Original subtitles

Gates: The Greatest Conqueror In History -- Genghis Khan.

Where Do You Think Genghis Khan Is Buried?

He Moved Heaven And Earth To Stay Hidden For All Eternity.

Yeah, Those Are Bricks. That Is Definitely Man-Made.

But Nobody Can Hide Forever.

♪♪

So This Forbidden Zone Is Completely Closed To Foreigners?

-Yes. -Hang On, Hang On!

Oh, Ho Ho! That Is A Spear Point. That's Cool.

I've Never Seen A Tomb Opened Before In My Life.

I've Never Seen This.

This Is History That's Right Underneath Our Feet.

Look At That! That Looks Man-Made.

♪♪

When It Comes To History's Greatest Leaders,

The Phrase "Larger Than Life" Gets Thrown Around A Lot.

But There Is One Man

Who May Actually Deserve To Be Called Larger Than Life --

Genghis Khan.

Over His 21-Year Rule,

He Conquers More Territory Than Anyone In History.

He Travels Further Than Alexander The Great,

Lays Waste To More Cities Than Caesar,

And Kills Millions More Than Stalin.

His Nomadic Warriors

Ride Like A Wave Of Destruction Across Asia,

Destroying Empires

And Reshaping The Map Of The World Behind Them.

You Would Think A Man Who Lived So Large

Would Have Built An Enormous Tomb,

But Khan Wanted Exactly The Opposite.

He Commanded His Followers

To Not Only Bury Him In An Unmarked Grave,

But To Kill Anyone Who Laid Eyes On His Funeral Procession.

Since His Death In 1227,

The Location Of Genghis Khan's Tomb

Has Been A Complete And Total Unknown.

But That May Be About To Change.

A Group Of Researchers Recently Did Something Very Unorthodox,

They Asked The Public For Help.

Using Satellite Images Of Mongolia's Desolate Landscape,

More Than 10,000 Volunteers

Have Been Scouring 84,000 Images For Anomalous Formations.

One Of Those Images Shows A Square Shape

That Could Be An Ancient Indicator Of A Nearby Tomb.

Oh, There Is Just One Catch --

The Site Is Located In An Area Known As The Forbidden Zone --

A Holy Mountain Strictly Off Limits To Outsiders

And Tightly Guarded By A Local Tribe.

But A Team Of Mongolian Archeologists

Is Launching An Investigation Of This New Find,

And I'm Going To Attempt To Go With Them.

In Some Of The Most Remote Wilderness On Earth,

Are We About To Discover The Long-Lost Tomb Of Genghis Khan?

♪♪

My Name Is Josh Gates.

With A Degree In Archaeology And A Passion For Exploration,

I Have A Tendency To End Up In Some Very Strange Situations.

Good Lord! [ Laughs ]

My Travels Have Taken Me To The Ends Of The Earth

As I Investigate The Greatest Legends In History.

We're Good To Fly. Let's Go.

This Is...

--Captions By Vitac-- Www.Vitac.Com

Captions Paid For By Discovery Communications

[ Bird Squawks ]

[ Camel Grunts ]

Mongolia.

An Empire Of Empty Space.

Thousands Of Miles Of Grass, Plains, And Mountains.

And At Its Heart,

Something Out Of Place -- A City.

My Quest To Document The Search For The Tomb Of Genghis Khan

Begins Here In The Frontier Capital Of Ulaanbaatar,

Or Ulan Bator, Or U.B.

Honestly, Nobody Here Can Agree On How To Pronounce It.

One Thing People Here Can Agree On Is That It's Pronounced

"Chinggis," Not "Genghis."

And So I Land At Chinggis Khaan Airport.

In The West, Our Image Of Khan Is Of A Warlord.

But Here, He's Not Just Revered As A Hero,

He's Practically Worshipped.

His Name And Formidable Mug Can Be Seen On Everything

From Hotels To Vodka To Energy Drinks.

He's Got His Own Version Of The Lincoln Memorial.

And If That's Not Enough,

His Portrait Is Embedded On The Side Of A Hill

That Overlooks The Entire City.

Ulaanbaatar Is Kind Of A Work In Progress.

It's A Traffic-Jam Metropolis

Where Nomads Coexist Alongside Tech Entrepreneurs.

But Once A Year, The City Nearly Doubles In Size

As Mongolians Flock To The Capital

In The Name Of Genghis Khan.

♪♪

This Is Naadam...

A Festival That, According To Legend,

Was Actually Started By Genghis Khan.

Khan Instituted The Event As A Way For His Armies To Train

And To Celebrate Their Victories.

