1 00:00:01,535 --> 00:00:03,402 [narrator] They're watching you. 2 00:00:03,404 --> 00:00:06,438 More than 6,000 satellites circle the Earth. 3 00:00:07,541 --> 00:00:11,043 Every day, they uncover new mysterious phenomena 4 00:00:11,645 --> 00:00:13,112 that defy explanation. 5 00:00:15,449 --> 00:00:16,815 From the skies, 6 00:00:16,817 --> 00:00:19,752 the $37 billion treasure trove. 7 00:00:19,820 --> 00:00:23,922 There are so many structures with so many secrets told. 8 00:00:25,659 --> 00:00:28,961 [narrator] The 500,000 square mile cipher. 9 00:00:29,063 --> 00:00:33,632 These markings can explain one of the deadliest periods in human history. 10 00:00:35,036 --> 00:00:38,237 [narrator] And the lost cit of the ancient super warrior 11 00:00:39,240 --> 00:00:41,507 There are all kinds of artifacts 12 00:00:41,509 --> 00:00:45,544 pointing to the fact that this belonged to Alexander the Great. 13 00:00:47,715 --> 00:00:51,316 [narrator] Baffling phenomen Mysteries from space. 14 00:00:51,318 --> 00:00:53,519 What on Earth are they? 15 00:00:53,521 --> 00:00:55,054 [theme music playing] 16 00:01:13,107 --> 00:01:16,341 February 13th, 2022. 17 00:01:16,911 --> 00:01:18,243 Northeast Poland. 18 00:01:21,115 --> 00:01:24,650 Alex Ritchie is trekking through this frozen landscap 19 00:01:24,751 --> 00:01:27,319 drawn by codes captured from the skies. 20 00:01:29,323 --> 00:01:31,824 [Ritchie] It's very difficult to imagine 21 00:01:31,826 --> 00:01:34,560 what they would be out here in the middle of a-- 22 00:01:34,628 --> 00:01:36,929 of a dense and very remote forest. 23 00:01:43,237 --> 00:01:46,105 [narrator] A laser scan of a nearby patch of woodlan 24 00:01:46,107 --> 00:01:49,208 has exposed these markings hidden beneath the tree line 25 00:01:51,445 --> 00:01:53,045 [Walters] What the lidar has uncovered, 26 00:01:53,047 --> 00:01:56,615 is a series of these huge zigzagging patterns 27 00:01:56,617 --> 00:01:59,818 that appear to be carved right into the landscape. 28 00:02:01,122 --> 00:02:04,857 [Janulis] It's an odd-lookin collage of lines. 29 00:02:06,293 --> 00:02:08,227 It almost looks like an abstract painting. 30 00:02:10,231 --> 00:02:11,864 [narrator] Further analysis reveals 31 00:02:11,965 --> 00:02:13,732 the strange shapes cover an area 32 00:02:13,834 --> 00:02:15,200 of one square mile. 33 00:02:16,637 --> 00:02:19,238 [Janulis] The more you look the more you see. 34 00:02:19,339 --> 00:02:21,807 So what seems to be going on here 35 00:02:21,809 --> 00:02:24,610 is more than just some zigzags. 36 00:02:29,617 --> 00:02:31,650 [narrator] Ritchie moves deep into the forest, 37 00:02:31,752 --> 00:02:33,318 heading for the image coordinates. 38 00:02:38,058 --> 00:02:42,227 Well, the lidar has brought me to this place. 39 00:02:42,229 --> 00:02:44,429 And, well, there is a lot of undergrowth. 40 00:02:46,800 --> 00:02:50,536 This is a-- clearly the foundation of some sort of building. 41 00:02:55,309 --> 00:02:58,210 [narrator] A few hundred feet away, sits another structure. 42 00:03:01,348 --> 00:03:04,116 One that appears to serve a defensive purpose. 43 00:03:06,620 --> 00:03:08,554 Oh, my goodness. 44 00:03:09,557 --> 00:03:11,323 Look at this. 45 00:03:12,193 --> 00:03:16,328 Gigantic...concrete structure. 46 00:03:21,435 --> 00:03:26,038 The walls must be ten feet thick, if not more. 47 00:03:27,708 --> 00:03:31,510 What's so amazing is, as I look around, you can see 48 00:03:31,512 --> 00:03:34,713 that there are more than one of these strange structures 49 00:03:34,715 --> 00:03:36,215 in this forest. 50 00:03:36,951 --> 00:03:39,051 And they're just massive. 51 00:03:40,387 --> 00:03:41,920 [narrator] In total, Ritchie finds 52 00:03:41,922 --> 00:03:44,923 over 200 similar structures littering the forest. 53 00:03:47,628 --> 00:03:49,828 Etched into one of them is a warning. 54 00:03:50,965 --> 00:03:52,664 Here's our clue. 55 00:03:54,835 --> 00:03:57,369 [reading German] 56 00:03:57,371 --> 00:03:58,604 [In English] Which means, 57 00:03:58,606 --> 00:04:01,406 unauthorized personnel are not allowed to go in. 58 00:04:05,045 --> 00:04:07,546 [narrator] The aerial image has uncovered the remains 59 00:04:07,615 --> 00:04:10,515 of what appears to be a vast Nazi compound, 60 00:04:10,517 --> 00:04:11,850 swallowed by time. 61 00:04:16,156 --> 00:04:19,057 It's just extraordinary what remains on this site. 62 00:04:20,728 --> 00:04:23,562 What was this huge complex hidden in the forest? 63 00:04:26,400 --> 00:04:29,301 [narrator] Experts turn to declassify Nazi files. 64 00:04:30,337 --> 00:04:32,604 They reveal something extraordinary. 65 00:04:33,607 --> 00:04:38,110 The critical turning point in German history 66 00:04:38,112 --> 00:04:39,745 occurs at this complex. 67 00:04:40,948 --> 00:04:42,514 [Janulis] These bunkers were the headquarters 68 00:04:42,516 --> 00:04:44,249 of the German Army High Command. 69 00:04:45,219 --> 00:04:47,219 This is where they coordinated and planned 70 00:04:47,221 --> 00:04:48,520 the invasion of Russia. 71 00:04:51,125 --> 00:04:52,658 [narrator] In 1939, 72 00:04:52,726 --> 00:04:55,460 Hitler forms an uneasy pact with Joseph Stalin 73 00:04:55,529 --> 00:04:57,529 to ensure that he will not interfere 74 00:04:57,531 --> 00:04:59,531 with his planned assault on Poland. 75 00:05:03,304 --> 00:05:05,804 But the following year he betrays his ally 76 00:05:05,806 --> 00:05:07,939 and issues an order to invade Russia. 77 00:05:08,041 --> 00:05:10,642 Codenamed Operation Barbarossa. 78 00:05:12,546 --> 00:05:16,048 [Auerbach] This was not meant simply to weaken the Soviet Union. 79 00:05:16,149 --> 00:05:19,551 But to remove the threat 80 00:05:19,653 --> 00:05:22,454 posed by, for all time. 81 00:05:24,958 --> 00:05:26,725 [narrator] In the run up to the invasion, 82 00:05:26,727 --> 00:05:28,927 Hitler constructs the comple in the image 83 00:05:28,929 --> 00:05:30,629 for 40 of his top generals 84 00:05:30,631 --> 00:05:33,265 and 1,500 officers and soldiers. 85 00:05:35,436 --> 00:05:37,436 [Ritchie] So, this was a huge complex. 86 00:05:37,537 --> 00:05:39,371 Like a spider web of power 87 00:05:39,373 --> 00:05:41,239 for the running of the eastern front. 88 00:05:46,714 --> 00:05:48,447 [narrator] In June, 1941. 89 00:05:49,116 --> 00:05:50,949 Three million Nazi troops 90 00:05:51,018 --> 00:05:53,618 and hundreds and thousands of vehicles and planes 91 00:05:53,620 --> 00:05:54,919 sweep into Russia. 92 00:05:56,824 --> 00:06:00,359 The largest, most powerful invasion force in history. 