1 00:00:02,250 --> 00:00:03,125 WILLIAM SHATNER: A Utopian kingdom 2 00:00:03,208 --> 00:00:05,625 hidden in the Himalayas... 3 00:00:05,750 --> 00:00:09,833 A city of gold, concealed in South America... 4 00:00:09,958 --> 00:00:11,625 And a massive metropolis 5 00:00:11,708 --> 00:00:14,958 that was found in the middle of the desert. 6 00:00:16,208 --> 00:00:20,500 For centuries, archaeologists and explorers have been obsessed 7 00:00:20,667 --> 00:00:24,667 with locating ancient cities that have been lost to time. 8 00:00:24,833 --> 00:00:28,833 Some of these places are recorded in historical texts, 9 00:00:28,958 --> 00:00:33,542 while others are simply part of oral traditions and folklore. 10 00:00:34,458 --> 00:00:39,333 How does a once-thriving community become a lost city? 11 00:00:39,458 --> 00:00:41,667 And if their ruins are found, 12 00:00:41,792 --> 00:00:46,042 what secrets about our past might be revealed? 13 00:00:47,417 --> 00:00:49,833 Well, that is what we'll try and find out. 14 00:00:49,958 --> 00:00:52,042 ♪ ♪ 15 00:01:06,125 --> 00:01:08,333 In Central Asia, along the southern border 16 00:01:08,458 --> 00:01:11,458 of Tibet and China, lie the Himalayas. 17 00:01:13,208 --> 00:01:16,250 The Himalayas are approximately 1,500 miles long, 18 00:01:16,375 --> 00:01:18,208 and include Mount Everest, 19 00:01:18,375 --> 00:01:20,625 the highest peak on Earth. 20 00:01:21,708 --> 00:01:24,208 According to Buddhist spiritual beliefs 21 00:01:24,375 --> 00:01:26,167 that go back thousands of years, 22 00:01:26,333 --> 00:01:30,167 this vast mountain range conceals a hidden valley, 23 00:01:30,292 --> 00:01:33,000 within which there is a sacred city 24 00:01:33,083 --> 00:01:37,375 known as the Kingdom of Shambhala. 25 00:01:39,417 --> 00:01:42,875 Shambhala has occupied people's thoughts 26 00:01:43,000 --> 00:01:44,625 and dreams for centuries. 27 00:01:45,542 --> 00:01:48,625 Supposedly, there is a lotus-shaped city 28 00:01:48,750 --> 00:01:50,458 somewhere in the Himalayas in Tibet... 29 00:01:52,375 --> 00:01:57,250 ...which is Shambhala, where people live for centuries. 30 00:01:57,375 --> 00:01:59,833 Where everyone is noble, everyone is good, 31 00:01:59,958 --> 00:02:02,333 and everyone lives a perfect life. 32 00:02:02,417 --> 00:02:05,833 Buddhism arose, roughly speaking, 33 00:02:06,000 --> 00:02:08,167 about 2,500 years ago. 34 00:02:09,417 --> 00:02:14,333 And there's this belief that has a long history in Buddhism 35 00:02:14,458 --> 00:02:19,500 that Shambala is an almost magical hidden city 36 00:02:19,625 --> 00:02:21,833 tucked away in the recesses of the mountain, 37 00:02:21,958 --> 00:02:25,208 in which you have beings of incredible spiritual power 38 00:02:25,375 --> 00:02:27,750 and accomplishment that reside there. 39 00:02:27,875 --> 00:02:29,625 ♪ ♪ 40 00:02:29,708 --> 00:02:32,000 CLEMENTS: If you are a citizen of Shambhala, 41 00:02:32,083 --> 00:02:35,833 you are likely to end your life by achieving Buddhahood. 42 00:02:37,417 --> 00:02:39,250 And you will elevate yourself 43 00:02:39,375 --> 00:02:42,417 along the cycle of reincarnation. 44 00:02:42,542 --> 00:02:46,250 And so Shambhala has this kind of mystic, 45 00:02:46,375 --> 00:02:48,875 uh... allure attached to it. 46 00:02:50,208 --> 00:02:51,750 The fact that it's perfect, 47 00:02:51,875 --> 00:02:56,042 the fact that if you live there, you will elevate yourself, 48 00:02:56,167 --> 00:02:57,708 has meant that many Tibetan Buddhists 49 00:02:57,833 --> 00:02:58,917 are desperate to find it. 50 00:03:01,042 --> 00:03:03,667 SHATNER: For more than 2,000 years, Buddhists have believed 51 00:03:03,792 --> 00:03:08,542 that the Kingdom of Shambhala is a true utopia on Earth. 52 00:03:08,708 --> 00:03:10,667 And then, in the early 20th century, 53 00:03:10,792 --> 00:03:12,833 Shambhala was introduced to the wider world 54 00:03:13,000 --> 00:03:17,083 in a book that fictionalized but also popularized the city 55 00:03:17,208 --> 00:03:19,250 by giving it a new name-- 56 00:03:19,375 --> 00:03:22,000 Shangri-La. 57 00:03:22,167 --> 00:03:23,875 PETER ATHANS: The Legend of Shangri-La 58 00:03:24,000 --> 00:03:25,958 as we know it in the West 59 00:03:26,042 --> 00:03:27,500 is from the book 60 00:03:27,667 --> 00:03:29,917 called Lost Horizon by James Hilton... 61 00:03:31,125 --> 00:03:33,167 ...written in 1933. 62 00:03:33,292 --> 00:03:36,083 It largely refers to a sacred 63 00:03:36,208 --> 00:03:41,417 and a hidden or concealed landscape or city. 64 00:03:41,542 --> 00:03:43,625 To Western audiences, 65 00:03:43,708 --> 00:03:46,000 Lost Horizon was a media phenomenon. 66 00:03:46,958 --> 00:03:52,333 There was a film that was released in 1937, from his book. 67 00:03:52,458 --> 00:03:54,000 It really captured the imagination 68 00:03:54,125 --> 00:03:55,750 to the point where 69 00:03:55,875 --> 00:03:58,708 our presidential retreat that's now known as Camp David 70 00:03:58,875 --> 00:04:01,792 was at one time known as Shangri-La. 71 00:04:04,042 --> 00:04:07,625 CLEMENTS: The legend of Shangri-La is itself a myth. 72 00:04:07,750 --> 00:04:09,500 There was no legend of Shangri-La 73 00:04:09,625 --> 00:04:14,417 until 1933 when James Hilton invented it in his book. 74 00:04:14,542 --> 00:04:16,333 So Shangri-La never existed. 75 00:04:16,458 --> 00:04:19,125 But the inspiration to Shangri-La, Shambhala, 76 00:04:19,208 --> 00:04:21,875 there's no proof that that didn't exist. 77 00:04:23,292 --> 00:04:24,667 SHATNER: For centuries, 78 00:04:24,750 --> 00:04:27,250 historians and religious scholars have wondered 79 00:04:27,375 --> 00:04:30,208 whether Shambhala was just a myth, 80 00:04:30,333 --> 00:04:35,500 or whether this lost paradise actually existed. 81 00:04:38,708 --> 00:04:40,417 In modern times, 82 00:04:40,542 --> 00:04:42,417 some of the first clues were documented by an explorer 83 00:04:42,542 --> 00:04:44,333 named Joseph Rock, 84 00:04:44,458 --> 00:04:46,583 who led a series of famous expeditions 85 00:04:46,708 --> 00:04:50,458 throughout the Himalayas in the 1920s and 1930s. 86 00:04:51,750 --> 00:04:55,417 Joseph Rock, in 1920, started traveling 87 00:04:55,542 --> 00:04:57,917 to these tribal areas of Eastern Tibet, 88 00:04:58,042 --> 00:05:00,625 the Tibetan borderlands and Western China. 89 00:05:01,500 --> 00:05:04,500 And Joseph Rock, in traveling in some of 90 00:05:04,625 --> 00:05:06,958 the Buddhist spiritual areas, 91 00:05:07,083 --> 00:05:08,792 believed he had located something 92 00:05:08,875 --> 00:05:10,417 like Shambhala 93 00:05:10,542 --> 00:05:12,833 in the kingdom of what they called Muli. 94 00:05:12,917 --> 00:05:15,833 There was a peak that was called Mount Yangjiang, 95 00:05:15,917 --> 00:05:18,625 and Yangjiang means "wisdom" in Tibetan. 