OUT IN THE SIBERIAN DESERT.

IMAGINE BEING A CHINESE PRINCESS SOLD BY YOUR DAD

TO LIVE THE REST OF YOUR LIFE IN SIBERIA.

PART OF ME FEELS BAD FOR THIS PRINCESS

WHO WAS PROBABLY BROUGHT AGAINST HER WILL

TO HAVE THIS ARRANGED MARRIAGE IN SIBERIA,

WHERE THE WINTERS CAN EASILY BE MINUS-20.

I THINK SHE GOT THE RAW END OF THIS DEAL.

Narrator: BUT WHEN ARCHAEOLOGISTS EXCAVATE THE SITE,

THE MYSTERY DEEPENS.

THERE IS NO EVIDENCE THAT ANYONE EVER LIVED HERE.

IT'S VERY INTRIGUING AND CURIOUS.

Rose: IT'S LIKE ONE OF THOSE "IF THESE WALLS COULD TALK,"

BECAUSE IN THIS CASE, THAT'S ALL WE HAVE, IS THE BUILDING ITSELF.

Narrator: AN ARRANGED MARRIAGE,

A MONGOLIAN BARBARIAN, A MISSING PRINCESS,

AND A STILL UNEXPLAINED SATELLITE IMAGE.