WILLIAM SHATNER: A mysterious Roman chalice
transformed by light.
A blazing inferno
wielded by ancient armies.
And a 2,000-year-old artifact
that may have generated electricity.
Today, we tend to think that modern society
stands at the pinnacle of technological ingenuity.
But is that entirely true?
The historical record has revealed
numerous ancient innovations
that were centuries ahead of their time,
including earthquake detectors, schematics for flying machines
and weapons of mass destruction.
Is it possible that our ancient ancestors
were far more advanced than we realize?
Well, that is what we'll try and find out.
♪ ♪
SHATNER: Within this modern city lie the ruins
of what was once the capital of the Roman Empire.
For centuries, Rome was the most sophisticated metropolis
in the ancient world.
And Roman engineers
also built breathtaking structures
throughout Europe and the Mediterranean,
many of which can still be seen today.
These engineering marvels
have endured the ravages of time for nearly 2,000 years,
and stand as magnificent monuments to Roman ingenuity.
The Romans were certainly
the most brilliant engineers of the ancient world.
When we think of Rome today, we think of the Colosseum,
we think of the aqueducts, we think of triumphal arches.
All of them are an emblem of Roman civilization.
They could discern effective technologies
and then exploit them to a much greater extent
than anyone ever imagined previously.
SHATNER: The engineering achievements
of ancient Rome are well known
and continue to capture people's imagination.
But is it possible that the Romans
were even more advanced than most of us realize?
And could they have possessed technology
that rivals our own?
The curator of the Gallo-Roman Museum
announces an extremely rare archaeological discovery.
Using a metal detector, a local hobbyist unearthed
a fragment of an ancient Roman artifact.
This tiny piece of bronze was once part
of a mysterious object known as a Roman dodecahedron.
STEPHEN BULL: Any discovery
of a Roman dodecahedron is remarkable and unusual,
because there's not many more than 100 known to exist.
Generally, a dodecahedron is a 12-sided item,
and the Roman dodecahedron
was about the size of a baseball and had 12 sides.
They were hollow inside and multifaceted,
with different balls or spikes around the outside of them,
which are very difficult to create
through molding or construction.
SUVEEN MATHAUDHU: Roman dodecahedrons have been found all over Europe,
and nobody knows for sure how they were made.
The craftsmanship that it would take
to make a bronze Roman dodecahedron
would have been very challenging
for a metal artisan to make at the time.
So, it could have been an example
of the skill of an artisan
to show, like, "Look what I can do,"
because it was very complex and bronze was not cheap.
SHATNER: Historians theorize
that Roman engineers may have fashioned dodecahedrons
using a sophisticated molding process.
But why did the Romans go to such lengths
to craft so many intricate and peculiar pieces of bronze?
What purpose could these strange dodecahedrons
have possibly served?
What's strange about them is that there is no record
of what they were used for.
And it's still quite a puzzle and a mystery to historians,
what function they actually served.
However, there's a number of uses that have been proposed,
from tools in astronomical calculations
to candleholders,
as well as implements in religious performances.
What they are has been disputed many times.
And I do veer towards the very practical explanation,
and that is that it was a sort of knitting device,
because if you put yarn
around the various protrusions on the dodecahedron,
you can create a sleeve
or a tube of knitted fabric.
In theory, that is something really practical
because some Roman garments are depicted with sleeves.
There is still a huge amount of mystery
around these very peculiar objects.
But one of the most popular theories
is that it had a more mystical function.
Perhaps it was used in divination
or sorcery or fortune-telling.
Some historians wonder whether these objects
were used for forbidden rituals.
Now, if these were indeed tools for the so-called dark arts,
this raises the question, is this part of the reason
why there are no records explaining
what this dodecahedron was used for?
SHATNER: Whether Roman dodecahedrons were used during rituals
or for more pragmatic purposes,
they remain a fascinating enigma,
and suggest that the Romans' craftsmanship
was far ahead of their time.
Not unlike another artifact from ancient Rome--
a one-of-a-kind chalice that features
extraordinary properties.
On a pedestal in the British Museum
sits an ornate and mystifying Roman artifact
that is known as the Lycurgus Cup.
KAROL WIGHT: The Lycurgus Cup
is an incredible work of ancient Roman art
that dates to the fourth and fifth centuries AD.
It's incredible because it's part of a rare body
of ancient glass vessels called cage cups.
Cage cups were manufactured by a master carver
who very carefully diagrammed
the design he wanted to cut into the glass
and then very carefully executed that cutting.