96 00:05:18,750 --> 00:05:22,708 The travels Joseph Rock did in the Tibetan borderlands 97 00:05:22,875 --> 00:05:26,167 and Western China really captured the imagination 98 00:05:26,292 --> 00:05:28,417 of people in the West, 99 00:05:28,542 --> 00:05:30,833 because there's this enchantment of humanity 100 00:05:30,917 --> 00:05:32,250 for finding these 101 00:05:32,375 --> 00:05:36,375 utopian, spiritual, perfect places. 102 00:05:37,375 --> 00:05:40,167 SHATNER: Ultimately, Joseph Rock was not able 103 00:05:40,292 --> 00:05:43,625 to find the actual ruins of Shambhala. 104 00:05:43,750 --> 00:05:47,083 But in the decades since his groundbreaking expedition, 105 00:05:47,208 --> 00:05:49,250 archaeologists have been inspired 106 00:05:49,375 --> 00:05:51,667 to continue to search the Himalayas 107 00:05:51,792 --> 00:05:54,833 for clues that this hidden utopia was, 108 00:05:54,958 --> 00:05:57,500 in fact, a real place. 109 00:06:00,375 --> 00:06:03,375 The Mustang Valley, Nepal. 110 00:06:04,333 --> 00:06:06,917 At an elevation of more than 13,000 feet, 111 00:06:07,042 --> 00:06:08,417 this green valley 112 00:06:08,542 --> 00:06:11,167 that is tucked away in the Himalayas stands 113 00:06:11,292 --> 00:06:12,750 in stark contrast 114 00:06:12,875 --> 00:06:15,625 to the mountain peaks that surround it. 115 00:06:15,750 --> 00:06:17,000 ATHANS: The Mustang Valley 116 00:06:17,125 --> 00:06:19,167 runs north and south with the Himalaya 117 00:06:19,292 --> 00:06:20,542 on either sides of it, 118 00:06:20,667 --> 00:06:22,125 a beautiful landscape. 119 00:06:23,000 --> 00:06:25,708 And for many people's appreciation, 120 00:06:25,875 --> 00:06:28,333 it could resemble something like Shambala, 121 00:06:28,458 --> 00:06:31,167 which might have existed millennia before. 122 00:06:32,042 --> 00:06:34,875 There's an ancient walled city of Lo Manthang 123 00:06:35,042 --> 00:06:36,625 in the valley, 124 00:06:36,708 --> 00:06:39,083 one of the most beautiful 125 00:06:39,208 --> 00:06:42,792 surviving walled cities that still exist, 126 00:06:42,917 --> 00:06:45,250 and there is so much mystery about it, 127 00:06:45,375 --> 00:06:47,083 so little that's really understood 128 00:06:47,208 --> 00:06:50,708 because the people who currently reside there 129 00:06:50,833 --> 00:06:53,458 don't have real origin stories. 130 00:06:54,958 --> 00:06:56,667 SHATNER: Given the fact that Lo Manthang is 131 00:06:56,792 --> 00:06:59,042 an ancient city located in a remote valley 132 00:06:59,208 --> 00:07:01,458 high in the Himalayas, 133 00:07:01,542 --> 00:07:04,125 some archaeologists have suggested that this area 134 00:07:04,250 --> 00:07:08,167 matches the historical description of Shambhala. 135 00:07:09,208 --> 00:07:10,833 And for further evidence 136 00:07:10,958 --> 00:07:12,958 that this site is linked to Shambhala, 137 00:07:13,083 --> 00:07:16,125 they point to a series of nearby caves 138 00:07:16,250 --> 00:07:20,125 carved into the mountainside, that are referred to 139 00:07:20,208 --> 00:07:23,167 as the Sky Caves. 140 00:07:23,292 --> 00:07:27,042 ATHANS: Mustang's chief mystery is the Sky Caves 141 00:07:27,167 --> 00:07:29,833 because there are thousands of these hand-carved 142 00:07:30,000 --> 00:07:32,833 cave edifices that are in this place. 143 00:07:32,917 --> 00:07:33,750 Some of them are 144 00:07:33,875 --> 00:07:35,917 hundreds of feet above the ground 145 00:07:36,042 --> 00:07:39,667 with no easy access apparent to anyone looking from the ground. 146 00:07:40,625 --> 00:07:42,167 SHATNER: In 2008, 147 00:07:42,292 --> 00:07:45,958 mountaineer Peter Athans led a team of archaeologists 148 00:07:46,083 --> 00:07:48,250 on an unprecedented investigation 149 00:07:48,375 --> 00:07:50,875 to explore how the Sky Caves 150 00:07:51,000 --> 00:07:54,083 may be connected to Shambhala. 151 00:07:55,917 --> 00:07:58,208 I was very excited about getting into some of the caves 152 00:07:58,333 --> 00:08:00,792 that were higher up and more difficult to access. 153 00:08:02,000 --> 00:08:03,667 We had to work with the local people 154 00:08:03,792 --> 00:08:05,167 to be able to explore them. 155 00:08:06,125 --> 00:08:09,042 In some cases, we found remarkable artwork. 156 00:08:09,167 --> 00:08:12,833 In other cases, we found human remains. 157 00:08:12,917 --> 00:08:15,542 We also found Buddhist materials, 158 00:08:15,667 --> 00:08:17,208 sculptures... 159 00:08:18,167 --> 00:08:21,917 ...writings that indicated that some of these 160 00:08:22,042 --> 00:08:26,792 early cave uses were upwards of 1000 BC. 161 00:08:26,875 --> 00:08:29,000 It's a very, very deep antiquity. 162 00:08:29,125 --> 00:08:33,125 The great lamas or clerics of Mustang, 163 00:08:33,208 --> 00:08:34,375 all believe that it's like 164 00:08:34,500 --> 00:08:38,000 a sanctuary for people to go 165 00:08:38,125 --> 00:08:41,708 to gain access to the spiritual power of this environment. 166 00:08:42,667 --> 00:08:46,667 So, could Mustang be something like a Shangri-La? 167 00:08:46,792 --> 00:08:49,250 Could it be the mythical Shambala? 168 00:08:50,208 --> 00:08:53,833 Mustang might be part of that origin story. 169 00:08:55,042 --> 00:08:57,625 SHATNER: Is it possible that the ruins of Shambhala 170 00:08:57,708 --> 00:09:00,000 have been found in the Mustang Valley? 171 00:09:00,125 --> 00:09:03,667 And if so, was it truly an earthly kingdom, 172 00:09:03,750 --> 00:09:07,250 whose inhabitants lived in paradise? 173 00:09:08,250 --> 00:09:11,833 Questions like these are why Shambhala continues to 174 00:09:11,958 --> 00:09:16,167 inspire fascination and wonder to this day. 175 00:09:19,125 --> 00:09:21,667 If Shambala is indeed found one day, 176 00:09:21,750 --> 00:09:24,917 it would open up an exciting world of possibilities 177 00:09:25,042 --> 00:09:28,417 because the discovery of such a wonderous ancient city 178 00:09:28,542 --> 00:09:31,667 would certainly support the possibility that others 179 00:09:31,792 --> 00:09:33,417 actually exist, as well. 180 00:09:34,458 --> 00:09:38,583 Including one of the most storied locations in history. 181 00:09:38,708 --> 00:09:42,000 A place rumored to be filled with gold-- 182 00:09:42,125 --> 00:09:52,083 the lost city of El Dorado. 183 00:09:53,792 --> 00:09:58,125 SHATNER: Spanish conquistadors led by Francisco Pizarro 184 00:09:58,250 --> 00:10:01,875 capture the Incan Emperor Atahualpa, 185 00:10:02,000 --> 00:10:06,083 and kill 5,000 of his men in the course of just one hour. 186 00:10:06,958 --> 00:10:08,500 Pizarro is on a quest to both 187 00:10:08,667 --> 00:10:11,000 conquer the New World 188 00:10:11,125 --> 00:10:14,625 and plunder as much gold as he can find. 189 00:10:14,708 --> 00:10:17,708 Pizarro starts to take these gold and riches 190 00:10:17,875 --> 00:10:19,292 from the kingdoms of the Andes. 191 00:10:19,375 --> 00:10:22,083 And this really starts a precedent for conquistadors 192 00:10:22,208 --> 00:10:25,292 trying to take riches and send them back to Europe. 