All language subtitles for Expedition.Unknown.S02E08.Columbus.Unearthed.1080p.AMZN.WEB-DL.DDP2.0.H.264-BurCyg.en

Down Here Is Where The Bones
Of Christopher Columbus

Were Kept For Centuries.

You Feel 100% Confident
That He's Here.

I Don't Believe It.
I Know It.

This Could Be
Christopher Columbus.

Move! Come On!
Let's Get Out Of Here.

People Just Getting
Knocked Down.

Hey, Guys.
Come Here!

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! Aah!

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
"Expedition Unknown."

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

Captions Paid For By
Discovery Communications

My Search For The True Story

Of Christopher Columbus,
Much Like The Man Himself,

Has Already Spanned
Two Continents.

I've Been To The Portuguese
Island Of Madeira

To Sail In A Replica

Of Columbus' Flagship,
The Santa Maria,

And Then Cross The Atlantic
To Haiti,

Where The Real Version
Was Said To Have Run Aground.

To Find
The Legendary Lost Ship,

I've Been Under The Waves
Off The Northern Coast,

Where We Documented
Incredible Wrecks...

Oh, My God.

...And Even Discovered A
Historic Cannon Along The Shore.

Now Archaeologist
Alain Norestin And I

Are On The Coast
Of Northern Haiti

Trying To Confirm The Theory

That Christopher Columbus'
Wrecked Flagship

May Be Trapped On Land.

We Know That At Least Part
Of The Boat

Was Taken Off The Reef
Where It Crashed In 1492

And That Columbus
Hauled Timbers Onto Land

To Form A Fort
Called La Navidad.

What Many People Don't Know

Is That Not Only Did
The Santa Mariacrash,

But Columbus Left 39
Of His Men Here

While He Sailed Back To Spain
For Reinforcements.

The Fortress Of La Navidad
Was Designed To Protect Them,

Though The Local Taino People

Had Been Nothing But Friendly
To Columbus And His Men.

The Fort Has Never Been Found.

But This Area Is Turning Out To
Be An Archaeological Hot Spot.

Everywhere We Put A Shovel,
We Get Something.

Whoa, Whoa, Whoa.

Right There.
What Is That?

Is It Ceramic?

Look At That.
Look At That.

Wow.

Oh, My God.

Wow.

Unbelievable.

Look At That.

This Museum-Quality Ceramic

Was Made
By The Indigenous Taino People

And Likely Depicts A Leader,

Perhaps Even The Local King
Who Met Columbus.

Right.
How Old Do You Think This Is?

What Alain And Other Historians
Are Discovering Here

Paints A Grim Picture
Of Columbus And His Crew.

According To Historic Documents,

Columbus Grew Impatient
When He Couldn't Find The Riches

He'd Promised To Bring Back
To The Court Of Spain.

Soon, The Friendly Taino
Were Being Abused,

Forced To Hunt For Gold
That Didn't Exist.

The Mistreatment Was So Bad

That, After Columbus Left A Part
Of His Crew Behind, The Natives

Murdered Them
And Burned The Fort.

This Artifact Is Proof
That A Significant Settlement

Was Located
Right Under Our Feet,

Perhaps Even The Fort
Of La Navidad Itself.

And The Remains Of Columbus'
Flagship Could Be Next.

I Think There's No Question
That You're In The Right Spot.

So It's Just Going To Take
Some Time To Find It.

Absolutely.

Wow.

But The Story Of Columbus
Doesn't End Here.

After Losing His Flagship,

Columbus Limps Back To Spain
On A Grueling 2-Month Voyage.

He's Declared A Hero

And Named The Admiral
Of The Ocean Sea

And Governor
Of Everything He's Found.

But Columbus Was Blinded
By A Dangerous Obsession

To Reach China.

And He Was Convinced
That His First Voyage

Had Almost Made It.

So He Sailed Again.

His Second Voyage Brings Him
Back Across The Atlantic

And Past Dominica, Guadeloupe,
St. Croix, The Virgin Islands

And Puerto Rico.

On The Northern Coast Of Haiti,

He Discovers His Men Are Dead
And His Fort Destroyed.

A Third Voyage Brings Him To
The Very Edge Of South America

And Back To Europe.

And His Fourth Voyage
Takes Him Along The Edge

Of Central America
And Along Honduras, Costa Rica,

And Panama.

All Told,
He Sails Nearly 50,000 Miles,

Ping-Ponging His Way
Through The Caribbean,

Never Once Setting Foot
On North America

And Driven Mad By His Inability
To Understand Where He Is.

It Is A Misguided
But Epic Journey.

And The Flagship That Started It
All May One Day Soon Be Found.

So For Today, The Hunt
For The Santa Mariacontinues.

But That's Not The End
Of The Story

Because Maybe
The Greatest Mystery

Associated With Columbus Isn't
The Location Of His Flagship

But The Location
Of The Explorer Himself.