And then that piece of glass was connected to the inner wall
of the cup, which is why they're called cage cups.
And the Lycurgus Cup is one of these rare examples
that were very carefully made,
and only made in very small quantities.
SHATNER: According to historians,
the cup depicts a mythical ruler named Lycurgus,
and the artifact most likely belonged
to an Ancient Roman nobleman
who would have used the chalice to sip wine.
But what's most remarkable about the Lycurgus Cup
is what happens to it when light hits the glass.
WIGHT: The Lycurgus Cup
is made with a very special glass
that's called dichroic glass.
And what that means is that when light is bouncing off
the outside of the glass,
the color of the cup appears to be an olive green color.
But when the light is passing through the glass
from the interior through to the exterior,
the glass looks a reddish color.
The Lycurgus Cup is quite an intriguing artifact
because it's really one of a kind.
The fact that it has these very unique material properties
suggested it may have had
some kind of ritualistic or ceremonial function
and perhaps that interplay between light and color
may have added some mystique or intrigue
around these rituals that took place.
SHATNER: How did the ancient Romans
create a chalice with such mesmerizing optical properties?
It's a fascinating mystery. And in recent years,
experts have discovered that the key
to the Lycurgus Cup's unique effect
is actually invisible to the naked eye.
The secret to the optical behavior
of the Lycurgus Cup lies in the fact
that there was nanoparticles of silver and gold
embedded in the glass that changed the optical properties.
This was one of the earliest--
if not the earliest-- examples of a nanocomposite material.
It's possible that the Romans
might have created this cup by accident.
That it might have been a contamination
at the site of where a glass cup was being made.
But it is also possible
that they knew about this technology of nanoparticles.
And this knowledge might have been employed
and used in the creation of this cup.
The history of the Lycurgus Cup is shrouded in mystery.
But the glass was created by these ancient craftspeople
and has survived to this day.
It's a Roman technology that has stood the test of time.
SHATNER: Does the Lycurgus Cup prove
that the Romans had a deeper understanding
of science and technology than we commonly think?
It's a fascinating possibility.
And perhaps further evidence of ancient sophistication
can be found by examining a devastating weapon of war
that was known as Greek fire.
SHATNER: For four long years, Arab forces have laid siege to
the capital of the Byzantine Empire.
But then the Byzantines risk a daring counterattack
and unleash a devastating inferno.
Streams of flame shoot out from Byzantine vessels,
lighting the water on fire
and incinerating the Arab ships.
This fearsome weapon would come to be known as Greek fire.
GILLAN: Greek fire was one of the most formidable weapons of its era.
Imagine your ship suddenly being engulfed in flames
that were almost impossible to extinguish.
Not only was there this immense physical danger
but there was also a massive psychological impact.
The loud roar of the flames-- the sight of it,
the sound of it-- was really enough
to put terror into these Arab forces.
BULL: At sea, Greek fire was very useful
because if there's something a mariner really has a fear of,
it's being set light to on a ship.
Because there's nowhere to go.
And so, Greek fire had a terrifying aspect to it,
setting light to ships and burning people.
SHATNER: Throughout the Middle Ages, the Byzantine Empire
used Greek fire to strike fear into the hearts of fighting men.
But how did the Byzantines develop
such a powerful weapon of mass destruction?
RESSLER: Greek fire acquired its name
simply because the Byzantines spoke Greek.
It was quite mysterious because it was
very quickly established as a state secret
of the Byzantine Empire.
So we don't have a really good, clear idea of what
its constituents were or precisely how it operated.
But we do know that it was a very effective weapons system.
SHATNER: While the exact formula of Greek fire
may be lost to history,
experts have proposed several theories
regarding the composition of this fiery concoction.
RESSLER: Most scholars agree that the basic constituent materials
were probably naphtha, a naturally occurring
hydrocarbon, mixed with pine resin.
The naphtha provided the flammability
and the pine resin thickened the substance
and caused it to burn longer once it had been ignited.
The secret to Greek fire being used on water is probably
the addition of quicklime, which likely gave it
an explosive quality that allowed it to burn
and have much more damage on water.
In fact, the water played a role in perpetuating the reaction
and causing the burning to increase.
There is certainly speculation as to the different recipes
for Greek fire, but it would be very difficult to say
what the classic Greek fire actually is.
And nobody has actually recreated it
with perfect accuracy.
SHATNER: It seems that, just as the Byzantines intended,
the mystery of Greek fire may never be solved.
But there's another enigmatic weapon from antiquity
that experts can examine more closely
because its secrets are preserved in steel.
