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 ]

THE HUNT FOR THE GREATEST TREASURE TROVE IN HISTORY...

FROM SPACE.

THAT GREEN SQUARE IN THE MIDDLE OF THE FOREST

COULD CONCEAL ONE OF THE BIGGEST TREASURES WE'VE EVER FOUND.

Narrator: A MYSTERY MARTIAN MOUND

MOVING ACROSS THE FACE OF THE EARTH.

Phoenix: IT'S JUST COMPLETELY DEMOLISHED

EVERYTHING THAT'S STANDING IN ITS WAY.

Narrator: AND INVESTIGATING A REAL-LIFE HORROR STORY.

Pepper: PRISONERS ATE WORMS, RATS.

SOME OF THEM EVEN RESORTED TO CANNIBALISM.

Narrator: 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 ]

**

THE AMAZON --

OVER TWO MILLION SQUARE MILES

OF FORBIDDING IMPERVIOUS JUNGLE.

SOMEWHERE IN HERE IS BELIEVED TO LIE A HIDDEN CITY

THAT HAS BEGUILED EXPLORERS AND ARCHEOLOGISTS

FOR 500 YEARS...

PAITITI.

Man: PAITITI IS A LEGEND AMONG EXPLORERS.

THIS IS THE LOST CITY OF GOLD OF THE INCA EMPIRE.

Narrator: ACCORDING TO HISTORICAL TEXTS,

THE FORTIFIED JUNGLE CITY

CONTAINS A TRULY VAST HORDE OF TREASURE.

Kourounis: WE'RE TALKING GOLD AND POSSIBLY JEWELS

TO RIVAL THE CROWN JEWELS OF ENGLAND AND FORT KNOX COMBINED.

Narrator: FRENCH EXPLORER THIERRY JAMIN

HAS SPENT 20 YEARS OF HIS LIFE TRYING TO FIND PAITITI.

HE BELIEVES SATELLITE IMAGES

COULD GIVE HIM THE BREAKTHROUGH HE NEEDS.

[ JAMIN SPEAKING FRENCH ]

Narrator: PAITITI IS RUMORED TO LIE IN A REGION

TO THE EAST OF THE ANDES MOUNTAINS.

IN 2012, AS HE AND HIS TEAM SCANNED A REMOTE VALLEY IN PERU,

THEY SPOT SOMETHING UNUSUAL IN THE JUNGLE TOPOGRAPHY.

THE IMAGE REVEALS A SQUARE FEATURE

PROTRUDING FROM A 6,000-FOOT-HIGH RIDGE.

[ KEYBOARD CLACKING ]

JAMIN BELIEVES IT COULD BE THE ARCHEOLOGICAL FOOTPRINT

OF A LARGE FORTIFIED CITY

WHICH HAS BEEN DEVOURED BY THE RAINFOREST.

Stenstrom: THAT GREEN SQUARE IN THE MIDDLE OF THE FOREST

COULD CONCEAL ONE THE BIGGEST TREASURES WE'VE EVER FOUND.

Narrator: JAMIN IS PREPARING TO TREK TO THE ISOLATED LOCATION

FROM THE ANDEAN TOWN OF CUSCO.

IT WILL TAKE A PARTY OF 18 TO BATTLE THROUGH THE JUNGLE,

A BRUTAL JOURNEY THAT WILL TAKE WEEKS.

**

BESIDES THE NATURAL PERILS, THIS MOUNTAINOUS JUNGLE

ALSO HIDES ILLEGAL LOGGERS AND COCAINE TRAFFICKERS.

TRYING TO GET TO THIS LOCATION IS THE REAL DEAL

WHEN IT COMES TO EXPLORATION.

Stenstrom: IT IS SO FAR FROM CIVILIZATION.

THERE'S NO SAFETY NET, AND IF YOU STUMBLE, YOU'LL DIE.

**

Narrator: THE FIRST LEG IS EASY --

240 MILES BY ROAD TO THE SMALL PORT OF IVOCHOTE.

BUT THEN FOR ALMOST 100 MILES, IT'S A TANGLED MASS

OF HOSTILE, TRACKLESS, DEADLY JUNGLE.

[ CONVERSING IN NATIVE LANGUAGE ]

JAMIN MUST RELY ON THE TRACKING SKILLS

OF THE LOCAL MATSIGENKA TRIBESMEN

WHOSE SURVIVAL SKILLS AND KNOWLEDGE OF THE AMAZON

IS UNSURPASSED.

**

FOR JAMIN, THE MATSIGENKA'S ORAL HISTORIES

PROVIDE CONFIRMATION

THAT HE'S LOOKING IN THE RIGHT PLACE

FOR THE LOST CITY OF GOLD.

Stenstrom: THE LEGEND SAYS THAT THE CITY OF PAITITI IS FOUND

BY A SQUARE MOUNTAIN NEXT TO A SQUARE LAGOON AND TWIN LAKES,

AND WHAT DO WE SEE IN THIS PICTURE?

THAT'S IT.

Narrator: THE SQUARE MOUNTAIN SITS INSIDE THE VAST AREA

ONCE CONTROLLED BY THE INCA.

IN THE 15th CENTURY, ITS POPULATION OF 16 MILLION

WAS THE LARGEST IN THE WORLD, AMASSING VAST WEALTH.

Hunt: THE INCAS HAD MORE GOLD AND SILVER

THAN ALMOST ANY OTHER CULTURE ON RECORD,

BECAUSE THEY LIVED IN THE ANDES MOUNTAINS,

VOLCANIC IGNEOUS MOUNTAINS THAT WERE REALLY RICH IN GOLD.

Narrator: IN THE YEARS FOLLOWING THE ARRIVAL OF THE SPANISH

IN THE EARLY 16th CENTURY,

CONQUISTADORS PLUNDER $17 BILLION

OF INCAN GOLD AND SILVER.

[ MEN SHOUTING, WEAPONS CLANGING ]

THE INCAS HIDE WHAT THEY CAN OF THEIR TREASURE.

AND IN THE LAND OF THE INCAS,

THE GREATEST FORTRESS OF ALL IS THE JUNGLE.