93 00:06:02,663 --> 00:06:05,330 [Cavell] They were hoping the Soviet military would fail. 94 00:06:05,332 --> 00:06:07,733 And fall within ten weeks or less. 95 00:06:07,834 --> 00:06:09,434 But they didn't. 96 00:06:10,738 --> 00:06:13,705 [Auerbach] They miscalculated in one very, very important way, 97 00:06:13,707 --> 00:06:17,309 which is that Russia's never gonna run out of three things. 98 00:06:17,311 --> 00:06:19,511 Land, cold and guys. 99 00:06:22,049 --> 00:06:23,448 [narrator] Fierce Soviet resistance 100 00:06:23,550 --> 00:06:25,150 stalls the German advance towards Moscow. 101 00:06:28,922 --> 00:06:31,156 And by November, 1941, 102 00:06:31,225 --> 00:06:33,859 730,000 German soldiers 103 00:06:33,960 --> 00:06:36,928 lie dead in the sleet and sn of the eastern front. 104 00:06:39,733 --> 00:06:42,100 [Janulis] Operation Barbaros 105 00:06:42,102 --> 00:06:45,003 was one of the most horrific campaigns inhuman history. 106 00:06:45,005 --> 00:06:47,439 Both, for the attackers and the defenders. 107 00:06:47,808 --> 00:06:48,940 [gunfire] 108 00:06:51,512 --> 00:06:52,811 [narrator] The Nazi's failur 109 00:06:52,813 --> 00:06:57,249 to swiftly overrun the Red army infuriates Hitler 110 00:06:57,350 --> 00:07:01,253 Who takes personal control of the operations at the site in the image. 111 00:07:05,125 --> 00:07:07,125 But the slaughter continues 112 00:07:10,130 --> 00:07:12,831 Culminating with the Nazis' surrender at Stalingrad. 113 00:07:15,102 --> 00:07:19,304 A siege which leaves a further half a million German soldiers dead. 114 00:07:21,775 --> 00:07:23,708 With the loss at Stalingrad, 115 00:07:24,812 --> 00:07:28,747 Germany loses all of its forward momentum. 116 00:07:28,849 --> 00:07:31,049 From that moment until the bitter end, 117 00:07:31,118 --> 00:07:33,318 Germany is retreating and defending. 118 00:07:35,456 --> 00:07:37,122 [Janulis] It was a war o attrition. 119 00:07:37,124 --> 00:07:40,158 It chewed up the German army and spat it out. 120 00:07:40,227 --> 00:07:43,628 Basically, Hitler blew everything he had 121 00:07:43,630 --> 00:07:46,465 trying to take a country that wouldn't give up. 122 00:07:52,105 --> 00:07:53,404 [narrator] The site in the image 123 00:07:53,406 --> 00:07:56,208 is where Hitler makes his greatest tactical error 124 00:07:58,312 --> 00:08:00,612 One that ultimately costs him the war. 125 00:08:02,549 --> 00:08:04,816 Yet, as Ritchie continues to explore, 126 00:08:04,818 --> 00:08:07,452 she discovers it's dark secrets don't end there. 127 00:08:12,626 --> 00:08:13,358 Oh, my goodness. 128 00:08:14,228 --> 00:08:16,228 Now, that's amazing. 129 00:08:16,230 --> 00:08:20,365 It's some sort of shaft but I can see 130 00:08:20,433 --> 00:08:24,436 that it leads to a huge chamber, by the looks of it. 131 00:08:26,039 --> 00:08:27,772 [narrator] The Nazi base, it appears, 132 00:08:27,774 --> 00:08:30,842 sits on top of a man-made subterranean world. 133 00:08:32,412 --> 00:08:35,714 It's as if there's a whole underground city here. 134 00:08:36,517 --> 00:08:38,316 What was it doing in this forest 135 00:08:38,318 --> 00:08:39,618 in the middle of nowhere? 136 00:08:45,559 --> 00:08:46,625 [narrator] Coming up... 137 00:08:46,627 --> 00:08:48,960 The hunt for Hitler's gold. 138 00:08:48,962 --> 00:08:50,529 [Janulis] We've only scratched the surface 139 00:08:50,531 --> 00:08:53,198 of what the Germans were up to out here. 140 00:08:53,200 --> 00:08:55,600 [narrator] And terror rises from the wastelands. 141 00:08:56,603 --> 00:08:57,936 If you don't get treatment, 142 00:08:58,005 --> 00:08:59,671 you die. 143 00:09:08,448 --> 00:09:11,816 [narrator] Lured by strange markings in a remote Polish forest, 144 00:09:13,387 --> 00:09:16,054 Alex Ritchie has discovered a vast secret base 145 00:09:16,056 --> 00:09:19,257 used by Hitler for his failed invasion of Russia. 146 00:09:22,529 --> 00:09:25,130 It is littered with hidden chambers and tunnels. 147 00:09:28,502 --> 00:09:32,203 This is not just a city that was built overground. 148 00:09:32,205 --> 00:09:33,939 It was also built underground. 149 00:09:37,544 --> 00:09:41,413 It's not unusual for Nazi bunkers to have underground areas, 150 00:09:41,415 --> 00:09:44,115 but the scale of these underground chambers 151 00:09:44,117 --> 00:09:45,050 is massive. 152 00:09:45,786 --> 00:09:47,252 Why did they need them? 153 00:09:51,224 --> 00:09:53,658 [narrator] Ritchie speculate the chambers could have play 154 00:09:53,760 --> 00:09:55,727 a part in the looting that took place 155 00:09:55,729 --> 00:09:57,629 during Hitler's battles with Stalin. 156 00:09:59,533 --> 00:10:04,736 [Ritchie] The Nazis were greatest looters or arts and artifacts 157 00:10:04,838 --> 00:10:06,905 that the world has ever seen 158 00:10:06,907 --> 00:10:09,941 And it has always been a mystery as to what treasures were kept. 159 00:10:12,546 --> 00:10:14,779 [narrator] During the Nazis retreat from Russia, 160 00:10:14,781 --> 00:10:19,084 they returned with over one million pieces of art and other treasures. 161 00:10:19,086 --> 00:10:22,253 Pillaged from estates and museums. 162 00:10:22,355 --> 00:10:26,925 Even today, $37 billion worth of their wartime heis 163 00:10:26,927 --> 00:10:29,461 remains unrecovered. 164 00:10:29,562 --> 00:10:32,831 One of the major treasures that we know the Germans stole 165 00:10:32,833 --> 00:10:34,499 was something called the Amber Room, 166 00:10:34,501 --> 00:10:36,701 from the royal palace in St. Petersburg. 167 00:10:38,538 --> 00:10:40,705 This thing was ridiculous. 168 00:10:40,707 --> 00:10:42,807 It was known as the eighth wonder of the world. 169 00:10:44,411 --> 00:10:48,279 [Auerbach] The Amber Room is one of innumerable treasures 170 00:10:48,281 --> 00:10:49,948 looted by the Germans. 171 00:10:49,950 --> 00:10:51,850 The ultimate fate of which is unknown. 172 00:10:53,520 --> 00:10:57,322 [narrator] A gift from a Prussian king to Tzar Peter the Great, 173 00:10:57,324 --> 00:10:59,024 the room's panels are inlai 174 00:10:59,026 --> 00:11:03,561 with over six tons of amber, gold, silver and precious gems. 175 00:11:05,432 --> 00:11:07,999 [Morgan] It is reported, when you entered the room, 176 00:11:08,001 --> 00:11:10,602 it had this breathtaking quality. 177 00:11:10,604 --> 00:11:13,805 It had a means of dazzling people. 