For eight long months, European Crusader Knights,
on a quest to conquer the Holy Land,
lay siege to this Middle Eastern city.
In the course of the bloody fighting,
the Crusaders encounter numerous Muslim warriors
who wield astonishing, razor-sharp swords
that are forged from steel that seems to be unbreakable.
The European invaders named these fearsome weapons
after a nearby city, and thus, the blades
became known as Damascus swords.
For the time, the properties of the Damascus blades
bordered on the edge of magic.
Damascus swords had extraordinary,
legendary performance because of their sharpness,
compared to some of the materials at the time.
They were ten times as hard on the edge.
They were also highly superplastic,
meaning that they could bend extremely and still
spring back into the original shape.
And this was something that was observed by the Crusaders.
They saw these blades that they claimed
could bend 90 degrees, that could
cut silk in half in the middle of the air.
For anyone who was in a fight against a Damascus blade,
the behavior of that sword would have been
mind-blowing to observe.
SHATNER: More than 500 years after the end of the Crusades,
the remarkable properties of Damascus swords
continue to inspire fascination and mystery.
What made these ancient blades
so exceptionally strong and flexible?
And how were they created?
Curiously, the answer can be found
not in the city of Damascus, but rather,
3,000 miles away, in India.
MATHAUDHU: In southern India,
they developed the steel that was used, eventually,
to make Damascus swords and blades.
The legends of Indian steel go back to ancient times.
Over time, via trade routes around the Arabian Sea,
the Indians were able to move those materials into Persia,
and that became the center of trade from which Indian steel
got distributed to the rest of the world.
SHATNER: It's fascinating to think that the legendary
Damascus swords trace their origins back to India.
But how did Indian craftsmen
create such incredible steel?
What did they know that the rest of the world didn't?
MATHAUDHU: One of the keys to making high-quality steel
is getting the material to be very hot,
typically thousands of degrees,
and that was very difficult in ancient times.
But in India, they had developed technologies
where they were able to use monsoon winds
to fuel these fires
and get them to very high temperatures.
SHATNER: The idea that the strength of Damascus swords
was forged in the intense flames of Indian fires is intriguing,
but it doesn't completely solve the mystery.
Because even with today's powerful furnaces,
experts still cannot precisely recreate Damascus swords.
And according to one theory, the secret may lie
in the raw material Indian craftsmen used
to fashion their steel.
Iron ores vary tremendously from place to place.
No two ores are exactly alike.
One theory is that there just happened to be an iron ore
with just the right chemical properties,
that happened to be available in India,
and this was the real basis for the very
high-quality steel that was produced from that material.
RESSLER: The reason that the secret to Damascus steel was lost
is that the ore sources ran out,
and so we can't know the individual elements
that were in those iron ores.
There is no way for us to go back in and recreate
the magic that they had done with those original swords.
While we may never know how ancient armies
created inextinguishable flames or unbreakable swords,
we do know that these extraordinary weapons
struck fear into the hearts of their enemies.
But not all ancient technology
was designed to be used in battle.
For instance, archaeologists
unearthed what appeared to be merely a small clay jar,
but it may have actually been
the world's first battery.
SHATNER: In the basement of the National Museum of Iraq,
the director of the museum, Wilhelm König,
stumbles upon three small artifacts
that an archaeological team unearthed two years earlier.
He finds a five-inch-tall clay pot,
a copper cylinder and an iron rod.
König dates the objects to roughly 2,000 years ago.
But what's more incredible
is that he theorizes that these seemingly unremarkable items
might have been designed to work together
to form an ancient piece of technology.
Two years later, König publishes his autobiography
in which he announces his stunning claim to the world.
He argues that these three artifacts
may have actually been the world's first battery.
MICHAEL DENNIN: When you look at the Baghdad Battery,
it does have the key components of making a battery,
which is it has two metals of different properties.
Those are your positive and negative electrodes, and then
you need a material between them that allows for
the flow of charge to occur.
That could have been something as simple as
vinegar or wine or lemon juice.
And so it is completely reasonable,
with these components,
to presume that it might have been
a battery of some type.
SHATNER: Is it possible
that the so-called Baghdad Battery really was
an ancient source of electricity?
It's a fascinating theory,
and modern scientists have actually conducted tests
to find out whether it might be true.
In 1940, an American by the name of Willard Gray
who worked for
a General Electric high voltage laboratory
recreated the Baghdad Battery,
and he was able to produce about a one or two-volt charge.
This is incredibly low.