**

**

JUST THREE DAYS INTO THEIR TREK, AND JAMIN AND THE TEAM

ARE ENCOUNTERING THE SAME LIFE-THREATENING TERRAIN

AND CONDITIONS THAT THWARTED THE CONQUISTADORS' ATTEMPTS

TO FIND PAITITI CENTURIES EARLIER.

POURING RAIN, VERY SLIPPERY SLOPES,

RUSHING STREAMS AND RIVERS

THAT CONFOUND THE EFFORTS OF THE MOST TENACIOUS EXPLORERS.

Narrator: THERE IS DOCUMENTARY EVIDENCE

TO SUPPORT THE EXISTENCE OF THIS CITY OF GOLD.

IN 2001, AN ITALIAN ARCHEOLOGIST DISCOVERED A MANUSCRIPT

IN THE VATICAN ARCHIVES

WHICH DATES BACK TO THE CONQUISTADORS.

Kourounis: IN 1600, ONE OF THE MISSIONARIES IN SOUTH AMERICA

BROUGHT A LETTER BACK TO THE POPE,

AND IT TOLD TALE OF THIS VAST CITY OF GOLD.

Narrator: ACCORDING TO THE MANUSCRIPT,

THE CITY OF GOLD LIES IN DEEP JUNGLE NORTHEAST OF CUSCO,

ROUGHLY THE SAME POSITION AS THE RAISED SQUARE FEATURE

IN THE SATELLITE IMAGE.

JAMIN AND HIS TEAM ARE SIX DAYS INTO THEIR TREK

WHEN THEY HIT THEIR FIRST MAJOR SETBACK --

A SWOLLEN RIVER THAT THREATENS TO SWEEP AWAY

HIS SUPPLIES AND HIS MEN.

[ MONTES SPEAKING SPANISH ]

Narrator: THE ENFORCED 15-MILE DIVERSION

ADDS SEVERAL COSTLY DAYS TO THE TEAM'S JOURNEY.

WORSE STILL, IT MEANS THEY'RE EATING INTO

THEIR PRECIOUS SUPPLIES.

Wallace: THE JUNGLE IS LITTERED WITH THE REMNANTS

OF FAILED EXPEDITIONS.

IT'S AN EASY PLACE TO LOSE YOUR WAY

AND, SOME WOULD SAY, TO LOSE YOUR MIND.

Narrator: 12 DAYS INTO THEIR EXPEDITION,

AND THEIR LUCK TURNS FOR THE BETTER.

THEN, THROUGH A BREAK IN THE TREES,

JAMIN CATCHES THE FIRST GLIMPSE OF HIS PRIZE.

GPS DATA CONFIRMS THAT THIS IS THE RAISED SQUARE FEATURE

IN THE SATELLITE IMAGE.

**

COULD YOU IMAGINE IF THIS TURNS OUT TO BE PAITITI?

Narrator: COMING UP...

CAPTURED BY SATELLITE, CHINA'S MYSTERY MILITARY STRONGHOLDS.

WHAT A MOATED ISLAND IS DOING IN THE MIDDLE THE GOBI DESERT --

IT'S A MYSTERY.

Narrator: AND EXPLORER THIERRY JAMIN

DISCOVERS THE CURSE OF PAITITI.

Hunt: THIS ISN'T A GAME.

PEOPLE DIE.

**

**

Narrator: FRENCH EXPLORER THIERRY JAMIN

IS DEEP IN THE AMAZON JUNGLE...

14 DAYS INTO AN EXPEDITION TO REACH A SQUARE MOUNTAIN

CAPTURED IN A SATELLITE IMAGE,

THE SITE, HE BELIEVES,

OF THE LEGENDARY LOST CITY OF GOLD -- PAITITI.

BUT PROGRESS HAS BEEN PAINFULLY SLOW,

AND SUPPLIES ARE RUNNING OUT.

INDIGENOUS AMAZONIAN PEOPLE ARE PERMITTED TO CATCH

AND EAT WILDLIFE WITHIN THE FOREST,

BUT HUNTING FOR FOOD TAKES TIME AND IS UNRELIABLE.

AN EVEN BIGGER WORRY IS A SUPPLY OF DRINKABLE,

UNCONTAMINATED WATER.

[ INSECTS BUZZING ]

**

JAMIN NOW KNOWS HE AND HIS TEAM RISK THE SAME FATE

AS HUNDREDS OF EXPLORERS BEFORE THEM.

THE MOST FAMOUS WAS THE ENGLISH ADVENTURER

COLONEL PERCY FAWCETT.

AFTER A FINAL LETTER TO HIS WIFE FROM DEEP IN THE AMAZON

ON MAY 29, 1925, FAWCETT DISAPPEARS.

HIS BODY IS NEVER RECOVERED.

SOME HISTORIANS SPECULATE THAT HE RUNS OUT OF SUPPLIES

AND STARVES TO DEATH.

THIS ISN'T A GAME.

PEOPLE DIE.

PEOPLE SIMPLY ARE NEVER HEARD OF AGAIN.

Narrator: FOR SOME IN THE TEAM, THERE ARE OTHER DANGERS AHEAD,

NOT ALL OF THEM NATURAL.

JAMIN'S TEAM LEADER IS EX-SOLDIER JOSé MONTES.

[ BIRDS CHIRPING ]

WHEN MONTES REPORTS WHAT HE'S SEEN TO THE MATSIGENKA GUIDES,

THEY REVEAL THAT MANY MEMBERS OF THEIR TRIBE

AVOID THESE MOUNTAINS,

BELIEVING THEM TO BE INHABITED BY THE DEVIL.

[ SPEAKING NATIVE LANGUAGE ]

ACCORDING TO LEGEND,

PAITITI IS INHABITED BY SUPERNATURAL BEINGS,

ITS GATES GUARDED BY GIANT DOUBLE-HEADED SERPENTS

KNOWN AS THE AMARU.

**

THE TEAM HAS BEEN LABORING THROUGH THE JUNGLE

FOR 2 1/2 WEEKS.

THEY ARE EKING OUT THEIR SUPPLIES AS BEST THEY CAN,

BUT THE VEGETATION IS GROWING MORE DENSE,

INFESTED WITH SNAKES AND INSECTS.

[ INSECTS BUZZING ]

AND JUST 15 MILES FROM THE BASE OF THE SQUARE MOUNTAIN,

A TORRENTIAL DELUGE FLOODS THE AREA.