Though He Died In 1506,
That Didn't Stop His Travels.

In Death, His Bones
Undertook A Bizarre Journey,

Jumping From Continent
To Continent Until,

Finally, Two Different Countries

Laid Claim
To Be His Final Resting Place.

One Of Those Countries
Is On This Very Island.

And So To Get To The Bottom
Of This Mystery,

I'm Gonna Have To Cross Borders
And Oceans

And Risk The Scorn
Of Two Different Nations

To Answer One
Very Big Question --

Where Is Christopher Columbus?

The First Possible Location

Of Columbus' Bones
Is In The Dominican Republic,

Which Shares A Border
With Haiti,

And It's Not The Friendly Kind
Of Sharing.

Man: You Guys Have --
You Guys Have To Go...

-Okay, Sure.
-...And Get Your Passports.

Sure Thing.

Gates:
The Remote Border Town

Of Malpasse Is A No-Man's-Land
Between The Two Nations.

And It's Not The Kind Of Place
You Want To Spend Too Much Time.

I Get My Passport Stamped...

...And Get The Hell Out
Of Dodge.

Unlike Haiti
And Its French Influences,

The Dominican Republic
Was A Spanish Colony.

So It's Au Revoir,Creole,
Hola, Español.

Just Over The Border,

And Already
A Very Different Feeling

From The Streets
Of Port-Au-Prince.

Roads Are Wide And Well-Paved.

Generally Feels
A Lot More Orderly.

It's A Lot Less Chaotic.

It's 168 Miles
From The Haitian Border

To The Dominican Capital
Of Santo Domingo,

Where Columbus' Bones
May Be Hiding.

On The Way, Though,
I Pull Off To See Something

That's Been Here Since
Well Before Columbus Arrived.

Up A Dirt Road
And Through The Overgrown Jungle

Is A Network Of Massive Caves
With A Very Big Secret.

In More Than 55 Chambers,

One Of The Largest Collections
Of Pre-Columbian Art

In The New World Is Concealed.

It Was Left Here
By The Taino People,

Who Once Thrived
On These Islands.

This Is A Shaman...

Animals...

Some Kind Of Ceremonial Dance.

In Terms Of Unlocking
The Mystery Of Columbus,

So Much Of What We Know About
The Arrival In The New World

Comes From The European Side.

It Comes
From Columbus' Journals,

And It Comes From
Other European Historians.

This Idea That There Was
No Writing In The New World

Is Not Entirely True.

We Have These Written Clues
That Exist Here In These Caves

That Actually Can Tell Us

About The People That Were Here
Before Columbus Arrived.

There Were No Horses
On These Islands

Until European Explorers
Brought Them.

This Symbol Marks The Moment
After Columbus Arrived

And The Beginning
Of The End For The Taino.

When Columbus
Came Ashore In 1492,

There Were Over 1 Million Taino
Throughout The Caribbean.

By 1528, The Population
Was Barely 500 People.

Mistreatment, Starvation

And Disease Killed Off An Entire
Civilization In 50 Years.

Further Into The Caves,
The Art Is Gone.

But There Appears To Be
Something Else.

[ Bats Squeaking ]

It's Moments Like This
Where An Adventurer

Needs To Stay Calm,
Cool, And Collected.

Holy [Bleep]

They're Touching Me!
Aah!

[ Shuddering ]

[ Sighs ]

I'm Fine.

Everything's --
Everything's Fine.

After Recomposing Myself,

I Continue My Drive
To Santo Domingo

And Am Making Great Time
Toward The Capital.

Oh, Perfect.
That Looks Good.

Guess I'll Get
The Old Aaa Card Out.

Pretty Sure I Do Have
Free Towing.

I'm Changing A Tire.
What Am I Doing?

[Bleep] You.

Columbus Had It Easy --
No Tires To Change.

All Done.

Back On The Road, I Finally
Roll Into Santo Domingo.

♪♪

The Capital Was Founded

By Christopher Columbus' Brother
Bartholomew In 1496,

Making It The Oldest European
Settlement In The Americas.

This City Is A Laid-Back
Colonial Time Capsule,

Cobbled Together From An Age

When Explorers
Like Ponce De Leon

And Francis Drake
Called Santo Domingo Home.

Just Above The City, Though,
Is An Otherworldly Structure,

A Massive 700-Foot-Long Concrete
Edifice In The Shape Of A Cross.

This Is The Faro A Colon,
Or The Columbus Lighthouse.

It Was Built In 1992

To Commemorate
The 500Th Anniversary

Of The Discovery
Of The New World.

It Is An Incredibly Impressive
Building.

But It Is Not
Without Its Detractors.

After All, It Cost A Fortune
And Took Six Years To Build.

The Lighthouse Portion,
Which Used To Shine Up

And Could Be Seen From As Far
Away As Puerto Rico, Well,

That Hasn't Worked In Years
Because, Every Time

They Turn It On,
The Entire City Blacks Out.

