All language subtitles for Expedition.Unknown.S02E17.Lost.Mexican.City.1080p.AMZN.WEB-DL.DDP2.0.H.264-BurCyg.en

Gates:
How Did Something This Big,
This Complex Get Built Here?

That Is What I'm Here
To Find Out.

♪♪

It's Probably
The Most Important City

In All
The American Continent.

They Had
This Really Violent Mythology.

What The Hell?

They Made This Directly
Under The Center Of The Pyramid.

[ Chuckling ]
Oh, My God.

They Put Something Down There
They Didn't Want People To Find.

How Awesome Is This?

So, It All Leads To This.

Holy [Bleep]

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

Captions Paid For By
Discovery Communications

♪♪

Long Before Europeans Arrived
In The So-Called New World,

The Americas Were Home

To Some Of The Most Advanced
Civilizations In History --

The Aztecs, The Inca, The Maya.

But There's Another Civilization

That May Have Been More Powerful
Than All Of Them --

The Empire Of Teotihuacan.

At Their Ruined Capital
In Mexico,

They Left Behind
Soaring Pyramids,

Imposing Temples,

And A Treasure Trove
Of Cryptic Art

Dating Back Nearly 2,000 Years.

And Yet, For All Of Their Might,

We Know Surprisingly Little
About Them.

Archaeologists Have Been Unable

To Decipher
Their System Of Writing,

And They Haven't Found
A Single Tomb

From One Of Their Rulers.

Historians Used To Believe

That Teotihuacan Was
A Peaceful Culture.

But Now Grisly Evidence
Has Been Found

That Could Point
To Bizarre Rituals

And A Bloodthirsty Legacy.

So, Who Were These People?

How Did They Become So Powerful?

And Why Did They Vanish
From History?

We're About To Find Out.

Above The Ruins,
21St-Century Technology

Is Helping To Reconstruct
Their Mystical City.

Meanwhile, A Team Of Explorers
Has Discovered A Secret Tunnel

Beneath One Of
Their Most Sacred Temples.

But Where Does It Lead?

To Find Out,
I'm Heading South Of The Border

To Join The Teams
That Are On The Verge

Of Discovering
The Secrets Of Teotihuacan.

♪♪

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 "Expedition Unknown."

♪♪

♪♪

Well, It Is Very Early Morning,
Very Chilly,

And I'm Only About An Hour
From Mexico City,

But You Would Never Know It.

I May As Well Be In Another Time
And Place Altogether.

There Are No People,
There's No Cars -- Just Silence.

This Is One Of The Most
Mysterious Places In The World.

It Is Sunrise,
And This Is Teotihuacan.

Sprawling Avenues,

Perfectly Constructed Platforms,

Cryptic Temples,

And Immense Pyramids --

One Dedicated
To The God Of The Moon,

And This One,
The Pyramid Of The Sun.

This Is The Pyramid Of The Sun.

I Could Use A Lot Of Adjectives
To Describe How Big It Is.

I Could Tell You That
It's The Third-Largest Pyramid

In The World.

But The Only Way
To Really Understand

How Hugethis Thing Is
Is To Go To The Top.

Okay.

You Got This.

You Got This.

This Is Fine.

You're Not Gonna Die
And Roll Down This Pyramid.

Let Me Tell You Something

I Just Learned
About The Teotihuacanos --

Big-Time Into Cardio.

Here...We Are.

[ Panting ]

Whew!

Oh, God.

Look At That View.

Whew.

God, I Hope They Have
A Defibrillator Up Here.

Until Recently, We've Known

Relatively Little
About Teotihuacan.

In The Time Line
Of Mesoamerican Cultures,

They Came To Power
Over 2,000 Years Ago

And Dominated
For Seven Centuries.

They Were Contemporaries
With The Maya,

Who Ruled Further To The South,

And They Collapsed Just Before
The Rise Of The Aztecs.

Since No Royal Tombs

Or Evidence Of Mass Sacrifice
Was Found Here,

For Years, The Prevailing Belief

Was That Teotihuacan Was
A Peaceful, Communal Society --

The Hippies
Of The Precolonial Americas.

But From Up Here,
The City And Its Grand Temples

Look Pretty Imposing.

This Pyramid Is The Centerpiece
Of Teotihuacan In Many Ways.

It Is The Perfect Symbol

For The Unknown
That Is This Place.

How Did Something This Big,
This Complex Get Built Here

1,500 Years Before The Spanish
Arrived In The Americas?

Who Were The People
Who Built It?

And Why Don't We Know
More About Them?

Why Isn't Teotihuacan
A Household Name?

That Is What I'm Here
To Find Out.

Time To Get Down, Cool Off,

And Get To Work.

I'm Going To Speak
With One Of The Most Prominent

Archaeologists Here
At Teotihuacan,

Who May Be On The Verge
Of A Breakthrough.