These Days, Though, It's Less Blood Sport

And More Mario And Luigi,

Not To Mention The Mongolian Justin Bieber.

[ Singing In Mongolian ]

Gates: The Event Is A Total Spectacle,

And In The Stalls Surrounding The Stadium,

There's Local Delicacies And Collectibles

And Absolutely No Rules

About The Unqualified Handling Of Predatory Birds.

"Josh, How Did You Lose Both Of Your Eyes?"

"Oh, It's A Funny Story, Actually.

I Was In Mongolia..."

But There's More To Naadam Than Just Celebrating.

It's Also Called The Festival Of The Three Games --

Archery...

Wrestling,

And Horseback Riding.

Three Activities That Seem To Be Imprinted In Mongolian Dna.

This Is, After All,

A Country Where Horses Outnumber People 13:1,

And Mongolians Have Long Been Considered

The Greatest Equestrians On Earth.

Khan Was The First Leader To Train Archers On Horseback,

And Nearly A Thousand Years Later,

Their Aim Is Still Beyond Belief.

But The Centerpiece Of Naadam Is The Wrestling,

Where The True Determination Of Mongolian Spirit

Is On Full Display.

♪♪

The Rules Of Mongolian Wrestling, Very Simple --

The Only Thing That Is Allowed To Touch The Ground

Are Your Feet Or Your Hands.

Anything Else, And You Lose.

Body Slam!

Today, 512 Men Will Wrestle Out Here To Find One Champion.

That's A Lot Of Guys In Underwear.

To Understand Khan,

I Need To Understand The Traditions He Inspired,

Which Means I'm Going To Do Something Totally Stupid.

♪♪

Okay, Here We Go. Sir, I Don't Want To Hurt You.

You, Hospital.

-Me To The Hospital? -Yes.

[ Laughs ] That's Funny.

-Okay, You Ready? -Okay.

Guy's Like A Wall.

I'm In Trouble. I'm In Trouble.

♪♪

Okay. Warming Up.

♪♪

Guy's Like A Mountain!

♪♪

[ Thud! Tweet! Tweet! Tweet! ]

Okay, That Hurt A Little.

Once My Vision Returns,

I Decide To Quit While I'm Behind.

I Give Up. He Wins. Champion.

Oh, God!

Tune In Next Week To See

If I'm Able To Raise My Right Arm Again.

♪♪

As Impressive As Naadam Is,

The Largest Testament To Khan's Enduring Legacy

Is Just Outside Of Town, And It's Hard To Miss --

The Tsonjin Boldog Monument.

At 130 Feet High,

This Is The Largest Equestrian Statue In The World.

So, Who Was This Man So Revered By His People,

Yet Reviled By Others?

Filling Me In Is An Expert In Mongolian History,

Dr. Batsukh Otgonsereenen.

Genghis Khan Ends Up Controlling This Massive Empire,

But What's His Story From An Early Age?

Interpreter: What We Know Of Him Comes From A 14Th Century Text

Called The "Sacred History Of The Mongols."

When Genghis Khan Was Young,

A Rival Tribe Killed His Father, Forcing Him And His Mother

To Survive On Their Own Out On The Harsh Plains.

This Difficult Childhood Inspired The Young Khan

To Unify The Warring Tribes Of His Native Land,

Giving Birth To The Country Of Mongolia.

♪♪

[ Horse Neighs ]

Gates: Over The Next Two Decades, His Fearless Army

Thundered A Bloody Path Across The Continent

To Build What Would Become The Largest Empire

In Human History.

At Its Height, The Mongols

Controlled An Area From Japan To Central Europe,

And From Siberia To The Edge Of Arabia.

When Conquering New Territory,

Khan Notoriously Refused To Compromise.

His Message To Local Rulers Was As Simple

As It Was Horrifying --

Surrender Immediately, Or Everyone Dies.

♪♪

In Fact, He Conquered So Many Nations

And Fathered So Many Children

That It Now Estimated That One In 200 Men Alive Today

Is A Direct Descendant Of Genghis Khan.

In The West, We Think Of Genghis Khan

As A Pretty Brutal Guy, You Know, As A Warlord.

But Here, He's This Larger-Than-Life Figure,

Literally. So The Question Is Which Is He?

Is He The Good Guy, Or Is He The Villain?

Genghis Khan Is A Hero.

He Established The Trade Routes That Connected Asia To Europe,

Which Helped Both Continents Flourish With New Knowledge.

The Mongol Empire Also Allowed Complete Religious Freedom,

Which Was Unheard Of At The Time.

There's Been A Lot Of Talk About Genghis Khan's Burial Place.