And To Many People,

This Building Looks Less Like
A Monument To An Explorer

And More Like A Temple
To A Catholic Demigod.

Leo Perez Is A Historian

Who's Been Studying Columbus
For Decades.

Along With His Assistant, He's
Agreed To Show Me The Lighthouse

And Its Controversial
Prized Possession.

This Is A Really
Incredible Building.

Yeah.

And This Particular Structure,
In The Middle Here,

This -- This Mausoleum,
What's Inside This Box?

He's Right Here?

Gates: Afternoon
In The Dominican Republic.

I'm On A Quest
To Uncover The True Nature

Of Christopher Columbus And
His True Final Resting Place.

Here In The Columbus Lighthouse,

Historian Leo Perez
Has A Simple Answer.

Gates:
What's Inside This Box?

He's Right Here?

It's Quite A Feeling
To Be Just A Few Feet Away

From The Most Famous
Explorer In The World.

But Is This Really The Admiral's
Final Resting Place?

It's A Question
That Has Divided Two Nations.

I've Heard
Some People Say

That They Think
He's In Spain.

That Columbus Wished To Be
Buried Here At All Was Curious.

He Had A Love-Hate Relationship
With The Territory

That He Discovered.

So Why Would He Want
To Spend Eternity Here?

You Feel 100% Confident
That He's Here.

Right.
They're Here.

You Know It.

The Dominicans Submitted
Their Bones For Carbon Dating.

And While They Do Appear To Be
From The Correct Time Period,

They've Refused To Submit
The Dna Within The Bones

For Genetic Identification.

Why Not Dna Test
These Bones?

Right.
You Have Nothing To Prove.

Right.

Leo's Opinion Is Rock-Solid.

He's As Sure
About This As Gravity.

But The Dominicans' Refusal

To Test The Bones
Raises A Lot Of Questions.

So The Only Way
To Prove That Columbus Is Here

Is To Get Another Sample
Of His Dna.

In Order To Find One,

I'll Need To Go To The Place
Where The Explorer's Remains

Were Held Before They Were Moved
To The Lighthouse.

I'm On My Way
To The Nearby Cathedral

Of Santa María La Menor

When I Realize That
Half The Town Is Coming With Me.

I'm Here
During The Holy Catholic Feast

Of Corpus Christi,

Which Celebrates The Eucharist,

The Belief In The Power

Of The Blood And Body
Of Jesus Christ.

As We Snake
Through The Narrow Streets,

I'm Struck By The Fact

That Columbus
Not Only Claimed This Island,

But He And His Followers
Infused It With Religion.

Today, Nearly 70%
Of The Dominican Republic

Is Still Catholic.

I Break Away Here
At The Cathedral.

Columbus' Bones, Along
With Those Of His Son Diego,

Arrived Here In 1541

And Were Placed In An Altar
Beside The Congregation.

Inside The Cathedral,
I'm Met By Jose Rodriguez,

Who Works With The Archdiocese
Of Santo Domingo.

He's Agreed To Tell Me
The Rest Of The Story.

This Is An Incredible Building.
How Old Is It?

[ Speaking Spanish ]

Interpreter:
It's 504 Years Old,

A Lot Of History.

There's Even A Cannonball
From Sir Francis Drake

Lodged In The Roof.

Amazing To Think
That Something

That's Half A Millennium
Old Is Still Standing.

This Cathedral

Is Very Closely Associated
With The Story Of Columbus.

Tell Me What
Was Discovered Here.

It Was Really
An Incredible Thing.

They Found A Box That
Contained The Actual Remains

Of Christopher Columbus.

They Weren't Supposed
To Be There.

But There They Were.

Originally, Two Boxes
Of Bones Were Shipped Here,

One Containing Columbus
And The Other His Son Diego.

Here's How It Went Down.

Columbus Dies In Valladolid,
And His Body Goes To Seville

And Then Across The Atlantic
To This Church In 1541.

Then, When It Looks
Like The French Are Going

To Conquer Santo Domingo,

The Spanish Move The Box

Containing The Explorer's Bones
To Havana And Then Back To Spain

For Safe Keeping.

But During Church Renovations
Here In 1877,

Another Box Is Found
With The Inscription,

"Columbus,
Admiral Of The Sea."

The Dominicans Moved Their Box

To The Columbus Lighthouse
In 1992,

Believing That The Spanish
Took The Wrong Bones.

And Just Like That,
We Have Two Graves For One Man.

So Can You Show Me
Where The Bones

That Were Found Here...

They Were Put
Into A Mausoleum.

Where Is The Mausoleum?

[ Speaks Spanish ]

Here?

Before Being Moved
To The Nearby Lighthouse,

The Bones Were In This Church
For Nearly 250 Years.

We Roll Back The Carpet
To Find A Fixture

That Marks The Location
Of The Old Altar

Where Columbus Was Interred.

So This Is All That's Left,
Is This Marker.