However, even at this low-level charge,
there are still potential uses for this object.
SHATNER: It's incredible that modern scientists have verified
that this ancient artifact
could have actually been a working battery.
But what's even more astounding
is that the Baghdad Battery is strikingly similar
to the first modern battery that was invented
in the 19th century.
GILLAN: In 1800, the Italian scientist Alessandro Volta developed
the first modern battery, which we call the voltaic pile.
This was a groundbreaking innovation because it was
apparently the first time that electricity could be
produced and stored chemically.
The voltaic pile consisted of alternating layers
of copper and zinc with cardboard soaked
in salt water in between each layer,
which is actually remarkably similar
to the materials used for the Baghdad Battery.
So the idea that an object
that could have a similar function as a battery
existed 2,000 years ago is astounding.
And what it really shows us
is that if it were indeed a battery,
ancient civilizations were far ahead of their time.
SHATNER: If the Baghdad Battery was in fact a genuine piece
of ancient technology,
then it naturally begs the question:
what was it used for?
DENNIN: One proposed use
for the Baghdad Battery is electroplating.
Whether it's silver or gold or other metals,
onto jewelry.
It's definitely a possible use of it,
but this would have depended on exactly
what electrolyte was used,
how it was connected to the metal
to cause the electroplating.
So it's not an unreasonable assumption,
but it would have taken a little special engineering
around the battery itself to achieve that.
GILLAN: Another theory suggests that the Baghdad Battery
was actually used as a form of protection
for sacred statues of the gods
so that if anyone dared to touch one of these sacred statues,
they would have received a mild electric shock
from the Baghdad Battery.
Another theory is
that the Baghdad Battery was actually used
for medicinal purposes
as a form of mild electrotherapy.
The Romans and Greeks were actually using electric fish
to create a form of pain relief.
The ancient Egyptians also used electric Nile catfish
for treating certain nerve disorders in people
and also for pain relief.
So it's not unheard of to consider
that the Baghdad Battery could have been used
for similar purposes.
SHATNER: While it's fun to speculate about how the Baghdad Battery
may have been used in ancient times,
we may never unravel the mystery of this curious artifact.
Because, unfortunately, it has once again been lost to history.
GILLAN: In 2003, the National Museum of Iraq was tragically ransacked
in the chaotic aftermath
of the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq.
The museum became a target for looters.
Among the relics and precious artifacts
that were stolen was the Baghdad Battery.
There's a lot more research we could do
to discover exactly how it worked
but we no longer have that opportunity.
COLLINS: Skeptics today obviously dismiss the idea
that the Baghdad Battery was indeed a battery.
However, the one thing we know
is that the Baghdad Battery works.
It has been replicated
again and again,
and people have shown
how it does generate current.
And we have to accept
that the ancients had a technology
which we only rediscovered in more modern times.
It's fascinating to think that,
when it comes to harnessing electricity,
ancient people may not have been completely in the dark.
And there's another remarkable invention from the past
that also resembles technology we have today.
This ingenious device,
which was created nearly 2,000 years ago,
could detect the tremors of earthquakes
from hundreds of miles away.
SHATNER: Earthquakes-- they are perhaps
the most terrifying of natural disasters.
Even today, with modern technology,
we struggle to predict when or where
an earthquake will strike.
But once these forces of nature are unleashed,
experts can measure their power using sensitive instruments
called seismoscopes and seismometers.
CHARLES ADLER: When an earthquake occurs, essentially, sound waves
travel through the ground
from the epicenter of the earthquake
and they rock the ground back and forth.
Modern seismometers are built to pick up on that.
And that's, in fact, how we can detect earthquakes.
SHATNER: Measuring earthquakes immediately after they start
allows quicker evacuation and rescue efforts
and is certainly useful in our modern world.
But what if a technology
with the ability to detect Earthquakes existed
not just in modern times
but 2,000 years ago?
The Han Dynasty is a sprawling empire
that covers Ancient China and parts of Vietnam and Korea.
One day, Zhang Heng, chief astronomer to the emperor,
introduces a mysterious instrument to court.
He claims his device can detect earthquakes--
events considered by the ancient Chinese
to be important signs from heaven.
Zhang Heng was an exceptional figure in Chinese history.
He could be described as a Renaissance man
that was centuries ahead of his time.
Zhang Heng developed one of the earliest instruments
to measure movements in the earth.
This seismoscope could be used to detect
certain natural phenomena, including earthquakes.
SHATNER: Unfortunately, Zhang Heng's original seismoscope,
which was a precursor to modern seismometers,
has been lost to time.