But Since It's About 6:00 A.M.
And Everyone Is Still Asleep,

I've Got A Few Hours
Before The Meeting.

I Grab A Jeep
And Head About 30 Miles

To Another Ancient Town --

One That's Far From Abandoned
And Already Wide Awake.

♪♪

Mexico City -- The Oldest
Capital In The Americas

And The Largest Urban Center
In The Western Hemisphere,

Home To
More Than 20 Million People.

This Is Also A City That People
Who Have Never Been To

Have A Lot Of Opinions About.

People Worry
That It's Dangerous.

They Worry That The Food
Is Going To Make You Sick.

Let Me Set You Straight.

Mexico City May Be
A Little Chaotic,

But It Has A Huge Heart,
And It Is Quickly Becoming

One Of The Most Cosmopolitan,
One Of The Safest,

And, Frankly, One Of The Coolest
Cities In The Americas.

This City Has Something
For Everyone --

World-Class Dining...

What --
What Is The Escamoles?

Ant Eggs.

Ant Eggs?
Yeah.

Oh.
Good, Good, Good.

[ Crunching ]

Crunchy.

...And Stores So New, They Seem
To Pop Up Out Of Nowhere.

They Drag The Clothes Down Here,
Which Is Better Real Estate,

But It's Illegal.

They Have Spotters
With Walkie-Talkies.

And If Any Of Them See The Cops,

Then All These Guys
Run Like Hell.

I Mean,
It's A Pretty Good System.

I'm Not Just Here
To Kill Time, Though.

This Is A Critical Stop

On My Exploration
Of Teotihuacan.

You See,
This Wasn't Always Mexico City.

When The Spanish Conquistador
Hernán Cortés

Came Over The Hill Here In 1521,

He Saw Something
That Took His Breath Away --

A Massive City In The Center
Of A Great Salt Lake,

Home To
More Than 100,000 People.

This Was The Aztec Capital
Of Tenochtitlan.

The Aztecs Were One
Of The Most Advanced Cultures

In The Americas,

And They Took Great Inspiration
From The Empire Of Teotihuacan

That Collapsed
Just Before They Rose To Power.

To Find Traces
Of The Original City,

You Have To Look Underground.

In The Crowded
Mexico City Subway

Where, Apparently,
It's Pay-Or-Limbo Day,

Archaeologists Have Uncovered
Stunning Aztec Glyphs

And Even Had To Build A Station
Around A Pyramid.

Sorry. Sorry.

Sorry, Mexico.

Some Of The City's
Oldest Traditions

Are Alive And Well
At The Sonora Market --

The Place To Go For Anything,
Everything, And Thisthing.

This Is Rattlesnake Powder,
Which Is Used To Fight Disease,

And, Uh, How It Does That
Is It Kills You.

This Is A Spray
Called Call Client.

It's To Get Customers
To Come Into Your Store.

Do They Have A Call Viewers?

Fresh Mint, Rosemary, Basil.

Do You Have
Shrunken Human Heads Here?

Oh! No, They're Right Here.
I Found Them. I Got Them.

Everything You Need
For That Upcoming Dinner Party.

Coming Out Of The Market,
I Make My Way To Zócalo Square.

Beneath It,
Archaeologists Are Excavating

The Grand Temple
Of The Aztec Capital.

To Learn What This Pyramid
Can Reveal About Teotihuacan,

I'm Chatting
With Dr. Carlos Gonzalez,

Who's Been Investigating
This Place For Decades.

We Really Are In The Center
Of The Aztec World Here, Right?

Many People Have Heard
Of The Aztecs,

But Teotihuacan,
We Don't Know As Much About.

So, When The Aztecs
Got To Teotihuacan,

It Was Already Abandoned.

When The Aztecs Discovered
The Ruins Of Teotihuacan,

They Were Taken Aback
By The Sheer Size

And Craftsmanship
Of The Construction.

They Believed
That This Must Have Been

The Home Of Their Ancestors

And Dubbed The City Teotihuacan,
Or The Home Of The Gods.

It's Curious That The Aztecs,

Who Were
Arguably The Most Violent

Of The Mesoamerican
Civilizations,

Were Inspired By A Culture

That Archaeologists Have
Always Thought Of As Peaceful.

I Head Back To Teotihuacan

To Sort Out What Seems Like
A Strange Contradiction.

♪♪

I Link Up
With Professor Saburo Sugiyama,

Who Has Been At The Forefront
Of Exploration At Teotihuacan

For More Than Three Decades.

What's Been The Standing Wisdom
About This Place?

And As You've Been Working Here
Over The Years And Excavating,

Has That View Changed?

Saburo Made A Series
Of Astounding Discoveries

Inside The Pyramid Of The Moon.

