1 00:00:01,802 --> 00:00:03,402 NARRATOR: They're watching you. 2 00:00:03,504 --> 00:00:07,306 More than 6,000 satellites circle the Earth. 3 00:00:07,408 --> 00:00:10,943 Every day, they uncover new, mysterious phenomena 4 00:00:11,078 --> 00:00:13,112 that defy explanation. 5 00:00:14,415 --> 00:00:17,116 Revealed from space, 6 00:00:17,118 --> 00:00:19,451 the mystery of the stolen space shuttle. 7 00:00:22,823 --> 00:00:24,223 WALTERS: What we're looking at is one of 8 00:00:24,291 --> 00:00:28,927 the strangest incidents of the entire Space Race. 9 00:00:28,929 --> 00:00:31,130 NARRATOR: The ghost fleet of the Devil's Sea. 10 00:00:31,232 --> 00:00:35,034 What's strange is that this fleet 11 00:00:35,102 --> 00:00:37,136 is moving towards the shore. 12 00:00:38,639 --> 00:00:41,807 NARRATOR: And attack of the killer mega bugs. 13 00:00:41,809 --> 00:00:44,309 This problem is out of control. 14 00:00:44,445 --> 00:00:47,946 NARRATOR: Baffling phenomena, mysteries from space. 15 00:00:48,049 --> 00:00:50,215 What on Earth are they? 16 00:00:50,317 --> 00:00:55,220 [theme music playing] 17 00:01:09,403 --> 00:01:11,804 April 12th, 2021. 18 00:01:11,939 --> 00:01:14,706 As an orbiting satellite passes over 19 00:01:14,809 --> 00:01:19,344 the central Asian country of Kazakhstan, it captures a weird 20 00:01:19,413 --> 00:01:23,549 25-square-mile compound in the desert below. 21 00:01:23,650 --> 00:01:26,118 This facility, whatever it is, 22 00:01:26,220 --> 00:01:29,354 is absolutely vast, and it actually appears to 23 00:01:29,423 --> 00:01:31,657 be being swallowed up by the landscape. 24 00:01:31,725 --> 00:01:33,792 ANTHONY MORGAN: It doesn't look like 25 00:01:33,794 --> 00:01:36,328 this is somewhere that people spend their time. 26 00:01:36,430 --> 00:01:39,264 The structures around it, they look dilapidated. 27 00:01:39,333 --> 00:01:42,835 NARRATOR: What really intrigues analysts is something 28 00:01:42,937 --> 00:01:44,503 in the middle of the compound. 29 00:01:46,540 --> 00:01:51,110 There's this massive structure. 30 00:01:51,112 --> 00:01:52,711 I've never seen anything like it. 31 00:01:54,248 --> 00:01:57,850 What's really weird about it is the triangular 32 00:01:57,951 --> 00:01:59,218 sort of shape. 33 00:01:59,320 --> 00:02:02,254 It really looks like some sort of spaceship. 34 00:02:11,065 --> 00:02:13,632 NARRATOR: Hooked by the weird structure seen from space, 35 00:02:13,734 --> 00:02:16,735 a team of Dutch urban explorers is traveling 36 00:02:16,804 --> 00:02:17,936 across Kazakhstan. 37 00:02:24,345 --> 00:02:25,611 Ah. 38 00:02:28,115 --> 00:02:29,515 NARRATOR: To reach their target, 39 00:02:29,517 --> 00:02:32,417 they must cut a path through the Kazakh Steppe, 40 00:02:32,553 --> 00:02:37,623 a 300,000-square-mile belt of dry, featureless grassland. 41 00:02:49,837 --> 00:02:53,038 NARRATOR: Kazakhstan has one of the lowest population densities 42 00:02:53,107 --> 00:02:54,306 on Earth, 43 00:02:54,308 --> 00:02:57,709 and it has a dark history, 44 00:02:57,711 --> 00:02:59,111 one that could explain 45 00:02:59,246 --> 00:03:01,713 the desolate compound captured from above. 46 00:03:05,619 --> 00:03:07,452 RODRIGUEZ McROBBIE: Given this facility's location, 47 00:03:07,521 --> 00:03:10,122 its isolation, it's quite likely 48 00:03:10,124 --> 00:03:11,823 that this is connected to Soviet-era 49 00:03:11,925 --> 00:03:13,258 experiments in the country. 50 00:03:16,096 --> 00:03:17,529 NARRATOR: During the Cold War, 51 00:03:17,664 --> 00:03:21,233 Kazakhstan is one of 15 Socialist Republics ruled over 52 00:03:21,302 --> 00:03:22,834 by the Soviet Union. 53 00:03:24,305 --> 00:03:26,505 The Soviet rule of Kazakhstan was kind of 54 00:03:26,507 --> 00:03:29,608 characterized by a lot of highly controversial 55 00:03:29,610 --> 00:03:31,410 nuclear testing. 56 00:03:31,412 --> 00:03:33,045 And in order to conduct these tests, 57 00:03:33,146 --> 00:03:35,714 the Soviets created these massive facilities 58 00:03:35,716 --> 00:03:37,149 in Kazakhstan. 59 00:03:37,251 --> 00:03:40,118 One of the goals was to keep it secret. 60 00:03:40,220 --> 00:03:41,954 They didn't want their enemies to know about it, 61 00:03:42,055 --> 00:03:43,822 but that meant they kept it secret from the local 62 00:03:43,824 --> 00:03:45,190 population, as well. 63 00:03:45,326 --> 00:03:46,959 [button clicks] 64 00:03:47,061 --> 00:03:48,860 [explosion blasts] 65 00:03:48,929 --> 00:03:51,430 NARRATOR: Officials claim the test sites lie 66 00:03:51,432 --> 00:03:53,599 in uninhabited parts of the country. 67 00:03:53,601 --> 00:03:57,469 In reality, more than a million people live nearby. 68 00:03:58,839 --> 00:04:01,807 What's more, the Soviets used them as human 69 00:04:01,809 --> 00:04:05,344 guinea pigs to study the effects of nuclear fallout. 70 00:04:05,445 --> 00:04:07,713 RODRIGUEZ McROBBIE: What made the tests even more deplorable 71 00:04:07,715 --> 00:04:10,115 was the fact that the Kazakh people were unwitting 72 00:04:10,117 --> 00:04:11,450 test subjects. 73 00:04:11,551 --> 00:04:12,618 They didn't know they were being 74 00:04:12,620 --> 00:04:14,853 exposed to huge amounts of radiation. 75 00:04:14,955 --> 00:04:16,989 What the Soviets did at these sites, and I don't 76 00:04:16,991 --> 00:04:19,558 think there's any other word for it, is basically evil. 77 00:04:22,963 --> 00:04:26,064 NARRATOR: If the site in the image is a relic of Soviet rule, 78 00:04:26,133 --> 00:04:28,934 the explorers fear it could be monitored, 79 00:04:29,036 --> 00:04:32,204 so they ditch their car and continue on foot. 80 00:04:39,413 --> 00:04:41,413 NARRATOR: As the site appears in the distance, 81 00:04:41,415 --> 00:04:44,449 it becomes clear their fears were justified. 82 00:04:44,551 --> 00:04:46,652 [gunshots blasting] 83 00:04:51,358 --> 00:04:52,657 [bleep] 84 00:05:01,635 --> 00:05:04,503 NARRATOR: The team waits until nightfall before proceeding, 85 00:05:04,505 --> 00:05:07,306 hoping darkness can cover their approach. 86 00:05:12,746 --> 00:05:16,014 NARRATOR: Armed guards aren't the only 87 00:05:16,016 --> 00:05:17,949 obstacle in their path. 88 00:05:34,401 --> 00:05:35,801 NARRATOR: The team reaches the site with 89 00:05:35,936 --> 00:05:37,936 only a few hours darkness remaining. 90 00:05:52,419 --> 00:05:54,653 NARRATOR: The explorers navigate their way towards 91 00:05:54,755 --> 00:05:56,254 the giant buildings in the image. 92 00:06:06,934 --> 00:06:08,233 [exhales heavily] 93 00:06:11,505 --> 00:06:12,771 [bleep] 94 00:06:14,508 --> 00:06:18,143 WALTERS: This building is just like a massive cathedral, 95 00:06:18,245 --> 00:06:19,711 and right in the middle of it 96 00:06:19,713 --> 00:06:22,748 is this really odd-looking machine. 