PROGRESS IS IMPOSSIBLE.

THE RAINSTORM FORCES THE TEAM TO CONSUME

ALMOST ALL OF WHAT'S LEFT OF THEIR PROVISIONS.

IT DRIVES WILDLIFE INTO HIDING,

PREVENTING THE GUIDES FROM HUNTING FOR MORE FOOD.

[ THUNDER CRASHES ]

JAMIN SEES THAT HE IS PUTTING THE LIVES OF HIS TEAM IN DANGER.

HIS HAS NO CHOICE BUT TO ABANDON THE EXPEDITION.

**

EVEN FOR JAMIN, AN EXPLORER WITH 20 YEARS' EXPERIENCE,

THE FORMIDABLE AMAZON HAS PROVED TO BE A TOUGHER ADVERSARY

THAN HE ANTICIPATED.

THE LATEST QUEST TO FIND AND REACH PAITITI

HAS ENDED IN FAILURE.

BUT JAMIN MAY BE THE FIRST PERSON IN HISTORY

TO HAVE GLIMPSED THE FABLED CITY AND LIVED TO TELL THE TALE.

IT HAS REAFFIRMED HIS BELIEF THAT THIS SATELLITE IMAGE

IS THE KEY TO SOLVING THE 500-YEAR-OLD MYSTERY.

Kourounis: THIS SATELLITE IMAGE IS ABSOLUTELY COMPELLING,

BUT UNTIL THIERRY OR SOME OTHER INTREPID EXPLORER

ACTUALLY SETS FOOT ON THE SITE AND SEES WITH THEIR OWN EYES,

WE'LL NEVER KNOW IF THIS IS THE LOST CITY OF PAITITI.

**

Narrator: COMING UP -- A MAGNETIC MARTIAN MOUNTAIN

ADVANCING ACROSS PLANET EARTH...

IT'S EXTREMELY STRANGE --

MOVING CONSTANTLY BUT NEVER SEPARATING.

Narrator: ...AND 25 MILLION PEOPLE DEAD.

WHAT'S THE CONNECTION WITH THIS MYSTERY MOAT?

PEOPLE COULDN'T ESCAPE TO ANYWHERE EXCEPT DEATH.

**

**

Narrator: MARCH 6, 2017.

AN EARTH-OBSERVATION SATELLITE

PASSES OVER CHINA'S 500,000-SQUARE-MILE GOBI DESERT.

IN A REMOTE CORNER OF THE FEATURELESS LANDSCAPE,

IT CAPTURES AN UNUSUAL IMAGE.

Pepper: THERE'S NOTHING FOR MILES AND MILES,

AND THEN ALL OF A SUDDEN, YOU SEE THIS DARK RING.

**

Narrator: ZOOMING IN,

INVESTIGATORS DISCOVER IT'S A RING OF WATER

SURROUNDING AN ELEVATED STRUCTURE.

Maca: IT'S A REALLY WEIRD IMAGE

BECAUSE IT'S ONE OF THE DRIEST PLACES ON EARTH,

AND THERE'S WATER HERE.

THERE'S WATER IN THE MIDDLE OF THE DESERT.

WHAT A MOATED ISLAND IS DOING IN THE MIDDLE OF THE GOBI DESERT --

IT'S A MYSTERY.

Narrator: SCALE ANALYSIS REVEALS THE MOAT IS HALF A MILE LONG.

THIS CLEARLY LOOKS LIKE SOME MASSIVE DEFENSIVE FEATURE.

YOU EVEN HAVE AN ACCESS WAY --

A SINGLE ACCESS WAY TO THE INTERIOR.

Mosher: MOATS WERE PROTECTIVE DEVICES FOR ANCIENT CIVILIZATION,

SO MAYBE THERE'S EVIDENCE OF AN ANCIENT SETTLEMENT.

Narrator: IF THIS IS SOME KIND OF ANCIENT FORT,

A CLUE TO WHO BUILT IT COULD LIE JUST 30 MILES TO THE NORTH.

THESE ARE THE REMAINS OF A FORTIFIED SETTLEMENT

KNOWN AS KHARA-KHOTO, OR THE BLACK CITY.

KHARA-KHOTO WAS OCCUPIED BY A GROUP CALLED THE TANGUTS

IN THE 11th AND 12th CENTURIES.

Narrator: THE LAND OF THE TANGUTS

IS THE GATEWAY TO THE FAMOUS SILK ROAD.

IT MAKES THEM RICH BUT ALSO A TEMPTING TARGET.

THEY BUILD FORTIFIED OUTPOSTS TO PROTECT THEIR CITIES.

**

BUT IMAGE ANALYST MARC D'ANTONIO

BELIEVES THE STRUCTURE CAPTURED BY SATELLITE IMAGE

ISN'T ONE OF THEM.

D'Antonio: IF I ZOOM IN TO THESE BUILDINGS HERE ON THE ISLAND,

YOU SEE THAT THEY SEEM TO BE VERY LIKELY MODERN CONSTRUCTION,

AS IN SOMETIME IN THE 20th CENTURY

THESE WERE PROBABLY BUILT.

Narrator: THIS 20th-CENTURY TIMEFRAME

AND THE STRUCTURE'S REMOTE DESERT LOCATION

LEADS MILITARY ANALYST MIKE PAVELEC TO CONSIDER

IF THE MOATED FORMATION

IS CONNECTED TO CHINA'S BRUTAL MAOIST PAST.

Pavelec: DESERTS ARE TRADITIONALLY USED

BY MILITARIES AND GOVERNMENTS

TO PUT THINGS THAT YOU DON'T WANT PEOPLE TO SEE.

Narrator: INTELLIGENCE ANALYSTS CALCULATE

THAT CHINA'S VAST INTERIOR HIDES

OVER 1,000 SECRET PRISON LABOR CAMPS,

MANY DATING BACK ALMOST 70 YEARS,

SOME STILL IN USE TODAY.

Pavelec: SO MAYBE IT'S A CHINESE POLITICAL PRISON,

BECAUSE IT'S SO ISOLATED

AND THEY COULD BE CONTROLLED AND CAPTIVE.

THAT WOULD EXPLAIN WHY WE HAVE A MOAT HERE,

BECAUSE MAYBE THIS WAS A PRISON ISLAND.