He Uncovered
The Remains Of 12 People

Who Appear To Have Been
Brutally Sacrificed.

♪♪

♪♪

♪♪

That's Quite A Reversal,
Right?

Anytime You Find Jewelry
Made Of Human Bones,

You're Probably Dealing
With A Group Of People

Who Maybe
Were Not Totally Peaceful.

Auto-Sacrifice --
So Self-Bloodletting?

Come On.

No, That's Okay. I Think I'm --
I Think I'm Fine.

Saburo's Discoveries
At Teotihuacan

Are Rapidly Reshaping History.

It May Be That The Aztecs
Took More Inspiration Here

Than Anyone Ever Realized.

As Much As The Aztecs,
Do You Think?

♪♪

This Potential Power
Is At The Heart

Of Saburo's Latest Research,
As He Tries To Figure Out

Just How Influential
This City Really Was.

♪♪

Right.

I Would Love To See It.
Yeah.

To Understand
The True Power Of Teotihuacan,

We Need To Take To The Air.

A Helicopter
From A Nearby Airfield

Lifts Us
High Above The Ancient City.

And After A Moment, It's Clear

That I've Only Seen
The Tip Of The Iceberg.

♪♪

Gates: I'm In Mexico,
Hoping To Unlock The Mysteries

Of The Legendary City
Of Teotihuacan.

I'm Flying Shotgun
With Professor Saburo Sugiyama,

Who's Using
Powerful Laser Scanners

To Map The Ruins Below.

Lidar Technology Uses Lasers
To See Through

Existing Vegetation
And Construction,

Giving The User
A Kind Of X-Ray Vision

To See What's Underneath.

In This Case,
A Shocking Surprise.

♪♪

♪♪

The City Is Bigger Than Anyone
Had Previously Imagined --

Muchbigger.

The Lidar Reveals
A Sophisticated Network

Of Roads, Irrigation Systems,

And Even Other Pyramids
That Have Never Been Excavated.

♪♪

This Is The True Face
Of Teotihuacan,

Laid Out Like A Digital Carpet.

The Data Reveals

That This Was The Largest City
In The New World.

Today, Thousands Of People
Live On Top Of It

Without Even Knowing.

Its Newly Revealed Immense Size

Means That This Almost Certainly
Wasn't Some Commune

That Expanded Over Time.

This Is A Mega City

That Was Planned And Engineered
From The Get-Go.

But By Whom?

♪♪

To Build An Urban Center
Like This Would've Required

An Immense Amount
Of Manpower And Organization,

Which Means
The People Who Constructed It

Must Have Been Powerful
And Wealthy.

So Where Did That Power
Come From?

I'm Back On Terra Firma
To Find Out.

They Say The Best Way
To Get To Know Someone

Is To Talk To Their Neighbors.

For The Teotihuacanos,

That Means
Heading 80 Miles Away,

To The Ruins Of A Smaller
Culture In The Town Of Cholula.

In America, Of Course,

Cholula Is Famous
For Its Namesake Hot Sauce,

Which, It Turns Out,
Is Neither Made In

Nor Particularly Famous
In Cholula.

Next, You're Gonna Tell Me

That Milky Way Candy Bars
Are Not Made In Outer Space.

[ Scoffs ] I Mean, Come On.

Just Because
They Don't Make Hot Sauce Here

Doesn't Mean
That Cholula Lacks Spice.

This Was A Major Settlement
At The Same Time As Teotihuacan.

And It's Still
A Vital, Bustling Place Today.

There's Homemade Clothing
To Buy...

I'm A Tourist.

...One-Of-A-Kind
Souvenirs...

This Literally Has A Snake,
A Bat, And A Scorpion In It.

Oof.

You Thought
Kombucha Tea Was Tough.

...And Tortillas
That Can't Get Any Fresher.

[ Cheers And Applause ]

On My Way Through The Market,
I Hear A Lot Of Commotion.

Meet The Voladores,
Or Flying Men.

They're Part Cirque Du Soleil,
Part Daredevil Act,

And All Crazy.

These Guys Climb
A 100-Foot Pole,

Tie Themselves At The Waist,
And Then Jump,

Spinning Their Way
To The Bottom.

So, This Is An Activity
That Has Been Going On

Here In Mesoamerica
Since Ancient Times.

Very Scary, No?

No.You're Very Brave.

Con Huevos.You Got Huevos.

Huevos.

Can I Give It A Try?

Yes?
-Yes.
-Arriba.

Let's Do This.
Come On, Guys.

Gates: I Always Wanted
To Join The Circus,

And Working For Tips
On An Unregulated Deathtrap

May Be As Close As I Get.

[ Cheers And Applause ]

♪♪

♪♪

That Josh Gates Is Really Brave.

On The Far End Of The Market
In The Center Of Town

Is A Massive Hill

With A Spanish Cathedral
At The Top.