You Know, There's Always Been This Great Mystery

About Where He's Buried, Where His Tomb Is.

So, Where Do I Start?

The Tomb Is Our Greatest Mystery.

There Is An Archeologist Working In The West

Called Mijiddorj Enkhbayar

That Is Part Of A Team Searching For It.

He's The Man To Talk To.

Gates: Sounds Straightforward Enough.

Find The Archeologist

And Perhaps Find The Most Famous Lost Tomb In History.

But Nothing In Mongolia Is Easy,

Especially When It Comes To Road Trips.

I've Enlisted The Services Of Dandii Dashsambuu,

An Experienced Guide And Translator.

We've Put Together A Convoy Of All-Terrain Vehicles,

Local Drivers, Fuel Canisters,

And Enough Food To Last A Week.

Hit It.

♪♪

An Hour Outside The Capital,

And We May As Well Be On Another Planet.

Forget A Gas Station,

It's Hard Enough To Find An Actual Road Out Here.

♪ I'm At Home On The Road ♪

Gates: And Once You Get Outside The City,

There Is Not A Lot Going On Out Here, Is There?

First Guy Who Opens A 7-Eleven Out Here

Is Gonna Make A Fortune.

I've Been Told That Professor Mijiddorj

Is Excavating At A Site

To The West Near The Ancient City Of Karakorum.

And If We Don't Manage To Flip A Jeep,

We Should Be Able To Get There In About Nine Bumpy Hours.

The Definition Of The Word "Road" Is Pretty Loose Here

In Mongolia, Dandii.

As Soon As Your Car Can Go, Then It's Your Road.

Yeah, As Long As Your Car Can Make It, Right?

You Could Just Choose Your Own Road.

Though Our Road Trip Started With Little Trouble,

Three-Quarters Of The Way To Karakorum...

[ Thunder Rumbles ]

...Mother Nature Decides To Amp Things Up A Little.

Boy, This Rain Does Not Look Like It's Letting Up.

After A Few Minutes, Our Dirt Road

Looks More Like A Mongolian Monster Truck Course.

A Little Slippery In Here.

It's All Fun And Games

Until Our Friction Coefficient Hits Zero.

♪♪

Hang On, Hang On!

Gates: I'm Driving Across Mongolia

To Meet A Prominent Archeologist

Searching For The Lost Tomb Of Genghis Khan.

And My Convoy Is Struggling To Pass

Through A Nasty Thunderstorm.

A Little Slippery In Here.

Hang On, Hang On!

♪♪

Oh, There We Go. It's Fine.

We're Gonna Be Fine.

Good Lord.

Once We're All Back Facing In The Same Direction, We Start

Again Toward Our Meeting With Professor Mijiddorj.

Along The Way, We're Passing By A Critical Location

In The Hunt For Genghis Khan --

The Now-Abandoned Capital City He Founded In The Year 1220.

♪♪

This Is The City Of Karakorum, Or What's Left Of It.

Genghis Khan Actually Established This City

As A Supply Base And A Military Outpost.

This Is Also The Last Place

That Genghis Khan's Body Was Ever Seen.

After He Died Somewhere In What Is Today China,

His Funeral Procession Emanated From Here.

After That, Well,

That's What Everybody's Trying To Figure Out.

Even By Mongol Standards,

Genghis Khan Went To Great Lengths

To Ensure That His Burial Site Would Remain A Secret.

According To One Legend, His Soldiers

Murdered Anyone Who Witnessed The Funeral Procession.

Another Story Says A Stampede Of Horses

Was Used To Stomp Out All Signs Of The Grave.

Some Even Say That An Entire River

Was Diverted To Flow Over The Tomb.

Thanks To Khan's Extraordinary Precautions,

The Pursuit That Began With His Death In 1227

Still Continues Today.

Mijiddorj Enkhbayar, Of Ulaanbaatar State University,

Is One Of The Archeologists Leading The Hunt

For Genghis Khan.

I Hope To Join Him.

That Is, If We Can Find Him.

Okay, So, Dandii, Walk Me Through It.

Where Are We Headed? -Eg River.

-Eg River? -Yep.

Lots Of Archeological Diggings Are Happening There.

They Say That About 300 Tombs Has Been Found.

Bronze Age, Stone Age, Even The Xiongnu Era.

And The Xiongnu Era Is Before The Mongols, Right?

-Yep, Before The Mongols. -So This Is Before Genghis Khan.

Before Genghis Khan -- Which Is The Mongolian Ancestors.

Right.

These Xiongnu Tombs May Be The Key To Finding Genghis Khan,

Since His Tomb May Be Based On Their General Design.

We're Close To The Dig Site.