[ INDISTINCT SHOUTING ]

Narrator: CHINA'S FIRST PRISON CAMPS

ARE ESTABLISHED IN THE 1950s BY COMMUNIST CHAIRMAN MAO ZEDONG

AS HE RUTHLESSLY PURGES THE COUNTRY OF ANYONE

WHO DARES TO DISAGREE WITH HIM.

DURING HIS 27-YEAR RULE,

AN ESTIMATED 100 MILLION MEN, WOMEN, AND CHILDREN

ARE INCARCERATED IN VAST LABOR CAMPS.

Harrison: THEY WERE SUPPOSED TO LEARN THE ESSENCE OF COMMUNISM

AND WORKING WITH THEIR HANDS

AND BEING, YOU KNOW, WITH THE PEOPLE.

Narrator: IN MAO'S CAMPS,

PRISONERS ARE SENTENCED TO HARD LABOR --

12 HOURS A DAY,

OFTEN FOR DECADES ON END IN BRUTAL CONDITIONS.

MANY STARVE TO DEATH.

THOSE WHO SURVIVE DO SO BY RESORTING TO THE UNTHINKABLE.

Pepper: PRISONERS ATE WORMS, RATS, EVEN HUMAN WASTE.

SOME OF THEM RESORTED TO CANNIBALISM.

PEOPLE COULDN'T ESCAPE TO ANYWHERE EXCEPT DEATH.

Narrator: MAO'S LABOR CAMPS CLAIM OVER 25 MILLION LIVES,

DOUBLE THE NUMBER OF CIVILIANS KILLED BY HITLER'S REGIME.

BUT WHEN MARC D'ANTONIO RE-ANALYZES THE IMAGE,

HE FINDS EVIDENCE TO SUGGEST THE MOAT IS NOT TO KEEP PEOPLE IN,

BUT TO KEEP ENEMIES OUT.

D'Antonio: WHEN WE LOOK AT THIS IMAGE REAL CLOSE,

WE SEE THAT THERE'S TWO ROUND OBJECTS AT THE TOP OF THE HILL.

IF THESE ARE GUN EMPLACEMENTS,

THERE'S VALUE TO THIS BEING A FORTIFIED EMPLACEMENT,

BECAUSE THESE GUNS CAN HIT TARGETS OUT HERE.

IF YOU ZOOM OUT A LITTLE BIT MORE,

YOU FIND THESE FOUR TRIANGLES,

AND WE CAN ACTUALLY SEE THAT THESE HAD TRENCH LINES IN THERE.

Narrator: AND THIS IS NOT THE ONLY FEATURE OF ITS KIND.

WHEN ANALYSTS SCAN SATELLITE IMAGES OF THE REGION,

THEY DISCOVER EIGHT MORE SIMILAR STRUCTURES.

MOST ARE LOCATED WITHIN 75 MILES OF CHINA'S BORDER

WITH NEIGHBORING MONGOLIA, A HISTORICAL ALLY OF RUSSIA.

HISTORIANS BELIEVE THIS GIVES A CLUE TO THEIR PURPOSE.

PERHAPS THIS WAS PART OF CHINA'S BORDER FACILITATES

IN ITS CONFLICT AGAINST THE SOVIET UNION.

**

[ APPLAUSE ]

Narrator: THE SOVIET UNION AND CHINA

ARE THE TWO GREAT COMMUNIST POWERS

OF THE COLD WAR ERA.

BUT FAR FROM BEING CLOSE ALLIES,

THEY HOLD EACH OTHER IN DEEP MISTRUST.

Pavelec: IT'S AN INCIDENT THAT'S VERY OFTEN FORGOTTEN IN THE WEST,

BUT IN THE LATE '60s, THE WORLD WAS ON THE EDGE

OF NUCLEAR HOLOCAUST.

THE CHINESE AND THE SOVIETS ALMOST CAME TO NUCLEAR WAR.

Narrator: THE COMMUNIST POWERS WERE IMPERIAL MILITARY DICTATORSHIPS

COMPETING AGGRESSIVELY FOR TERRITORY AND INFLUENCE

OVER SUBJECT STATES.

Harrison: THESE DIVISIONS BEGAN UNDER STALIN AND MAO.

NO SURPRISE -- THEY BOTH WANTED POWER FOR THEMSELVES.

THEY BOTH WANTED TO BE THE LEADER

OF THE INTERNATIONAL COMMUNIST MOVEMENT.

**

Narrator: RELATIONS BETWEEN THE COMMUNIST SUPERPOWERS

DETERIORATE FURTHER WHEN STALIN DIES IN 1953.

Harrison: MAO WAS VERY CRITICAL

WHEN STALIN'S SUCCESSOR, KHRUSCHCHEV,

STARTED NEGOTIATING WITH THE UNITED STATES.

MAO THOUGHT, YOU KNOW, "THIS IS OUTRAGEOUS.

YOU'RE NEGOTIATING WITH THE ENEMY."

Narrator: DECLASSIFIED CIA DOCUMENTS

REVEAL THAT BOTH SIDES INCREASE

THEIR MILITARY PRESENCE IN BORDER REGIONS

LIKE THE ONE IN THE SATELLITE IMAGE,

INSTALLING THOUSANDS OF NUCLEAR WEAPONS.

**

Mosher: AN OUTPOST LIKE THIS

WOULD HAVE BEEN A VERY ADVANTAGEOUS PLACE

TO SUPPLY YOU AS YOU GO TO THE FRONT LINES.

Narrator: BUT THIS COMMUNIST COLD WAR ENDED ALMOST 50 YEARS AGO.

THE WATER IN THE MOAT LOOKS FRESH.

COULD THIS MEAN THE FORTS ARE ONCE AGAIN

UNDER ACTIVE MILITARY COMMAND?

Pepper: CHINA'S KNOWN FOR ITS SECRECY,

SO YOU'VE GOT TO WONDER WHAT'S GOING ON HERE.

IT LOOKS ALMOST LIKE CHINA'S GEARING UP FOR SOMETHING.

**

Narrator: COMING UP -- NAZIS, MUMMIES,

AND THE HUNT FOR CLEOPATRA'S JEWELS...