However, based on ancient descriptions
of its general appearance,
historians have created models of the device
that are on display in museums throughout China.
ADLER: In shape, it was a huge urn
which had eight dragons
corresponding to different directions around the rim,
with their faces turned down
looking at large toads which had their mouths open,
and when an earthquake would occur,
the dragon facing in the direction of the earthquake
would eject a ball from its mouth,
which would then fall into the mouth of the toad.
There's an account of it in the Book of the Later Han,
and it describes how the seismoscope was
triggered one day.
No one at the court believed that it actually worked.
But then, a few days later,
a messenger came from about 400 miles away
reporting that there had been a massive earthquake.
And everyone at court was forced to admit
that this seismoscope could detect earthquakes
hundreds and hundreds of miles away.
GILLAN: This was an incredibly important piece of technology
because time was people's lives
when it came to natural disasters.
It allowed help to be sent straightaway
to the affected region
rather than having to wait days for the message to reach them.
STEAVU: This seismoscope was a technological marvel.
In the rest of the world, seismoscopes were not in use
and they were developed in Europe
only in the 17 or 1800s.
So Zhang Heng was numerous centuries ahead of his time.
SHATNER: Zhang Heng was clearly a scientific genius.
But how was he able to build such a remarkable device
centuries before anyone else?
And how did his extraordinary seismoscope work?
GILLAN: We don't actually know exactly how it functioned.
There are historical descriptions
explaining what it looked like,
the general components of it,
but in terms of the nitty-gritty functioning
of this ancient piece of technology it's still unknown.
SHATNER: Because both the seismoscope
and detailed specifications of its inner workings
no longer exist,
experts can only speculate
as to how Zhang Heng's device may have detected earthquakes.
STEAVU: It's been proposed, hypothetically,
that within the urn was a pendulum
which rested on a bronze ball.
When a seismic wave would come, the pendulum would move
in the same direction as the seismic wave,
and the bronze ball would move
in the opposite direction of the seismic wave,
and it would trigger a dragon head
to release a ball that it was holding in its jaws.
However, ultimately, the inner mechanisms
and function of the seismoscope remain a mystery.
SHATNER: The mystery of how this odd device detected earthquakes
in ancient times is fascinating.
And almost two full millennia later,
a team of Chinese scientists set out to finally prove
how the seismoscope could have worked.
In 2005, a team of scientists in China
recreated the seismoscope successfully,
and the device functioned as described in the sources.
It had a very high sensitivity
and was able to detect simulated earthquakes
from about four to 500 miles away.
Not only was it able to detect the simulated earthquakes,
it could also identify accurately the direction
in which they came from.
So from this, they could conclude
that this seismoscope was incredibly refined
and advanced for the era in which it was created.
The Chinese seismometer
was clearly centuries ahead of its time,
and it's not the only instance of ancient people
designing technology that mirrors our own.
In fact, there was one Renaissance man
who foresaw a future filled with flying machines
nearly 400 years before they existed.
SHATNER: In the heart of the city stands the Louvre,
one of the most renowned museums in the world.
Of the hundreds of thousands of artworks contained
in its prestigious galleries,
the biggest attraction is the Mona Lisa,
which draws roughly ten million visitors every year.
The Mona Lisa is one of the many important paintings created
by celebrated Renaissance artist Leonardo da Vinci.
But curiously, da Vinci was much more than just a painter.
He was also a pioneer
who envisioned futuristic technologies.
RESSLER: Leonardo da Vinci
is widely regarded
as the quintessential Renaissance man
because he did it all.
He was an artist,
he was a gifted engineer
and he was also a great craftsman.
So, he had a wide array of skills
combined with a brilliant mind.
When we think of da Vinci,
we often think about his sketches
of amazing machines, and he compiled
this vast collection of sketches in his notebooks.
He was designing fortifications,
port facilities, canals,
catapults and tanks.
These sketches would be completely at home
in the notebook of an engineering student today.
BULL: Leonardo certainly had
an amazing imagination.
But one has to say that Leonardo's ideas
were too advanced for his time,
in the sense that he was stymied
by the lack of the right materials in the period.
However, the fact that very few of the things
Leonardo depicted actually were done
shouldn't really blind us to his genius.
SHATNER: While most of da Vinci's concepts
were too advanced to be built in the 15th century,
incredibly, some traces of his actual achievements
can be seen today.
Near Florence, a canal system
designed by da Vinci has been preserved,
and a military stronghold
he constructed in Switzerland still stands.