Unfortunately, There's A River

That Threatens To Make The Last Half Mile Take Half A Day.

That Is A Big River.

♪♪

In The Greatest Equestrian Nation In The World,

Getting Across A River

Is Simply A Matter Of Borrowing A Couple Of Ponies

From A Local Rancher.

All Right, Let's Do It.

♪♪

Big Guy On A Little Horse. Here We Go.

[ Horse Neighs ]

This Seems Like A Bad Idea.

Getting Deep. -I Don't Swim.

You Can't Swim?!

What Are You Doing Out Here On A Horse?!

No Road, No Ferry, No Problem.

-Oh, It's Getting Better. -Yeah, Just Push Through It.

Now On The Right Side Of The River,

We Take Off Like A Shot And Make For The Dig Site.

Hyah!

[ Horse Neighs ]

Soon, We Arrive At Professor Mijiddorj's Excavation

Where He's Discovered 300 Xiongnu Tombs

That Pre-Date Genghis Khan.

So, You're A Hard Man To Find.

[ Speaks Mongolian ]

Ah. [ Speaks Mongolian ]

Well, It's His Duty.

Yeah, That's The Job, Right?

Gates: We've Arrived In Time For A Momentous Occasion.

Professor Mijiddorj

And His Team Are About To Open This Ancient Tomb.

[ Speaks Mongolian ]

Dashsambuu: He's Ready To Clean It Out And To Discover It.

It's Really Thrilling.

I've Never Seen A Tomb Opened Before In My Life.

I've Never Seen This.

Anything I Can Do To Help?

Gates: Together, We Start Moving The Hundreds Of Heavy Rocks

That Hide The Tomb Below.

Great. Are You Kidding?

It's Exciting!

Really Incredibly Rare Opportunity To Be Able

To Open A Tomb Like This,

To See It Happen In Real Time.

We Keep Excavating --

Driven By The Possibility Of A Find Just A Little Further

Below Our Brushes.

Oh, Oh, Oh!

Bone, Yeah? Skull, Yeah?

Oh, My God!

Gates: Near Mongolia's Ancient Capital Of Karakorum, Archeologist

Mijiddorj Enkhbayar Has Just Made An Astounding Discovery.

Oh, Oh, Oh!

Bone, Yeah? Skull, Yeah?

Oh, My God!

♪♪

It's Male.

This Tomb Is 4,000 Years Old,

And The Skull That We've Uncovered

Could Be A Direct Ancestor Of Genghis Khan Himself.

It's A Remarkable Find.

Mijiddorj Explains That Most Xiongnu Tombs

Were Originally Round And Later More Square,

With The Bodies Pointed North At Prominent Locations --

Like This Hill.

It's These Clues That Are Helping Mijiddorj

As He Prepares To Travel To The Location

Where He Thinks Khan Is Buried.

I Ask Him About How He Discovered The Prospective

Burial Site.

[ Speaking Mongolian ]

Interpreter: We Used Satellite Photos To Look At A Sacred Mountain

That Was Important To Genghis Khan.

We Found A Squared-Off Shape On The Mountain

That We Think Is A Temple.

I Think That Temple Is A Sign

That Khan's Tomb May Be At The Summit.

There's Just One Problem.

The Mountain, Known As Burkhan Khaldun,

Is Considered Sacred.

While Mijiddorj Has Special Permission

To Access The Mountain,

It Is Strictly Off-Limits To Outsiders.

Is It Possible To Go There?

Is It Possible To Visit The Mountain?

It Is Possible, But You're Going To Need Some Help.

Okay, Who Do We Talk To?

Interpreter: The Only Person Who Might Be Able To Get You

And Your Crew Onto The Mountain With Us Is My Colleague,

Professor Erdenebataar Diimaajav.

He And I Have Been Working Together To Find Khan's Tomb.

He's Very Influential.

If You Want To Try, I'm Happy To Make The Introduction.

-Okay. -Okay.

How Do We Find This Guy?

Gates: And Just Like That, We're Back On The Muddy Mongolian Highway.

Our Plan Is To Track Northeast To Intersect Mijiddorj's Boss,

Dr. Erdenebataar.

From There, If I'm Lucky,

We'll All Push Even Further To The Holy Mountain

Of Burkhan Khaldun,

Where Khan Might Be Buried.

Dr. Erdenebataar Is Something Of A Celebrity In Mongolia,

For Discovering A Hoard Of Xiongnu Treasure

Dating Back Over A Thousand Years.

We Arrived To Find Mongolia's Most Famous Archeologist

Waiting For Us By The Side Of The Road.