97 00:06:29,123 --> 00:06:30,555 NARRATOR: The explorers have made 98 00:06:30,657 --> 00:06:33,458 a discovery that appears to defy explanation. 99 00:06:34,728 --> 00:06:36,762 I'm not too sure that it's sitting 100 00:06:36,797 --> 00:06:38,063 in the right place, frankly, 101 00:06:38,132 --> 00:06:39,865 because we're in the middle of the Kazakh desert. 102 00:06:39,966 --> 00:06:42,100 It looks to me like a space shuttle. 103 00:06:51,612 --> 00:06:55,414 NARRATOR: At just over 100 feet long and with swept back wings, 104 00:06:55,516 --> 00:06:57,849 the shape of the craft is unmistakable. 105 00:07:00,954 --> 00:07:04,055 It's a weird yet pivotal legacy of the battle 106 00:07:04,157 --> 00:07:05,557 to conquer space. 107 00:07:09,129 --> 00:07:11,463 This thing is the result of the biggest 108 00:07:11,532 --> 00:07:14,499 and most expensive project in the history of 109 00:07:14,501 --> 00:07:17,035 Soviet space flight, but it has been sitting in 110 00:07:17,104 --> 00:07:20,205 this hangar gathering dust for decades. 111 00:07:22,709 --> 00:07:25,510 NARRATOR: Declassified Soviet files reveal it took more than 112 00:07:25,512 --> 00:07:27,813 a million people to design the craft 113 00:07:27,915 --> 00:07:30,715 at a cost of $26 billion. 114 00:07:32,052 --> 00:07:34,119 RODRIGUEZ McROBBIE: Despite costing huge amounts of money 115 00:07:34,121 --> 00:07:37,522 and years to complete, the craft only made one mission. 116 00:07:37,524 --> 00:07:40,659 But that's not the really strange thing about it. 117 00:07:43,630 --> 00:07:45,363 WALTERS: The story behind this machine is 118 00:07:45,432 --> 00:07:49,000 a combination of revolutionary engineering and absolutely 119 00:07:49,002 --> 00:07:51,703 audacious spycraft. 120 00:07:56,009 --> 00:07:59,511 NARRATOR: Coming up -- space wars. 121 00:07:59,513 --> 00:08:03,615 They were convinced that it could nuke Moscow. 122 00:08:05,652 --> 00:08:08,153 NARRATOR: And dragons of the Devil's Sea. 123 00:08:08,222 --> 00:08:10,121 KOUROUNIS: There are tales of them attacking 124 00:08:10,123 --> 00:08:13,325 ships and dragging sailors to their doom. 125 00:08:22,202 --> 00:08:25,136 NARRATOR: Lured by a giant desert compound in Kazakhstan, 126 00:08:26,807 --> 00:08:28,540 a team of urban explorers has 127 00:08:28,642 --> 00:08:32,043 discovered a rusting multi-billion dollar spacecraft. 128 00:08:41,622 --> 00:08:44,656 WALTERS: What we're looking at is the forgotten relics of 129 00:08:44,724 --> 00:08:48,226 one of the strangest incidents of the entire Space Race. 130 00:08:52,065 --> 00:08:55,734 NARRATOR: That incident has its origins in the early 1970s. 131 00:08:57,104 --> 00:09:00,472 The Soviet Space Agency, still smarting from the success of 132 00:09:00,474 --> 00:09:02,507 the Apollo 11 mission, 133 00:09:02,609 --> 00:09:06,111 learns that NASA is working on a revolutionary new craft, 134 00:09:07,648 --> 00:09:11,316 one that it fears could land a killer blow in the Space Race. 135 00:09:12,953 --> 00:09:16,254 MUNOZ: The Soviets get information that 136 00:09:16,323 --> 00:09:17,856 the United States is working on 137 00:09:17,958 --> 00:09:21,026 a new winged space aircraft, 138 00:09:21,028 --> 00:09:23,261 what would eventually be the space shuttle. 139 00:09:23,363 --> 00:09:25,397 WALTERS: The concept of the space shuttle 140 00:09:25,399 --> 00:09:27,532 absolutely terrified the Russians. 141 00:09:27,634 --> 00:09:30,001 Many of them felt it could have totally swung 142 00:09:30,003 --> 00:09:33,872 not just a Space Race, but the entire Cold War in 143 00:09:33,874 --> 00:09:35,240 America's favor. 144 00:09:35,342 --> 00:09:37,309 OVER RADIO: Standing by now for solid rocket booster 145 00:09:37,411 --> 00:09:38,476 separation confirmation. 146 00:09:40,514 --> 00:09:42,614 NARRATOR: What scares the Soviets is that, 147 00:09:42,616 --> 00:09:45,550 unlike their craft, the shuttle can reenter 148 00:09:45,652 --> 00:09:48,453 the atmosphere and fly down to any point on Earth. 149 00:09:50,290 --> 00:09:53,525 NASA claimed that the shuttle was all about science, 150 00:09:53,660 --> 00:09:56,261 but the Soviets didn't buy it. 151 00:09:56,330 --> 00:09:59,130 They were pretty convinced that it could be used for 152 00:09:59,265 --> 00:10:00,932 nefarious purposes, 153 00:10:01,001 --> 00:10:04,035 like maybe to fly down and nuke Moscow. 154 00:10:06,006 --> 00:10:08,306 The head of the military approaches Soviet leader 155 00:10:08,408 --> 00:10:09,708 Leonid Brezhnev, 156 00:10:09,810 --> 00:10:12,043 and tells him that he needs to do something about this 157 00:10:12,112 --> 00:10:15,046 potential threat, and he needs to do it fast. 158 00:10:17,117 --> 00:10:19,718 NARRATOR: Brezhnev immediately orders the KGB to 159 00:10:19,720 --> 00:10:21,820 begin spying on the shuttle program. 160 00:10:23,190 --> 00:10:26,324 To its astonishment, the security agency discovers 161 00:10:26,326 --> 00:10:27,926 that many of NASA's plans, 162 00:10:27,928 --> 00:10:32,731 including detailed blueprints, are in the public domain. 163 00:10:32,733 --> 00:10:35,233 The Soviets couldn't believe their luck. 164 00:10:35,302 --> 00:10:37,836 This is a country where people's lunch orders are 165 00:10:37,971 --> 00:10:40,238 classified, and here NASA 166 00:10:40,340 --> 00:10:43,441 had gifted them the plans for the world's most 167 00:10:43,510 --> 00:10:45,910 advanced spacecraft. 168 00:10:45,912 --> 00:10:48,113 WALTERS: But even though the designs were made public, 169 00:10:48,115 --> 00:10:50,849 the Soviets still had a big problem. 170 00:10:50,951 --> 00:10:53,151 There was reams and reams of material, 171 00:10:53,220 --> 00:10:56,554 thousands and thousands of documents, and they were spread 172 00:10:56,656 --> 00:10:58,657 through dozens of departments. 173 00:11:02,129 --> 00:11:06,064 NARRATOR: The Soviets reportedly set up fake research centers to 174 00:11:06,133 --> 00:11:09,801 purchase and funnel vast amounts of NASA data to Moscow. 175 00:11:12,039 --> 00:11:15,607 When the U.S. government begins storing its data online, 176 00:11:15,742 --> 00:11:18,510 it forces the KGB to turn to hacking 177 00:11:18,612 --> 00:11:20,211 to garner yet more intel. 178 00:11:20,213 --> 00:11:22,013 [dial-up internet squawking] 179 00:11:22,015 --> 00:11:24,015 I mean, they steal anything they can get 180 00:11:24,017 --> 00:11:27,419 their hands on related to the space shuttle program. 181 00:11:28,922 --> 00:11:31,623 This is possibly the first case 182 00:11:31,625 --> 00:11:33,725 of internet espionage in history. 