WE HAVE TO ASK THE QUESTION "WHO'S DOING THE DIGGING,

AND WHAT WERE THEY LOOKING FOR?"

Narrator: ...AND INVESTIGATING THE UNSTOPPABLE BLACK BLOB.

IT MAY END UP IN SOME NEARBY TOWN OR CITY EVENTUALLY.

**

Narrator: JULY 11, 2014.

THE GeoEye-1 SATELLITE FLIES OVER TANZANIA

AT OVER 17,000 MILES PER HOUR.

AS IT PASSES HIGH ABOVE THE SERENGETI GRASSLANDS,

IT CAPTURES A STRANGE BLACK MASS IN THE LANDSCAPE BELOW.

WELL, THIS THING IS BIG -- ABOUT 80 FEET WIDE AND 200 FEET LONG.

IT'S THE ONLY THING OF THIS COLOR ANYWHERE AROUND FOR MILES,

AND IT JUST DOESN'T MAKE SENSE.

Narrator: WHEN GEOLOGIST JESS PHOENIX STUDIES THE IMAGE,

SHE REALIZES SHE HAS SEEN SOMETHING LIKE THIS BEFORE,

JUST NOT ON OUR PLANET.

SO, THIS IMAGE MAKES ME THINK OF SOMETHING THAT WE SEE ON MARS.

**

Narrator: THE STRUCTURES ARE CURVED MOUNDS OF MARTIAN SAND,

KNOWN AS BARCHAN DUNES.

THE BARCHAN SHAPE IS A CRESCENT,

AND IT'S GOT TWO HORNS OR ARMS THAT EXTEND,

ONE ON EITHER SIDE.

Narrator: ON THE RED PLANET, BARCHAN DUNES CLUSTER IN FIELDS

OVER 600 MILES LONG,

AND THAT'S WHAT MAKES THE LONE STRUCTURE IN THE IMAGE

ALL THE MORE MYSTERIOUS.

Phoenix: THIS IS DIFFERENT THAN WHAT WE SEE ON MARS,

BECAUSE IT'S NOT A SERIES.

THIS IS JUST ONE.

THAT IN AND OF ITSELF IS PRETTY INTERESTING.

**

Narrator: PHOENIX IS INTRIGUED BY THE MARTIAN MOUND,

AND TRAVELS TO TANZANIA TO SEE IF SHE CAN UNCOVER CLUES

AS TO HOW IT COULD HAVE FORMED.

I'M REALLY RACKING MY BRAIN TRYING TO COME UP

WITH AN EXPLANATION.

MAYBE IT'S MANMADE.

Narrator: THE SATELLITE IMAGE WAS TAKEN OVER THE OLDUVAI GORGE

WHERE THE FIRST HUMANS ARE THOUGHT TO HAVE EVOLVED

ALMOST TWO MILLION YEARS AGO.

Bellinger: WE CALL THIS SITE THE CRADLE OF HUMANITY

BECAUSE OF THE INTENSE DIVERSITY

AND THE SHEER DENSITY OF FOSSILS

AND OTHER MATERIAL REMAINS

THAT WE HAVE OF OUR EARLIEST HUMAN ANCESTORS.

Narrator: DESPITE EXTENSIVE EXCAVATIONS HERE,

ARCHEOLOGISTS HAVE FOUND NO EVIDENCE TO SUGGEST

EARLY MAN BUILT GIANT MOUNDS LIKE THIS ONE.

**

Phoenix: WOW.

THAT IS REALLY DARK.

AND IT'S -- IT'S PRETTY BIG, TOO.

HMM.

Narrator: UP CLOSE, PHOENIX CONFIRMS THE STRUCTURE

IS NO MANMADE MOUNT,

BUT A GIANT BLACK DUNE SHAPED MUCH LIKE THE ONES ON MARS.

**

BUT THEN SHE SPOTS SOMETHING TRULY BIZARRE.

THERE IS A TRAIL OR SCAR

STRETCHING FROM THE HILL OVER THE HORIZON.

THIS THING'S ON THE MOVE.

IT'S ALMOST LIKE IT'S ALIVE.

AS IT'S MOVED ACROSS THIS PLAIN,

IT'S JUST COMPLETELY DEMOLISHED

EVERYTHING THAT'S STANDING IN ITS WAY.

Narrator: HISTORICAL IMAGES REVEAL THAT EVERY YEAR,

THE DUNE MOVES AROUND 100 FEET ACROSS THE SERENGETI.

IT'S EXTREMELY STRANGE, BECAUSE WE HAVE THIS SINGLE PILE OF SAND

MOVING CONSTANTLY BUT NEVER SEPARATING.

**

Narrator: PHOENIX STUDIES THE DUNE FOR CLUES

TO EXPLAIN ITS MOVEMENT.

SO, WE HAVE A REALLY BIG ANGLE CHANGE RIGHT HERE.

SO THAT MEANS THE WIND IS ONLY BUFFETING THIS THING

FROM ONE SIDE.

THE WIND COMES ACROSS AND PUSHES THE MATERIAL UP,

AND THEN WHEN IT REACHES A CERTAIN POINT, IT FALLS DOWN.

Narrator: METEOROLOGICAL DATA REVEALS THAT THE WINDS HERE

ALMOST ALWAYS BLOW FROM THE EAST.

THIS EXPLAINS THE DUNE'S INEXORABLE JOURNEY

WESTWARD ACROSS THE LANDSCAPE

BUT NOT ITS STRANGE BLACK COLOR OR WHY IT RETAINS ITS SHAPE.

**

PHOENIX CONSIDERS IF THE ANSWER LIES IN THE DUNE'S GEOLOGY.

THIS STUFF IS PEBBLES, THIS IS A VERY FINE SAND,

SO WE'VE GOT A BIG JUMP IN TEXTURE HERE.

USUALLY YOU SEE THIS SORT OF FINE SAND IN VOLCANIC ASH.

Narrator: PHOENIX'S ANALYSIS SUGGESTS THAT THE WEIRD MOVING DUNE

WASN'T FORMED FROM ROCKS AND SAND ON THIS BARREN PLAIN.

IT WAS SPEWED OUT OF A VOLCANO.

**

Phoenix: VOLCANOS PRODUCE ASH THAT IS

REALLY RICH IN IRON AND MANGANESE.