-The Center.
-The Center Of The Mausoleum.

And The Bones.
Where Was His Body?

They Told Everyone
That Columbus Was Right There.

But The Truth
Is Different.

To Keep The Bones Safe,

They Were Hidden
Under The Floor.

And -- And When Was The Last
Time Somebody Went Down There?

It's Been Decades.

It Was A Secret
That His Bones Were Kept Below.

Is It Possible To See
What's Down There?

It's Possible.

But I Can't Be Responsible
For You.

If You Go Down There,
You Go Alone.

Okay. Okay.

I'm Not Going To Pass Up

The Opportunity
To Explore This Venerated Tomb.

I Slide Away The Pews,
Pull Back The Floor Grate,

And Prepare To Descend Down
Into The Darkness.

That Is One Dark Crypt.

How Cool Is This?

Gates: I'm Getting An Incredibly
Rare Look Beneath The Floor

Of The Cathedral
Of Santo Domingo,

Where The Remains Of
Christopher Columbus Himself

Were Interred
For Hundreds Of Years.

How Cool Is This?

I Make My Way
Through The Passage,

Straining To See Anything
Ahead Of Me.

So Lots Of Old Brickwork
Down Here

With Newer Foundation Above.

Perhaps A Fragment Of Bone

Can Still Be Found
To Conduct A Dna Test.

So This -- This Is It.

This Is Where The Sarcophagus

Probably Sat That Held The Bones
Of Columbus.

It Would've Been Right Here
On Top Of This Old Brickwork.

This Is The Exact Spot
Where Columbus Once Laid.

I Scour The Platform
For Any Fragments Of Bone,

Wood Or Cloth.

Looks Like Some Sort
Of Straw, Some Sort Of Line.

But That's About It.

Everything Major's
Been Moved Out,

No Markings, No Inscriptions,

Just This Very Old Platform
Where Those Bones Would've Sat.

So The Hunt Continues.

So If There's No Dna
Left In The Crypt,

And Since The Dominicans Refuse
To Test The Bones They've Got,

You Might Think
We're At A Dead End.

Okay.

Let's Keep Moving.

But Remember, There's
Another Country In The World

That Claims
To Have The Bones Of Columbus.

To Explore Their Side
Of The Case

And To Figure Out
Who Columbus Really Was,

I'm Gonna Need To See
Where The Great Explorer Died.

And That Means
We're Going To Spain.

♪♪

Located On The Iberian
Peninsula, Spain Is...

Well, As Hemingway Once Wrote,
There's No Country Like It.

And With The Obligatory
Hemingway Reference

Out Of The Way,
I Can Further Say That Spain

Is Indeed Intoxicating.

This Place Is Outrageous.

Is It -- Is It Possible
For Me To Try?

But Of Course.

Everything Is Possible
In Paradise.

This Is A Meat Cone.
When It's Hot Outside,

Nothing Takes The Edge Off
Like A Big Cone Of Meat.

I Mean, Forget Ice Cream.

Thriving On Fiestas And Siestas,

Its Gothic Cathedrals
And Islamic Domes

Show The Fingerprints
Of Every Culture

That Has Been Here.

Though Columbus
Wasn't Born A Spaniard,

There Are Few Historic
Figures More Revered Here.

In 1504, After Four Voyages
To The New World,

Columbus Returns To Spain
One Last Time.

And On May 20, 1506, He Dies
Of Congestive Heart Failure

In The City Of Valladolid.

At The Center Of Valladolid
Is The Plaza Mayor,

Filled With Incredible History
And Striking Architecture

Dating Back To The 16Th Century.

Nice To Meet You.

It's Here Where I Meet Up

With Professor Of History
Javier Burrieza Sanchez

And Archaeologist
Adrianne Williams.

So Valladolid Is The City
Where Christopher Columbus Dies.

-Yes.
-And Where Does That Happen?

Well, That Happened
In The Convent Of San Francisco,

Which Occupied This Area
Of The Plaza Mayor.

So I Do Not See A Convent
Here Today.

It Does Not Exist.

That's Right.
You Can't Find It Anymore.

Uh, How Does Columbus Come
To Be Buried In Valladolid?

Truthfully,
Christopher Columbus

Did Not Plan
On Dying Here In Valladolid.

He Was Here To Meet The New King
And Queen.

-Right.
-Death Found Him.

Gates: But What About The Will
That I Heard About

In The Dominican Republic?

According To That, Columbus

Explicitly Wished To Be Buried
In The New World.

So Why Was He Buried Here First?

He Actually Has A Copy
Of The Last Will And Testament

For Christopher Columbus
Written The Day Before He Died.

Gates:
Javier Is Holding The Proof,

A Copy Of The Last Will Columbus
Dictated To A Notary

Right Here In Valladolid
Days Before His Death.

And What Does He Write?

[ Speaking Spanish ]

So In This Document,

There's Really No Mention At All
Of The Convent Of San Francisco

Or Where He Would Like
To Be Buried.