But Looks Can Be Deceiving.

This Is No Hill.

Beneath The Earth And Vegetation
Is A Temple.

In Fact, At 1,300 Feet Long,

It Is
The Largest Pyramid On Earth...

...Even Bigger
Than The Pyramid At Giza.

To Find Out
What This Buried Time Capsule

Can Tell Me About Teotihuacan,

I'm Meeting With Archaeologist
Dr. Sergio Suarez Cruz.

It Is The Biggest Pyramid
In The World By Volume.

Sí.
It's Crazy.

I'd Love To See It.
Please -- Lead On.

Yes.
Yeah.

[ Chuckles ]

Okay.

Into The Darkness.

We Walk Into The Hill
Through A Portal

Dug Not By Ancient Builders,
But By Modern Archaeologists.

You Can See Where All This
Was Chiseled Out By Hand.

Starting In The 1930S,

They Tunneled Into The Hillside
With Almost Surgical Precision

In Order To Study The Layers
Of History Underneath.

So, First Of All,

It Seems Like There Are
A Million Passages Down Here.

Interpreter:
Yes -- Nearly 5 Miles.

5 Miles Of Tunnels.

Do You Ever Get Lost
Down Here?

Claro. Sí.

Oh, You Do?
Oh. Okay, Good.

Well, I'm Right Behind You.
Here We Go.

Dr. Cruz Somehow Navigates

Through
The Pitch-Black Corridors

And Eventually Leads Me
To Evidence

That This Hill
Hasn't Always Been Just A Hill.

Holy Moly.

These Stairs
Weren't Created Underground.

This Is The Exterior
Of The Great Pyramid Of Cholula.

You Really Get A Sense
Of How Tall This Is

When You Get In Here

And See This Channel
That They've Cut

That Actually Takes You Up
The Entire Side Of The Pyramid.

These Stairs Are Just

The Outermost Layer
Of The Temple.

And Since All Of It Is Buried,

Each Inner Layer
Has Been Perfectly Preserved.

We Travel Deeper
Into The Darkness

Until We Arrive
At The Heart Of The Pyramid

And A Stunning Surprise.

Wow. Look At That.

Wow. Look At That.

Gates:
Deep Underneath The Ruins
Of A Buried Pyramid

In Cholula, Mexico,
Archaeologist Sergio Cruz And I

Come Face-To-Face
With A Piece Of Hidden History.

Really Evocative.Mm-Hmm. Mm-Hmm.

See This Skull-Like Face,
This Red Skull

Just Peering Out At You
From The Darkness.

And These Are
Original Murals.

[ Speaking Spanish ]

Interpreter:
What You're Seeing Here
Is Incredibly Rare.

This Is The Outside
Of A Pyramid.

When We See Most Pyramids Today,
They're Just Stone,

But They Were Originally
Covered In Artwork.

Ojos.
Ah, Face.

Face. Uh-Huh.

Look At That --
Just Trapped In Time.

Interpreter:
This Art We Found Predates
The Aztecs By 1,000 Years.

We Now Think,
With High Probability,

That It's Teotihuacan
In Origin,

Depicting A Spirit
Of A Dry Season

Causing Death And Famine.

What Have You Learned
About The Relationship

Between Cholula
And Teotihuacan?

Interpreter:
This Art Shows Us

That Teotihuacan
Had Control Here.

Their Power Spread Far Beyond
The Borders Of Their Capital.

Dr. Cruz And Others
Are Discovering

That The Influence
Of Teotihuacan Was Vast.

Along With The Murals Here
At Cholula,

There Are Teotihuacan Motifs
Found At Various Other Sites

In Central Mexico.

What's More, The Glyphs Appear
At The Mayan Sites Of Matacapan

And Hundreds Of Miles Away

At The Mayan Ruins Of Oxkintok
In The Yucatán.

There's Even A Depiction
Of A Teotihuacano Warrior

On A Stone Tablet

As Far South As The Mayan Ruins
Of Yaxhá In Guatemala.

[ Speaking Spanish ]

Interpreter: We Now Believe
This Teotihuacan Culture

Was Immensely Powerful.

What Have You Found
For Artifacts Down Here?

We Found
Ceramic Pieces Here,

As Well As Very Strange Blades
Made From Obsidian.

Obsidian?
Obsidian.

Obsidian Is A Naturally Made
Type Of Volcanic Glass

That's Usually Black In Color.

Its Extremely Sharp Edges

Made It A Favorite Tool
For Early Cultures.

Interpreter:
But What's Interesting Is That

95% Of The Obsidian
We Found Here Is Green.

Huh.
Most Of It's Green.

And That's Related
To Teotihuacan?

[ Speaking Spanish ]

Interpreter:
Sí. This Green Obsidian
Is Very, Very Rare.