Narrator: THIS HILL IS WEIRD AND GETS WEIRDER

STILL WHEN PHOENIX APPROACHES IT WITH A MAGNET.

Phoenix: OH, LOOK, YOU CAN SEE THE GRAINS JUMPING RIGHT NOW.

THAT IS STRONGLY MAGNETIC.

THE GRAINS, THE INDIVIDUAL GRAINS, ARE EACH MAGNETIZED.

THAT'S WHAT KEEPING THIS SAND IN ONE BIG DUNE

AS IT MOVES ACROSS THE FLOOR OF THIS VALLEY.

**

AND LOOKING AGAIN AT THE SATELLITE IMAGE,

"WHERE DID IT COME FROM?"

IS MY NEXT QUESTION.

Narrator: PHOENIX SPOTS A VOLCANO ON THE SATELLITE IMAGE

AND FOLLOWS THE TRAIL 50 MILES EAST TO ITS FOOT.

**

THE ENTIRE AREA IS COVERED IN THE SAME FINE MAGNETIC MATERIAL

SHE SAW AT THE BLACK DUNE.

Phoenix: WE HAVE MAGNETISM.

Narrator: PHOENIX CAN'T TAKE SAMPLES FROM THE CALDERA,

AS THE VOLCANO IS ACTIVE.

BUT SHE BELIEVES THE MOVING MOUND

ORIGINATED IN AN IRON-RICH CLOUD OF SUPER-HEATED ASH

FROM ONE OF ITS HISTORIC ERUPTIONS.

Phoenix: AND THE WIND WOULD HAVE CARRIED THE ASH

AND THOSE HEAVY MINERALS AND DEPOSITED THEM THERE

ON THE PLAIN WHERE IT ALL CLUMPED TOGETHER.

**

Narrator: JUST WHICH ERUPTION CREATED THE STRANGE DUNE

AND WHY THERE IS ONLY ONE OF THEM

CRAWLING ACROSS THE SERENGETI REMAINS A MYSTERY.

**

WHATEVER THE ANSWERS, THIS MOVING MARTIAN MOUND

APPEARS TO BE UNSTOPPABLE.

WE DON'T KNOW HOW LONG IT WILL CONTINUE TO MOVE FORWARD.

IT MAY END UP IN SOME NEARBY TOWN OR CITY EVENTUALLY.

**

Narrator: COMING UP...

CAPTURED BY SATELLITE --

A TOXIC PLUME THAT SCIENTISTS CAN'T EXPLAIN...

Carter: PEOPLE NEED ANSWERS, RIGHT?

YOU DON'T JUST BECOME SICK FOR NOTHING.

Narrator: ...AND DIGGING INTO THE MOUNTAIN

OF THE DEAD.

YOU WOULD HAVE MET YOUR DEMISE

AND BE TRAPPED IN SOME TYPE OF DUSTY TOMB.

**

Narrator: DECEMBER, 2012.

THE GeoEye-1 SATELLITE PASSES OVER EGYPT'S

2,500-SQUARE-MILE WESTERN DESERT.

IT CAPTURES A SMALL OASIS TOWN CALLED SIWA AND IN ITS CENTER,

WHAT LOOKS LIKE A POCKMARKED HILL.

Rose: WHAT I'M SEEING IN THIS PICTURE IS A MOUNTAIN

OF SOME KIND ABSOLUTELY RIDDLED WITH HOLES,

LIKE SWISS CHEESE.

Sanford: THIS LOOKS LIKE A TERMITE MOUND,

BUT WHAT WE'RE LOOKING AT IS ABSOLUTELY MASSIVE.

Narrator: AT FIRST, MILITARY ANALYSTS BELIEVE

ITS LOCATION IS THE CLUE

TO WHAT MADE THE HOLES IN THE MOUNTAIN.

**

DURING WORLD WAR II, THIS AREA WAS CONTESTED

BY THE BRITISH AND GERMANS.

FIRE!

Narrator: FROM 1940 TO 1943,

A BLOODY BATTLE IS FOUGHT BETWEEN ALLIED

AND AXIS FORCES FOR CONTROL OF NORTH AFRICA.

**

SIWA'S DESERT OASIS BECOMES STRATEGICALLY CRITICAL,

OFFERING WATER AND RESPITE

FOR SOME OF THE ALLIES' ELITE FIGHTING FORCES.

THE LONG RANGE DESERT GROUP WERE BASED THERE.

THEY WERE THE FORERUNNER TO THE FAMOUS S.A.S.

OF COURSE, THAT MADE IT A VERY ATTRACTIVE TARGET

TO THE AXIS FORCES.

Narrator: UNDER THE COMMAND OF FIELD MARSHALL ERWIN ROMMEL,

GERMAN AND ITALIAN TROOPS TARGET SIWA.

Morgan: DURING 1942, THE ITALIAN AIR FORCE

CARRIED OUT A BOMBING ATTACK ON THE AREA

THAT RESULTED IN THE DEATHS OF A LARGE NUMBER OF PEOPLE.

**

Narrator: INVESTIGATORS WONDER

IF THE STRANGE MARKINGS ON THE MOUND

ARE THE RESULT OF INTENSIVE BOMB DAMAGE.

BUT IMAGE ANALYST MARC D'ANTONIO IS NOT CONVINCED.

THAT WOULD HAVE TO BE ONE PRETTY PRECISION STRIKE,

BECAUSE ALL THE CRATERS ARE IN ONE LOCATION.

Narrator: CLOSER INVESTIGATION REVEALS THAT THE LOCALS

FEAR THE MOUNTAIN,

WHICH THEY CONSIDER SACRED.

**

INVESTIGATORS NOTICE THE HOLES ARE OF A SIMILAR SHAPE AND SIZE.

THEY DO NOT LOOK NATURAL.

SO, IF THIS IS EVIDENCE OF EXCAVATION,

WE HAVE TO ASK THE QUESTION,

"WHO'S DOING THE DIGGING, AND WHAT WERE THEY LOOKING FOR?"

**

Narrator: ANCIENT TEXTS REVEAL THAT DURING THE ROMAN ERA,

EGYPT IS A MAJOR EXPORTER OF PRECIOUS STONES.

Chamberlain: EGYPT WAS ONE OF THE VERY FIRST COUNTRIES

TO DO GEM MINING ON A MAJOR SCALE.