183 00:11:33,827 --> 00:11:36,828 By doing this, the Soviet Union 184 00:11:36,930 --> 00:11:39,731 saves billions in research and development costs. 185 00:11:42,035 --> 00:11:43,334 NARRATOR: Over the following years, 186 00:11:43,403 --> 00:11:46,304 1,200 companies use the stolen plans to 187 00:11:46,306 --> 00:11:49,808 secretly build a kind of space shuttle 2.0. 188 00:11:51,344 --> 00:11:52,944 The Soviets call their craft 189 00:11:53,013 --> 00:11:55,647 the Buran, Russian for snow storm. 190 00:11:57,117 --> 00:11:58,850 But the Kremlin's long campaign 191 00:11:58,985 --> 00:12:02,253 of espionage has not gone unnoticed. 192 00:12:02,322 --> 00:12:04,422 MORAN: The CIA gets wind 193 00:12:04,424 --> 00:12:06,725 of what the Soviets are up to and starts 194 00:12:06,860 --> 00:12:08,159 feeding them faulty 195 00:12:08,228 --> 00:12:11,830 and fake upgrades that they hope the Soviets will 196 00:12:11,932 --> 00:12:15,400 incorporate into the development of the Buran. 197 00:12:15,535 --> 00:12:18,169 MORGAN: They would change things like the heat shielding 198 00:12:18,205 --> 00:12:19,804 on the outside of the shuttle. 199 00:12:19,939 --> 00:12:22,941 That is really important, because as you reenter 200 00:12:23,043 --> 00:12:25,410 the atmosphere, it risks exploding. 201 00:12:28,815 --> 00:12:31,416 NARRATOR: Despite the CIA's attempts to undermine 202 00:12:31,551 --> 00:12:34,419 the Buran program, by 1985, 203 00:12:34,554 --> 00:12:37,722 the Soviets have begun atmospheric test flights. 204 00:12:37,824 --> 00:12:40,225 It's easy to look at the Buran and think 205 00:12:40,227 --> 00:12:43,628 that it's just a carbon copy of the space shuttle. 206 00:12:43,730 --> 00:12:46,498 But it actually included a number of really 207 00:12:46,500 --> 00:12:50,435 clever designs that were 100% Russian in origin. 208 00:12:51,738 --> 00:12:54,639 MUNOZ: All the mechanics and all the electronics were 209 00:12:54,707 --> 00:12:57,342 Soviet designed, but the biggest thing was that 210 00:12:57,443 --> 00:12:59,144 you could fly on automatic mode, 211 00:12:59,212 --> 00:13:02,247 which means it didn't require a pilot. 212 00:13:02,348 --> 00:13:05,316 NARRATOR: The Soviets choose the site in the image, 213 00:13:05,318 --> 00:13:07,218 Baikonur Cosmodrome, 214 00:13:07,320 --> 00:13:10,355 to showcase their new space plane to the west. 215 00:13:10,423 --> 00:13:13,424 What you're looking at here is in 216 00:13:13,426 --> 00:13:16,661 effect the birthplace of the Space Race. 217 00:13:18,999 --> 00:13:20,999 It's where the Soviet Union launched 218 00:13:21,001 --> 00:13:22,700 the first satellite put in orbit. 219 00:13:22,702 --> 00:13:24,702 [satellite beeping] 220 00:13:24,805 --> 00:13:27,705 It's where the Soviets launched Yuri Gagarin, 221 00:13:27,808 --> 00:13:30,508 the first human being to orbit the Earth. 222 00:13:30,610 --> 00:13:33,711 So this is a historical site for humanity. 223 00:13:39,119 --> 00:13:40,819 NARRATOR: At six a.m. 224 00:13:40,954 --> 00:13:45,957 on November 15th, 1988, a Buran launches from Baikonur 225 00:13:46,026 --> 00:13:50,128 before successfully completing a 3.5-hour unmanned flight. 226 00:13:51,698 --> 00:13:53,965 It will prove to be its only mission. 227 00:13:57,103 --> 00:13:59,804 The Buran was, in many ways, an amazing achievement. 228 00:13:59,806 --> 00:14:00,905 Let's not forget that. 229 00:14:01,007 --> 00:14:05,043 But unfortunately, it did suffer from bad timing. 230 00:14:06,413 --> 00:14:08,046 By the time it was ready to launch, 231 00:14:08,114 --> 00:14:10,114 the Soviet Union was already imploding. 232 00:14:11,952 --> 00:14:13,551 MUNOZ: The Kremlin had other priorities, 233 00:14:13,653 --> 00:14:15,553 so the program lost political support, 234 00:14:15,655 --> 00:14:18,423 and eventually, it lost its funding. 235 00:14:18,425 --> 00:14:21,960 Today, two remaining Buran lie forgotten 236 00:14:22,062 --> 00:14:24,362 and gathering dust in Kazakhstan, 237 00:14:24,464 --> 00:14:27,198 weird relics of one of the most daring heists 238 00:14:27,200 --> 00:14:28,533 of the 20th century. 239 00:14:28,602 --> 00:14:32,804 It's fitting that we're able to look down from space 240 00:14:32,906 --> 00:14:36,407 and see something that, albeit bizarre, 241 00:14:36,509 --> 00:14:38,443 played such an important role in the history of 242 00:14:38,511 --> 00:14:41,145 space exploration. 243 00:14:48,421 --> 00:14:51,723 NARRATOR: Coming up, ghosts of Iwo Jima. 244 00:14:51,725 --> 00:14:53,558 WALTERS: They appear to be rising out from 245 00:14:53,626 --> 00:14:56,461 the ocean and trying to get onto the land. 246 00:14:56,529 --> 00:14:59,030 And the swamp cipher of the Congo. 247 00:14:59,032 --> 00:15:01,399 There's so many questions about this really 248 00:15:01,401 --> 00:15:03,034 strange image. 249 00:15:11,411 --> 00:15:14,913 NARRATOR: January 26th, 2022. 250 00:15:14,915 --> 00:15:17,148 A satellite scans a remote 251 00:15:17,217 --> 00:15:21,252 archipelago 750 miles southeast of Japan. 252 00:15:24,124 --> 00:15:27,225 The image shows a coastline, and right 253 00:15:27,327 --> 00:15:30,361 along the division between water and sand, 254 00:15:30,397 --> 00:15:33,831 there's this line of what looks like mangled ships. 255 00:15:35,802 --> 00:15:40,438 I count at least seven pointed bow sections. 256 00:15:40,540 --> 00:15:42,807 These are hulking, great pieces of 257 00:15:42,942 --> 00:15:45,643 what must have been a sunken fleet. 258 00:15:48,014 --> 00:15:50,315 Further analysis using Maxar's 259 00:15:50,417 --> 00:15:52,617 satellite imagery deepens the mystery. 260 00:15:54,821 --> 00:15:58,056 I built a time lapse, which shows images 261 00:15:58,157 --> 00:16:01,659 over the years between 2009 and current day. 262 00:16:01,761 --> 00:16:03,561 It's amazing. 263 00:16:03,629 --> 00:16:06,064 As we roll forward, 264 00:16:06,165 --> 00:16:11,703 The ships appear to be moving and coming into the shore. 265 00:16:13,039 --> 00:16:16,641 NARRATOR: The ghost fleet's location intrigues analysts. 266 00:16:16,710 --> 00:16:20,411 It sits in an area known as the Dragon's Triangle. 267 00:16:22,115 --> 00:16:24,415 The waters in this area have been called 268 00:16:24,517 --> 00:16:27,785 the Pacific Ocean's answer to the Bermuda Triangle. 269 00:16:27,787 --> 00:16:32,156 This is a part of the Pacific known for very, 270 00:16:32,192 --> 00:16:36,461 very unexplained, mysterious disappearances of ships 271 00:16:36,529 --> 00:16:37,829 and boats. 272 00:16:39,833 --> 00:16:42,100 NARRATOR: Reports of disappearances in these waters 273 00:16:42,202 --> 00:16:45,703 date back to before 1,000 BCE, 274 00:16:45,805 --> 00:16:48,740 the same time that dragons begin to appear in 275 00:16:48,841 --> 00:16:50,608 Asian folklore. 