193 00:10:25,375 --> 00:10:28,833 This quest for gold is what drives them. 194 00:10:29,750 --> 00:10:32,500 BELLINGER: From the European point of view, 195 00:10:32,625 --> 00:10:34,000 once there was the hint of gold 196 00:10:34,083 --> 00:10:36,417 up in the hills of South America, 197 00:10:36,542 --> 00:10:39,333 it was an absolute frenzy. 198 00:10:40,208 --> 00:10:42,958 The Indigenous people all around them were 199 00:10:43,042 --> 00:10:45,333 literally draped in gold, 200 00:10:45,500 --> 00:10:50,000 the likes of which Europeans never would see back at home. 201 00:10:52,458 --> 00:10:54,917 SHATNER: As the Spanish conquistadors encountered 202 00:10:55,042 --> 00:10:57,083 Indigenous people throughout South America, 203 00:10:57,208 --> 00:11:01,292 they heard stories of a vast city made entirely 204 00:11:01,375 --> 00:11:03,000 out of gold. 205 00:11:04,250 --> 00:11:08,542 In fact, the Spanish came up with a name for the golden city. 206 00:11:08,667 --> 00:11:12,208 They called it El Dorado. 207 00:11:12,333 --> 00:11:15,708 The name El Dorado comes from the words, 208 00:11:15,875 --> 00:11:17,083 the golden. 209 00:11:17,208 --> 00:11:20,333 That's literally what it translates to. 210 00:11:20,417 --> 00:11:23,833 The Spanish trekked through rain forests, 211 00:11:23,917 --> 00:11:26,958 and across swollen rivers and up icy mountains 212 00:11:27,042 --> 00:11:30,375 in search of what they assumed had to be 213 00:11:30,542 --> 00:11:31,625 a hidden city of gold. 214 00:11:32,583 --> 00:11:36,333 A place of untold riches just waiting to be plundered. 215 00:11:37,375 --> 00:11:39,833 There were similarities to all of these stories 216 00:11:40,000 --> 00:11:42,750 and that kept the Spaniards thinking, 217 00:11:42,875 --> 00:11:44,875 "Well, maybe there's something to this. 218 00:11:45,000 --> 00:11:46,583 Maybe it's not a myth." 219 00:11:47,500 --> 00:11:51,042 And because they don't know exactly where it is, 220 00:11:51,208 --> 00:11:54,958 it starts to be thought of as a lost city. 221 00:11:55,875 --> 00:11:57,542 SHATNER: The Spanish belief that El Dorado was 222 00:11:57,708 --> 00:11:59,667 a real lost city of gold 223 00:11:59,792 --> 00:12:03,167 was reinforced when they came into contact 224 00:12:03,292 --> 00:12:05,833 with a mysterious civilization known 225 00:12:05,958 --> 00:12:08,500 as the Muisca people. 226 00:12:08,583 --> 00:12:12,333 The Muisca were the Indigenous people who occupied 227 00:12:12,458 --> 00:12:15,417 this particular highland area of the Andes, 228 00:12:15,542 --> 00:12:17,458 which is today Colombia. 229 00:12:17,583 --> 00:12:20,833 And they occupied this area for about a thousand years, 230 00:12:20,917 --> 00:12:24,000 beginning in 600 AD, and in fact, 231 00:12:24,125 --> 00:12:26,000 they were so sophisticated 232 00:12:26,125 --> 00:12:28,333 that they really take their place alongside 233 00:12:28,500 --> 00:12:31,542 better known empires in the region, such as the Inca. 234 00:12:32,708 --> 00:12:35,750 LEVY: The Muisca were incredible goldsmiths. 235 00:12:35,875 --> 00:12:37,333 They were really skilled 236 00:12:37,458 --> 00:12:40,667 craftsmen at goldwork, finely wrought, 237 00:12:40,833 --> 00:12:43,333 thinly pounded gold. 238 00:12:43,458 --> 00:12:45,167 They made animals. 239 00:12:45,292 --> 00:12:49,417 They made gold that was depictions of their deities. 240 00:12:51,542 --> 00:12:55,000 SHATNER: Spanish conquistadors searching for El Dorado 241 00:12:55,125 --> 00:12:58,500 came to believe that it was built by the Muisca, 242 00:12:58,667 --> 00:13:01,917 because of a curious ritual they supposedly performed 243 00:13:02,042 --> 00:13:05,333 high in the mountains, at a body of water known 244 00:13:05,458 --> 00:13:07,292 as Lake Guatavita. 245 00:13:08,875 --> 00:13:11,333 When the Muisca initiated a new leader, 246 00:13:11,417 --> 00:13:14,333 there was a very specific ceremony that they performed... 247 00:13:15,500 --> 00:13:17,208 ...on Lake Guatavita. 248 00:13:18,250 --> 00:13:22,042 The leader would plaster his body in gold dust. 249 00:13:23,208 --> 00:13:27,125 He would climb into a raft surrounded by priests. 250 00:13:27,208 --> 00:13:33,208 At his feet was a pile of offerings, gold and jewels. 251 00:13:33,333 --> 00:13:36,125 Once they had paddled out to the middle of the lake, 252 00:13:36,250 --> 00:13:39,875 he would make his offering to the god. 253 00:13:40,042 --> 00:13:42,792 And that involved dropping all of the valuables 254 00:13:42,875 --> 00:13:45,208 off the raft into the water, 255 00:13:45,333 --> 00:13:48,500 and then diving in himself, so that the gold dust 256 00:13:48,667 --> 00:13:51,667 would be washed from his body. 257 00:13:51,750 --> 00:13:54,875 LEVY: When the conquistadors begin to hear about these rituals 258 00:13:55,042 --> 00:13:57,667 that involve gold and a golden man, 259 00:13:57,792 --> 00:14:00,500 it stood to reason that this place, 260 00:14:00,667 --> 00:14:02,542 El Dorado, 261 00:14:02,708 --> 00:14:05,667 a lost city, is going to be somewhere out there. 262 00:14:06,708 --> 00:14:10,000 SHATNER: The Spanish heard rumors that the Muisca had performed 263 00:14:10,167 --> 00:14:12,833 this golden ceremony at Lake Guatavita 264 00:14:12,958 --> 00:14:14,500 for a thousand years, 265 00:14:14,583 --> 00:14:17,375 since the beginning of their civilization. 266 00:14:19,500 --> 00:14:22,167 The conquistadors believed that El Dorado must be an ancient, 267 00:14:22,333 --> 00:14:25,333 hidden city where centuries earlier 268 00:14:25,458 --> 00:14:30,125 the ancestors of the Muisca had stockpiled vast amounts of gold 269 00:14:30,250 --> 00:14:33,458 to be used in the sacred ritual. 270 00:14:33,542 --> 00:14:37,625 LEVY: As conquistadores kept trying to find El Dorado, 271 00:14:37,708 --> 00:14:39,875 they found a lot of gold, 272 00:14:40,042 --> 00:14:42,125 they found goldwork made by the Muisca 273 00:14:42,208 --> 00:14:45,458 that was really, really elaborate. 274 00:14:45,583 --> 00:14:48,125 And they kept getting just enough 275 00:14:48,208 --> 00:14:50,167 to sort of tantalize them 276 00:14:50,250 --> 00:14:53,000 to know or believe that there would be more, 277 00:14:53,125 --> 00:14:56,167 but... they never quite found 278 00:14:56,333 --> 00:14:58,958 the El Dorado that they had been looking for. 279 00:15:00,250 --> 00:15:04,167 SHATNER: Although the Spanish failed in their quest to find El Dorado, 280 00:15:04,250 --> 00:15:07,667 for centuries, treasure hunters from around the world 281 00:15:07,792 --> 00:15:11,167 journeyed to South America in search of the lost city. 282 00:15:12,750 --> 00:15:18,292 And then, in 1912, an incredible discovery was made 283 00:15:18,417 --> 00:15:21,792 at the bottom of Lake Guatavita. 284 00:15:22,708 --> 00:15:26,167 LEVY: Hartley Knowles, a British engineer, came 285 00:15:26,250 --> 00:15:29,625 to Lake Guatavita and with a mining company 286 00:15:29,708 --> 00:15:34,500 was able to completely drain the lake to the bottom. 