He Doesn't Really Specify

Where He Wants
His Remains To Go.

There's Absolutely No Mention
Of Where He Wanted To Be Buried.

Gates: I Know Some Folks
In The Dominican Republic

Who Would Be Unhappy
To Hear That.

Finding A Fragment
Of Columbus' Dna Could Not Only

Tell Us Where The World's Most
Famous Explorer Is Buried,

But It Could Tell Us So
Much More About The Man Himself.

But The Fact Is
He Was 100% Buried Here First

Before His Body
Got Moved Around.

So Is It Possible That,
After Almost 500 Years,

Some Of Columbus Is Still Here?

So We Believe That His Remains
Were Moved To Seville In 1509.

Even If They Were Careful With
Removing The Correct Remains,

We Don't Know
If They Removed All Of Them.

Right.

Some Of Them
Might Still Be Behind.

But In Order To Pinpoint
The Spot Where Columbus

May Have Been, Uh,

Seems Difficult.
-Well, Yes.

I Mean, The Only Way To Get
A Good Idea Is From Above.

-From Up There?
-From Up There. Exactly.

Williams: Let's Do This.

♪♪

Gates: The Valladolid Of Today
Bears Little Resemblance

To The City
That Columbus Died In.

Adrianne Is Using
Centuries-Old Maps And Gps Scans

To Peel Back The Layers Of Time.

The Plaza Is Key Since
It Existed In Columbus' Era.

So Where Inside
The Nearby Structures

Could He Have Been Interred?

Returning To Ground Level,
We Reunite With Javier

And Head To The Possible Site
Of The Convent,

Which Today
Is A Lovely Little Bistro.

Can I Have A Churro?
Yeah?

Fortunately,
We Don't Need Reservations

To Explore
Their Ancient Sub-Basement.

In 2005, 17Th-Century Crypts

Were Discovered
Under The Nearby Casino.

We're Hoping To Get Lucky
And Find Even More.

This Is Spooky Down Here.

Williams: Yeah.
Look At The Layers Here.

You Have Brick
And Then Plaster Over That

And Then, Over This Old Stone
Here And Beneath It All,

This Really Old Wood.

-Yeah.
-Who Knows How Old That Is?

Wow.

I Hate The Idea That This Wood
Is Holding Anything Up.

Gates:
We Search The Deep Cellar

Of The Restaurant
For Any Sign Of A Burial

That Could Be
From Columbus' Time.

Oh.
Got Something.

Hey. Come Here. Come Here.
Guys, Come Here.

Sanchez: Sí.

Javier, Adrianne, Come Here.

Hey, Guys.
Come Here!

Oh, Look At This.

Hey, Come Here. Come Here.
Guys, Come Here.

I'm Hot On The Trail
Of Christopher Columbus' Bones

In Valladolid, Spain.

Deep Underground

And Close To His First Burial
Spot In A Former Convent,

I've Just Found Something
That Could Be A Breakthrough.

Very Small.
But No Question About It.

That's A Bone.
-Wow.

You Know, Look.
His -- His -- His Bones

Moved Around So Many Times.
You Never Know.

This Could Be
A Piece Of Him

Or A Piece Of Somebody Else
From The Monastery.

You Never Know.
Who Knows?

Williams: Or Some Other
Very Important Figure

That Was Forgotten.
-Right?

Gates: Ooh. More.

Look At That.
More Bone.

There's No Question
That This Basement

Is Filled With Remains
From Centuries Past.

But What We've Come Across Here
Is Not From Human History.

I Think We've Got
An Animal Bone Here.

This Looks Like It Could Be
From A Dog.

Could Be -- Could Be
Columbus' Dog.

That's A Possibility.

So Unless This Is The Remains
Of Tintin's Dog, Snowy,

I'm Not In The Presence
Of A Famous Explorer.

But The Search Isn't Over.

I'm Going To Visit The City

Which The Spanish Believe
Is Columbus' Final Resting Place

And Where There's Actual Dna

That Could Unlock The Mysteries
Of The Man Himself.

I Head To The Train Station.

And Before I Know It,
I'm On The Move Again.

While People
In The Dominican Republic

Are Convinced
That They Have The Bones

Of Christopher Columbus, Folks
Here In Spain Would Disagree.

They Believe That His Bones
Are Safe And Sound

In The Historic City Of Seville.

Seville Is The Capital
Of The Andalusia Region

And Is The Only River Port
In The Country.

Venetians, Romans,

Moors, And Castilians
Have All Made Their Marks Here,

Leaving Behind Incredibly
Varied Buildings

From The Alcazar Castle

Which Moonlights
On "Game Of Thrones"

To The Famed Bullfighting Arena,
The Plaza Del Toros.

Yes, Yes, Yes.

Just Keep Doing That,
Please.

I'm Headed To Seville's Archives

To Do A Bit
Of Digging On Columbus.