276 00:16:50,610 --> 00:16:52,510 According to Chinese fables, 277 00:16:52,612 --> 00:16:55,413 dragons would live in the waters here, and there are 278 00:16:55,415 --> 00:16:58,950 tales of them coming to the surface and attacking ships 279 00:16:59,019 --> 00:17:01,419 and dragging sailors to their doom. 280 00:17:02,856 --> 00:17:04,455 NARRATOR: Over the past millennia, 281 00:17:04,524 --> 00:17:07,558 the Dragon's Triangle has claimed thousands of vessels, 282 00:17:07,660 --> 00:17:09,527 including entire fleets. 283 00:17:13,299 --> 00:17:16,868 Perhaps what we're seeing in the image is casualties 284 00:17:16,870 --> 00:17:20,204 of this mysterious force rising from the deep. 285 00:17:20,306 --> 00:17:25,610 Martin Morgan studies the ghost fleet in more detail. 286 00:17:25,612 --> 00:17:27,912 On closer examination of the wrecks, 287 00:17:27,914 --> 00:17:29,347 something that jumps out is the fact 288 00:17:29,449 --> 00:17:32,250 that these are not old wooden wrecks. 289 00:17:32,351 --> 00:17:34,819 This isn't something from ancient history. 290 00:17:34,821 --> 00:17:36,454 This is something from recent history. 291 00:17:38,124 --> 00:17:40,658 NARRATOR: Morgan believes the fleet is the legacy of one 292 00:17:40,760 --> 00:17:45,163 of the most brutal conflicts of the 20th century. 293 00:17:45,231 --> 00:17:46,764 The island where these wrecks are pushed 294 00:17:46,833 --> 00:17:50,401 ashore is an island that's called Ioto, 295 00:17:50,403 --> 00:17:52,303 but it used to be called Iwo Jima. 296 00:17:57,544 --> 00:18:00,044 NARRATOR: The strategically vital Iwo Jima becomes 297 00:18:00,146 --> 00:18:02,046 the focus of U.S. naval might 298 00:18:02,148 --> 00:18:04,115 in October 1944. 299 00:18:08,855 --> 00:18:10,688 The United States wanted to capture Iwo Jima 300 00:18:10,690 --> 00:18:12,223 to establish it as a base. 301 00:18:13,626 --> 00:18:17,061 It would provide fighter coverage for the bombers 302 00:18:17,130 --> 00:18:20,031 as they moved on toward targets in the Japanese home islands. 303 00:18:23,136 --> 00:18:25,837 NARRATOR: On February 19th, 1945, 304 00:18:25,939 --> 00:18:30,708 more than 450 U.S. ships unleash a devastating assault 305 00:18:30,710 --> 00:18:32,610 on the island. 306 00:18:34,047 --> 00:18:37,648 70,000 U.S. Marines invade but are 307 00:18:37,750 --> 00:18:40,852 hampered by the island's treacherous sandy terrain. 308 00:18:40,987 --> 00:18:44,856 MARTIN MORGAN: The battle of Iwo Jima ended up being 309 00:18:44,991 --> 00:18:47,558 a brutal battle, and that's because of 310 00:18:47,627 --> 00:18:49,527 the slow, plodding progress, 311 00:18:49,662 --> 00:18:53,064 the attritional action that characterized the fighting. 312 00:18:55,401 --> 00:18:58,302 NARRATOR: 36 days of hellish combat claim over 313 00:18:58,404 --> 00:19:01,405 27,000 American and Japanese lives. 314 00:19:01,541 --> 00:19:04,842 Yet while the U.S. emerges victorious, 315 00:19:04,944 --> 00:19:08,613 its mission is far from over. 316 00:19:08,615 --> 00:19:11,716 The intention was to create this large, artificial 317 00:19:11,818 --> 00:19:14,619 naval base right here in preparation 318 00:19:14,754 --> 00:19:18,623 for the eventual planned assault on mainland Japan. 319 00:19:18,625 --> 00:19:21,726 Iwo Jima has no natural harbor of any kind. 320 00:19:21,828 --> 00:19:25,129 So one had to be created, and the shipwrecks that 321 00:19:25,131 --> 00:19:26,831 we're seeing were a part of that plan. 322 00:19:29,602 --> 00:19:33,204 NARRATOR: To create the harbor's breakwater, Navy engineers 323 00:19:33,206 --> 00:19:36,841 scuttle 24 ships close to shore. 324 00:19:36,943 --> 00:19:40,444 These enormous ships were being lined up in a rectangular 325 00:19:40,513 --> 00:19:44,916 shape and with an opening to let supplies and soldiers in, 326 00:19:44,918 --> 00:19:47,718 You know, what it's doing is to form this perfect barrier to 327 00:19:47,853 --> 00:19:50,321 powerful ocean waves and all those currents. 328 00:19:53,826 --> 00:19:56,661 NARRATOR: Eight decades later, those same ships 329 00:19:56,729 --> 00:19:59,230 mysteriously emerge from the depths. 330 00:20:03,002 --> 00:20:06,404 A photograph taken following the U.S. victory all those years 331 00:20:06,406 --> 00:20:10,942 ago offers a bizarre clue to explain how. 332 00:20:11,043 --> 00:20:14,045 WALTERS: That photo of those six soldiers 333 00:20:14,146 --> 00:20:15,913 hoisting that American flag 334 00:20:15,915 --> 00:20:19,317 became one of the most reproduced pictures in history. 335 00:20:19,319 --> 00:20:22,820 This famous photo was actually taken at the summit of 336 00:20:22,822 --> 00:20:24,922 Mount Suribachi, which is considered 337 00:20:24,924 --> 00:20:27,124 one of the most dangerous volcanoes in the world. 338 00:20:30,463 --> 00:20:32,863 Mount Suribachi and the island sit 339 00:20:32,966 --> 00:20:34,498 on the Pacific Ring of Fire, 340 00:20:34,500 --> 00:20:37,902 a 25,000-mile belt of volcanoes. 341 00:20:39,839 --> 00:20:43,241 The massive tectonic forces mean the seabed 342 00:20:43,342 --> 00:20:45,810 can rise up to 30 inches a year. 343 00:20:47,213 --> 00:20:49,814 DENNIE: As magma works its way up underneath the island of 344 00:20:49,816 --> 00:20:53,618 Iwo Jima, it actually can tilt or bow the rock upward, 345 00:20:53,620 --> 00:20:55,419 and the entire surface can raise up. 346 00:20:55,521 --> 00:20:57,788 In fact, the beach that the U.S. Marines 347 00:20:57,790 --> 00:21:00,258 landed on back in 1945 is now 348 00:21:00,326 --> 00:21:03,261 50 feet above where it was the day they landed. 349 00:21:06,599 --> 00:21:09,000 NARRATOR: Over time, the buildup of magma 350 00:21:09,002 --> 00:21:10,635 forces the ships onto shore. 351 00:21:12,105 --> 00:21:14,939 The amount of volcanic activity here could also shed 352 00:21:15,007 --> 00:21:17,842 light on other historic events in the Dragon's Triangle. 353 00:21:20,713 --> 00:21:22,647 KOUROUNIS: Undersea volcanic eruptions 354 00:21:22,748 --> 00:21:24,315 can be tremendously violent, 355 00:21:24,317 --> 00:21:27,518 shooting these rooster tails of debris and rocks 356 00:21:27,620 --> 00:21:30,821 and water hundreds of yards through the air. 357 00:21:30,923 --> 00:21:34,859 It makes sense -- lava being spewed from under the sea 358 00:21:34,927 --> 00:21:36,060 connects directly 359 00:21:36,129 --> 00:21:38,529 with the idea of a dragon breathing fire 360 00:21:38,631 --> 00:21:40,531 and swallowing whole ships. 