287 00:15:35,542 --> 00:15:40,417 He found gold rumored to be about $20,000 worth, 288 00:15:40,542 --> 00:15:43,042 but what happened was as the lake went down, 289 00:15:43,167 --> 00:15:46,292 all the silt and mud at the bottom 290 00:15:46,375 --> 00:15:49,417 hardened in the sun until it was like concrete, 291 00:15:49,542 --> 00:15:53,167 and they couldn't get any more gold out of the bottom. 292 00:15:54,292 --> 00:15:56,500 COOPER: They cut a notch out of the side of the hill 293 00:15:56,667 --> 00:15:58,208 and drained the lake. 294 00:15:58,375 --> 00:16:01,125 But it only remained drained for about 24 hours 295 00:16:01,208 --> 00:16:02,833 before the lake refilled. 296 00:16:04,542 --> 00:16:06,250 But what they found were some objects 297 00:16:06,375 --> 00:16:09,000 that sort of showed that this idea of offerings 298 00:16:09,083 --> 00:16:11,500 being thrown into the lake was true. 299 00:16:12,625 --> 00:16:15,500 SHATNER: Even more incredible evidence of the Muisca rituals 300 00:16:15,667 --> 00:16:20,333 was found later in 1969, in a nearby cave. 301 00:16:20,458 --> 00:16:25,375 BELLINGER: In 1969, some villagers stumbled upon 302 00:16:25,542 --> 00:16:27,167 an absolutely spectacular find, 303 00:16:27,250 --> 00:16:29,875 in a ceramic jar. 304 00:16:30,042 --> 00:16:32,917 They found an exquisite raft, 305 00:16:33,042 --> 00:16:36,083 crafted all out of gold. 306 00:16:36,208 --> 00:16:39,292 The workmanship was incredible. 307 00:16:39,375 --> 00:16:41,292 But even more exciting, 308 00:16:41,375 --> 00:16:44,167 is that it corroborated 309 00:16:44,292 --> 00:16:46,167 everything that had been written down 310 00:16:46,333 --> 00:16:49,542 about the Muisca rituals in Lake Guatavita, 311 00:16:49,708 --> 00:16:52,500 when they were initiating a new ruler. 312 00:16:53,417 --> 00:16:55,417 SHATNER: Since the story of the ritual performed 313 00:16:55,542 --> 00:16:57,792 by the Muisca chief was proven to be true, 314 00:16:57,917 --> 00:17:00,958 does that suggest that the tales of El Dorado, 315 00:17:01,083 --> 00:17:04,833 the lost city of gold, could also be true? 316 00:17:04,958 --> 00:17:09,542 And if so, where might it be hidden? 317 00:17:11,792 --> 00:17:16,042 LEVY: Cities in the Amazonian region over time have a tendency 318 00:17:16,208 --> 00:17:19,958 to become absorbed and enveloped by the jungle. 319 00:17:20,833 --> 00:17:24,000 If you think about the discovery of Machu Picchu, 320 00:17:24,125 --> 00:17:27,417 which had lain covered in vine 321 00:17:27,542 --> 00:17:30,458 and undetectable even by air, 322 00:17:30,542 --> 00:17:34,167 you've got this city that's complex and tiered 323 00:17:34,333 --> 00:17:37,542 and so, why would that be the only one? 324 00:17:38,500 --> 00:17:40,625 South America is an incredible place 325 00:17:40,750 --> 00:17:42,000 to keep secrets 326 00:17:42,083 --> 00:17:46,250 and for a lost city like El Dorado to dwell. 327 00:17:46,375 --> 00:17:49,333 There's no doubt that fame and perhaps fortune awaits 328 00:17:49,417 --> 00:17:52,958 anyone who's able to uncover the city of El Dorado. 329 00:17:54,083 --> 00:17:56,542 But there's another mysterious place 330 00:17:56,667 --> 00:18:01,667 that has captivated scholars and explorers since 300 BC-- 331 00:18:01,833 --> 00:18:07,083 a land of fire and ice that is said to be located 332 00:18:07,208 --> 00:18:16,667 beyond the borders of the known world. 333 00:18:16,750 --> 00:18:18,542 SHATNER: This historic port city has been 334 00:18:18,708 --> 00:18:20,458 a capital of culture and commerce 335 00:18:20,542 --> 00:18:24,333 since it was founded by the ancient Greeks in 600 BC. 336 00:18:25,333 --> 00:18:28,125 Standing high above one of Marseille's main streets 337 00:18:28,208 --> 00:18:29,792 is a statue 338 00:18:29,875 --> 00:18:33,750 of an influential Greek geographer known as Pytheas. 339 00:18:34,750 --> 00:18:40,667 Pytheas lived in Marseille in about 320s BC. 340 00:18:41,542 --> 00:18:45,792 And he was an explorer, he was a writer, 341 00:18:45,875 --> 00:18:47,333 and a scientist, 342 00:18:47,458 --> 00:18:50,208 and all of these things show in his writing. 343 00:18:50,333 --> 00:18:53,458 He was a brilliant man of his time. 344 00:18:53,583 --> 00:18:58,542 He really had this urge to know and to travel, to find out. 345 00:18:59,542 --> 00:19:01,333 SHATNER: In ancient times, 346 00:19:01,417 --> 00:19:05,083 explorers like Pytheas went on long, dangerous voyages 347 00:19:05,208 --> 00:19:07,167 to the edge of the known world, 348 00:19:07,292 --> 00:19:09,083 that could last for several months, 349 00:19:09,208 --> 00:19:11,500 or sometimes even years. 350 00:19:11,667 --> 00:19:16,333 Of all the travels of Pytheas, perhaps the most fascinating 351 00:19:16,417 --> 00:19:20,458 is a journey he made to the North Atlantic Ocean. 352 00:19:20,583 --> 00:19:22,042 CUNLIFFE: What Pytheas did 353 00:19:22,167 --> 00:19:24,458 was to make a remarkable journey. 354 00:19:24,542 --> 00:19:26,042 He set off from Marseille... 355 00:19:27,083 --> 00:19:29,042 ...and then he made this trip 356 00:19:29,208 --> 00:19:32,292 all along the northwest of Europe, 357 00:19:32,417 --> 00:19:34,125 traveling up around Brittany, 358 00:19:34,250 --> 00:19:36,833 around Britain, 359 00:19:36,958 --> 00:19:40,750 possibly going further north to Iceland, 360 00:19:40,875 --> 00:19:43,542 and then having done this, successfully, 361 00:19:43,708 --> 00:19:46,958 and observed a huge amount, he came back and wrote a book 362 00:19:47,042 --> 00:19:50,500 called On the Ocean, and that book was absolutely 363 00:19:50,625 --> 00:19:54,083 central to the development of knowledge in the Greek world. 364 00:19:55,042 --> 00:19:57,250 SHATNER: According to Pytheas, when he got to the far reaches 365 00:19:57,375 --> 00:19:58,625 of the North Atlantic, 366 00:19:58,708 --> 00:20:01,167 he discovered a mysterious island 367 00:20:01,292 --> 00:20:03,875 that was unlike any other on Earth. 368 00:20:04,000 --> 00:20:05,792 He called it Thule, 369 00:20:05,875 --> 00:20:10,417 or as it's more commonly known today, Thule. 370 00:20:11,750 --> 00:20:17,375 Pytheas wrote about Thule, and he said it is north of Britain, 371 00:20:17,542 --> 00:20:19,750 six days by sea, north of Britain. 372 00:20:19,875 --> 00:20:23,833 The most northern part of the known world, 373 00:20:23,958 --> 00:20:27,375 and it was a land where there was congealed ice 374 00:20:27,500 --> 00:20:29,667 around part of it, 375 00:20:29,792 --> 00:20:33,625 and where the sun barely never set. 376 00:20:33,750 --> 00:20:36,083 It was the edge of the world. 377 00:20:37,708 --> 00:20:41,667 Pytheas gives us this really strange account of 378 00:20:41,792 --> 00:20:45,875 his approach to this mysterious island called Thule. 