178 00:11:13,807 --> 00:11:17,242 Um, and that's why it was something that was fit for a king. 179 00:11:19,613 --> 00:11:23,214 [narrator] The Nazis dismant the Amber Room in 1941, 180 00:11:23,216 --> 00:11:25,417 and ship it toward the site in the image 181 00:11:25,419 --> 00:11:27,519 before it disappears from history. 182 00:11:28,922 --> 00:11:33,024 There's a personal account, indicating that a number of trucks 183 00:11:33,026 --> 00:11:35,126 carrying an unidentified cargo 184 00:11:35,128 --> 00:11:37,162 made their way to this bunker complex. 185 00:11:38,632 --> 00:11:40,365 And that they were quickly unloaded. 186 00:11:40,433 --> 00:11:41,766 And the belief is that 187 00:11:41,768 --> 00:11:44,602 maybe the Amber Room can still be found there, to this day. 188 00:11:48,942 --> 00:11:53,945 [Ritchie] This is a really remote and dense forest. 189 00:11:55,215 --> 00:11:59,250 It would be an ideal place to hide something. 190 00:12:01,121 --> 00:12:03,922 [narrator] The role this complex and its hidden chambers 191 00:12:03,924 --> 00:12:05,423 played in the looting of Russia 192 00:12:05,425 --> 00:12:06,958 remains to be discovered. 193 00:12:09,896 --> 00:12:12,363 As Ritchie continues to explore the area, 194 00:12:12,465 --> 00:12:15,934 she finds another mysterious relic of the Nazis' time here. 195 00:12:18,405 --> 00:12:19,537 Oh, my goodness. 196 00:12:20,140 --> 00:12:21,139 Wow. 197 00:12:23,210 --> 00:12:25,610 Now that is something I did not expect. 198 00:12:28,115 --> 00:12:31,416 It's a huge, huge concrete structure. 199 00:12:33,120 --> 00:12:36,321 And yet, what's very strange is that the bottom 200 00:12:36,323 --> 00:12:40,658 is a kind of canal with water in it. 201 00:12:43,130 --> 00:12:45,630 [narrator] Nazi record revea the giant structure 202 00:12:45,632 --> 00:12:49,534 is a lock, sitting on what's known as the Masurian Canal. 203 00:12:52,205 --> 00:12:54,405 [Auerbach] The Masurian Cana was started in 1911. 204 00:12:54,407 --> 00:12:57,609 When this are was still part of the German Empire. 205 00:12:57,611 --> 00:13:01,212 The goal was to bring trade and prosperity to this remote outpost. 206 00:13:03,083 --> 00:13:04,616 [narrator] The advent of World War I 207 00:13:04,618 --> 00:13:08,253 brings construction of the canal to a halt in 1914. 208 00:13:10,257 --> 00:13:11,589 But two decades later, 209 00:13:11,591 --> 00:13:14,025 work resumes under the command of Hitler 210 00:13:17,430 --> 00:13:20,098 His aim is to connect the giant lock in the woods 211 00:13:20,100 --> 00:13:23,101 to a nearby river and onwards to the Baltic Se 212 00:13:25,405 --> 00:13:30,208 This canal represents, basically, a naval gateway 213 00:13:30,210 --> 00:13:31,943 to anywhere you wanna be in the world. 214 00:13:33,413 --> 00:13:37,048 Why were the Germans building such a large canal system here? 215 00:13:41,021 --> 00:13:43,721 [narrator] The canal's proximity to the Nazi command center 216 00:13:43,723 --> 00:13:46,624 fuels speculation that it ma have served a clandestine 217 00:13:46,626 --> 00:13:48,726 and highly controversial purpose. 218 00:13:50,964 --> 00:13:53,231 We know many of the Nazis, 219 00:13:53,233 --> 00:13:55,133 particularly high-ranking ones, 220 00:13:55,235 --> 00:13:57,035 were planning escape routes 221 00:13:57,103 --> 00:13:58,036 at the end of the war. 222 00:13:58,038 --> 00:13:59,537 They could read the writing on the wall. 223 00:14:02,309 --> 00:14:04,742 [narrator] During the closing stages of World War II, 224 00:14:04,844 --> 00:14:07,111 Nazi officials find themselves trapped 225 00:14:07,113 --> 00:14:09,914 between advancing Allied and Russian forces. 226 00:14:13,220 --> 00:14:16,254 Fearing bloody retribution for their war crimes, 227 00:14:16,323 --> 00:14:19,824 many looked to sympathetic nations for protection. 228 00:14:19,826 --> 00:14:21,960 To be captured by the Red army 229 00:14:22,061 --> 00:14:25,263 was almost a guarantee that you would be killed. 230 00:14:25,331 --> 00:14:28,700 So there was definitely a sense of rats fleeing a sinking ship. 231 00:14:32,138 --> 00:14:34,138 [narrator] The canal, when completed, 232 00:14:34,207 --> 00:14:35,740 would provide a naval route 233 00:14:35,742 --> 00:14:38,843 from the Nazi complex to the Atlantic Ocean, and beyond. 234 00:14:41,047 --> 00:14:45,483 This plan, if true, would have seen Nazi officials escape from this region 235 00:14:45,485 --> 00:14:48,920 out to the Baltic, and all the way to South America. 236 00:14:51,324 --> 00:14:54,325 [Janulis] Perhaps, this canal system was plan B 237 00:14:54,327 --> 00:14:55,460 for this base. 238 00:14:56,429 --> 00:14:57,862 Make your last stand there. 239 00:14:58,632 --> 00:15:00,198 But if everything goes wrong, 240 00:15:00,200 --> 00:15:01,299 you have an escape route. 241 00:15:05,705 --> 00:15:08,039 [narrator] Today, much of this giant complex 242 00:15:08,108 --> 00:15:09,741 and its subterranean chamber 243 00:15:09,842 --> 00:15:11,342 remain unexplored. 244 00:15:11,444 --> 00:15:13,111 Their contents, a mystery. 245 00:15:17,217 --> 00:15:19,150 Eight decades after the war ended 246 00:15:19,219 --> 00:15:22,053 it is an enigma revealed from the skies, 247 00:15:22,121 --> 00:15:23,621 waiting to be decoded. 248 00:15:26,026 --> 00:15:28,526 [Ritchie] There are so many structures in the forest 249 00:15:28,528 --> 00:15:30,862 with so many secrets still to tell. 250 00:15:32,933 --> 00:15:35,033 [Janulis] This discovery is showing us, 251 00:15:35,035 --> 00:15:36,801 That we've only scratched the surface 252 00:15:36,803 --> 00:15:38,603 of what the Germans were up to out here. 253 00:15:43,944 --> 00:15:45,343 [narrator] Coming up... 254 00:15:45,445 --> 00:15:48,446 The mystery ancient mega plague. 255 00:15:48,548 --> 00:15:50,782 Many historians say that this would have been 256 00:15:50,784 --> 00:15:53,418 the worst time in human history to be alive. 257 00:15:54,788 --> 00:15:57,221 [narrator] And a secret rises from the sands. 258 00:15:58,325 --> 00:16:01,025 [Horton] This is a highly significant locatio 259 00:16:01,027 --> 00:16:04,062 Because this was the cradle of civilization. 260 00:16:15,041 --> 00:16:17,508 [narrator] October 9th, 2018 261 00:16:19,713 --> 00:16:21,612 A satellite flying over Asia, 262 00:16:21,614 --> 00:16:23,815 scans the seemingly featureless plains 263 00:16:23,817 --> 00:16:25,216 of Southern Kazakhstan. 264 00:16:25,218 --> 00:16:26,751 And captures this image. 265 00:16:29,055 --> 00:16:30,555 [Munoz] The thing that draws me eye 266 00:16:30,590 --> 00:16:34,392 are these random pitting or scarring marks 267 00:16:34,394 --> 00:16:36,361 on the landscape. 