361 00:21:43,836 --> 00:21:46,804 NARRATOR: Today, the Iwo Jima ghost fleet 362 00:21:46,906 --> 00:21:50,641 continues to rise from its watery grave, 363 00:21:50,743 --> 00:21:52,710 a unique memorial to those who 364 00:21:52,712 --> 00:21:54,945 perished here all those years ago. 365 00:21:57,617 --> 00:21:59,617 It's like the earth is giving us back 366 00:21:59,619 --> 00:22:02,353 a piece of history, rather than taking it away. 367 00:22:09,228 --> 00:22:13,230 NARRATOR: Coming up, the monsters eating America. 368 00:22:13,333 --> 00:22:15,399 If we don't have the means to detect and stop 369 00:22:15,401 --> 00:22:17,301 these creatures, this could lead 370 00:22:17,303 --> 00:22:19,937 to even more disastrous situations. 371 00:22:20,005 --> 00:22:21,939 NARRATOR: And the desert ice fortress. 372 00:22:22,008 --> 00:22:24,675 The oddest thing is that it's 373 00:22:24,677 --> 00:22:27,311 the opposite of what we would expect. 374 00:22:34,787 --> 00:22:38,689 NARRATOR: March 20th, 2021. 375 00:22:38,691 --> 00:22:42,360 A survey plane scans the Catskill Mountains in 376 00:22:42,428 --> 00:22:44,428 the northeastern United States 377 00:22:44,563 --> 00:22:47,965 using sensors to detect what the human eye cannot. 378 00:22:49,502 --> 00:22:51,802 They have really clever instruments that can measure 379 00:22:51,804 --> 00:22:53,938 near infrared light and tell us 380 00:22:54,040 --> 00:22:56,707 how green a forest's trees are. 381 00:22:58,511 --> 00:23:00,444 NARRATOR: When the images are processed, 382 00:23:00,546 --> 00:23:03,848 red colors represent dense, healthy vegetation. 383 00:23:03,950 --> 00:23:07,385 What's unusual is these small patches of gray 384 00:23:07,387 --> 00:23:10,621 and white, which appear to look like ghostly trees. 385 00:23:14,227 --> 00:23:16,127 RUBEN: Across thousands of acres, 386 00:23:16,229 --> 00:23:18,996 we see countless individual trees losing their color. 387 00:23:18,998 --> 00:23:20,698 The fear is that these trees 388 00:23:20,700 --> 00:23:23,734 are dying -- or worse, are already dead. 389 00:23:25,905 --> 00:23:28,706 NARRATOR: It's not just the scale 390 00:23:28,808 --> 00:23:31,008 of the devastation that worries analysts. 391 00:23:32,712 --> 00:23:34,412 What's even more concerning is that 392 00:23:34,514 --> 00:23:36,947 it's actually just one species that's affected. 393 00:23:37,049 --> 00:23:38,249 It's the eastern hemlock tree. 394 00:23:41,220 --> 00:23:44,822 NARRATOR: The eastern hemlock, a pine evergreen, can grow 395 00:23:44,824 --> 00:23:48,426 to 100 feet tall and live for 1,000 years. 396 00:23:49,529 --> 00:23:51,529 They cover more than two million 397 00:23:51,531 --> 00:23:54,665 acres of the eastern United States. 398 00:23:54,733 --> 00:23:57,234 RUBEN: They have an amazing ability to store carbon 399 00:23:57,303 --> 00:23:58,836 and absorb tons of water, 400 00:23:58,938 --> 00:24:01,405 which slows the melting of the winter snowpack 401 00:24:01,407 --> 00:24:03,707 and can make floods less severe. 402 00:24:03,709 --> 00:24:05,910 If all these hemlock trees disappeared, 403 00:24:05,912 --> 00:24:07,144 it would be really disastrous. 404 00:24:09,415 --> 00:24:12,116 NARRATOR: Local historic records could offer a clue 405 00:24:12,118 --> 00:24:15,352 to the mass death revealed from the skies. 406 00:24:15,454 --> 00:24:17,822 AUERBACH: Looking into this region's history, 407 00:24:17,924 --> 00:24:21,625 I wonder if there might be a connection between this 408 00:24:21,627 --> 00:24:24,562 and the hemlock tree's role in a once thriving industry, 409 00:24:24,630 --> 00:24:26,063 leather tanning. 410 00:24:29,001 --> 00:24:31,802 NARRATOR: In the first half of the 19th century, 411 00:24:31,804 --> 00:24:33,204 tanneries spring up across 412 00:24:33,339 --> 00:24:37,208 the Catskills to clothe and shoe the waves of immigrants 413 00:24:37,210 --> 00:24:38,809 arriving in New York. 414 00:24:38,944 --> 00:24:43,614 It's a bloody, brutal industry, and one which relies on 415 00:24:43,749 --> 00:24:45,516 the hemlock's thick bark. 416 00:24:48,921 --> 00:24:51,555 AUERBACH: It was really, really tough work. 417 00:24:51,624 --> 00:24:56,060 They used axes to fell the trees and special tools 418 00:24:56,161 --> 00:24:59,063 called barking irons to remove the bark 419 00:24:59,131 --> 00:25:01,165 from the trees themselves. 420 00:25:01,233 --> 00:25:05,402 The bark of the hemlock tree contains an acid that's easy to 421 00:25:05,404 --> 00:25:07,438 extract when you soak it in water. 422 00:25:07,507 --> 00:25:10,941 Applying this acid solution to raw animal hides fuses 423 00:25:11,043 --> 00:25:13,944 the protein fibers, which produces usable leather. 424 00:25:19,118 --> 00:25:21,018 NARRATOR: The Catskills tanneries are known to 425 00:25:21,020 --> 00:25:23,854 have stripped some 70 million hemlocks. 426 00:25:25,525 --> 00:25:29,226 But Roland Kays reveals the trees in the images 427 00:25:29,228 --> 00:25:32,530 are casualties of a different kind of destructive force. 428 00:25:33,733 --> 00:25:36,333 These ghostly trees are the victim 429 00:25:36,435 --> 00:25:39,036 of an invasive insect. 430 00:25:39,138 --> 00:25:41,038 Eastern hemlocks are known to be vulnerable 431 00:25:41,140 --> 00:25:43,607 to a specific type of invading insect -- 432 00:25:43,709 --> 00:25:45,209 the hemlock wooly adelgid. 433 00:25:48,948 --> 00:25:50,948 NARRATOR: These tiny insects gorge 434 00:25:51,017 --> 00:25:53,017 on hemlocks in their billions, 435 00:25:53,019 --> 00:25:57,154 releasing a toxic saliva, which slowly kills their host. 436 00:25:57,256 --> 00:26:00,925 These adelgids suck sap from the hemlock's 437 00:26:00,927 --> 00:26:04,862 twigs and needles, disrupting the flow of water 438 00:26:04,964 --> 00:26:07,364 and important nutrients for the tree. 439 00:26:07,433 --> 00:26:08,532 They're called a wooly adelgid, 440 00:26:08,634 --> 00:26:10,801 because after they feed on the sap, 441 00:26:10,903 --> 00:26:14,338 they exude their excrement, basically, as this sort of 442 00:26:14,407 --> 00:26:18,342 white, waxy substance that looks kind of like wool. 443 00:26:18,411 --> 00:26:21,211 NARRATOR: Within four years, 444 00:26:21,314 --> 00:26:25,349 a swarm of the tiny insects can kill a tree that began life 445 00:26:25,451 --> 00:26:28,652 before the arrival of Christopher Columbus. 446 00:26:28,754 --> 00:26:31,522 In the lifespan of a tree, that's a pretty quick death. 447 00:26:31,624 --> 00:26:34,525 All the while, the adelgids of reproducing and spreading 448 00:26:34,660 --> 00:26:36,226 new generations of bugs 449 00:26:36,295 --> 00:26:38,762 into neighboring trees and basically spreading 450 00:26:38,831 --> 00:26:40,264 the destruction throughout the forest. 