379 00:20:47,542 --> 00:20:50,833 It's said that neither by foot... 380 00:20:51,792 --> 00:20:55,667 ...or by ship could you pass through 381 00:20:55,792 --> 00:21:00,750 this realm that he refers to as the "sea-lung." 382 00:21:00,875 --> 00:21:05,000 So, what could this refer to, a sea-lung? 383 00:21:05,958 --> 00:21:11,167 Well, he was encountering these thick, frozen fogs, 384 00:21:11,292 --> 00:21:13,625 where the ground, the sea, 385 00:21:13,708 --> 00:21:16,792 and the air all became one together. 386 00:21:18,042 --> 00:21:20,167 SHATNER: For centuries, Pytheas' description of 387 00:21:20,292 --> 00:21:24,292 the strange fog surrounding Thule has intrigued historians. 388 00:21:24,375 --> 00:21:29,500 But was this unusual island actually inhabited by people? 389 00:21:29,583 --> 00:21:32,833 Well, unfortunately, many of Pytheas' writings 390 00:21:33,000 --> 00:21:35,833 were destroyed in a fire in the year 48 BC, 391 00:21:35,958 --> 00:21:38,958 and crucial portions of his original account were lost. 392 00:21:39,042 --> 00:21:41,792 However, some of his descriptions of Thule 393 00:21:41,875 --> 00:21:44,667 were recorded by other Greek scholars, 394 00:21:44,750 --> 00:21:48,250 and they wrote that the island was home 395 00:21:48,375 --> 00:21:51,417 to a mysterious civilization. 396 00:21:51,542 --> 00:21:54,667 We have the accounts of several other 397 00:21:54,750 --> 00:21:57,625 classical writers that talk about Thule, 398 00:21:57,708 --> 00:22:01,333 and all sorts of stories 399 00:22:01,417 --> 00:22:07,333 start building this incredible picture of what Thule is, 400 00:22:07,417 --> 00:22:09,292 almost to the point that it becomes 401 00:22:09,417 --> 00:22:14,958 this incredible place of as many as 25 tribes, 402 00:22:15,083 --> 00:22:17,917 making it into this realm, 403 00:22:18,042 --> 00:22:23,042 similar to that of the mythical island Atlantis. 404 00:22:23,208 --> 00:22:26,458 But the big difference between Atlantis and Thule 405 00:22:26,583 --> 00:22:31,292 is that Atlantis is said to have sank beneath the waves, 406 00:22:31,375 --> 00:22:33,333 whereas Thule did not. 407 00:22:33,417 --> 00:22:36,000 They were different places, 408 00:22:36,167 --> 00:22:38,042 and because of that, 409 00:22:38,167 --> 00:22:42,792 it's almost like the influence of it is still upon us today. 410 00:22:42,917 --> 00:22:45,333 Who lives there? 411 00:22:45,458 --> 00:22:47,875 What is its mysterious society? 412 00:22:49,000 --> 00:22:52,167 SHATNER: Ever since Pytheas first wrote about Thule, 413 00:22:52,292 --> 00:22:56,500 historians have wondered where this lost island is located, 414 00:22:56,625 --> 00:22:59,167 and what happened to the civilization 415 00:22:59,292 --> 00:23:00,958 that was said to live there. 416 00:23:02,000 --> 00:23:05,042 In modern times, archaeologists have proposed 417 00:23:05,208 --> 00:23:08,417 numerous potential locations that may be Thule 418 00:23:08,542 --> 00:23:09,917 and some of these places 419 00:23:10,042 --> 00:23:13,500 are known today by different names. 420 00:23:14,417 --> 00:23:16,583 The big question that's always been asked 421 00:23:16,708 --> 00:23:18,333 of this journey of Pytheas 422 00:23:18,458 --> 00:23:21,042 is where really was Thule. 423 00:23:21,792 --> 00:23:24,083 There have been many theories. 424 00:23:24,208 --> 00:23:27,000 Iceland is one of the obvious places, 425 00:23:27,125 --> 00:23:32,292 but people have argued that it was the coast of Norway 426 00:23:32,375 --> 00:23:34,167 or possibly in the Baltics. 427 00:23:34,333 --> 00:23:36,250 So we have various views. 428 00:23:37,708 --> 00:23:39,625 SHATNER: Curiously, in 2010, 429 00:23:39,708 --> 00:23:42,833 researchers at the Technical University of Berlin 430 00:23:42,958 --> 00:23:46,083 used a combination of ancient and modern techniques 431 00:23:46,208 --> 00:23:50,250 to pinpoint what they believe is the actual island 432 00:23:50,375 --> 00:23:53,583 that Pytheas called Thule. 433 00:23:53,708 --> 00:23:55,750 They used a map 434 00:23:55,875 --> 00:24:00,125 that was created by the geographer Ptolemy 435 00:24:00,208 --> 00:24:01,833 in the 2nd century AD, 436 00:24:01,917 --> 00:24:05,042 to try and project outwards, 437 00:24:05,167 --> 00:24:07,875 the different distances and latitudes 438 00:24:08,042 --> 00:24:11,875 that had been used to create this famous world map. 439 00:24:12,000 --> 00:24:15,958 And they were able to determine 440 00:24:16,042 --> 00:24:21,000 to their own satisfaction, that Thule corresponded with 441 00:24:21,083 --> 00:24:25,333 the Norwegian island of Smola. 442 00:24:25,417 --> 00:24:28,792 And they also point out that 443 00:24:28,875 --> 00:24:31,708 you can see the midnight sun from there, 444 00:24:31,833 --> 00:24:36,208 which is what Pytheas described seeing from Thule. 445 00:24:37,375 --> 00:24:41,458 CUNLIFFE: German scientists came up with a possibility that it was Smola 446 00:24:41,542 --> 00:24:44,875 and it certainly could be. 447 00:24:45,042 --> 00:24:47,333 But unless one found an inscription saying, 448 00:24:47,417 --> 00:24:50,667 "I was here. Signed, Pytheas," which is so unlikely, 449 00:24:50,750 --> 00:24:52,417 the evidence just wouldn't be there. 450 00:24:53,583 --> 00:24:55,333 It's very difficult to know 451 00:24:55,417 --> 00:24:59,042 how you could go out and prove where Thule is located. 452 00:24:59,958 --> 00:25:02,125 When you stop and think about it, 453 00:25:02,208 --> 00:25:05,125 it's really quite incredible that the search for Thule 454 00:25:05,208 --> 00:25:07,500 has been going on for more than 2,000 years, 455 00:25:07,625 --> 00:25:10,750 and continues to this very day. 456 00:25:11,708 --> 00:25:13,833 But as daunting as that quest has been, 457 00:25:13,917 --> 00:25:17,083 perhaps not all lost cities are so elusive. 458 00:25:17,208 --> 00:25:20,125 In fact, archaeologists believe 459 00:25:20,208 --> 00:25:24,750 they've uncovered the ruins of temples and palaces built by 460 00:25:24,875 --> 00:25:27,333 an infamous Mongolian warlord, 461 00:25:27,458 --> 00:25:31,333 in a city known as Xanadu. 462 00:25:40,042 --> 00:25:42,000 SHATNER: Three merchants depart from the city 463 00:25:42,167 --> 00:25:45,833 and embark on an incredible trek along the Silk Road, 464 00:25:45,958 --> 00:25:50,125 a 4,000-mile trade route that links Europe and Asia. 465 00:25:50,250 --> 00:25:52,875 The purpose of their historic journey is to explore 466 00:25:53,000 --> 00:25:56,583 the Far East, and establish trade relations with China. 