268 00:16:36,462 --> 00:16:39,764 And there doesn't really seem to be any rhyme or reason to them. 269 00:16:41,401 --> 00:16:45,136 The little, kind of, radiating star shapes, 270 00:16:45,238 --> 00:16:48,039 hundreds, thousands, tens of thousands of them, 271 00:16:48,041 --> 00:16:49,273 they're just bizarre. 272 00:16:51,644 --> 00:16:54,112 [narrator] Scientists estimate the mystery patter 273 00:16:54,114 --> 00:16:56,547 covers half a million square miles. 274 00:16:56,616 --> 00:16:59,517 And area three times the size of California. 275 00:17:01,521 --> 00:17:04,222 And the mystery of this giant desert code 276 00:17:04,224 --> 00:17:05,523 doesn't end there. 277 00:17:07,093 --> 00:17:09,127 Here's where it gets really weird. 278 00:17:09,129 --> 00:17:13,131 Locals who have gone near this area, 279 00:17:13,133 --> 00:17:16,634 report these apple or egg-sized lumps 280 00:17:16,736 --> 00:17:19,637 in their groins or in their neck. 281 00:17:19,706 --> 00:17:21,906 [Kays] Apparently, these are pretty serious, 282 00:17:21,908 --> 00:17:25,410 and if you don't get treated, you can die in a couple of days. 283 00:17:28,848 --> 00:17:31,115 [narrator] Tests reveal the victim succumbed 284 00:17:31,117 --> 00:17:33,618 to one of the most feared diseases on Earth. 285 00:17:35,388 --> 00:17:37,422 One, that by some estimates 286 00:17:37,424 --> 00:17:39,690 has killed five times as many people 287 00:17:39,692 --> 00:17:41,726 as the ravages of World War II. 288 00:17:43,797 --> 00:17:46,330 [Ruben] Strangely enough, these markings 289 00:17:46,332 --> 00:17:50,301 can help to explain one of the deadliest periods in human history. 290 00:17:50,837 --> 00:17:52,403 The Bubonic Plague. 291 00:17:53,239 --> 00:17:54,939 Also known as the Black Death. 292 00:17:55,809 --> 00:17:57,308 [rats squeaking] 293 00:17:58,011 --> 00:18:00,244 [narrator] In 1347 CE, 294 00:18:00,313 --> 00:18:01,913 the inhabitants of Eastern Europe 295 00:18:01,915 --> 00:18:04,248 begin suffering from mysterious ailments 296 00:18:04,317 --> 00:18:06,317 and pustulating skin conditions. 297 00:18:07,353 --> 00:18:09,320 [woman coughing] 298 00:18:11,057 --> 00:18:12,356 Within five years, 299 00:18:12,425 --> 00:18:15,026 25 million people are dead. 300 00:18:15,028 --> 00:18:17,462 Almost one-third of Europe's population. 301 00:18:20,066 --> 00:18:23,134 [Rice] The bubonic plague burned through Europe, 302 00:18:23,236 --> 00:18:25,002 causing suffering and death 303 00:18:25,004 --> 00:18:27,505 on a truly unimaginable scale. 304 00:18:30,643 --> 00:18:32,343 [Anthony] No one knew where it came from, 305 00:18:32,445 --> 00:18:33,311 or how it spread. 306 00:18:33,313 --> 00:18:35,313 You couldn't treat it. 307 00:18:35,315 --> 00:18:37,348 Many historians say that this would have been 308 00:18:37,417 --> 00:18:40,051 the worst time in human history to be alive. 309 00:18:43,323 --> 00:18:44,822 [narrator] Devastated survivors 310 00:18:44,824 --> 00:18:47,325 irrationally blamed the disease on gypsies, 311 00:18:47,327 --> 00:18:50,128 witches, or Jewish people. 312 00:18:50,130 --> 00:18:52,930 Thousands are tortured and burned to death. 313 00:18:55,502 --> 00:18:58,102 It's not until the turn of the 20th century 314 00:18:58,104 --> 00:19:00,505 that scientists identified the real culprit. 315 00:19:01,407 --> 00:19:04,308 A bacteria carried by infected fleas. 316 00:19:05,945 --> 00:19:07,145 Rats carry fleas. 317 00:19:07,246 --> 00:19:09,814 And the theory was that when plague infects fleas, 318 00:19:09,816 --> 00:19:12,650 the fleas can bite humans, transmitting the disease. 319 00:19:12,752 --> 00:19:16,020 And more rats leads to outbreak like the Black Death. 320 00:19:18,391 --> 00:19:20,858 But there's a problem with this theory. 321 00:19:20,927 --> 00:19:22,393 The latest research suggest that 322 00:19:22,395 --> 00:19:24,629 14th century outbreaks of plague 323 00:19:24,631 --> 00:19:29,033 did not correspond to increases in rat population. 324 00:19:29,035 --> 00:19:31,135 So something else must have triggered these outbreaks. 325 00:19:33,506 --> 00:19:35,907 [narrator] Some scientists now think another animal 326 00:19:35,909 --> 00:19:38,142 is to blame for the mass death. 327 00:19:38,244 --> 00:19:41,712 One that makes it home in the vast steps of Kazakhstan. 328 00:19:42,815 --> 00:19:44,815 This unusual pattern that we see 329 00:19:44,817 --> 00:19:46,817 is actually caused by gerbils. 330 00:19:48,121 --> 00:19:49,820 As they create their burrow 331 00:19:49,822 --> 00:19:52,456 they kill all the plant life above it. 332 00:19:52,525 --> 00:19:54,959 And that leaves these big patches of barren earth 333 00:19:55,027 --> 00:19:57,929 that reflect really well in satellite images. 334 00:20:01,534 --> 00:20:03,201 [narrator] Known as great gerbils. 335 00:20:03,203 --> 00:20:06,137 These rodents grow to around one foot in lengt 336 00:20:06,239 --> 00:20:07,939 and live in family groups. 337 00:20:10,410 --> 00:20:12,143 Numbering in their millions 338 00:20:12,245 --> 00:20:13,911 a three acre patch of deser 339 00:20:13,913 --> 00:20:16,514 can contain over 1,000 burrows, 340 00:20:16,516 --> 00:20:19,116 creating vast patterns visible from space. 341 00:20:21,421 --> 00:20:23,321 Gerbils, as cute as they are, 342 00:20:23,323 --> 00:20:26,958 can also be the unwitting host of Yersinia pestis, 343 00:20:26,960 --> 00:20:29,327 the bacteria that caused the Black Death. 344 00:20:31,831 --> 00:20:34,031 [narrator] Scholars believe that Yersinia pestis 345 00:20:34,033 --> 00:20:36,000 originated in this part of the world 346 00:20:36,002 --> 00:20:37,802 some 6,000 years ago. 347 00:20:39,005 --> 00:20:42,306 It persists in the guts of gerbil fleas for centurie 348 00:20:45,111 --> 00:20:49,113 In the middle ages, this festering, biological time bomb explodes 349 00:20:49,115 --> 00:20:52,550 when the plague-carrying insects hitch a ride westwards. 350 00:20:52,619 --> 00:20:54,518 [camel grunting] 351 00:20:54,520 --> 00:20:56,954 [Anthony] It seems as though fleas from these gerbils 352 00:20:56,990 --> 00:21:00,291 were able to attach themselves to Mongols and their camels 353 00:21:00,293 --> 00:21:02,960 traveling along the Silk Road into Europe. 354 00:21:03,029 --> 00:21:05,963 And that might have been the true source of the plagu 355 00:21:10,703 --> 00:21:11,735 [narrator] What's more... 356 00:21:11,804 --> 00:21:14,138 Fluctuations in the gerbil populations 357 00:21:14,207 --> 00:21:16,974 help explain why so many waves of the Black Death 358 00:21:16,976 --> 00:21:19,443 swept west during the 14th century. 