But of all the futuristic machines
envisioned by Leonardo da Vinci,
his most famous designs were in pursuit of his dream of flight.
For decades, modern historians have wondered,
did Da Vinci actually discover
the secret to soaring through the sky
centuries before the invention of the airplane?
Leonardo's understanding of flight was
certainly a lot deeper than many of his contemporaries.
He was one of the first people to study actual bird motion
to try to figure out how birds flew under their own power.
If you look at Leonardo's flying machines,
the first machines that he envisions in his notebooks
are, in fact, ornithopter designs, very much like birds,
where they flap their wings to generate the lift for flying.
And then he progressed on to designs
which were much more like gliders.
DENNIN: One of the really fascinating things
about da Vinci's efforts is he was very creative in thinking
about how humans might spin things or turn things.
One of the designs he had was an aerial screw.
And it's a particular structure like a propellor,
to provide lift and have something fly.
SHATNER: Leonardo Da Vinci's principle
of a single screw turning a propellor
to create lift is strikingly similar
to the mechanics behind the modern helicopter.
And over the years, engineers have been inspired
to bring da Vinci's visionary designs to life
through real-world experimentation.
MATTHEW LANDRUS: In 1976,
the Gossamer Condor was flown,
and it was he first human-powered flying machine
with one person operating
this propeller-driven glider, essentially.
It was the first attempt
at what Leonardo was trying to make.
ADLER: A crew at the University of Maryland
used Leonardo's design for the aerial screw.
The quadcopter design worked.
The air screws actually did provide enough lift
to lift the quadcopter up.
And so, there is some promise for a design like that.
So, Leonardo even today does inspire people in their designs.
SHATNER: How did Leonardo da Vinci
create technical designs that remain relevant
more than 500 years after his death?
We may never fully understand the depths
of his extraordinary genius,
but incredibly, there are those who believe
that an ancient civilization,
located in Mexico
might have actually invented rocket propulsion.
SHATNER: A heavy rainstorm inundates the ruins
of this ancient metropolis
located northeast of Mexico City.
Once the weather clears, archaeologist Sergio Gómez
discovers a mysterious sinkhole at the foot of a large pyramid
known as the Temple of the Feathered Serpent.
COLLINS: What this almighty storm did
was to reveal the entrance
into an underground tunnel
that went for around a hundred meters
directly beneath the pyramid.
A group of around 30 experts,
headed by Gómez, started to clear out these tunnels.
They came to these chambers
that were full of hundreds of yellow spheres.
And these were made out of clay,
and this yellow substance around them
was an oxidized form of pyrite,
so they would have shone in the light.
DAVID WALTON: Those yellow spheres
are all along the ceiling
and all along the walls of this tunnel.
If you have a torch, that torchlight
reflects off of the ceiling.
It looks like the stars in the sky.
And it's just incredible.
SHATNER: Archaeologists have also discovered
other puzzling artifacts at Teotihuacan,
including large quantities of liquid mercury
and sheets of mica crystals.
What's surprising is that these materials
are all used in modern technology.
So what are they doing in an ancient metropolis
that is more than 2,000 years old?
GILLAN: Because, for example, mercury is actually used
as a rocket propellant,
this has led many to suggest that their discovery
may provide evidence for some form of ancient technology,
perhaps used in propulsion or in energy creation.
This is very speculative, but if it were, in fact, true,
we would have to rethink everything we know
about ancient technology.
SHATNER: Is the presence of sophisticated materials
at Teotihuacan just a coincidence?
Or is it really possible that ancient people
invented an early form of rocket fuel?
Ultimately, it's hard to say,
because we still have much more to learn
about the technology of the ancient world.
COLLINS: Teotihuacan is one of the most sophisticated,
technologically advanced ancient sites in the world.
But the big mystery is we don't know who built Teotihuacan,
and how the ancients had this knowledge.
This is something that happens again and again.
We invent something
and instead of preserving the plans
or the technique, it's lost.
GILLAN: There is still a great deal of mystery
about ancient technology.
Whole histories of ancient cultures have been lost.
There's a lot more research we still could do
to discover forms of ancient technology
that may have been lost to time.
From enigmatic gold spheres
to incredibly powerful weapons
to devices that warn of impending disasters,
many ancient pieces of technology are fascinating
and challenge our understanding of history.
If we unlock the secrets of innovations from the past,
could that play a key role in developing
the technology of tomorrow?
It's an intriguing possibility,
but for now, the mysterious inventions of the ancients
will remain unexplained.
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