The Other Place
It's Been Found

Is In The Sacrifices
Discovered At Teotihuacan.

♪♪

Outside Of The City
Of Pachuca De Soto,

I Meet With Archaeologist
Alejandro Pastrana,

Who Is Excavating

One Of The Most Unique Sites
Controlled By Teotihuacan.

Hola.
Hola. ¿Como Estas?

How You Doing?
Bien.

What Is This Place?

So, I Take It
You're Finding Obsidian Here.

Why Were They Mining
This Obsidian?

What Was It Used For,
Primarily?

Because Obsidian
Is Both Uniquely Sharp

And Uniquely Strong,

It Was Crucial To Making
High-Quality Weapons And Tools.

But Alejandro's Team

Has Discovered
Something Extraordinary Here,

And He's Invited Me To See It.

Though It Might Not
Look Like It,

This Area Is Actually
An Ancient Industrial Mine,

With Pits In Every Direction.

His Team Has Discovered
Over 1,000 Mine Shafts,

And He's Taking Me Inside Of One

To Recover An Important Piece
Of Obsidian At Its Source.

Whoa!

Whoa Ho Ho!

Alejandro's Team Has Dug
A Horizontal Tunnel

To Intersect
Some Of The Vertical Shafts

Dug By Teotihuacan's Engineers
Nearly 2,000 Years Ago.

How Crazy Is This?

♪♪

Oh, My God!

What The Hell?

♪♪

Wow.

Isn't There Just Some Obsidian
We Can Get Here?

Yeah.
I'm Going Down, All Right.

I'm Going Down Hard.
Okay.

We Gear Up To Rappel The 60 Feet
Into The Mine,

Donning Helmets And Harnesses
To Make The Descent.

♪♪

Why Am I Here?

To Get A Rock.

Okay, Coming Down.

Okay. Into The Darkness.
Here We Go.

[ Chuckling ]
Oh, My God!

Okay, Alejandro,
I'm Coming Down.

I'm On A Sketchy Trip

In An Ancient
Mexican Mine Shaft,

Where Archaeologist
Alejandro Pastrana

Is About To Reveal

How The Teotihuacan Empire
Became So Powerful.

Okay.

[ Grunts ]

Whew!

Okay. Nice Job.

With Both Feet On The Floor,

I Try Not To Think About
How We're Going To Get Back Up.

And I Follow Alejandro
Down The Tunnel.

Soon, He Reveals

Why The Teotihuacanos
Bored Down Into These Hills.

Oh, Wow.

Look At All These Pieces
Of Obsidian.

This Was All
From An Eruption.

Wow.

It Turns Out
That Millions Of Years Ago,

A Massive Lava Flow

Deposited A Mountain Of Obsidian
Beneath Teotihuacan Territory.

This Isn't Just A Mine.
It's The Mother Lode.

How Do We Get It
Out Of The Wall?

Uh-Huh.

Right.

I See.

This Mine Has
Zero Structural Support,

Which Means That Chipping Away
At The Walls Is A Gamble.

Alejandro, Careful.

Yeah. [ Chuckles ]

♪♪

It's A Good Piece,
Yeah?

Yes.
It's A Good Piece.

Gates:
This Is Green Obsidian --

The Same Type Found
Under The Pyramid At Cholula

And The Same Type Found

In The Ritual Sacrifices
At Teotihuacan.

We Return To The Surface

To Discuss
The Significance Of The Find.

It Turns Out This Type
Of Obsidian Isn't Just Uncommon.

It's All But Nonexistent.

At His Nearby Workshop,
Alejandro Shows Me

How This Raw Green Obsidian Was
Turned Into Something Potent.

Wow.
It's Incredible.

I Should Point Out

That Alejandro Is One Of
About Five People In The World

Who Know How To Replicate
These Ancient Tools.

Are Your Blades As Good
As The Ones From Teotihuacan?

Almost? Oh, Wow.

Lethal.

This Is Really, Like,
As Sharp As A Knife, Right?

So, This Is
Really Thick Leather.

[ Chuckles ]

Okay.
[ Chuckles ]

I Mean, It's Razor-Sharp.

Okay, So Now Let Me Try
To Shave You.

Yep.

No. You're Crazy.
[ Laughs ]

Sir, You Obviously
Don't Know Me Well.

You Should Not Have
Leaned In.

Why Is Teotihuacan

Making So Much
Out Of This Obsidian?

Archaeologists Now Believe
That Teotihuacan Controlled

Nearly All Of The Black Obsidian
Mines In Mexico

And The Only
Green Obsidian Mine.

This Green Obsidian
Wasn't Just Unique.

It Was Believed To Be Magical --
A Supernatural Blade

Tied To The Gods
Of Fertility And Life.

And Teotihuacan
Was Its Only Supplier.