359 00:21:21,714 --> 00:21:23,447 [Kays] Scientists looked at weather patterns 360 00:21:23,549 --> 00:21:26,517 that drive gerbil boom birth cycles. 361 00:21:26,519 --> 00:21:30,221 And what's amazing is those synced up with 362 00:21:30,223 --> 00:21:33,057 really bad outbreaks of bubonic plague in Europe 363 00:21:36,262 --> 00:21:37,595 [narrator] In the late middle ages, 364 00:21:37,597 --> 00:21:39,830 advances in hygiene and medicine 365 00:21:39,832 --> 00:21:41,432 suppressed the plague in Europe. 366 00:21:45,305 --> 00:21:46,704 In the 1940s, 367 00:21:46,706 --> 00:21:49,340 Soviet authorities try a very different approach 368 00:21:49,408 --> 00:21:51,442 to eliminating the disease in Kazakhstan. 369 00:21:54,013 --> 00:21:56,314 They declare war on the gerbil. 370 00:21:57,417 --> 00:22:00,818 [Rice] They were spraying the burrows with DDT. 371 00:22:00,820 --> 00:22:04,722 They were burning the lands so the gerbil would have nothing to eat. 372 00:22:05,925 --> 00:22:09,627 The Soviet Union was so hell bent on eradicating the plague, 373 00:22:09,629 --> 00:22:13,130 that it actually conscripte thousands of civilians 374 00:22:13,132 --> 00:22:17,335 to take spoonfuls of grain tainted with poison 375 00:22:17,436 --> 00:22:20,204 and pour them into these little burrow holes, 376 00:22:20,206 --> 00:22:23,507 in an attempt to kill off the entire gerbil population. 377 00:22:25,111 --> 00:22:28,312 It wasn't a bad idea but it didn't work. 378 00:22:28,314 --> 00:22:31,816 The gerbils soon came back and brought the plague right back with them. 379 00:22:33,052 --> 00:22:35,720 Because of gerbil populations like the one in this image, 380 00:22:35,722 --> 00:22:40,358 the plague is endemic to 40 percent of the area of Kazakhstan. 381 00:22:44,263 --> 00:22:48,199 [narrator] Today, with the plague still so widespread in Kazakhstan 382 00:22:48,201 --> 00:22:50,601 images such as this play a key role 383 00:22:50,603 --> 00:22:54,038 in predicting when the next outbreak may erupt from these lands. 384 00:22:56,042 --> 00:22:59,777 Because the gerbil burrows have this recognizable, pale, star shape, 385 00:22:59,779 --> 00:23:03,948 our approach for controlling them could be much more targeted 386 00:23:04,050 --> 00:23:07,418 [narrator] Death it transpir has many different faces. 387 00:23:09,522 --> 00:23:11,756 [Kays] It's really amazing that this disease, 388 00:23:11,791 --> 00:23:14,325 which has been so important in human history... 389 00:23:14,327 --> 00:23:18,162 That now we can manage it by watching gerbils from space. 390 00:23:24,036 --> 00:23:25,202 [narrator] Coming up... 391 00:23:25,204 --> 00:23:28,072 A secret site that helped change the world. 392 00:23:28,074 --> 00:23:31,409 It becomes the largest single industry 393 00:23:31,411 --> 00:23:33,344 the world has ever seen. 394 00:23:34,313 --> 00:23:36,447 [narrator] And the city built on bones. 395 00:23:37,550 --> 00:23:40,050 [Chamberlain] This is just incredible to think 396 00:23:40,052 --> 00:23:42,420 that this entire city 397 00:23:42,422 --> 00:23:44,054 might have been lost to history forever. 398 00:23:55,802 --> 00:23:58,102 [narrator] June 12th, 2019. 399 00:23:59,839 --> 00:24:02,406 An aerial survey of the Arizona desert 400 00:24:02,408 --> 00:24:03,741 captures this image. 401 00:24:06,746 --> 00:24:09,947 [Walters] This is a rugged, mountainous desert. 402 00:24:09,949 --> 00:24:13,417 And then there's this perfect, elongated, oval 403 00:24:13,419 --> 00:24:16,620 etched into the terrain. 404 00:24:16,622 --> 00:24:19,123 [Kourounis] And within that oval there are other weird shapes 405 00:24:19,125 --> 00:24:22,793 Including what almost looks like a figure eight 406 00:24:22,795 --> 00:24:25,729 and a few small buildings. 407 00:24:27,233 --> 00:24:28,933 It's the shapes that really get me. 408 00:24:30,603 --> 00:24:32,703 [narrator] Analysis reveals the shapes appeared 409 00:24:32,705 --> 00:24:36,140 to be fashioned from asphalt or concrete. 410 00:24:36,242 --> 00:24:39,710 In total, some 20 miles of these roads to nowhere 411 00:24:39,712 --> 00:24:41,912 crisscross the isolated facility. 412 00:24:43,216 --> 00:24:47,318 This is inaccessible, very rugged terrain. 413 00:24:47,320 --> 00:24:51,722 And yet, clearly, a lot of effort has gone into building this. 414 00:24:53,326 --> 00:24:54,691 Why would you do that? 415 00:24:56,362 --> 00:24:59,230 [narrator] The compounds location could offer a clue 416 00:25:00,533 --> 00:25:04,702 One really interesting fact about this particular image 417 00:25:04,704 --> 00:25:07,605 is that it's not very far from the Yuma Proving Ground. 418 00:25:11,010 --> 00:25:12,409 [narrator] The Yuma Proving Ground 419 00:25:12,411 --> 00:25:15,312 is one of the largest military test sites on Earth 420 00:25:16,015 --> 00:25:18,749 A 1,300 square mile laborato 421 00:25:18,851 --> 00:25:21,151 for testing all most every piece of equipment 422 00:25:21,253 --> 00:25:22,219 in the US arsenal. 423 00:25:23,589 --> 00:25:25,456 A proving ground is just that. 424 00:25:25,525 --> 00:25:27,424 It's a place where you test new things. 425 00:25:28,427 --> 00:25:29,860 The Yuma Proving Ground 426 00:25:29,929 --> 00:25:32,763 has the longest overland artillery range 427 00:25:32,865 --> 00:25:35,599 in the entire United States. 428 00:25:35,601 --> 00:25:39,837 And the most well-equipped helicopter weapons test range imaginable. 429 00:25:42,008 --> 00:25:43,540 [narrator] During tests at Yuma, 430 00:25:43,542 --> 00:25:46,510 troops unleash around half a million munitions a year. 431 00:25:47,847 --> 00:25:50,614 [gun firing] 432 00:25:52,318 --> 00:25:55,853 And drive prototype vehicle over 200,000 miles. 433 00:26:00,793 --> 00:26:02,660 These roadways within this perimeter 434 00:26:02,761 --> 00:26:05,229 could be used to test things like tanks 435 00:26:05,331 --> 00:26:07,231 and other kinds of all-terrain vehicles. 436 00:26:11,304 --> 00:26:15,940 [narrator] However, others think this site doesn serve a military purpose. 437 00:26:15,942 --> 00:26:19,143 If you wanted to really test how rugged your vehicle is, 438 00:26:19,211 --> 00:26:21,845 why would you pave so many of the roads 439 00:26:21,947 --> 00:26:23,047 in your proving grounds? 440 00:26:24,817 --> 00:26:27,518 Proving grounds aren't just operated by the military. 