467 00:25:57,500 --> 00:26:00,583 The youngest member of this traveling party 468 00:26:00,708 --> 00:26:03,833 is none other than Marco Polo, 469 00:26:03,958 --> 00:26:07,625 whose chronicles of their travels shed new light 470 00:26:07,708 --> 00:26:09,875 on the mysteries of Asia. 471 00:26:11,458 --> 00:26:15,000 Marco Polo's accounts are absolutely invaluable 472 00:26:15,167 --> 00:26:17,000 because he reportedly spent 473 00:26:17,125 --> 00:26:23,125 17 years on the Asian continent, and he wrote in his travelogues 474 00:26:23,250 --> 00:26:27,833 about their traditional practices and economic systems, 475 00:26:27,958 --> 00:26:30,333 and it did, at its time, 476 00:26:30,500 --> 00:26:34,875 open Western eyes to the Far East for the first time. 477 00:26:36,542 --> 00:26:39,833 SHATNER: Marco Polo's writings offered European readers 478 00:26:39,958 --> 00:26:44,000 vivid descriptions of the geography and people of Asia. 479 00:26:44,125 --> 00:26:48,458 He also introduced the Western world to gunpowder, paper money, 480 00:26:48,583 --> 00:26:53,167 porcelain, and other modern inventions of the Far East. 481 00:26:54,292 --> 00:26:57,750 But the most dazzling story from the travels of Marco Polo 482 00:26:57,875 --> 00:27:00,417 is his encounter with Kublai Khan 483 00:27:00,542 --> 00:27:05,125 the ruler of an immense empire that was centered in China. 484 00:27:06,542 --> 00:27:10,375 Kublai Khan was the grandson of Genghis Khan. 485 00:27:10,542 --> 00:27:14,958 And he became the Great Khan, the Khan of Khans, 486 00:27:15,042 --> 00:27:16,917 when he was 35 years old. 487 00:27:18,167 --> 00:27:22,792 He ruled over a vast Mongol Empire, which stretched 488 00:27:22,917 --> 00:27:26,625 all the way to Europe on one side and China on the other. 489 00:27:27,583 --> 00:27:31,750 BELLINGER: In 1275, word of Marco Polo's expedition 490 00:27:31,875 --> 00:27:33,583 had reached the Khan, 491 00:27:33,708 --> 00:27:38,042 and he sent his envoys out to meet Marco Polo to escort them 492 00:27:38,208 --> 00:27:42,500 the remainder of the way to his summer capital at Xanadu, 493 00:27:42,625 --> 00:27:44,917 a place of lavish luxury 494 00:27:45,042 --> 00:27:47,875 and splendor and easy living. 495 00:27:49,083 --> 00:27:50,417 SHATNER: Xanadu. 496 00:27:50,542 --> 00:27:52,708 According to Marco Polo, this city was more than 497 00:27:52,875 --> 00:27:55,917 just a summer retreat for Kublai Khan. 498 00:27:56,042 --> 00:27:59,417 Reportedly, the opulence of Xanadu 499 00:27:59,542 --> 00:28:04,000 surpassed anything the world had ever seen before, or since. 500 00:28:04,167 --> 00:28:07,583 Within Xanadu's extravagant palaces, 501 00:28:07,708 --> 00:28:09,875 Kublai Khan and his subjects were said 502 00:28:10,042 --> 00:28:12,417 to have enjoyed a level of luxury 503 00:28:12,542 --> 00:28:15,000 that was almost unimaginable. 504 00:28:15,125 --> 00:28:17,125 ♪ ♪ 505 00:28:17,250 --> 00:28:22,417 Marco Polo describes this absolutely astonishing scenario 506 00:28:22,542 --> 00:28:27,125 in which the Khan would host parties of 40,000 guests, 507 00:28:27,208 --> 00:28:29,708 and one in which he was presented with the gift of 508 00:28:29,833 --> 00:28:34,125 100,000 beautiful white horses. 509 00:28:34,250 --> 00:28:38,875 He also had exotic cats wandering the grounds, 510 00:28:39,000 --> 00:28:43,417 5,000 elephants dressed in beautiful clothing, 511 00:28:43,542 --> 00:28:48,583 and a dining area alone that could seat 6,000 people 512 00:28:48,708 --> 00:28:52,167 surrounded by a four-mile fence. 513 00:28:53,000 --> 00:28:55,958 Marco Polo's fantastic stories 514 00:28:56,083 --> 00:28:58,792 of larger-than-life entertainment 515 00:28:58,875 --> 00:29:01,292 just fuel the imagination. 516 00:29:03,375 --> 00:29:06,000 SHATNER: For centuries, people have wondered whether Marco Polo's 517 00:29:06,125 --> 00:29:09,458 incredible tales of Xanadu were actually true. 518 00:29:10,375 --> 00:29:16,167 Xanadu is an Eden-like city of the past. 519 00:29:16,292 --> 00:29:18,458 The reason why Xanadu has remained 520 00:29:18,542 --> 00:29:20,708 one of the most enigmatic 521 00:29:20,875 --> 00:29:23,458 cities of the world is because 522 00:29:23,542 --> 00:29:28,833 it was eventually abandoned by the Mongols. 523 00:29:29,000 --> 00:29:31,500 Kublai Khan himself died, 524 00:29:31,625 --> 00:29:36,167 and it then fades from history completely. 525 00:29:37,292 --> 00:29:40,833 SHATNER: While other explorers were unable to locate the ruins 526 00:29:40,917 --> 00:29:42,208 of the lost city, 527 00:29:42,333 --> 00:29:44,917 thanks to the writings of Marco Polo, 528 00:29:45,042 --> 00:29:47,875 Xanadu continued for centuries 529 00:29:48,000 --> 00:29:52,250 to be a place of intrigue and speculation. 530 00:29:52,375 --> 00:29:55,250 Part of what makes Xanadu of interest 531 00:29:55,375 --> 00:29:58,000 is this report from Marco Polo. 532 00:29:58,083 --> 00:30:00,083 He was a reliable witness 533 00:30:00,208 --> 00:30:02,667 and he said the place existed and described 534 00:30:02,750 --> 00:30:06,833 an emperor's resort with the most elegant buildings. 535 00:30:06,958 --> 00:30:09,542 That's gone. 536 00:30:09,667 --> 00:30:11,042 Not a trace. 537 00:30:11,167 --> 00:30:15,083 Is it just a story? Or did we really have something? 538 00:30:15,208 --> 00:30:17,333 Where did the city go? 539 00:30:18,375 --> 00:30:21,500 SHATNER: Over time, the extravagant depictions of Xanadu led some 540 00:30:21,625 --> 00:30:25,542 to believe that the opulent city should be relegated to myth. 541 00:30:27,542 --> 00:30:32,500 But then, in the early 1990s, archaeologists investigating 542 00:30:32,625 --> 00:30:37,292 ruins located in Inner Mongolia were able to confirm 543 00:30:37,417 --> 00:30:43,542 that the lost city of Xanadu had, in fact, been found. 544 00:30:44,750 --> 00:30:48,667 BELLINGER: The physical remains were lost for a time under grasslands, 545 00:30:48,792 --> 00:30:53,125 but archaeologists excavating the site of Xanadu 546 00:30:53,250 --> 00:30:55,375 have found over a thousand building sites, 547 00:30:55,542 --> 00:31:00,958 about 700 building foundations and at least 29 major roads. 548 00:31:01,042 --> 00:31:06,500 The place was astonishing in its scope and it was massive. 549 00:31:07,417 --> 00:31:10,083 SHATNER: While it's extraordinary that the size 550 00:31:10,208 --> 00:31:12,500 and sophistication of Xanadu 551 00:31:12,667 --> 00:31:14,000 have been confirmed, 552 00:31:14,125 --> 00:31:16,542 an important question still remains. 553 00:31:16,708 --> 00:31:21,458 What about the extravagant opulence of Xanadu? 554 00:31:21,583 --> 00:31:25,417 Is there any evidence to suggest that Kublai Khan actually 555 00:31:25,542 --> 00:31:27,958 received a gift of 100,000 horses, 556 00:31:28,042 --> 00:31:30,792 as Marco Polo reported? 557 00:31:30,917 --> 00:31:33,333 It's a significant find 558 00:31:33,500 --> 00:31:36,042 to explore the actual ruins 559 00:31:36,167 --> 00:31:39,917 of Xanadu for the priceless information 560 00:31:40,042 --> 00:31:42,167 it can give us about this place. 561 00:31:42,333 --> 00:31:46,833 Because we just want to know, are these fabulous stories true? 562 00:31:48,458 --> 00:31:51,458 Will further excavations of Xanadu prove 563 00:31:51,583 --> 00:31:54,458 that it was indeed a vast paradise, 564 00:31:54,583 --> 00:31:57,458 as the fantastic accounts from history suggest? 