So, It's Interesting.

It Really Changes This Image
Of Teotihuacan

As An Isolated Place.

Seems Like That They Were
Maybe Much More Widespread

In Terms
Of Their Influence.

With The Revelation
That Teotihuacan Was

The Amazon.Com
Of Supernatural Weapons,

I Speed Back
To The City's Ruins.

We Now Know
The Source Of Their Power.

But There's A Huge Question That
Still Hasn't Been Answered --

Who Was Running The Show?

Unlike The Maya Or The Aztecs,

A Royal Tomb
Of A Teotihuacan Leader

Has Never Been Found.

But One Of The Most Exciting
Digs On Earth Is Unfolding Here

That May Change All That.

♪♪

This Is The Citadel.

It Is One Of The Largest
Compounds Inside Of Teotihuacan.

It's So Large That You Could Fit
A Sold-Out Crowd

From Yankee Stadium In Here
Five Times Over.

So The Big Question Is,
What Was It Used For?

In The Middle
Of This Massive Compound

Sits An Otherworldly Pyramid
Dedicated To A Powerful Deity.

This Is The Temple
Of The Feathered Serpent,

Or Quetzalcoatl.

It's One Of The Only Places
At Teotihuacan

That You See Any Sculpture,
Any Carvings.

This Gives Us An Idea Of
How Significant This Place Was.

There's Clearly This Ritualistic
Feeling About This Place,

So No Question That Some Sort
Of Ceremonies Happened Here.

But What?
We Don't Know.

But There Is A Guy Excavating

Right Here
In The Middle Of This Plaza

Who May Be Close
To Finding An Answer.

It's Hard To Miss
The Large White Canopy

That Archaeologists Have Erected
Directly In Front Of The Temple.

Inside, Sergio Gomez Is Running
The Most Important Excavation

In The History Of Teotihuacan.

Hola.
Hola.

Hola, Josh. Como Estas.Nice To Meet You.

Hello. I'm Josh.

Quite An Operation
You Have Going Here.

Interpreter:
One Of The Biggest Projects
Happening At Teotihuacan.

There Is Over 60 People
Working At The Moment.

And How Did You Come
To Start Digging

Right There
In Front Of The Pyramid?

One Day, When I Came To Work,
I Was Informed

That There Was A Hole In
The Ground 83 Centimeters Wide,

And My Team Lowered Me
Into This Hole In The Ground.

In The Beginning,
We Didn't Know What It Was,

But When I Went Down,

I Saw There Was The Evidence
Of A Tunnel.

You Could Tell
That There Was A Tunnel?

I Was Able To Remove
A Couple Of Rocks

To See The Distance
Going To One Side

And Then To The Other.

Teotihuacans Had Filled
This Tunnel.

So That's
A Good Indicator

That They Put Something
Down There

They Didn't Want People
To Find.

Yes.
[ Speaking Spanish ]

-Do I Want To See What's
In The Tunnel?
-Yes.

It Would Honestly Be
A Dream Come True.

Okay.
Lets Do It.

Gates: Dr. Gomez Leads Me Back
Through His Team's Workshop,

Which Looks More Like A
Sophisticated Construction Site.

Helmets. Okay.

[ Elevator Whirring ]

Here We Go.

Sergio,
You've Come A Long Way

Since Going Down This Hole
On A Rope.

This Is Crazy.

I've Been To More Than My Share
Of Archaeological Sites,

And This Is, Without A Doubt,

The Most High-Tech Excavation
I Have Ever Seen.

Gates:
How Deep Is This Tunnel?

40 To 50 Feet.

Straight Down?Straight Down.

And What
Is This Machine Doing?

[ Speaking Spanish ]

The Machine
Is Extracting Gas Radon,

Which Is Produced
By The Composition

Of The Uranium
And The Organic Material.

Uranium.

Perfect.

The Machine Is Part Of A
Sophisticated Ventilation System

That Purges The Tunnel
Of Poisonous Radon Gas.

But That's Nothing
Compared To What Lies Waiting

At The Bottom
Of This Elevator Shaft.

Wow.

Gates: I'm In Mexico,
Where We've Discovered

That The Ancient City
Of Teotihuacan

Was More Powerful
Than Anyone Suspected.

But Since No Royal Tomb
Has Ever Been Found Here,

It's Unclear
Who Controlled That Power.

The Answers May Lie Beneath

One Of The City's
Most Important Temples,

Where An Archaeologist
Has Discovered A Hidden Tunnel.

Wow.

Let's See What You Guys
Are Getting Up To Down Here.

My Very First Step
Into The Tunnel

Takes My Breath Away.

This Is No Crawl Space.

This Is An Extensive Passage
Leading Deep Under The Ruins.

Gates:
This Is The Original Tunnel
That They Dug?