-Hello. -[ Speaks Mongolian ]

I'm Josh.

Nice To Meet You.

Mijiddorj Here Tells Me That You Are The Man

To Talk To About The Holy Mountain.

I Know This Mountain Is Sacred,

But Why Is It So Restricted?

Why Is This Such A Difficult Place To Visit?

Interpreter: Khan Believed The Mountain Was His Heavenly Protector,

And Even During His Life,

It Was Considered A Holy Place.

Many People Have Theorized

That Khan's Tomb Could Be On This Mountain.

Do You Think It Could Be There?

That's The Question.

There Are Three Very Old Shrines, Called Ovoos,

That Mark The Base, Midpoint,

And Summit Of The Mountain.

The Satellites Have Shown At The Midpoint

Is A Buried Structure That Could Be A Temple,

And At The Peak,

A Strange Mound That Could Be Man-Made.

Our Goal Is To Reach Both Locations And Survey Them.

With Your Help, We Would Love To Visit The Mountain.

We Would Love To See The Site.

I Know That It May Not Be Possible For Us To Go,

But We'd Love To Try.

The Area Is Very Restricted.

It Is Called The Forbidden Zone.

I Can't Make Any Promises,

But We'll Do Our Best To Bring You As Far As We Can.

We'll Follow You. Okay. Good, Let's Do It.

♪♪

I Have To Say I Am Blown Away By The Hospitality Of These Guys,

But If They Can't Get Me Onto The Mountain,

It's All For Nothing.

So This Forbidden Zone Is Completely Closed To Foreigners?

Yeah, Especially Around The Mountain Itself.

And What Happens If Foreigners Go There?

Well, First Of All, It's Going To Be Almost Impossible

To Go Through The Checkpoints.

There's A Risk To Run Into Locals.

-Locals? -Yeah.

And Who Are The Locals That Are Up Here?

The Tribe From 13Th Century Who Received The Order

From Genghis Khan Himself To Guard The Mountain.

It's The Descendents Of That Tribe?

-Descendants. -And They're Still Following

Genghis Khan's Orders? -Yep.

That's Incredible.

The Darkhad Tribe Take Their Job Very Seriously.

By Order Of Genghis Khan Himself,

A Nearly 100-Square-Mile Perimeter

Was Closed Off Around The Holy Mountain.

It Is Known As The Great Taboo,

Or The Forbidden Zone.

Until 20 Years Ago, Trespassers Here Were Killed On Sight.

Today, They're Merely Beaten And Then Deported.

We Drive Through Lonely Valleys

And Past Abandoned Soviet-Era Military Barracks.

Frankly, It's A Bit Spooky Out Here.

After Hours, We Finally Arrive At The Checkpoint

To The Forbidden Zone.

Let's Hope We All Make A Good First Impression

Or This Mission Is Over.

Hello. Nice To Meet You.

[ Conversing In Mongolian ]

Nice To Meet You. Hello. Hi.

This Man Is A Senior Member Of The Darkhad Tribe.

He Is Quite Literally The Gatekeeper Here,

And His Word Is Law.

Professor Erdenebataar Will Have To Plead Our Case To Him.

[ Speaking Mongolian ]

[ Speaking Mongolian ]

In Case You Don't Speak Mongolian,

This Is Not Going Well For Us.

I'm Looking At Thousands Of Dollars

In Non-Refundable Airfare

Going Up In The Gatekeeper's Pipe.

[ Conversing In Mongolian ]

♪♪

Gates: We're Being Held Up At The Checkpoint

To The Holy Mountain

Where The Tomb Of Genghis Khan Might Be Hiding.

Professor Erdenebataar Is Trying To Convince The Gatekeeper

That Our Intentions Are Noble And To Let Us Pass.

[ Speaking Mongolian ]

The Gatekeeper Hasn't Been Convinced.

He Tell Us That He Wants To Consider Our Request Overnight,

Which Means We Aren't Going Anywhere.

Okay, So The...

The Professor Is Continuing He Conversation.

We Are Not Gonna Make It Into The Forbidden Zone Tonight,

And So The Good News Is,

We're Being Allowed To Stay Here And To Sleep Here Tonight.

We're Not Being Thrown Out Or Beat Up,

So I'll Take That As A Positive.

Now Time To Camp.

♪♪

[ Motor Whirring ]

Oh!

♪♪

I Feel Like There's A Lot Of Flies Here.

I Mean, A Lot. Like, They All,

Like, Congregated In This Area.

Gates: What's On The Agenda For Tonight?

Closing The Tent Door.

Be One With The Flies.

Gah!

Evan, You're Supposed To Be Helping Me.