Narrator: THE JEWEL THAT MOST CAPTIVATED

QUEEN CLEOPATRA WAS THE EMERALD.

**

THOUSANDS OF HER GEMS COME FROM A GREAT MINE

ON THE EASTERN SHORES OF EGYPT.

ANALYSTS NOTICE THAT THE NARROW SHAFT ENTRANCES

AT CLEOPATRA'S MINES BARE A STRIKING RESEMBLANCE

TO THE HOLES BURROWED INTO THE STRANGE MOUND

IN THE SATELLITE IMAGE.

MINING IS NOT FOR THE FAINT OF HEART.

THESE MINERS MAKE TUNNELS THAT ARE BARELY BIG ENOUGH

FOR THEMSELVES TO FIT INTO.

IF THERE WAS SOME TYPE OF A COLLAPSE,

YOU WOULD HAVE MET YOUR DEMISE

AND BE TRAPPED IN SOME TYPE OF DUSTY TOMB.

Narrator: BUT ARCHEOLOGIST JEFF ROSE'S ANALYSIS

OF SIWA'S GEOLOGY

SUGGESTS THE STRANGE MOUND IS NOT AN ANCIENT EMERALD MINE.

Rose: THIS IS SEDIMENTARY LIMESTONE,

AND PRECIOUS STONES DON'T FORM IN SEDIMENTARY LIMESTONE.

THEY NEED PRESSURE AND THEY NEED TIME,

NEITHER OF WHICH YOU HAVE HERE.

Narrator: TO ARCHEOLOGIST KAREN BELLINGER,

THE WAY THE HOLES ARE LAID OUT LOOKS REMARKABLY FAMILIAR.

IT REALLY BRINGS TO MIND ANOTHER SITE IN EGYPT

WHERE THERE'S A NUMBER OF CAVES,

WHICH ARE ACCESSED FROM HOLES IN THE GROUND,

MUCH LIKE THESE.

Narrator: NEAR THE ANCIENT CITY OF ASWâN,

500 MILES SOUTH OF SIWA,

ON THE BANKS OF THE NILE

SITS THIS SIMILARLY POCKMARKED FEATURE.

THIS PLACE IS CALLED THE TOMBS OF THE NOBLES.

IT'S A BURIAL GROUND, WHAT WE CALL AN ACROPOLIS.

THESE HOLES IN THE GROUND LEAD TO THESE ROUGH-HEWN CAVERNS,

IN WHICH WE FIND BURIED EGYPTIAN ELITE,

MILITARY COMMANDERS, AND SECULAR LEADERS.

Narrator: WHEN ARCHEOLOGISTS GAIN ACCESS TO THE VAST MOUND,

THEY CONFIRM THE HOLES SPOTTED IN THE SATELLITE IMAGE

ARE ENTRANCES TO TOMBS.

THEY'VE BEEN CARVED RIGHT OUT THE LIMESTONE

AND HAVE BEEN THERE FOR THOUSANDS OF YEARS.

THIS WHOLE THING SEEMS TO BE A HIERARCHY --

YOU HAVE PEOPLE ON THE OUTSIDE

WHO COULD ONLY AFFORD A SMALL PLACE,

AND THEN AS YOU GO UP THE MOUND

YOU HAVE MUCH MORE ELABORATE TOMBS.

IT'S FEASIBLE THAT PERHAPS WE MIGHT FIND

A VERY IMPORTANT INDIVIDUAL BURIED HERE.

Narrator: INSIDE THIS MOUNTAIN OF THE DEAD,

INVESTIGATORS DISCOVER SOMETHING INTRIGUING.

Altaweel: THESE TOMBS ARE FROM A VARIETY OF CULTURES,

SO IT SUGGESTS DIFFERENT FOREIGNERS WERE COMING IN

TO THIS REGION FROM THE OUTSIDE, BURYING THEIR DEAD THERE.

Narrator: ARCHEOLOGISTS BELIVE SOMETHING SPECIAL

IS BRINGING KINGS AND NOBLES

FROM FAR AND WIDE TO THE MOUNTAIN OF THE DEAD.

**

ACCORDING TO INSCRIPTIONS ON A NEARBY TEMPLE,

THERE WAS ONCE AN ORACLE HERE,

ONE WITH EXTRAORDINARY POWERS OF DIVINATION AND PROPHECY.

Altaweel: THE STORY OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT COMING TO GET ADVICE

FROM THE ORACLE AND ESSENTIALLY RECEIVING THE KEYS TO EGYPT,

THAT IS BECOMING THE ANOINTED PHARAOH

WHO WOULD HAVE LEGITIMACY IN RULING EGYPT.

Narrator: ON HIS DEATHBED,

ALEXANDER ASKS FOR HIS BODY TO BE BURIED

AT THE ORACLE'S TEMPLE IN SIWA.

YET TO THIS DAY, NO ONE KNOWS FOR CERTAIN

WHERE THE GREAT KING'S BODY RESTS,

AND MUCH OF THE MOUNTAIN OF THE DEAD REMAINS UNEXPLORED.

Chamberlain: FINDING WHERE ALEXANDER THE GREAT IS BURIED

WOULD BE PROBABLY

THE GREATEST ARCHEOLOGICAL DISCOVERY OF ALL TIME.

**

Narrator: COMING UP...

A MYSTERY NOXIOUS MIST SPREADS TERROR IN ENGLAND.

I DON'T WHAT IT IS, BUT I KNOW IT'S NOT GOOD.

**

Narrator: AUGUST 29, 2017.

A SATELLITE FLYING 400 MILES

ABOVE THE ENGLISH CHANNEL CAPTURES

SOMETHING UNUSUAL IN THE WATERS BELOW.

IT IS A PLUME OF GREEN SMOKE COMING OUT OF THE SEA.

Narrator: IMAGE ANALYSIS SUGGESTS

THAT THE GREEN PLUME IS TWO MILES LONG,

AND IT'S MOVING TOWARDS THE ENGLISH COAST.

IT'S ALMOST LIKE THERE'S THIS NEW VOLCANO

COMING UP OUT OF THE ENGLISH CHANNEL,

JUST SPEWING, LIKE, A SULFURIC GAS.