And To Get There,
I Hail Not A Taxi...

-[ Horse Neighs ]
-...But A Horse.

Seville.

What's Not To Like?

This Is The Kind Of City

You Fall In Love In
About Every 20 Minutes.

You Know What I Mean?
With The Food, With The People.

You Just Think,
"I Could Live Here."

And Then, You Go, "Oh, No. Wait.
It's 112 Degrees."

I Carry On To The Archive
Of The Indies.

After All, The Missing Bones
Aren't The Only Clues

That Can Unlock The Secrets
Of Columbus.

This Was The Nerve Center
Of The Spanish Empire,

30 Miles Of Bookshelves
Filled With All Of Spain's

Most Important...

[ Metal Detector Beeping ]

...And Heavily Guarded
Documents --

Pizarro's Maps,

Cortes' Diaries.

If You're A History Nerd,
You Could Die In Here.

I'm Meeting Consuelo Varela,

A Professor At The Spanish
National Research Council,

To Try To Understand
Who Columbus Really Was.

So Much Of What We Know
About Columbus

Really Comes From Writings
And Journals.

What Kind Of Man Emerges
From The Journals?

A Man Who Had An Idea,
An Entrepreneur In One Sense.

Mm-Hmm.

In Columbus' Copy
Of Marco Polo's Book,

He's Made Copious Notes
In The Margins

Expressing His Dreams
Of Finding Riches In China.

Marco Polo Says That,
In The New World,

There Were Rubies,
Eh, Everything.

He's Writing,
"Sapphire, Topaz"...

Rubies.

Topazes, Rubies.

Then She Shows Me Something
Even More Impressive.

-This Is A Document.
-Wow.

It's A Contact Between Columbus
And The King And The Queen.

This Is From 1492.

-Yes.
-Oh, Come On.

So This Is Four Months
Before The Voyage.

Yes.

Gates: This Document
Is More Than Historic.

The Signing Of This Piece Of
Paper Was The Turning Of An Age.

And What Does
The Contract Say?

-If He Discovers Some Lands...
-Mm-Hmm.

...He Will Be Named
Admiral Of The Sea.

He Will Get A Great Percent
Of All The Revenue.

It Turns Out That Columbus Was
A Pretty Ruthless Businessman.

If His Original Contract
Was Still Valid Today,

We'd All Be Paying A Tax

To His Family
On Everything We Bought.

But His Writings Also Reveal
A Fiercely Skilled

And Curious Navigator Who Wanted
To Understand The Unknown.

This Is Astounding...
-Yeah.

-...To -- To See This.
-Yes, Of Course It Is.

This Document
Sets Into Motion

A Whole New World,
Really.

His Tenacity
Was Incredible.

To Decide
To Go To The Ocean

With Those Three Vessels
So Small...

And He Never
Really Got The Fame.

-No, Not At The Moment.
-Yeah.

If He Could See Today
His -- His Legacy,

What Do You Think
He Would...

Well, He Would Be
Very, Very --

The Most Happiest Man
In The World, I Suppose.

With A Clear Sense Of The Man
Behind The Legend,

I Head To The Last Major Stop
On My Journey...

...Another Place

Where The Explorer
Might Actually Be Located.

And Just Like The Lighthouse
In The Dominican Republic,

This Place Isn't Exactly Subtle.

This Is The Great
Cathedral De Seville.

It Is The Largest Gothic
Cathedral On The Planet.

It Was Built
In The 15Th Century,

Took More Than 100 Years
To Complete.

And It Is An Architectural
Masterpiece.

And It Is, At Least According
To The Spanish,

The True Final Resting Place
Of Christopher Columbus.

The Interior Of The Cathedral
Is Awe-Inspiring, Soaring,

Mystical And A Place Where Us
Mere Mortals Feel Very Small.

But There's No Mistaking
The Main Attraction Here.

Rising Up Over The Congregation

Are Four Enormous Statues
Carrying A Draped Coffin.

It's So Grand That You'd Be
Forgiven For Thinking

They've Got The Pope Up There.

But In Fact,
It's Believed By Many

To Be The Bones Of An Explorer.

After Going To The New World,

The Spanish Moved
What They Believed Was The Box

With Columbus' Bones To Havana

Before Bringing Them Back
To A Monastery In Seville

And Then Here
To The Nearby Cathedral.

But Did They Take
The Right Box?

Or, Like The Dominicans Claim,
Is Someone Else Buried Here?

I Tried To Get In
For A Closer Look At The Coffin.

But Then, This Happens.

Not Allowed.

Very, Very Strict.

Journalists, Uh, Are Not Allowed
To Be On Camera With The Tomb.

That's, Uh, Against The Rules.

Uh, They
Have To Remain Separate.

Very, Very Guarded.

Despite Making Arrangements
To Film Here, Church Officials

Are Really Uptight About Anyone
Exploring This Historic Mystery.