I Am! I'm Doing A Handstand!

How Is That Helping, Exactly?

Is There A Manual With This Thing?

This Is Like The Craziest Tent I've Ever Seen.

It's Sundown.

And Though The Gatekeeper Isn't Letting Us

Through His Checkpoint...

For Me? Oh, Boy!

...He Politely Invites Us In For A Custom

That Seems To Transcend Language...

That's Smooth.

...Happy Hour.

One Drink Turns To Two, Which Turns To Four.

The Locals Even Break Out Their Best Snuff Tobacco.

[ Sniffs ]

Very Nice. Thank You.

Soon, Something Unexpected Is Happening.

They're Warming Up To Us.

[ Laughs ]

I Tell You What, Josh, They Love Kentucky Bourbon Whiskey Here.

In Fact, The More We Drink,

The Happier They Are That We're Here.

To Genghis Khan.

♪♪

Okay.

The Next Morning, I'm Facing A Mongolian Hangover.

However, Our Drinking Session Has Paid Off.

The Gatekeeper Is Convinced Of Our Good Intentions

And Has Agreed To Let Us Into The Forbidden Zone --

Under One Condition.

He And His Grandson Insist On Coming With Us

To Make Sure We Don't Compromise The Sanctity Of The Site.

♪♪

♪♪

-We're In. -Welcome To The Forbidden Zone.

I Feel Like Charlton Heston Right Now.

♪♪

Are There Stories About This Mountain Having Great Power?

In My Novelettes, I Heard That The Mountain

Hides Itself With The Help Of The Clouds And The Fog.

If The Mountain Doesn't Want To Show Itself.

Right.

A Place Of Mystery. -Yeah.

Also A Mystery, How Far We're Going To Be Able To Travel

On This Slippery, One-Track Road.

Okay, It Is Getting Muddy In Here.

I Mean, You Get Stuck Out Here,

Nobody's Coming To Get You.

One Car Through.

Three To Go.

Here We Go.

Nice And Easy, Girl.

[ Engine Revs ]

Oh [Bleep] He's Stuck.

He Might Be Able To Get Out Of This.

Buddy, Go!

Okay, Probably Not Now.

Nothing An Old Strap And A Few Knots Can't Fix.

Slowly, Slowly, Yeah? Here We Go.

Yeah, Yeah.

Man: Go, Go, Go, Go! Go, Go, Go!

Go, Go, Go, Go, Go! Go! Go! Go, Go! Go, Go!

Good!

Faster Than A Nascar Pit Crew, We're Back On The Road.

Five Hours Later, The Sky Above Turns Dark.

A Storm Is Coming.

[ Thunder Crashes ]

And We're Clearly Not Making It

To The Base Of The Mountain Today.

Okay, Let's Get These Tents Set Up.

It Is Raining.

Once Again, It's Time To Make Camp.

♪♪

[ Thunder Rumbles ]

It Quickly Becomes Apparent

That Mongolians Do Not Screw Around When It Come So Camping.

In The Time It Takes Me To Unroll My Sleeping Bag,

They've Put Up A Tent That's Nicer Than My First Apartment.

Forget Your Fancy Store-Bought R.E.I. Three-Season Tent.

Mongolian Tents Have A Working Fireplace.

The Stove Is Powered By Animal Droppings,

Which Might Not Smell Great,

But It Is Warm.

In No Time At All, The Locals Whip Up A Delicious Meal.

Even The Cutlery Is Homemade.

The Professor Just Made These Chopsticks.

Man: How Is It?

They're Perfect!

These Guys Put My Camping Skills To Shame.

So, Professor,

Where Do You Think Genghis Khan Is Buried?

[ Speaking Mongolian ]

Interpreter: I'm Not Sure. The Satellite Photos

Are Compelling, But We Need To Get A Closer Look.

Mijiddorj, Do You Agree?

[ Speaking Mongolian ]

Interpreter: I'm More Convinced He's Buried At The Summit.

And What About Your Grandfather?

Where Do You Think That Genghis Khan Is Buried?

[ Speaking Mongolian ]

During Genghis Khan's Time,

He Said It Was Forbidden To Search For Any Tombs

Of The Kings.

Because It Might Be Here.

But It's Forbidden, It's Confidential, Secret.

Gates: This View Is Shared By Many Mongolians.

As Much As They Revere Khan,

Most Are Dead Set Against Digging Him Up If He's Found.

For This Reason,

The Archeologists Are Limited To Surveying

And Using Non-Invasive Methods Here.

[ Speaking Mongolian ]

So Right Now, For Example, If He Finds Genghis Khan's Tomb

And Starts To Excavate It,

Mr. [Speaks Mongolian] Is Going To Cut His Throat.