451 00:26:42,001 --> 00:26:45,636 NARRATOR: Wooly adelgids are alien invaders, 452 00:26:45,738 --> 00:26:47,805 having been accidentally smuggled in 453 00:26:47,907 --> 00:26:50,507 from Japan during the 1950s. 454 00:26:52,044 --> 00:26:53,711 Once they reached our forests, 455 00:26:53,713 --> 00:26:56,113 they were able to spread unimpeded. 456 00:26:56,115 --> 00:26:57,948 RUBEN: Experts have now spotted 457 00:26:58,050 --> 00:27:00,417 the adelgid in at least 17 states, 458 00:27:00,419 --> 00:27:03,020 and it's laid waste to millions of trees. 459 00:27:03,022 --> 00:27:06,957 This problem is out of control. 460 00:27:07,092 --> 00:27:09,526 NARRATOR: The hemlock isn't the only tree in peril. 461 00:27:10,963 --> 00:27:12,429 Over the past century, 462 00:27:12,431 --> 00:27:15,599 some 450 other species of insects 463 00:27:15,601 --> 00:27:17,101 have decimated U.S. woodlands. 464 00:27:17,236 --> 00:27:19,303 Every decade, 465 00:27:19,405 --> 00:27:21,705 they eat their way through enough forest 466 00:27:21,807 --> 00:27:24,642 to cover Florida almost twice over. 467 00:27:24,710 --> 00:27:26,343 They don't just threaten our trees. 468 00:27:26,445 --> 00:27:29,246 They can also impact our food supply and our homes. 469 00:27:32,318 --> 00:27:35,152 NARRATOR: While adelgids feast on our forests, 470 00:27:35,254 --> 00:27:38,756 thousands of our homes are now under attack from a species of 471 00:27:38,857 --> 00:27:40,624 Chinese termite, 472 00:27:40,726 --> 00:27:44,061 causing more than $1 billion dollars in damage each year. 473 00:27:45,431 --> 00:27:48,065 One big colony of termites can threaten the structural 474 00:27:48,133 --> 00:27:49,933 integrity of your house before you even know it. 475 00:27:55,241 --> 00:27:58,609 NARRATOR: Perhaps the greatest threat these invasive bugs pose 476 00:27:58,744 --> 00:28:00,511 is to agriculture. 477 00:28:00,513 --> 00:28:05,015 Each season, pests ravage around 40% of U.S., crops. 478 00:28:07,153 --> 00:28:08,218 SCHUTTLER: There's a fruit fly from 479 00:28:08,220 --> 00:28:11,555 southeast Asia called Drosophila suzukii. 480 00:28:11,657 --> 00:28:16,560 This insect has serrated hind quarters that can cut 481 00:28:16,629 --> 00:28:20,464 into ripening fruit, and it lays its eggs inside. 482 00:28:22,034 --> 00:28:23,934 RUBEN: When the eggs hatch, the larva will eat 483 00:28:24,003 --> 00:28:26,036 their way out from the inside of the fruit. 484 00:28:26,105 --> 00:28:28,706 It's impossible to tell which fruits have been affected, 485 00:28:28,708 --> 00:28:30,941 and it often doesn't spoil until it's reached 486 00:28:31,043 --> 00:28:32,242 its destination. 487 00:28:34,113 --> 00:28:36,513 NARRATOR: Each year, Federal agencies spend 488 00:28:36,648 --> 00:28:38,348 billions of dollars on eradicating 489 00:28:38,417 --> 00:28:40,951 the bugs that are eating their way across America. 490 00:28:43,022 --> 00:28:46,223 But the killer swarms show no sign of stopping. 491 00:28:47,326 --> 00:28:49,526 If we don't have the means to detect and stop 492 00:28:49,528 --> 00:28:51,328 these creatures, this could lead 493 00:28:51,430 --> 00:28:53,063 to even more disastrous situations. 494 00:29:02,842 --> 00:29:05,743 NARRATOR: Coming up, impossible engineering 495 00:29:05,844 --> 00:29:07,444 in the ancient world. 496 00:29:07,513 --> 00:29:11,315 OKEREKE: Large quantities of ice in blistering climates. 497 00:29:11,317 --> 00:29:12,516 It was almost a miracle. 498 00:29:13,719 --> 00:29:16,120 NARRATOR: And the mystery of the jungle labyrinths. 499 00:29:16,222 --> 00:29:19,790 Who or what would create these shapes 500 00:29:19,792 --> 00:29:21,325 in the middle of the Congo? 501 00:29:30,836 --> 00:29:33,103 NARRATOR: January 2017. 502 00:29:33,238 --> 00:29:36,406 A satellite passing over the vast desert 503 00:29:36,509 --> 00:29:40,811 interior of Iran scans the city of Kashan 504 00:29:40,913 --> 00:29:43,247 and captures this image. 505 00:29:43,348 --> 00:29:44,948 This is definitely unusual. 506 00:29:45,084 --> 00:29:48,018 OKEREKE: This looks like a large, barricaded plot 507 00:29:48,020 --> 00:29:52,956 of land, almost like a circular great wall. 508 00:29:55,528 --> 00:29:58,128 NARRATOR: The giant barrier is 2,000 feet 509 00:29:58,230 --> 00:30:01,565 in circumference and around 50 feet thick. 510 00:30:03,702 --> 00:30:07,504 And it conceals something unusual. 511 00:30:10,009 --> 00:30:13,210 When we zoom in, we see these two domes, 512 00:30:13,212 --> 00:30:17,514 and there's no clue as to what these are. 513 00:30:17,616 --> 00:30:21,084 It looks very strange. It looks odd. 514 00:30:21,086 --> 00:30:23,854 NARRATOR: Analysts turn to local records. 515 00:30:23,956 --> 00:30:27,357 It appears the giant structure is the legacy of 516 00:30:27,426 --> 00:30:31,228 a fearsome group of warriors who once ruled these lands. 517 00:30:33,365 --> 00:30:35,399 It's likely that this was built 518 00:30:35,401 --> 00:30:37,935 by people known as the Seljuks. 519 00:30:41,540 --> 00:30:44,308 The Seljuk Dynasty ruled Central Asia 520 00:30:44,310 --> 00:30:47,511 and the Middle East from the 11th to the 14th centuries. 521 00:30:49,715 --> 00:30:51,515 NARRATOR: The Seljuks begin life in 522 00:30:51,517 --> 00:30:55,853 the 8th century CE as a nomadic Mongolian tribe, 523 00:30:55,988 --> 00:30:59,823 yet they soon develop a hunger for war and conquest. 524 00:30:59,925 --> 00:31:02,159 Over the following centuries, 525 00:31:02,227 --> 00:31:07,531 they move west amassing a vast army, which, in 1071 CE, 526 00:31:07,633 --> 00:31:09,933 defeats the mighty Byzantine Empire. 527 00:31:10,035 --> 00:31:11,902 [shouting] 528 00:31:13,606 --> 00:31:16,039 They later went on to control Persia, 529 00:31:16,141 --> 00:31:18,208 Iraq, and Syria, and that's when they really 530 00:31:18,210 --> 00:31:20,510 established themselves as the Seljuk Empire. 531 00:31:22,514 --> 00:31:26,617 NARRATOR: By 1092 CE, the Seljuks control 532 00:31:26,619 --> 00:31:29,152 more than 1.5 million square miles 533 00:31:29,221 --> 00:31:31,321 of Central Asia and the Middle East. 534 00:31:34,026 --> 00:31:35,359 Its rulers accumulate 535 00:31:35,427 --> 00:31:37,728 huge wealth from the 4,000-mile-long 536 00:31:37,830 --> 00:31:41,131 Silk Road, which runs through the heart of their lands. 537 00:31:41,233 --> 00:31:45,502 They built numerous forts, similar to what we see in 538 00:31:45,504 --> 00:31:48,105 the images, to help protect caravan traders while they 539 00:31:48,107 --> 00:31:50,140 traveled the Silk Road. 540 00:31:50,209 --> 00:31:54,311 Seljuk fortresses are called caravanserai, fortified 541 00:31:54,313 --> 00:31:57,948 rest stations spread exactly one day's travel apart. 