Honestly, It Feels Like
It's Bordering On Conspiracy,

And I Try Not To Take
It Personally.

Not A Lot Of Leeway In There.

Even Just Getting A Camera Crew
In There

Was A Huge Amount Of Effort.

But, Uh, First Time Getting
Thrown Out Of A Cathedral?

Are You Kidding Me?
On This Show?

I May Not Have Made It Up
To The Coffin Itself,

But Fortunately For Me,
Someone Else Has.

Several Years Ago,

The Remains Were Briefly
Transferred

To The University Of Granada
For Testing.

So That's Where I'm Headed Next

To See If They Managed
To Decipher The Dna.

♪♪

My Meeting Isn't For 24 Hours.

So I Disembark In The City
Of Pamplona,

Where I Can't Help But Notice
That Everyone Is Wearing White,

Red And Hiding Behind A Lot
Of Very Sturdy-Looking Barriers.

This Is The Festival
Of San Fermin.

But You Might Know It Better
As The Running Of The Bulls.

To Witness The Insanity
For Myself,

I Toss On
The Traditional Attire,

Hoping To Avoid Any Blood
Spatter On My Crispy Whites.

This Is The Definition
Of Madness.

Here's What You Need To Know
About The Running Of The Bulls.

It's Been Going On Here
In Pamplona

For More Than 200 Years.

It's Been In Existence In Spain
Since The 14Th Century.

And It Is Really, Really Crazy.

They Take Six Very Angry Bulls
That Are Going To Die

Later On Today
In The Bullfighting Arena,

And They Release Them
Into The Streets Of Pamplona

At Exactly 8:00 A.M.

8,000 Runners
Will Flood These Streets

With One Goal --
To Not Get Gored.

But It Is, Without A Doubt,

The Most Dangerous Half Mile
In The World.

Since Nothing In Spain Is Done
With Understatement, The Bulls

Are Released With The Firing
Of A Rocket In The Main Plaza.

[ Explosion ]

Gates:
I'm Searching For The Truth

Behind The Two Different
Final Resting Places

Of Christopher Columbus
In Both The New World

And The Old.

Currently, I'm In Pamplona,
Where I'm Trying

To Stay Out Of The Way Of
Some Seriously Angry Livestock.

Proponents Of The Running
Of The Bulls Will Tell You

That There Have Only Been
15 Deaths Since 1910,

Though Fail To Advertise That
There Are More Than 100 Gorings

And Tramplings Each Year.

Just Brutal.

People Just Getting
Knocked Down.

The Bulls Are Dangerous.

The Other People
Are Just As Dangerous.

When It's All Over,
The Bloodshed Is Minimal,

And No One Is Dead Other
Than The Bulls, Of Course,

Which I Can't Say
I Feel Good About.

But As I Wrestle With
The Question Of Whether Or Not

This Whole Event Is Cultural
Or Cruel Or Both, Really...

...I'm Distracted By A Parade
Of Giants.

There Are Four Pairs
Of Kings And Queens Here,

One For Each Of The Four Corners
Of The World,

Including The Americas,

Something Added To The Festival
After The Discovery

Of The New World.

These Guys Are Known
As The Kilikis.

So They Are, Uh,

Designed To Guard
And Protect The Royal Statues.

And They Do That
By Beating People Up.

He's Literally Beating Up
Children.

Oh, God.
Oh, God.

Now, It's -- It's Starting
To Hurt A Little Bit, Actually.

This Guy Has A Serious
Anger-Management Problem.

With My Senses
Now Battered Into Numbness,

I Need To Get To My Meeting.

I Jump Back On My Train
To Meet Dr. Miguel Botella,

A Professor Of Anthropology
At The University Of Granada.

Gates: How Many Years
At The University?

Cuantos Años?
-42 Years.

-42 Years?
-Yes.

Gates: When Columbus' Crypt

At The Seville Cathedral
Was Last Opened,

Dr. Botella Was There.

In 2006, His Team Did
Dna Testings On What Was Inside.

And He's Agreed
To Share Their Findings With Me.

Had They Opened The Crypt
In The Cathedral

In Seville Before?

[ Speaking Spanish ]

There Was Only 150 Grams.

-Yeah.
-So Very Little.

Interpreter:
Very Little.

They Believe That People
In The Past

Had Taken Pieces Of Bones
As Souvenirs.

So We Were Shocked To Find

There Wasn't
A Full Skeleton Left.

So This Is The Inside
Of The Box?

-Yeah.
-Wow.

Gates:
He Shows Me On A Model

What Small Pieces
Remained In The Crypt.

Little Bit Of The Jaw,

Arm, Couple Of Leg Bones
And A Little Bit Of Vertebrae.

Yeah.

They Removed The Bones
To Do Dna Analysis.

They Then Swabbed The Gums

Of Hundreds Of People
Around The World

With The Last Name Colon
In Spain Or Colombo In Italy.

The Idea Was To Try To Determine
Columbus' Nationality.