And This Brings A Swift End

To The Chit-Chat Portion Of Our Evening.

♪♪

Every Morning, We're A Little Slower Getting Out Of The Tents.

But We Keep Going Because The Last Leg

Of Our Journey Is Finally In Sight.

♪♪

So You Think That's The Mountain Right There?

Dashsambuu: Yep.

After A Few More Bumpy Hours, The Convoy Slows To A Halt.

The Cars Are Stopping.

-It's The End Of The Road. -We're Here.

Okay. Here We Go, Boys.

♪♪

At Long Last, We've Arrived At The Base

Of Genghis Khan's Holy Mountain, Burkhan Khaldun.

This Is The Lowest Of The Three Shrines Here,

Known As Ovoos.

Professor Erdenebataar May Be A Scientist,

But He's Also A Mongolian.

Before Continuing, He Pays Respect To The Mountain

And To Khan By Making Offerings Of Vodka And Mare's Milk.

He Asks The Gods For Success On Our Journey.

♪♪

The Mountain Gets Steeper From Here,

And We're Out Of Roads.

But Professor Erdenebataar

Has Called Ahead To A Local Tribesman

To Arrange Horses For Our Team.

♪♪

The Cavalry.

We Transfer Our Gear...

All Right. It's Good To Go.

...But The Animals Seem Skittish...

-Hey! -Whoa!

...A Sign To The Locals

That There's Something Dangerous On The Mountain.

[ Horse Neighs ]

Professor!

Gates: Climbing The Sacred Mountain Of Burkhan Khaldun On The Search

For Genghis Khan's Hidden Tomb,

Our Team Is Traveling By Horseback

For The Last Leg Of The Journey.

But Not Everyone Stays That Way.

[ Horse Neighs ]

Professor!

-Yeah? -You Okay?

Okay? -Yeah.

It's A Nasty-Looking Fall,

But It Will Take More Than That To Slow Down A Mongolian.

The Professor Just Gets Right Back On The Horse.

♪♪

Yeah, The Cars Definitely Would Not Have Made It Through Here.

Man: Nope.

We're On Our Way Up To The Midpoint Of The Mountain

Where The Second Shrine Awaits Us,

And Where Satellite Photos Recently Revealed Ancient Ruins

That Could Be A Marker For Khan's Tomb.

Very Few Non-Mongolians

Have Made This Journey Up To This Mountain,

So I Have To Say, For As Hard As This Trip Has Been,

I'm Feeling Very Lucky Right Now.

[ Horse Neighs ]

Really Steep In Here And Uneven.

The Horses Are Slipping All Over The Place.

Pretty Rough.

Stop.

Too Muddy And Steep In Here To Ride,

So We're Walking Through This Section.

Big Log Here.

You Got It.

After Days In Cars, On Horseback, And Foot,

Through Checkpoints And Shrines,

We've Made It To The Midway Point Of The Mountain.

Huge Shrine Here.

We Fan Out To Search The Area For Signs

Of The Buried Structure That Was Spotted By Satellites.

♪♪

So, The Real Challenge Up Here

Is That We Can't Really Use Any Archeological Equipment.

Can't Shovel Into The Ground.

You Know, This Is A Sacred Mountain,

And So, Really Other Than

Just Moving Things Around With Your Hands A Little Bit,

Any Major Excavation -- Totally Forbidden.

♪♪

♪♪

Dashsambuu: Josh?

-Yeah? -Come Over Here, Please.

What Do You Got?

Oh!

What Did You Find?

Gates: Whoa!

The Professor Has Found The Structure.

There You Can See --

That Is Definitely Man-Made.

Yeah, Those Are Definitely Bricks.

You Can See The Seams.

So This Would Have Been Part Of,

What, Do You Think A Foundation, A Bottom?

Dashsambuu: No, This Was Wall.

So This Is Part Of A Wall?

[ Speaking Mongolian ]

That One Came From The Roof.

Oh, Look At That. That's A Roof Tile.

That's Ceramic From A Roof, Yeah?

What Age Do You Think This Is?

[ Speaking Mongolian ]

16Th Century.

We're A Few Hundred Years After Genghis Khan, Then.

Yes.

So This Is History That's Right Underneath Our Feet.

Gates: The Remains Are Likely From Some Sort Of Temple.

The Question Is Was This Temple Built As A Place

To Worship The Mountain Or As A Place To Worship Khan?

We Continue Looking For Anything Else

That Could Connect Us To Genghis Khan.

Oh, Look At This!

Come Here, Come Here, Come Here.