This Is The Original Ceiling,
Walls, And Floors.

[ Speaking Spanish ]

In Some Parts, You Can Still See
The Scraping And The Holes

From The Tools
They Used.

Wow.

These Blocks
That Are Down Here,

What Did They Build
Down Here?

At Some Point,
The Teotihuacan People

Blocked The Tunnel
By Creating These Walls.

This Is Why We Feel So Fortunate

To Be The First Ones
To Discover This Place

After Approximately
1,700 Years.

Gates:
We Move Further Into The Tunnel,

Where Sergio's Men
Are Uncovering Artifacts

That Have Been Hidden Here
For Nearly Two Millennia.

Gomez:
This Is The Ceramica.

It's Intact?

It's Intact, You See.
Complete.

That Looks Brand-New.

Sí.

It Looks Like
That Was Justmade.

Interpreter:
Everything That They Have Found

Has Been Taken Out
Very Meticulously.

And They Have Found
Thousands Of Objects.

Obsidian.
And Obsidian.

Those Are
Obsidian Blades.

Seeing These Blades Fanned Out
Like This In A Ceramic Pot,

Clearly An Offering
That Was Left Here.

And To Have It Uncovered
In Real Time,

It's Just Beyond Rare
To See Something Like This.

That's Something
You Don't Find Every Day --

Unless, Of Course,
You Work Down Here.

♪♪

Gates: We Push Deeper,

Passing Trench After Trench
Filled With Offerings.

Wherever This Tunnel Leads,
It's Obviously Sacred.

Eventually, We Reach An Area
Where Massive Support Beams

Have Been Erected
By The Archaeologists.

Gates:
Sergio, What Is This?

Much Bigger Supports.

[ Speaking Spanish ]

Interpreter:
We Are Under Now The Temple
Of The Feathered Serpent.

It's Above Us.
Exactamente.

So, This Is
Some Hard-Core Engineering

To Make Sure That The Pyramid
Doesn't Come Down On Us.

Sí.
[ Chuckles ] Wow.

Gates: It's In This Area

That Sergio's Team Is Employing
Their Secret Weapon.

Hola.
¿Qué Tal?

Whoa.
You Have A Robot.

Interpreter: Yes.

It Is The First Time
In Mexico

That These Type Of Robots
Are Used

For Archaeological Purposes

And The Second Time In The World
That They Use Them.

And It Has Cameras Here
And A Camera On The Back?

Sí -- Dos Cameras.

It Managed To Give Them
The Image Of The Stability

And The Conditions
Of The Tunnel Inside

Before They Were Able
To Go In.

Let's See It In Action.

They Send The Robot To Explore
A New Section Of The Passage

That Hasn't Yet
Been Excavated.

So, What Are We
Looking At Here?

You're Controlling It
Just With A Joystick?

Yes, A Joystick.And How Do You Fire The Guns?

[ Speaking Spanish ]

Ah, There It Is.
The Red Button -- Of Course.

It's Always
The Red Button.

How Deep Is This Alcove?
Do You Know?

Interpreter:
It's Around 15 Feet.

It's Tough. It Gets Hung Up
A Lot On The Low Ceiling.

Soft Sand And A Dead End.

Gates: The Robot Reaches
The End Of The Alcove,

Sending Back Images

Vital To Determining
The Tunnel's Stability.

What Have You Found
Back Here Already?

Interpreter:
They Found 400 Metallic Spheres

Made From This Mineral
That Looks Like Metal,

And They Were Shiny
And Metal-Like.

And What Were These For?

We Don't Know
What It Was Used For,

And It's The First Time
In Teotihuacan

That They Found This.

I Know Why It Was Here --
Aliens.

No Aliens.
[ Laughs ]

Sir, You're The Expert,

But I'm Pretty Sure
It's Alien Technology.

[ Speaking Spanish ]

One Of His Ideas Is That
It Resembles A Drop Of Water.

Or Alien Technology.

No Alien Technology.

He's With Me.
You're With Me.

He Knows. He Knows.

Okay.

Gates: From Here,
The Passage Drops Down,

Leading Directly Underneath The
Temple Of The Feathered Serpent

Into A Newly Discovered Chamber

That Might Change Everything
We Know About Teotihuacan.

♪♪

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About Tonight's Expedition?

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Where You Can Go
Behind The Scenes

With Exclusive Photos,
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And More.

Beneath Teotihuacan's
Temple Of The Feathered Serpent,

Archaeologist Sergio Gomez

Has Led Me Through
A Hidden Tunnel

To What Is Possibly
The Most Important Discovery

Ever Made Here.

So, It All Leads
To This.

What Is This Room?

Interpreter: You're Standing
Directly Underneath

The Dead Center Of The Temple
Of The Feathered Serpent.

The Tunnels Go Out
From Here

Alongside The Exact Axis
Of The Temple.