565 00:31:57,583 --> 00:32:01,292 Well, there's another ancient city 566 00:32:01,417 --> 00:32:03,250 archaeologists are searching for 567 00:32:03,375 --> 00:32:05,500 that is perhaps even more intriguing. 568 00:32:05,583 --> 00:32:09,875 Because there's evidence to suggest that it was not lost 569 00:32:10,042 --> 00:32:13,125 but rather intentionally hidden. 570 00:32:21,000 --> 00:32:25,750 SHATNER: Swiss explorer and geographer Johann Ludwig Burckhardt 571 00:32:25,875 --> 00:32:29,000 sets off on an incredible journey across the desert, 572 00:32:29,083 --> 00:32:31,792 to uncover the secrets of the Middle East. 573 00:32:32,667 --> 00:32:35,583 COLLINS: Johann Ludwig Burckhardt 574 00:32:35,708 --> 00:32:40,083 was quite an extraordinary character. 575 00:32:40,208 --> 00:32:41,875 He traveled throughout 576 00:32:42,000 --> 00:32:47,958 Syria, Jordan, Palestine, and eventually into Egypt. 577 00:32:48,042 --> 00:32:51,167 He also practiced the Islamic faith. 578 00:32:51,250 --> 00:32:53,750 And the reason for this was that 579 00:32:53,875 --> 00:32:57,833 he didn't want to be seen as a Western treasure hunter. 580 00:32:58,917 --> 00:33:01,625 SHATNER: During his travels, Burckhardt heard rumors 581 00:33:01,750 --> 00:33:04,750 of a mysterious ancient city known as Petra 582 00:33:04,875 --> 00:33:07,833 that was hidden somewhere in the deserts of Jordan. 583 00:33:08,875 --> 00:33:11,042 For centuries, the exact location of Petra 584 00:33:11,167 --> 00:33:13,292 was kept secret from foreigners. 585 00:33:13,375 --> 00:33:16,292 But Johann Burckhardt was determined to see Petra 586 00:33:16,375 --> 00:33:20,917 with his own eyes, and so he hatched a wild plan. 587 00:33:21,875 --> 00:33:24,167 PARADISE: The area had always shown conflict, 588 00:33:24,333 --> 00:33:26,833 it had always shown a certain amount of hostility 589 00:33:26,958 --> 00:33:28,500 to European visitors. 590 00:33:28,625 --> 00:33:32,542 And so Burckhardt spent months in the region, 591 00:33:32,708 --> 00:33:35,333 learning the local dialect of Arabic. 592 00:33:35,458 --> 00:33:39,167 And then perfected a Bedouin outfit 593 00:33:39,292 --> 00:33:42,125 to look like a local 594 00:33:42,250 --> 00:33:44,417 or something close. 595 00:33:44,542 --> 00:33:48,250 The disguise was needed to get him in the door. 596 00:33:50,292 --> 00:33:53,583 SHATNER: After spending months following clues in search of the city, 597 00:33:53,708 --> 00:33:57,458 Burckhardt traveled through a dark, narrow desert canyon, 598 00:33:57,542 --> 00:33:59,417 and to his astonishment, 599 00:33:59,542 --> 00:34:02,375 stumbled upon the stunning ruins of Petra, 600 00:34:02,542 --> 00:34:05,417 which were even more impressive than he had imagined. 601 00:34:07,417 --> 00:34:10,125 Burckhardt was the first European to lay eyes on Petra 602 00:34:10,250 --> 00:34:11,708 in more than 500 years, 603 00:34:11,833 --> 00:34:14,167 and his vivid account of the city 604 00:34:14,250 --> 00:34:17,125 made headlines around the world. 605 00:34:17,208 --> 00:34:21,292 Suddenly, the world reads about Petra. 606 00:34:22,333 --> 00:34:25,708 The entrance into Petra is this magnificent 607 00:34:25,833 --> 00:34:29,375 carved structure about 140 feet high. 608 00:34:29,500 --> 00:34:32,833 And it was carved, it was hewn directly out of the rock. 609 00:34:34,042 --> 00:34:35,833 And that's the beginning. 610 00:34:35,958 --> 00:34:41,333 Petra was a large, large city of 30,000 to 50,000 people, 611 00:34:41,458 --> 00:34:43,000 that was thriving between about 612 00:34:43,167 --> 00:34:46,292 500 BC and about 500 AD. 613 00:34:46,375 --> 00:34:48,833 It had a city center, it had a main street, 614 00:34:48,958 --> 00:34:50,500 it had everything you would think of, 615 00:34:50,667 --> 00:34:53,833 even to this day, that a large city would have. 616 00:34:53,958 --> 00:34:57,917 The builders of Petra were the Nabataeans. 617 00:34:58,042 --> 00:35:02,708 They were a culture in their own right, who adopted 618 00:35:02,833 --> 00:35:07,542 the art and architecture of the Greek Hellenic world... 619 00:35:07,667 --> 00:35:11,292 the Greco-Roman world, 620 00:35:11,375 --> 00:35:15,125 but also had influences from Syria 621 00:35:15,208 --> 00:35:17,333 in what is today Iraq. 622 00:35:17,458 --> 00:35:19,542 And they blended all of this together 623 00:35:19,667 --> 00:35:21,833 to create the incredible 624 00:35:21,958 --> 00:35:27,167 carved architecture that you see at Petra. 625 00:35:28,083 --> 00:35:31,000 SHATNER: The more than 800 carved structures at Petra 626 00:35:31,083 --> 00:35:32,667 are so iconic, 627 00:35:32,750 --> 00:35:35,542 that in 2007, the site was named 628 00:35:35,708 --> 00:35:38,042 one of the New Seven Wonders of the World. 629 00:35:39,625 --> 00:35:42,958 Ever since Petra was revealed in 1812, 630 00:35:43,042 --> 00:35:44,833 historians have wondered 631 00:35:44,917 --> 00:35:47,292 what could have caused the collapse 632 00:35:47,375 --> 00:35:49,500 of such a prosperous city. 633 00:35:49,583 --> 00:35:51,375 For decades, it was thought 634 00:35:51,500 --> 00:35:54,458 that shifting trade routes were responsible, 635 00:35:54,542 --> 00:35:58,875 but research conducted by archaeologist Thomas Paradise 636 00:35:59,000 --> 00:36:03,333 has revealed new information regarding the downfall of Petra. 637 00:36:03,458 --> 00:36:05,000 PARADISE: We're really fortunate 638 00:36:05,125 --> 00:36:10,000 that we keep putting pieces of the puzzle together. 639 00:36:10,083 --> 00:36:14,000 Using archaeological excavation, 640 00:36:14,167 --> 00:36:17,792 using GIS and laser technology, 641 00:36:17,917 --> 00:36:20,917 we're starting to put these pieces together 642 00:36:21,042 --> 00:36:22,458 to understand Petra. 643 00:36:23,625 --> 00:36:26,625 New research is indicating that a large flood hit 644 00:36:26,708 --> 00:36:29,417 in the 5th century, that wiped out the downtown 645 00:36:29,542 --> 00:36:31,583 for at least a year or so. 646 00:36:31,708 --> 00:36:34,875 The city rebuilds after that flood, 647 00:36:35,000 --> 00:36:39,083 but it marks the beginning of the decline from its golden age. 648 00:36:40,167 --> 00:36:41,750 SHATNER: The rediscovery of Petra 649 00:36:41,875 --> 00:36:43,833 has revealed that the city was important, 650 00:36:43,958 --> 00:36:47,208 not just historically, but also spiritually. 651 00:36:47,333 --> 00:36:48,750 Because as it turns out, 652 00:36:48,875 --> 00:36:53,333 this ancient city has a connection to the Bible. 653 00:36:53,458 --> 00:36:54,833 PARADISE: Up above Petra, 654 00:36:54,958 --> 00:36:57,167 and it's visible from most parts of Petra, 655 00:36:57,292 --> 00:36:59,917 is a mountain called Jebel Haroun. 