441 00:26:27,520 --> 00:26:29,587 You also have civilian industries 442 00:26:29,589 --> 00:26:32,623 that need these secure and private locations 443 00:26:32,625 --> 00:26:34,825 to put new products to the test. 444 00:26:36,162 --> 00:26:39,363 I think that this Arizona facility 445 00:26:39,465 --> 00:26:41,732 is the Chrysler Proving Grounds. 446 00:26:44,203 --> 00:26:45,803 [narrator] The secretive facility 447 00:26:45,805 --> 00:26:48,706 has its origins in the aftermath of World War II. 448 00:26:50,076 --> 00:26:52,142 As peace returns to the US, 449 00:26:52,244 --> 00:26:55,112 millions of households go on a spending spree. 450 00:26:56,215 --> 00:26:57,848 In the wake of World War II 451 00:26:57,917 --> 00:27:00,417 there is an explosion in car ownership. 452 00:27:01,354 --> 00:27:03,754 [Kourounis] Americans fell in love. 453 00:27:05,224 --> 00:27:07,858 It was all about how the automobile 454 00:27:07,927 --> 00:27:10,661 represented prosperity and freedom. 455 00:27:13,566 --> 00:27:16,600 [narrator] Between 1946 and 1955, 456 00:27:16,602 --> 00:27:19,103 US car production quadruples 457 00:27:21,707 --> 00:27:23,607 The 1944 Highway Act 458 00:27:23,609 --> 00:27:25,509 also authorizes the construction 459 00:27:25,511 --> 00:27:28,012 of 40,000 miles of roads. 460 00:27:28,014 --> 00:27:32,116 Replacing rough tracks with paved arteries connected the nation. 461 00:27:34,820 --> 00:27:36,654 You had all this infrastructure popping up 462 00:27:36,722 --> 00:27:38,422 that could support that. 463 00:27:38,424 --> 00:27:41,325 We see the advent of drive-thru restaurants, 464 00:27:41,327 --> 00:27:43,627 drive-in movie theaters. 465 00:27:43,629 --> 00:27:45,829 [Kerley] There is this entir post world culture 466 00:27:45,831 --> 00:27:49,299 that's really built around the car and mobility 467 00:27:49,301 --> 00:27:52,836 And it becomes really a part of the American life. 468 00:27:52,905 --> 00:27:55,572 [Auerbach] The automotive industry doesn't just become 469 00:27:55,574 --> 00:27:57,708 the largest industry in America. 470 00:27:57,710 --> 00:28:00,944 It becomes the largest, single industry 471 00:28:00,946 --> 00:28:02,913 the world has ever seen. 472 00:28:04,617 --> 00:28:06,417 [narrator] The post war economic boom 473 00:28:06,419 --> 00:28:08,118 also fuels an explosion 474 00:28:08,120 --> 00:28:10,320 in the number of people taking vacations. 475 00:28:13,426 --> 00:28:14,891 [narrator] In the 1950s 476 00:28:14,893 --> 00:28:18,662 more than 80 percent of such travel is taken by car. 477 00:28:18,764 --> 00:28:21,031 With each trip averaging 600 miles. 478 00:28:25,204 --> 00:28:28,072 Trips which test these new generation of vehicles 479 00:28:28,074 --> 00:28:29,840 to the point of destruction 480 00:28:29,942 --> 00:28:31,909 It's one thing to build a car 481 00:28:31,911 --> 00:28:34,511 or anything, for that matter, on paper. 482 00:28:34,513 --> 00:28:38,215 It's another thing entirely to take it out in the real world 483 00:28:38,217 --> 00:28:39,950 driven by real people. 484 00:28:43,389 --> 00:28:44,521 [narrator] During the '50s, 485 00:28:44,523 --> 00:28:47,224 America's car makers construct several sites 486 00:28:47,226 --> 00:28:48,792 like the Chrysler Proving Ground 487 00:28:48,794 --> 00:28:50,861 to road test their latest models. 488 00:28:53,532 --> 00:28:55,833 The large banked oval tracks, 489 00:28:55,901 --> 00:28:58,102 they're typically used for speed testing. 490 00:28:58,104 --> 00:29:00,137 Then in the middle there's a grid. 491 00:29:00,239 --> 00:29:02,506 Now that simulates a city traffic system. 492 00:29:02,508 --> 00:29:06,510 And then there's also access to steep grade mountain roads. 493 00:29:08,748 --> 00:29:10,447 Cars were driven endlessly 494 00:29:10,549 --> 00:29:13,217 around these tracks to evaluate every component 495 00:29:13,219 --> 00:29:15,552 to make sure that it was able to withstand the stress. 496 00:29:17,022 --> 00:29:20,057 [narrator] Before selling the site in 2006, 497 00:29:20,059 --> 00:29:21,825 Chrysler uses the proving ground 498 00:29:21,927 --> 00:29:25,062 to put countless classic cars through their paces. 499 00:29:25,064 --> 00:29:28,198 Cars that go on to define the lives and adventures 500 00:29:28,200 --> 00:29:30,434 of generation of Americans. 501 00:29:30,536 --> 00:29:32,903 These testing facilities were indispensable 502 00:29:32,905 --> 00:29:35,139 for producing the cars that you and I enjoy today. 503 00:29:41,447 --> 00:29:42,913 [narrator] Coming up... 504 00:29:42,915 --> 00:29:45,849 A mystery rises from the desert. 505 00:29:45,918 --> 00:29:48,118 Whatever it is, it's been there for a long time. 506 00:29:49,054 --> 00:29:51,522 [narrator] And a toxic time bomb. 507 00:29:51,524 --> 00:29:53,857 The word apocalyptic comes to mind. 508 00:30:03,435 --> 00:30:05,335 [narrator] In 1959, 509 00:30:05,404 --> 00:30:08,705 the first of 120 Corona spy satellites 510 00:30:08,707 --> 00:30:09,873 takes to the skies. 511 00:30:14,313 --> 00:30:16,413 Over the next decade they capture images 512 00:30:16,415 --> 00:30:19,216 of more than one and half million square mile 513 00:30:19,218 --> 00:30:20,417 of the Earth's surface. 514 00:30:24,757 --> 00:30:26,323 For today's historians, 515 00:30:26,325 --> 00:30:28,058 these declassified images 516 00:30:28,127 --> 00:30:30,194 are an archaeological treasure trove. 517 00:30:32,631 --> 00:30:36,633 They capture imagery of sites that have long since been covered over. 518 00:30:36,735 --> 00:30:39,002 And changed beyond recognition. 519 00:30:42,608 --> 00:30:45,709 Some of these sites have been built on since the '60s. 520 00:30:45,711 --> 00:30:49,246 And so these images give us a snapshot back in time 521 00:30:49,315 --> 00:30:51,014 of what the area would have looked like. 522 00:30:59,024 --> 00:31:02,492 [narrator] When analysts stu a 1966 Corona photograph 523 00:31:02,494 --> 00:31:03,760 of Northern Iraq, 524 00:31:03,862 --> 00:31:05,462 they discover something not visible 525 00:31:05,564 --> 00:31:07,164 in modern satellite images. 526 00:31:10,936 --> 00:31:14,104 My eye is drawn immediately to the enormous 527 00:31:14,106 --> 00:31:16,640 rectilinear structure in the center of it. 528 00:31:18,010 --> 00:31:19,142 [Ruben] It has thick walls. 529 00:31:19,211 --> 00:31:21,545 It looks like it's defensive in nature. 530 00:31:21,614 --> 00:31:22,879 Like a fort. 531 00:31:22,881 --> 00:31:24,615 Whatever it is, it's been there for a long time. 532 00:31:28,821 --> 00:31:32,222 [narrator] The location of the mystery structure intrigues analysts. 