542 00:31:59,418 --> 00:32:01,118 There were places to stop, to trade, 543 00:32:01,253 --> 00:32:03,820 to eat, and to take shelter from the elements. 544 00:32:05,424 --> 00:32:06,924 Could this ring structure 545 00:32:06,926 --> 00:32:09,526 we're looking at be the perimeter ring 546 00:32:09,528 --> 00:32:10,661 of a caravanserai? 547 00:32:13,132 --> 00:32:15,232 NARRATOR: Yet what puzzles experts is that 548 00:32:15,301 --> 00:32:17,501 the strange domes within the giant wall 549 00:32:17,503 --> 00:32:20,804 don't correspond to Seljuk military architecture. 550 00:32:22,408 --> 00:32:24,841 Closer analysis offers a clue. 551 00:32:24,944 --> 00:32:28,412 Zooming in on the image of 552 00:32:28,514 --> 00:32:31,415 these two domed structures, 553 00:32:31,550 --> 00:32:34,818 we see at the very top, a hole. 554 00:32:34,820 --> 00:32:38,622 I think what we're looking at is a key characteristic 555 00:32:38,757 --> 00:32:41,224 of an ancient engineering marvel 556 00:32:41,327 --> 00:32:44,628 called a yakhchal -- it's an ice house. 557 00:32:47,533 --> 00:32:50,934 NARRATOR: Yakhchals are a wonder of ancient engineering 558 00:32:51,036 --> 00:32:56,640 which first appeared in Persia some 2,500 years ago. 559 00:32:58,310 --> 00:33:01,545 OKEREKE: Yakhchals were basically early refrigerators. 560 00:33:01,613 --> 00:33:03,613 These were huge structures that can chill 561 00:33:03,716 --> 00:33:06,216 large quantities of ice in blistering climates. 562 00:33:09,221 --> 00:33:12,356 NARRATOR: The yakhchal's 6-foot-thick insulating mortar 563 00:33:12,424 --> 00:33:15,125 enables ice to be stored deep into the summer months, 564 00:33:15,127 --> 00:33:18,362 extending the shelf life of food 100-fold. 565 00:33:20,632 --> 00:33:23,533 They were made with a unique water- and heat-resistant mortar 566 00:33:23,602 --> 00:33:25,202 that was composed of materials, 567 00:33:25,337 --> 00:33:27,604 thought to include things like egg white, 568 00:33:27,606 --> 00:33:30,273 clay, lime, ash, and even goat hair. 569 00:33:33,112 --> 00:33:35,912 KOUROUNIS: Food preservation is of critical importance. 570 00:33:35,914 --> 00:33:38,615 The best way to keep it fresh was to keep it cold. 571 00:33:42,721 --> 00:33:46,256 NARRATOR: Yakhchals enabled desert people to 572 00:33:46,291 --> 00:33:49,359 keep fresh food all year round. 573 00:33:49,461 --> 00:33:51,461 But incredibly, they can also be 574 00:33:51,530 --> 00:33:54,564 used to make vast amounts of ice -- 575 00:33:54,633 --> 00:33:56,800 not easy when temperatures regularly 576 00:33:56,802 --> 00:34:00,804 hit 100 degrees Fahrenheit, and rainfall is rare. 577 00:34:03,609 --> 00:34:05,242 How did they get water into 578 00:34:05,343 --> 00:34:07,944 the heart of the desert in the first place? 579 00:34:08,047 --> 00:34:11,248 Well, they had an ingenious solution to that problem, 580 00:34:11,349 --> 00:34:13,350 and it was called the qanat irrigation system. 581 00:34:16,822 --> 00:34:20,323 NARRATOR: Qanats are underground canals that carry cold water 582 00:34:20,459 --> 00:34:22,659 from mountains up to 40 miles away 583 00:34:22,727 --> 00:34:24,961 into pools located next to the yakhchal. 584 00:34:30,102 --> 00:34:33,503 After sunset, water in these pools radiates so much 585 00:34:33,505 --> 00:34:36,840 heat that ice can form in above freezing temperatures. 586 00:34:38,710 --> 00:34:42,512 KOUROUNIS: And so, on these clear starry nights, 587 00:34:42,514 --> 00:34:44,748 the water at the surface would cool 588 00:34:44,850 --> 00:34:47,317 just enough to get below freezing point. 589 00:34:48,520 --> 00:34:51,354 There would be ice to harvest before sunrise. 590 00:34:51,423 --> 00:34:52,689 It was almost a miracle. 591 00:34:54,226 --> 00:34:58,228 This is a demonstration of understanding your environment 592 00:34:58,363 --> 00:35:02,833 and using that knowledge to your advantage. 593 00:35:02,935 --> 00:35:07,404 NARRATOR: While yakhchals provide Iranians with 594 00:35:07,406 --> 00:35:11,641 an endless supply of ice for over 2,500 years, 595 00:35:11,710 --> 00:35:14,945 Europeans never developed this technology. 596 00:35:15,047 --> 00:35:19,416 Instead, during the 19th century, 597 00:35:19,418 --> 00:35:22,352 they begin importing it thousands of miles across 598 00:35:22,421 --> 00:35:24,621 the Atlantic. 599 00:35:24,690 --> 00:35:27,757 Demand is such that ice becomes the second largest 600 00:35:27,859 --> 00:35:31,228 American export after cotton. 601 00:35:31,330 --> 00:35:33,964 The market began with scientists who wanted the natural ice to 602 00:35:34,066 --> 00:35:35,632 preserve things like medicines. 603 00:35:35,734 --> 00:35:38,735 It quickly expanded to cafes and restaurants who 604 00:35:38,804 --> 00:35:41,104 wanted iced drinks to sell to their clients. 605 00:35:41,106 --> 00:35:44,441 Once people tried this new fad of cold drinks, 606 00:35:44,509 --> 00:35:47,110 they never wanted to go back 607 00:35:48,814 --> 00:35:51,748 NARRATOR: In the 1920s, the introduction of the domestic 608 00:35:51,850 --> 00:35:53,316 refrigerator freezer 609 00:35:53,318 --> 00:35:55,619 sounds the death knell for this bizarre 610 00:35:55,754 --> 00:35:56,853 ice harvesting industry. 611 00:35:56,955 --> 00:36:00,323 Yet even today, yakhchals can be found 612 00:36:00,325 --> 00:36:01,491 across the Middle East, 613 00:36:01,493 --> 00:36:05,061 continuing the incredible story of ice that began in 614 00:36:05,097 --> 00:36:07,364 the sweltering deserts of Iran. 615 00:36:07,465 --> 00:36:10,934 It blows my mind how they were able to come up with 616 00:36:11,036 --> 00:36:14,404 this technology so many thousands of years ago, 617 00:36:14,406 --> 00:36:17,541 whereas today, we completely take ice for granted. 618 00:36:23,315 --> 00:36:24,514 NARRATOR: Coming up, 619 00:36:24,616 --> 00:36:26,516 cracking God's code. 620 00:36:26,618 --> 00:36:28,018 KAYS: These shapes pop up in all 621 00:36:28,020 --> 00:36:29,753 sorts of unexpected places in nature. 622 00:36:37,529 --> 00:36:40,430 NARRATOR: March 2022. 623 00:36:40,532 --> 00:36:42,799 A satellite passing over the southern African country 624 00:36:42,901 --> 00:36:45,802 of Zambia captures an image that continues 625 00:36:45,937 --> 00:36:46,970 to puzzle experts. 626 00:36:48,307 --> 00:36:51,942 It's really easy to miss what's so mysterious 627 00:36:52,043 --> 00:36:53,810 about this photo at first glance, 628 00:36:53,812 --> 00:36:57,981 but once you look closely, you notice the carved spirals 629 00:36:57,983 --> 00:36:59,549 in the earth below. 630 00:36:59,651 --> 00:37:02,652 It's really strange. 