656 00:37:00,042 --> 00:37:03,167 Jebel Haroun means the Mountain of Aaron. 657 00:37:03,292 --> 00:37:05,625 And we do know legend says 658 00:37:05,708 --> 00:37:08,500 that's where Moses' brother, Aaron, is buried 659 00:37:08,625 --> 00:37:12,667 below a large tomb on the top of the mountain. 660 00:37:12,792 --> 00:37:16,667 The keeper of the holy site at Jebel Haroun, 661 00:37:16,792 --> 00:37:19,458 over the years, I came to know his family. 662 00:37:19,583 --> 00:37:21,167 So he invited us up there 663 00:37:21,292 --> 00:37:23,833 to go into the building itself 664 00:37:23,917 --> 00:37:26,667 and then the climb into the tomb. 665 00:37:26,833 --> 00:37:28,833 That gets you excited 'cause you realize 666 00:37:28,917 --> 00:37:32,042 you're part of a tradition from 3,000 years 667 00:37:32,208 --> 00:37:34,458 of pilgrimage. 668 00:37:35,708 --> 00:37:38,833 Petra's been called the Lost City of Stone because 669 00:37:39,000 --> 00:37:41,833 here we see a city of 30,000 to 50,000 people 670 00:37:42,000 --> 00:37:46,667 that slowly fades from the history books over time. 671 00:37:46,792 --> 00:37:51,125 And what we're going to find out about Petra in the future 672 00:37:51,208 --> 00:37:53,250 is probably more incredible 673 00:37:53,375 --> 00:37:57,042 than what we already have uncovered. 674 00:37:58,833 --> 00:38:02,000 The discovery of Petra is an extraordinary find 675 00:38:02,167 --> 00:38:05,833 of both spiritual and archaeological significance, 676 00:38:06,000 --> 00:38:08,625 and one that rewrites the history books. 677 00:38:09,542 --> 00:38:10,833 And that was also the case 678 00:38:11,000 --> 00:38:13,625 with some massive ruins that were found 679 00:38:13,708 --> 00:38:23,500 at the bottom of the Mediterranean Sea. 680 00:38:23,583 --> 00:38:26,000 SHATNER: Just off the coast of Alexandria, 681 00:38:26,125 --> 00:38:28,542 in the Abu Qir Bay... 682 00:38:29,833 --> 00:38:31,667 ...a team of underwater archaeologists 683 00:38:31,792 --> 00:38:36,125 begin the hunt for a lost Egyptian city known as Thonis. 684 00:38:37,542 --> 00:38:39,625 CHRIS NAUNTON: Thonis was known, 685 00:38:39,750 --> 00:38:43,333 in only the sort of sparsest detail thanks to a few 686 00:38:43,417 --> 00:38:45,917 ancient sources in which it's mentioned, 687 00:38:46,042 --> 00:38:47,833 but it had for a very long time 688 00:38:48,000 --> 00:38:50,042 not been identified archaeologically. 689 00:38:50,167 --> 00:38:52,042 So we knew it must have existed because 690 00:38:52,208 --> 00:38:54,708 text told us so, just had no idea where it was. 691 00:38:56,125 --> 00:38:58,292 SHATNER: Then, in the year 2000, 692 00:38:58,417 --> 00:39:00,833 at a depth of some 30 feet, 693 00:39:01,000 --> 00:39:04,333 divers found ancient Egyptian statues, 694 00:39:04,458 --> 00:39:07,000 hoards of gold coins and jewelry, 695 00:39:07,167 --> 00:39:10,625 and even the ruins of buildings and roads-- 696 00:39:10,750 --> 00:39:15,333 all part of the massive city of Thonis, 697 00:39:15,417 --> 00:39:18,125 that was rediscovered at last. 698 00:39:19,750 --> 00:39:22,625 One of the most amazing discoveries made 699 00:39:22,708 --> 00:39:24,792 was the Temple of Amun. 700 00:39:25,708 --> 00:39:28,667 And this temple was absolutely vast, 701 00:39:28,792 --> 00:39:32,750 constructed of these incredibly big stone blocks. 702 00:39:32,875 --> 00:39:35,208 So we have a really visceral idea 703 00:39:35,375 --> 00:39:38,708 of the size and the monumentality of this temple. 704 00:39:38,833 --> 00:39:41,292 We also have an enormous colossal statue 705 00:39:41,417 --> 00:39:42,792 of the god Hapi... 706 00:39:43,875 --> 00:39:47,708 ...who's a kind of personification of the Nile. 707 00:39:47,875 --> 00:39:51,000 It's appropriate that you would have a god like this present 708 00:39:51,083 --> 00:39:52,958 at the-- sort of entrance, if you'd like-- 709 00:39:53,083 --> 00:39:56,167 the Mediterranean entrance to the Nile delta region 710 00:39:56,250 --> 00:39:57,500 and the Nile River itself. 711 00:39:58,542 --> 00:40:01,250 SHATNER: Thousands of artifacts have been recovered from Thonis, 712 00:40:01,375 --> 00:40:02,792 and archaeologists estimate 713 00:40:02,917 --> 00:40:05,167 that it was three times the size 714 00:40:05,250 --> 00:40:07,792 of the ancient Roman city of Pompeii. 715 00:40:07,875 --> 00:40:11,542 But how did this vast, remarkable city 716 00:40:11,667 --> 00:40:14,375 sink beneath the waves? 717 00:40:15,292 --> 00:40:17,625 BRADSHAW: What we think happened with Thonis is, 718 00:40:17,750 --> 00:40:20,083 an earthquake in around the 2nd century BC, 719 00:40:20,208 --> 00:40:24,042 caused the city to sink into the water. 720 00:40:24,875 --> 00:40:27,375 And Thonis was lost to history. 721 00:40:28,708 --> 00:40:31,000 But we've really only scratched the surface 722 00:40:31,125 --> 00:40:33,667 in terms of what we know about this city. 723 00:40:33,792 --> 00:40:37,333 A huge mystery still remains and in large part, 724 00:40:37,458 --> 00:40:40,167 that's because 95% of the city 725 00:40:40,333 --> 00:40:44,000 remains underwater and remains in need of investigation. 726 00:40:44,125 --> 00:40:47,750 Only five percent seems to have been discovered. 727 00:40:47,875 --> 00:40:50,208 So the questions remain. 728 00:40:51,208 --> 00:40:54,375 While the full excavation of Thonis will take decades... 729 00:40:55,417 --> 00:40:58,667 ...archaeologists and explorers continue to scour the globe 730 00:40:58,750 --> 00:41:01,833 in search of other lost cities 731 00:41:02,000 --> 00:41:05,250 that capture people's imaginations. 732 00:41:05,375 --> 00:41:10,250 The reason why people look for lost cities like 733 00:41:10,375 --> 00:41:12,333 Xanadu, 734 00:41:12,458 --> 00:41:16,958 or Petra or anywhere else is because we want to be 735 00:41:17,042 --> 00:41:21,833 the next discoverers of this incredible lost realm 736 00:41:22,000 --> 00:41:24,417 that nobody has set their eyes on 737 00:41:24,542 --> 00:41:27,333 perhaps for thousands of years. 738 00:41:27,458 --> 00:41:29,708 Because you just don't know 739 00:41:29,833 --> 00:41:32,583 exactly what you're gonna discover. 740 00:41:32,708 --> 00:41:34,708 ♪ ♪ 741 00:41:34,833 --> 00:41:37,500 Imagine how many lost cities there must be 742 00:41:37,625 --> 00:41:39,792 hidden all around the world. 743 00:41:39,875 --> 00:41:41,792 It's a mystery as old as mankind. 744 00:41:42,792 --> 00:41:47,042 Epic legends, myths and folklore compel us to search 745 00:41:47,208 --> 00:41:49,750 for the truth behind these fantastic stories. 746 00:41:49,875 --> 00:41:52,292 Because discovering a long-forgotten ancient city 747 00:41:52,375 --> 00:41:56,500 could rewrite our human history and answer important questions 748 00:41:56,625 --> 00:41:58,667 that, for the moment, remain... 749 00:41:58,792 --> 00:42:00,708 unexplained. 750 00:42:00,833 --> 00:42:03,000 CAPTIONING PROVIDED BY A+E NETWORKS