533 00:31:34,526 --> 00:31:38,128 It sits inside this so calle Fertile Crescent. 534 00:31:38,130 --> 00:31:40,764 A vast middle eastern regio which was home 535 00:31:40,833 --> 00:31:43,600 to some of the earliest civilizations in human history. 536 00:31:46,939 --> 00:31:49,806 [Horton] This is a highly significant location. 537 00:31:49,808 --> 00:31:52,943 Because it was the Cradle of Civilization. 538 00:31:53,012 --> 00:31:56,280 And the place where urbanism really develops. 539 00:31:57,816 --> 00:32:01,251 [Janulis] This landscape is incredibly, historically rich. 540 00:32:01,353 --> 00:32:04,154 Almost everybody has conquered or have come through here. 541 00:32:07,793 --> 00:32:11,461 [narrator] When archaeologis deployed drones to study this site, 542 00:32:11,530 --> 00:32:13,563 they discover an array of structures, 543 00:32:13,665 --> 00:32:16,300 including a temple and other monumental buildings. 544 00:32:20,105 --> 00:32:21,438 [Chamberlain] When the drones go in, 545 00:32:21,540 --> 00:32:24,107 they find it's not just this one, big fortress. 546 00:32:24,944 --> 00:32:27,044 There are other buildings. 547 00:32:27,046 --> 00:32:29,313 This looks like a large, ancient city. 548 00:32:31,817 --> 00:32:34,418 [Ruben] What we're looking at is clearly a complex settlement 549 00:32:34,420 --> 00:32:36,620 belonging to someone with power. 550 00:32:40,626 --> 00:32:42,426 [narrator] The lost city covers an area 551 00:32:42,428 --> 00:32:44,728 equivalent to 100 football fields. 552 00:32:48,634 --> 00:32:50,701 Excavations suggest it was constructed 553 00:32:50,703 --> 00:32:53,303 around two and a half thousand years ago, 554 00:32:53,305 --> 00:32:56,039 by order of the greatest warrior in history. 555 00:33:01,046 --> 00:33:03,714 There are all kinds of artifacts that are pointing to the fact 556 00:33:05,651 --> 00:33:08,352 that this belonged to Alexander the Great. 557 00:33:13,692 --> 00:33:16,927 [narrator] Born in 356 BCE, 558 00:33:16,929 --> 00:33:20,731 Alexander becomes the kind of Macedonia at the age of 2 559 00:33:20,733 --> 00:33:24,801 Before embarking on a campai of conquest without parallel 560 00:33:29,008 --> 00:33:32,943 Alexander was perhaps one of the most unique 561 00:33:33,712 --> 00:33:35,746 conquerors in history. 562 00:33:35,847 --> 00:33:39,950 His tutor was Aristotle, who made his mind razor shar 563 00:33:39,952 --> 00:33:43,920 No one was better suited to conquer the world than Alexander the Great. 564 00:33:43,922 --> 00:33:45,222 [yelling] 565 00:33:47,760 --> 00:33:50,293 [narrator] Deploying revolutionary military tacti 566 00:33:50,295 --> 00:33:51,628 such as the phalanx, 567 00:33:51,630 --> 00:33:54,498 within five years, his forces had vanquished 568 00:33:54,500 --> 00:33:56,600 Greece, egypt and Turkey. 569 00:34:00,506 --> 00:34:03,306 Alexander is just crushing his competitors. 570 00:34:03,308 --> 00:34:05,342 He is dominating the known world, 571 00:34:05,411 --> 00:34:08,445 except for this one other land. 572 00:34:08,547 --> 00:34:11,314 Persia, run by Darius the Third. 573 00:34:16,655 --> 00:34:18,221 [narrator] In 331, 574 00:34:18,223 --> 00:34:20,624 Alexander's 50,000 strong ar 575 00:34:20,626 --> 00:34:22,559 advances through the region in the image 576 00:34:22,628 --> 00:34:26,129 before attacking the Persian at the battle of Gaugamela. 577 00:34:26,131 --> 00:34:27,631 [horses neighing] 578 00:34:32,037 --> 00:34:34,538 Deploying fast strike cavalry charges, 579 00:34:34,606 --> 00:34:37,107 his soldiers overcome Darius' forces 580 00:34:37,109 --> 00:34:39,509 despite being outnumbered five to one. 581 00:34:42,748 --> 00:34:45,816 Alexander the Great was a military genius. 582 00:34:45,818 --> 00:34:48,151 He didn't rely on numbers to win wars. 583 00:34:48,220 --> 00:34:50,220 He relied on tactics and strategy. 584 00:34:51,290 --> 00:34:52,956 [Ruben] It's because of victories like this 585 00:34:52,958 --> 00:34:55,325 that Alexander is known as Alexander the Great. 586 00:35:03,635 --> 00:35:05,635 [narrator] Alexander goes on to conquer 587 00:35:05,704 --> 00:35:07,938 a two million square mile empire 588 00:35:07,940 --> 00:35:10,340 and remains undefeated in battle. 589 00:35:14,046 --> 00:35:16,213 The lost city appears to have been built 590 00:35:16,215 --> 00:35:20,117 to ensure his exploits aren't just recorded on the battlefields 591 00:35:20,119 --> 00:35:22,452 but are also immortalized in stone. 592 00:35:26,225 --> 00:35:28,592 One of the ways that Alexander made his mark on 593 00:35:28,594 --> 00:35:31,161 and held the lands that he conquered 594 00:35:31,230 --> 00:35:33,563 was by building vast cities there. 595 00:35:36,001 --> 00:35:37,834 Maybe this city was founded 596 00:35:37,903 --> 00:35:40,303 to celebrate the victory in Gaugamela. 597 00:35:44,943 --> 00:35:47,410 [narrator] The fort discover in the satellite image 598 00:35:47,412 --> 00:35:50,013 guards a military route into the Persian empire. 599 00:35:52,217 --> 00:35:55,018 It's also a reminder to his new subjects 600 00:35:55,020 --> 00:35:57,954 of Alexander's crushing defeat of their leader. 601 00:36:00,025 --> 00:36:01,691 [Chamberlain] To consolidate the victory, 602 00:36:01,693 --> 00:36:04,461 he builds a city to say, 603 00:36:04,563 --> 00:36:07,164 "Guess what? You are now part of my empire. 604 00:36:07,232 --> 00:36:08,732 Look at me. I'm great." 605 00:36:13,906 --> 00:36:15,405 [narrator] Over the followin millennia, 606 00:36:15,407 --> 00:36:18,508 Alexander's city is swallowe by the sands. 607 00:36:18,510 --> 00:36:21,411 Only to be revealed once mor from the skies. 608 00:36:26,318 --> 00:36:29,019 [Chamberlain] This is just incredible to think 609 00:36:29,021 --> 00:36:30,854 that now that we have this image, 610 00:36:30,956 --> 00:36:33,924 it's exposed this entire city 611 00:36:33,926 --> 00:36:35,825 that might have been lost to history forever. 612 00:36:45,103 --> 00:36:46,369 [narrator] Coming up... 613 00:36:46,371 --> 00:36:48,138 The mystery mega wound. 614 00:36:48,207 --> 00:36:51,241 We have seen this unusual spike in illnesses 615 00:36:51,310 --> 00:36:52,809 amongst the people that live there. 616 00:37:01,053 --> 00:37:04,621 [narrator] May 26th, 2020. 617 00:37:04,623 --> 00:37:07,524 A satellite above the Caribbean island of Jamaica 618 00:37:07,526 --> 00:37:09,326 photographs something bizarr 619 00:37:12,564 --> 00:37:15,632 Here we are in an enormous rain forest. 