See That?

See This?

See This?

Look At This.

Oh!

Piece Of Iron.

Arrow Point Of Some Sort.

Oh, My God.

That Is A Spear Point.

That Is Legit.

Mijiddorj, Dandii, Come Here.

Look At This!

Spear?

-[ Speaks Mongolian ] -Yeah.

In Here, All In Here.

It's All Trapped Inside The Tree Roots.

It Looks Like When This Tree Fell,

It Took A Bunch Of Material Up With It.

So You Can See -- I Didn't Want To Dig Too Deep,

But There's Stuff All Here,

And It Looks Like All Down In Here As Well.

-Oh, Look. -Oh, Ho Ho!

Big Boy!

Big Boy, Look At That!

That's Cool.

These Relics Are A Major Find.

These Are Museum-Quality Ceremonial Objects

From Almost 600 Years Ago,

And They Are Clear Indicators That A Significant Temple

Was Located Here.

So What Do You Think? Why -- Why Is This Temple Here?

[ Speaking Mongolian ]

Mm-Hmm.

Mijiddorj Confirms That On Any Other Mountains,

You Wouldn't Find Any Temples In Mongolia.

Right.

So Why Does It Build Here?

Maybe Around Here Is The Actual Tomb.

How Do You Tell If The Top Is A Tomb?

There Is No Way To Do The Excavation Or Study

At The Top Of The Mountain.

-For Anybody? -For Anybody.

The Only Chance Is To Photograph The Top Of The Mountain

To See If It Reveals Anything.

And, Hopefully, That Gives Us An Answer.

Gates: As Valuable As These Pieces Are,

Professor Mijiddorj Insists That We Return The Artifacts

To Where We Found Them --

Out Of Respect For The Holy Mountain.

Now That We Found This Temple,

The Only Place To Go Is Up --

To The Shrine That Mijiddorj

Thinks Could Mark Khan's Actual Tomb.

We Prepare To Move On To The Summit

When We Get An Alert On Our Satellite Phone.

[ Beeping ]

Another Huge Storm Is Moving Towards Us.

If We Attempt To Climb Any Further,

We Risk Getting Caught In Extreme Conditions.

But The Professors Aren't Willing To Turn Back Now.

With Less Than A Six-Hour Window In Which To Work,

Professor Erdenebataar

Calls A Contact In The Mongolian Military.

Soon, A Helicopter Arrives,

Ready To Whisk Us To The Summit.

The Professors Are Going To

Conduct A High-Resolution Photographic Scan Of The Summit.

♪♪

Satellites Have Detected An Unusual Formation At The Peak,

And They Hope To Construct A Topographic Model

To Determine If There's Something Man-Made Hidden There.

♪♪

♪♪

Gates: I'm About To Go Where No Foreigner Is Allowed --

To The Top Of The Holiest Mountain In Mongolia,

Where Genghis Khan May Be Buried.

♪♪

♪♪

♪♪

♪♪

I Have To Admit, It Does Look Like The Earth

Has Been Manipulated Here.

This Could Be It.

We May Very Well

Be Looking Straight Down On Genghis Khan's Secret Grave.

♪♪

We Scan The Mountain By Photographing

And Filming It In A 360-Degree Rotation

So That A Detailed Topographic Map Can Be Rendered.

♪♪

After Thoroughly Scanning The Summit,

And With Weather Moving In, We're Forced To Retreat.

♪♪

The Chopper Turns Around,

And I Say A Final Goodbye To Burkhan Khaldun.

♪♪

Back On Terra Firma,

We Undertake The Long Journey To The Capital.

The Trip Turns Out To Be Well Worth The Effort, Though,

Since The Scan Brings A Striking Revelation.

The Data Indicates That The Strange Bump Atop The Peak

Is Almost Certainly Not Natural.

Its Shape And Structure Are Likely Man-Made.

Just One Month After Our Expedition, Unesco

Declared The Forbidden Zone A Protected World Heritage Site,

So Our Trip To The Mountain May Be The Closest Look

That Anyone Gets For A Long Time To Come.

The Journey To Find Khan's Tomb

Has Quite Literally Been An Uphill Battle.

I've Had To Struggle Against Many Elements Here In Mongolia,

But Have Been Rewarded At Every Turn.

The People Here Awe Me With Their Hospitality

And Their Resilience,

To Not Only Survive,

But To Thrive On These Harsh Plains.

And Since The People Of Mongolia

Continue To Honor And Protect Their Past,

Excavation On The Mountain Is Impossible --

Meaning Genghis Khan Could Get His Dying Wish --

To Remain Hidden For All Of Eternity.