631 00:37:02,754 --> 00:37:04,821 There appears to be at least three 632 00:37:04,823 --> 00:37:08,558 large spiral curlicue patterns. 633 00:37:08,627 --> 00:37:11,127 They don't seem to lead anywhere. 634 00:37:11,129 --> 00:37:14,364 They spiral outwards and then just stop. 635 00:37:15,601 --> 00:37:17,300 NARRATOR: The weird shapes lie in 636 00:37:17,435 --> 00:37:20,937 the 1.4-million-square-mile Congo Basin, 637 00:37:21,039 --> 00:37:22,505 one of the largest, 638 00:37:22,641 --> 00:37:24,841 most pristine rainforests on the planet. 639 00:37:27,212 --> 00:37:29,613 There's so many questions to ask about this 640 00:37:29,715 --> 00:37:33,717 really beautiful but strange image. 641 00:37:33,852 --> 00:37:36,553 I just don't know who or what would 642 00:37:36,655 --> 00:37:38,989 create these shapes in the middle of the Congo. 643 00:37:42,327 --> 00:37:44,728 NARRATOR: A possible clue can be found 644 00:37:44,830 --> 00:37:48,632 7,000 miles away in the deserts of South America. 645 00:37:48,700 --> 00:37:51,401 Just take a look at the Nazca Lines in Peru, 646 00:37:51,403 --> 00:37:52,736 the famous Nazca Lines. 647 00:37:52,804 --> 00:37:56,539 Now, they feature a giant representation of the monkey. 648 00:37:56,641 --> 00:38:00,610 And if you look at his tail, that tail is a perfect spiral. 649 00:38:02,714 --> 00:38:05,315 NARRATOR: The purpose of this 2,000-year old 650 00:38:05,417 --> 00:38:07,250 animal geoglyph is unclear, 651 00:38:07,319 --> 00:38:10,553 but some believe it served a religious purpose. 652 00:38:12,124 --> 00:38:14,724 And the people who live near the Congo spirals 653 00:38:14,826 --> 00:38:18,962 are also known to venerate the beasts of their jungle. 654 00:38:19,097 --> 00:38:21,698 This region is home to a people called the Hemba. 655 00:38:21,700 --> 00:38:23,533 When you look at the history of the culture of 656 00:38:23,635 --> 00:38:25,735 the Hemba, what you begin to see is that 657 00:38:25,804 --> 00:38:28,038 they follow a faith that features totemism. 658 00:38:29,308 --> 00:38:31,708 Totemism is the belief that people have 659 00:38:31,710 --> 00:38:35,812 a spiritual connection with an animal or a plant. 660 00:38:35,814 --> 00:38:38,615 And that relationship is represented 661 00:38:38,717 --> 00:38:39,982 by a physical totem. 662 00:38:42,054 --> 00:38:46,523 The Hemba use depictions of a primate to honor their dead. 663 00:38:49,227 --> 00:38:51,061 KOUROUNIS: The Hemba revere the monkey. 664 00:38:51,129 --> 00:38:53,063 So it's entirely possible that they would 665 00:38:53,131 --> 00:38:56,800 honor its spirit with a large-scale representation. 666 00:38:59,204 --> 00:39:01,037 But biologists think the strange 667 00:39:01,139 --> 00:39:04,040 spirals may have a different origin. 668 00:39:04,109 --> 00:39:07,711 These shapes look like Fibonacci spirals, and these pop 669 00:39:07,713 --> 00:39:09,846 up in all sorts of unexpected places in nature. 670 00:39:12,384 --> 00:39:14,951 What's more, the Fibonacci spiral can 671 00:39:15,053 --> 00:39:17,354 be expressed as a mathematical formula. 672 00:39:18,824 --> 00:39:22,959 It has been called Nature's secret code. 673 00:39:23,028 --> 00:39:26,029 Nautilus shells are a famous example 674 00:39:26,031 --> 00:39:27,664 of the Fibonacci spiral, 675 00:39:27,733 --> 00:39:31,801 but so are pine cones, sunflowers, 676 00:39:31,903 --> 00:39:33,837 microscopic cancer cells. 677 00:39:37,843 --> 00:39:40,210 NARRATOR: The Fibonacci sequence isn't just found 678 00:39:40,212 --> 00:39:42,045 in the natural world. 679 00:39:42,114 --> 00:39:44,514 Some claim it's also found in the proportions 680 00:39:44,516 --> 00:39:46,816 of some of the world's greatest ancient structures, 681 00:39:48,954 --> 00:39:50,720 from the pyramids of Giza 682 00:39:52,157 --> 00:39:53,957 to the Parthenon in Athens. 683 00:39:56,561 --> 00:39:59,829 Dialing up the magnification reveals a possible clue 684 00:39:59,831 --> 00:40:03,099 to this code's presence in the Congo. 685 00:40:03,101 --> 00:40:05,802 When we take a closer look at this image, 686 00:40:05,904 --> 00:40:10,940 we see that the image is actually not of a forest at all, 687 00:40:11,075 --> 00:40:13,009 and it's actually of a swamp. 688 00:40:15,247 --> 00:40:18,047 So what they could be are fish traps. 689 00:40:20,218 --> 00:40:23,420 KOUROUNIS: If these are fishing traps, that would explain 690 00:40:23,422 --> 00:40:26,489 their Fibonacci spiral shape -- as it turns out, 691 00:40:26,491 --> 00:40:29,959 spirals are a really good way to corral animals 692 00:40:30,061 --> 00:40:31,461 or fish into a small area. 693 00:40:34,833 --> 00:40:37,133 NARRATOR: Fibonacci-shaped fishing traps have 694 00:40:37,235 --> 00:40:39,803 been used for thousands of years. 695 00:40:39,905 --> 00:40:43,606 When fish enter, they encounter a curved wall, 696 00:40:43,708 --> 00:40:45,642 which funnels them deeper into the net. 697 00:40:47,112 --> 00:40:49,946 They keep swimming on, getting further and further into 698 00:40:50,048 --> 00:40:51,915 the spiral, where eventually, 699 00:40:51,917 --> 00:40:53,950 they can't turn around and exit the trap. 700 00:40:56,054 --> 00:40:58,922 To take advantage of that natural pattern and 701 00:40:58,924 --> 00:41:02,358 essentially allow the fish to catch itself -- 702 00:41:02,460 --> 00:41:03,960 that's ingenious. 703 00:41:06,965 --> 00:41:09,332 NARRATOR: It's a clever tactic 704 00:41:09,401 --> 00:41:11,301 that's not only employed by humans. 705 00:41:13,238 --> 00:41:14,704 Throughout the world's oceans, 706 00:41:14,806 --> 00:41:17,707 similar spirals suddenly appear on the surface. 707 00:41:19,444 --> 00:41:23,146 KAYS: Humpback whales do a thing called bubble net fishing, 708 00:41:23,248 --> 00:41:26,316 where they swim a quick circle, letting bubbles out of 709 00:41:26,318 --> 00:41:29,419 their blowhole, that creates basically a net that 710 00:41:29,421 --> 00:41:31,554 traps all the fish in the middle. 711 00:41:31,656 --> 00:41:34,958 And then the whales come zooming up with their giant mouths agape 712 00:41:35,026 --> 00:41:37,227 and swallow all the fish. 713 00:41:37,329 --> 00:41:40,430 NARRATOR: Due to the remote location of the strange spirals, 714 00:41:40,499 --> 00:41:43,500 their precise purpose remains unclear, 715 00:41:43,602 --> 00:41:47,403 but they appear to be an unusual example of mankind 716 00:41:47,506 --> 00:41:49,038 mimicking nature. 717 00:41:49,140 --> 00:41:52,041 These spirals certainly look strange from above, 718 00:41:52,110 --> 00:41:54,344 but it's entirely possible that they're a unique 719 00:41:54,412 --> 00:41:55,712 and creative way that these people 720 00:41:55,847 --> 00:41:57,714 have found to help feed themselves.