620 00:37:15,701 --> 00:37:19,302 Right in the middle we have this desolate, red patch. 621 00:37:21,206 --> 00:37:24,407 [Kourounis] The word apocalyptic comes to mind 622 00:37:24,409 --> 00:37:27,344 as if it's a giant scar across the landscape. 623 00:37:28,714 --> 00:37:31,848 [narrator] The red stain spreads over one square mile 624 00:37:32,684 --> 00:37:34,050 [McRobbie] If you look even closer, 625 00:37:34,052 --> 00:37:35,819 you can see that the Earth is, 626 00:37:35,821 --> 00:37:39,923 sort of, pockmarked with these regular circles. 627 00:37:39,925 --> 00:37:41,391 [Okereke] There are dozens of these circles 628 00:37:41,393 --> 00:37:43,226 and they're spread out in these clear rows. 629 00:37:43,662 --> 00:37:44,728 It's really odd. 630 00:37:46,131 --> 00:37:47,831 [narrator] Geologist Devin Dennie 631 00:37:47,833 --> 00:37:49,833 discovers disturbing local reports 632 00:37:49,901 --> 00:37:51,134 that could offer a clue. 633 00:37:52,504 --> 00:37:54,304 One thing we have seen lately 634 00:37:54,306 --> 00:37:56,806 is this unusual spike in illnesses 635 00:37:56,808 --> 00:37:58,308 amongst the people that live there. 636 00:38:00,746 --> 00:38:02,912 [narrator] Since the appearance of the red scar, 637 00:38:02,914 --> 00:38:04,848 countless Jamaicans living nearby 638 00:38:04,949 --> 00:38:08,318 have complained respiratory illnesses and skin condition 639 00:38:10,422 --> 00:38:12,522 This spike of illness could be coming 640 00:38:12,524 --> 00:38:14,424 from having more dust in the air. 641 00:38:14,426 --> 00:38:16,426 More red dust. 642 00:38:16,428 --> 00:38:19,529 And that is a sign of what we may be looking at here 643 00:38:19,531 --> 00:38:21,464 is a bauxite mine. 644 00:38:24,303 --> 00:38:26,536 [narrator] Bauxite is the main ore used 645 00:38:26,605 --> 00:38:29,739 to produce 65 million tons of aluminum, 646 00:38:29,808 --> 00:38:31,308 worldwide, each year. 647 00:38:32,411 --> 00:38:35,211 It's also a primary source of gallium. 648 00:38:35,213 --> 00:38:39,249 A rare earth metal of vital importance to tech industries. 649 00:38:39,351 --> 00:38:42,786 For the longest time, we've used silicon in our microchips. 650 00:38:42,788 --> 00:38:44,954 But recent studies have demonstrated 651 00:38:45,023 --> 00:38:49,726 that gallium is more than a thousand times more conductive. 652 00:38:49,728 --> 00:38:53,163 [Okereke] This makes it extremely valuable for use of electronics. 653 00:38:53,264 --> 00:38:55,632 Which is a market that's obviously growing exponentially. 654 00:38:58,203 --> 00:39:02,105 [narrator] Around 367 millio metric tons of bauxite 655 00:39:02,107 --> 00:39:05,008 is mined globally each year 656 00:39:05,010 --> 00:39:07,811 It's importance to the futur of the tech center 657 00:39:07,813 --> 00:39:11,047 means that one country is rapidly expanding its interest 658 00:39:11,149 --> 00:39:12,615 in bauxite mining. 659 00:39:16,822 --> 00:39:20,123 The Chinese government is desperate to control the mineral market. 660 00:39:20,125 --> 00:39:24,060 So Beijing has been pouring billions of dollars into poorer nations 661 00:39:24,129 --> 00:39:26,730 with large, natural deposit of these materials. 662 00:39:26,732 --> 00:39:28,064 [cheering] 663 00:39:29,534 --> 00:39:33,603 The plan is monopolize control of rare earth minerals 664 00:39:33,605 --> 00:39:36,840 and not only is that a good economic plan, 665 00:39:36,908 --> 00:39:40,510 but it would give China a tremendous amount of global power. 666 00:39:43,148 --> 00:39:44,647 [narrator] Over the past decade, 667 00:39:44,649 --> 00:39:48,017 China has launched a trillion dollar global development fund. 668 00:39:50,322 --> 00:39:54,224 Of that, Jamaican authoritie accept $300 million 669 00:39:54,226 --> 00:39:57,227 in exchange for control of the mine in the image. 670 00:39:59,264 --> 00:40:00,397 What we're seeing from China 671 00:40:00,399 --> 00:40:04,134 is a kind of modern day colonialism. 672 00:40:04,235 --> 00:40:06,603 Instead of invading other nations, 673 00:40:06,605 --> 00:40:09,539 Xi Jinping is flexing his country's economic muscl 674 00:40:10,809 --> 00:40:12,141 [narrator] Today, 675 00:40:12,143 --> 00:40:16,513 China processes 80 percent of all rare earth elements. 676 00:40:16,515 --> 00:40:19,716 That provides them with a gr over the global manufacturin 677 00:40:19,718 --> 00:40:22,719 of anything from smartphone to fighter jets. 678 00:40:24,022 --> 00:40:25,722 China wants to replace the US 679 00:40:25,724 --> 00:40:27,924 as the next great superpower. 680 00:40:27,926 --> 00:40:29,959 And mines, like the one in Jamaica, 681 00:40:29,961 --> 00:40:31,227 are part of their plan to do it. 682 00:40:35,333 --> 00:40:36,933 [narrator] To extract bauxit 683 00:40:37,002 --> 00:40:39,335 miners strip vast areas of jungle 684 00:40:39,404 --> 00:40:41,504 before blasting out the mineral rich rock 685 00:40:41,506 --> 00:40:43,372 and crushing it in piles. 686 00:40:48,413 --> 00:40:52,482 [Dennie] That could also be some of the features that we see on the image. 687 00:40:52,484 --> 00:40:56,419 Some of these circles are actual piles of crushed bauxite. 688 00:40:58,723 --> 00:41:02,025 [narrator] As well as releasing vast clouds of dust into the air, 689 00:41:02,027 --> 00:41:05,862 the mine tailings seep into the water supply. 690 00:41:05,930 --> 00:41:08,298 In mining when you extract the material you want, 691 00:41:08,300 --> 00:41:10,934 you also get a lot of materials you don't want. 692 00:41:10,936 --> 00:41:13,603 And those end up in separating pools as waste 693 00:41:13,605 --> 00:41:16,306 that can sometimes be toxic 694 00:41:16,308 --> 00:41:19,409 Many of the townspeople won't touch the water anymore. 695 00:41:19,411 --> 00:41:21,945 Those who have say that it made the water undrinkable. 696 00:41:25,217 --> 00:41:27,150 [narrator] Globally, air pollution causes 697 00:41:27,252 --> 00:41:29,819 around five and half millio deaths each year. 698 00:41:34,593 --> 00:41:37,460 The long term health effect of our tech obsession 699 00:41:37,562 --> 00:41:39,963 on the people of Jamaica remains to be seen. 700 00:41:41,733 --> 00:41:44,200 [Dennie] As long as populations continue to demand 701 00:41:44,202 --> 00:41:46,035 high technology products, 702 00:41:46,037 --> 00:41:48,104 their demand is going to be there. 703 00:41:48,106 --> 00:41:49,739 For more mines like this one. 704 00:41:51,243 --> 00:41:54,711 This red stain in the heart of the Jamaican countryside 705 00:41:54,713 --> 00:41:55,712 isn't going anywhere.