They Made This Cross-Shaped
Intersection Here

Directly Under The Center
Of The Pyramid?

Exactamente.

How Close Did They Get?

Es Milímetrica.
Millimeters.

Sí.

Gates:
This Is The End Of The Line --

A Tunnel
Over A Football Field Long

Leading To A Mysterious Room

That's Perfectly Aligned
To The Pyramid Above.

And So, What Did You Find
In This Room?

Here, They Found Thousands
And Thousands Of Objects

In This Room.

[ Speaking Spanish ]

Two Statues Of Women?

Two Statues Of Women
And One Of Man.

[ Speaking Spanish ]

Big Conch Shells.

And What About Bones?

[ Speaking Spanish ]

They Have Found
Jaguar Bones.

Gates:
Clearly A Sacred Space.

But I'm Most Puzzled

By The Strange Design
Of The Chamber Itself.

This Room Looks Very Different
Than The Other Rooms.

Unlike The Smooth Tunnel,
Everywhere You Look,

There Are Odd, Uneven Ridges.

And Within Those Ridges, Sergio
Has Just Made An Awesome Find.

Oh, Wow.

What Is This?
¿Qué Es Eso?

Esto Es Una Pelota.

Pelota? It's A Ball?

Sí.

For The
Mesoamerican Ball Game?

[ Speaking Spanish ]

Interpreter: The Ball Represents
The Movement Of The Sun.

The Sun Comes Out
Facing North.

And When It Starts To Set,

It Goes Back Down
On The Underworld.

Gates:
The Mesoamerican Ball Game Was
Both Entertainment And Ritual,

Depicted In Murals And Carvings
Alongside Human Sacrifice.

I'm Just Speechless,
Actually.

I've Never Seen
One Of The Actual Balls

That Was Used In The Game.

This Is The First Time
They Find Anything Like This

In An Archaeological
Research.

Anywhere?

Nunca -- Never.

What Is It Made Of?

De Hule.
It's Rubber?

This Is Extraordinary.

Mm-Hmm.

Gates: But The Ball, Which Is
Linked To The Underworld,

Isn't The Only Telling Find
Here.

Sergio Produces Their Most
Spectacular Discovery To Date.

[ Speaking Spanish ]

This Is Mercury?

Mm-Hmm.

I've Never Heard
Of Liquid Mercury

Being Found
In A Place Like This.

Is That Rare?

Interpreter:
Never Before Has Been Found
Mercury In Mexico --

Only In The Maya Regions
Of Belize And Guatemala.

You Found This Mercury
Where?

[ Speaking Spanish ]In The Floor?

Gates: The Discovery Of Mercury
Is A Revelation.

Dr. Gomez And His Team Realize
That This Isn't A Room.

It's A Living Model
Of The Underworld.

The Mercury Was Found
In The Miniature Valleys

On The Floor, Where It Shimmered
Like Lakes And Rivers.

This Feels Like
The Underworld.

So It's Like This Whole Room
Is Like A Diorama.

Yes. It's A Model
To Represent A View.

The Axis Of The World
Should Connect The Underworld

With The Superficial
And The Heavens.

The Ball Is Extraordinary.

All Of The Finds Here
And The Sculpting Of The Floor,

It's Incredible.

Gates:
This Chamber All But Confirms
That Teotihuacan Was Lorded Over

By Immensely Powerful
Religious Leaders.

It Appears To Be A Place

Where The Elite
Came For Coronations --

A Literal Trip To The Underworld
To Meet With The Gods.

This Is Where
The New Leaders Came In.

This Is The Place Where
They Came To The Divinities,

And They Came Out
Dressed With The New Powers

For The Governing.

Gates: If It Was Also Used
As A Royal Tomb,

Dr. Gomez Believes The Bodies
May Have Been Cremated

And Scattered
Into The Darkness.

This Is Off The Charts.

This Is Really
One Of The Most Incredible Rooms

I've Ever Been In.

Thank You So Much
For Showing It To Me.

I Really Appreciate It.

Teotihuacan --
Once Thought To Be

A Peaceful
And Communal Settlement,

But Science
Is Rewriting History.

The City Is Bigger
Than Anyone Knew,

Its Influence Spread Wider
Than We Ever Imagined,

And Its Power Was Harnessed

Through The Production
Of A Supernatural Commodity.

And Now This -- A Tunnel Leading
To The Underworld Itself,

A Place Of Sacrifice,
Of Ritual,

And A Portal To Confer
Godlike Powers On A Select Few.

It's Time This Empire Was
Recognized For Its True Might.

It Stood Alongside The Maya
And Inspired The Aztecs.

They Called This Place
The Home Of The Gods.

And Down Here,

In The Meeting Point
Between Power And Faith,

I Finally Know Why.