But The Results
Were Inconclusive.

Interpreter:
The Dna Was A Match,

But That Doesn't Settle
The Case.

It Only Means
It's The Same Family.

It Could Be Columbus,
Or It Could Be His Son

If The Wrong Box Was Brought
Back From The New World.

We Couldn't Get Enough Dna
Out Of The Sample To Be Sure.

In Terms
Of The Physical Examination,

Do You Think That The Samples
Match Columbus?

Normally,

I'd Compare The Bones
With The Images Of The Person.

But Columbus Never
Sat For A Portrait.

So Every Painting You've Seen
Of Columbus Isn't Him.

So Every Image
That We Have Of Him Is Made Up?

All Invented By Painters
Who Never Met Him.

We Have No Idea
What He Looked Like.

So I Went
To Santo Domingo.

And The People There

Are 100% Confident
That He's In Santo Domingo.

They Say That Everybody
In Spain Has It Wrong,

You Guys Are Crazy.

Yeah, Yeah, Maybe.
Maybe Crazy, Yes.

What -- What Do You Say
To The People There?

How Do You Refute That?

Interpreter:
If They Are So Confident,

Then They Should Allow The World
To Test Those Bones.

Until Then, Columbus
And His Grave Are A Puzzle.

Everything About Him Is
A Mystery...

Mm-Hmm.
Mm-Hmm.

-...Even In Death.
-Everything. Yes.

Gates:
However, Even If The Dominicans

Don't Open The Remains
At The Lighthouse,

There Might Still Be Hope
For An Answer.

Interpreter: Dna Technology
Is Evolving Fast.

In The Future, Machines May Be
Able To Use The Small Sample

We Have To Get
A Definitive Answer.

We've Taken Great Pains

To Preserve The Dna
We've Recovered.

And Where Are
Those Samples Kept?

Is It Possible
To See The Sample?

Yeah.

I Waste No Time In Racing
Downstairs To The Dna Lab.

It's Possible That A Little Bit
Of Christopher Columbus

Is On The Other Side
Of This Door.

Gates: I'm At The University
Of Granada In Spain,

Where I've Just Learned That On
The Other Side Of This Lab Door

Might Lay Some Of The Actual
Remains Of Christopher Columbus.

There We Go.

Security Is Tight,
And Precautions Are Extensive.

And Why Wouldn't They Be?

As I've Learned, Countries
Will Go To Extraordinary Lengths

To Protect Columbus
And His Legacy.

Woman: Here It Is.

-This Is It.
-Yeah.

Cc.

Christopher Columbus.

So This Right Here,

This Tiny Piece Of Liquid...
-Yeah.

This Could Be
Christopher Columbus.

Yes.

Gates: What I'm Holding,
Against All Odds,

Is Very Possibly A Small Vial
Of Liquid History.

This Is Incredible, The Most
Famous Explorer In The World,

That His Dna
Could Be Right Here.

Thank You So Much
For Showing Me This.

You're Welcome.

I Know It's A Very Little
Sample, But It's A Big Thrill.

-Yeah.
-It Really Is.

It's Amazing.

What Else Do You Have
In Here, Anything Cool?

Zombies?
-No.

-Aliens?
-No.

Jimmy Hoffa?

Gates:
They're Not Quite There Yet.

But Any Day Now,
These Scientists

May Be Able To Confirm
The Last Resting Place

Of The Great Explorer Himself.

In The Past Two Weeks,

I Have Flown Thousands Of Miles
Across The Globe

To Shed Light
On The Mysteries Of Columbus.

In Looking For His Lost
Flagship, The Santa Maria,

Reports That It Has Been
Found Now Seem Premature.

But There Is Evidence
Beneath The Sea...

...And On Land Of An Entire Era
Of History Yet To Be Recorded.

That Is A Cannon.

And In The Search
For Columbus' Remains,

I Followed His Five-Century
Voyage Across Two Continents.

I've Seen Two Coffins
With His Name On It

And Even Held
What Could Be A Vial Of His Dna.

My Professional Hunch Is That,

After So Many Relocations,
Christopher Columbus' Remains

Are Likely Scattered
Across The Continents

That He Himself Connected.

But More Than Anything,

I Can't Shake The Feeling
That I Now Know More Than Ever

About Columbus

And Yet Nothing At All.

The Man Remains Frustratingly
Out Of Focus.

I See Him As Both Hero
And Villain,

Who Deserves The Admiration
For His Daring Mastery

Of The Seas And Condemnation

For What He Did When He Crossed
To The Other Shore.

But Without Him, None Of Us
Who Call The New World Home

Would Be Here.

Without His Vision
And His Tenacity, Our Own Lives

May Never Have Come To Be.

As Citizens Of The Modern World,

We Have To Live
With Columbus' Legacy,

Learn From His Mistakes,
Celebrate His Triumphs,

And Continue To Explore
New Worlds Beyond Our Own.