I DON'T KNOW WHAT IT IS, BUT I KNOW IT'S NOT GOOD.

**

Narrator: THREE HOURS AFTER THE IMAGE IS TAKEN,

THE DISPERSED GREEN MIST ROLLS ON TO BEACHES CROWDED

WITH UNSUSPECTING VACATIONERS.

AT FIRST, THEY WERE JUST THINKING, "OH, LOOK,

WE'RE GETTING FOG OFF THE WATER,"

AND THEY PROBABLY DIDN'T PAY MUCH ATTENTION TO IT.

THEN ALL OF A SUDDEN, PEOPLE START REACTING TO IT.

PEOPLE GETTING SICK AND NAUSEOUS, DIZZY.

Narrator: WITHIN MINUTES, THE ONCE-BUSY BEACHES

LIE DESERTED.

**

Capps: IT'S LIKE A STEPHEN KING NOVEL.

THIS EERIE MIST BEGINS TO DESCEND OUT OF NOWHERE,

TURNING YOUR BEACH DAY INTO THIS HORROR MOVIE.

[ SIREN WAILS ]

Narrator: WHEN 150 PEOPLE REQUIRE MEDICAL TREATMENT,

AUTHORITIES REALIZE THEY HAVE A PROBLEM.

THEY SEND IN HAZMAT TEAMS.

THE BRITISH GOVERNMENT LAUNCHES AN INVESTIGATION.

PEOPLE NEED ANSWERS, RIGHT?

YOU DON'T JUST BECOME SICK FOR NOTHING.

Narrator: THE MYSTERY OF THE TOXIC SEA MIST

COMES TO THE ATTENTION OF MARINE BIOLOGIST ROB NELSON.

WHEN I SEE THIS SATELLITE IMAGE, THE FIRST THING THAT I THINK OF

IS SOME ORGANISM IN THE SEA -- ALGAE.

Narrator: ALGAE ARE SIMPLE, PRIMITIVE ORGANISMS,

WHICH USE SUNLIGHT TO CREATE ENERGY.

IN SUMMER MONTHS, SUCH AS WHEN THE SATELLITE IMAGE WAS TAKEN,

AND WITH THE RIGHT CONDITIONS,

COLONIES SEVERAL MILES LONG APPEAR

ON THE SURFACE OF THE SEA.

ALGAL BLOOMS, IN GENERAL,

POP UP WHEN YOU HAVE AN INFLUX OF NUTRIENTS.

THE ALGAE STARTS TO REPRODUCE, AND YOU GET THESE ALGAL BLOOMS.

**

Narrator: ALTHOUGH ONLY A SMALL PERCENTAGE

OF ALGAL BLOOMS ARE TOXIC,

BIOLOGISTS CONFIRM THAT SOME CAN PRODUCE NOXIOUS GASES

LIKE AMMONIA.

Chamberlain: THEY'RE ESSENTIALLY PUMPING OUT POISONOUS GASES,

AND WE KNOW THAT IT CAN ALSO AFFECT HUMANS.

IF YOU WERE CLOSE ENOUGH TO BREATHE THIS STUFF IN,

IT COULD REALLY MESS YOU UP.

Narrator: BUT THE ALGAL EXPLANATION DOESN'T ADD UP.

THE STRONG CURRENTS OF THE ENGLISH CHANNEL

SHOULD MAKE IT NEARLY IMPOSSIBLE FOR IT TO GROW HERE.

AND ONCE SCIENTISTS FROM THE NEARBY

PLYMOUTH MARINE LAB HEAD TO THE PATCH OF SEA

IN THE SATELLITE IMAGE,

THEY FIND NO TRACE OF ALGAE IN THE WATER.

THEY DIDN'T FIND ANY TOXIC ALGAE,

WHICH BEGS THE QUESTION,

"WHAT CAUSED THIS TOXIC MIST IF IT WASN'T ALGAE?"

**

Narrator: INVESTIGATORS SHIFT THEIR FOCUS

TO THE ENGLISH CHANNEL ITSELF,

THE WORLD'S BUSIEST STRETCH OF WATER.

WHEN YOU LOOK AT THE SATELLITE IMAGE,

YOU CAN SEE THAT IT'S CLEARLY COMING FROM OUT OF THE WATER.

THE NEXT QUESTION IS,

"WHAT'S DOWN THERE IN THE ENGLISH CHANNEL?"

Narrator: HISTORICAL MARITIME RECORDS REVEAL

THAT THROUGHOUT HISTORY, THE ENGLISH CHANNEL

IS ONE OF THE MOST PERILOUS SHIPPING STRAITS ON THE PLANET.

THE ENTIRE ENGLISH CHANNEL IS FULL OF SUNKEN SHIPS.

IT'S LIKE A SHIP GRAVEYARD.

Narrator: MARINE ARCHEOLOGISTS HAVE CATALOGUED

THOUSANDS OF SHIPWRECKS HERE,

SOME DATING BACK AS FAR AS THE BRONZE AGE.

**

INVESTIGATORS FOCUS ON THE HUNDREDS SUNK

DURING THE 20th CENTURY'S TWO WORLD WARS.

MANY OF THEM TOOK UNKNOWN QUANTITIES OF MUNITIONS

AND LETHAL CHEMICALS WITH THEM TO THE SEABED.

WHEN THE BRITISH MARITIME AND COASTGUARD AGENCY

COMPARES THE LOCATIONS OF KNOWN WRECKS WITH THE GREEN MIST,

ONE STANDS OUT -- THE SS MIRA.

THE MIRA IS A WORLD WAR I TANKER SHIP

THAT WAS FULL OF GASOLINE.

THE GERMANS ATTACKED WITH A SUBMARINE,

AND IT SANK TO THE BOTTOM,

RIGHT UNDER WHERE WE SEE THIS PLUME.

Narrator: OIL CAN GIVE OFF NOXIOUS FUMES WHEN IT BURNS,

BUT SCIENTISTS DOUBT THAT LEAKING OIL

FROM THE 100-YEAR-OLD WRECK

COULD ACCOUNT FOR THE GREEN MIST

AND THE TROUBLING MEDICAL SYMPTOMS.

THE SOURCE OF THE STRANGE TOXIC MIST

CAPTURED IN THE SATELLITE IMAGE REMAINS A MYSTERY.

**