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Twisted cords concealing secrets

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to an ancient mountain empire.

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A quest of mythic proportions

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carved into
a mysterious runestone.

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And a universal ruler

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intentionally hidden
for all eternity.

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Throughout the course
of human history, many kingdoms

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have prospered and expanded
their territory,

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only to one day collapse
into the sands of time.

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And with their demise,

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secrets as to
how these cultures lived,

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fought, and ruled
simply vanished.

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Fortunately, tantalizing clues
left behind

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offer historians
and archaeologists

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the opportunity
to piece together

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what remains
of the ancient past.

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For instance, what can
an intricate gold artifact

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from a mountain lake or
a towering megalithic pyramid

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reveal about
the people who made them?

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Well, that is what
we'll try and find out.

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Perched precariously
on a mountaintop

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nearly 8,000 feet
above sea level

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lies an ancient city
that looks like

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it's floating in the clouds.

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Built around 1450 A.D., this
curious engineering marvel

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stands as the crowning
achievement of the Inca Empire

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and is known as Machu Picchu.

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Machu Picchu
is a technological marvel.

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For one thing,
it's a fairly good-sized city,

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and it was built
at an incredibly high elevation.

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And it's sculpted
into the mountains.

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It takes a bit of time
to even get up there.

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The moment you walk in,
you think to yourself,

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"How did anyone

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build this
on top of sheer cliffs?"

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It's a perilous journey.

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The mountainside
is straight up and down.

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And so, after climbing up
to this huge height,

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you see that
the buildings themselves

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seem to blend
into the landscape.

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As an archaeologist
who has worked on sites

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around the world
and seen incredible

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engineering achievements,

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Machu Picchu
kind of blows it all away.

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We're talking massive,
multi-ton stones

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shaped and moved into place,

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and they fit together perfectly.

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And this mountain site,
somehow, was transformed into

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an enduring city
and survives 500 years later

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in absolutely perfect condition.

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Perhaps the greatest mystery
of Machu Picchu

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is why did the ancient Incas
choose to build

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a sprawling city

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in such an inaccessible
mountain location?

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The Incas had a incredibly
sophisticated culture.

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We know that in the Inca Empire,
when a building was built,

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it had to be made strong
in the spiritual world

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as well as
in the physical world.

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As you walk through,
you can see how the Inca artists

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echoed the shapes of all the
mountains in the construction

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of Machu Picchu in honor
of the mountain gods around it.

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On the other hand, just saying
that only tells us a little bit.

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There is still
a huge amount of mystery

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about what Machu Picchu was for.

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Some believe that Machu Picchu's
true purpose may be connected

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to the great ruler
who ordered its construction,

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Emperor Pachacuti.

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Machu Picchu was built
by the Emperor Pachacuti,

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who's known as, really,
the founder

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of the Imperial phase
of the Inca state.

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One thing to remember is that,
in the Inca Empire,

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the emperors can...
were considered divine.

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They were considered like gods.

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And when an emperor died,
his body was mummified,

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and it was treated
as if he was still alive

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so that their
worship could continue.

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And so, after Pachacuti's death,

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his family would still
go and use Machu Picchu,

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and we believe that
when they did so,

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they brought the mummified body
of the emperor with them.

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Did Emperor Pachacuti
build Machu Picchu

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to be a sacred site
in the mountains,

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where his mummy
could rest for all eternity?

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It seems like
a reasonable theory,

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but there's just one problem.

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Pachacuti's remains
have never been found.

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However, in recent years,

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some have suggested
that the emperor's mummy

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may be hidden in a
secret chamber at Machu Picchu.

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In 2010, a French engineer
by the name of David Crespy

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was doing some measuring work
within the city of Machu Picchu.

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And he noticed what was
quite clearly a doorway,

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blocked up by stones.
And it clearly

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was blocking the entrance
into some kind of a chamber.

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He reported it immediately
to the authorities,

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and people have suggested
that this might well be

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the entrance
into some kind of tomb.

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We could be looking at
a royal burial.

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So, is it
the tomb of Pachacuti?

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Now, they did

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more tests and more scans, and
they found what appeared to be

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gold-lined steps
going down into this area.

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They wanted to push forward
and excavate this,

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because this would have been,

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without doubt,
the most important discovery

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ever found at Machu Picchu.

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But then, apparently,
the Peruvian government

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have kind of put a block on it

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and stopped
the progression of this.

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Because they were concerned if
it was dug into it may collapse.

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Are Pachacuti's mummified
remains, and with them,

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the secrets of Machu Picchu,
concealed in this chamber?

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For now, the answers may lie
sealed behind a stone wall.

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But perhaps there's another way

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to solve the mysteries
of Machu Picchu.

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Although the Inca did not leave
behind any written records,

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they did encode information
in strange threads

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that are known as quipus.

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Quipus are twisted chords
that redefine what writing is,

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because some of them are
incredibly complex

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with hundreds of pendants,
dozens of colors,

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and they have knots
that represented words,

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and they were read
syllable by syllable.

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If you're in an empire
like the Incas,

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where people spoke many, many,
many different languages,

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if you have a writing system
or a communication system

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that is not tied to speech

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but uses symbols, uses ideas,

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then people who speak
different languages

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can come together
and understand those records.

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And what's really mysterious

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is that there were
narrative quipus.

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And, supposedly,
these narrative quipus

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had biographies.
They had poems.

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They had histories.
They served as letters.

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The Incas would have used quipus

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during the construction
of Machu Picchu.

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If we could decipher them,

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quipus could give us insights
into that whole process.

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That could really unlock the
mysteries of the Incas for us.

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Will translating these
intricate rope knots reveal

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why the Inca built the mountain
kingdom of Machu Picchu?

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It's an intriguing possibility,
and one that illuminates

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how important it is to
decipher the relics of the past.

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Like in the case of a
delicately crafted miniature

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found hidden
in the jungles of Colombia.

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It's a piece of art that
many believe tells the story

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of an ancient culture
with riches so vast

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they built a city
constructed entirely of gold.

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Its name?

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El Dorado.

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Spanish conquistadors,
led by Francisco Pizarro,

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capture the Incan
Emperor Atahualpa,

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and kill 5,000 of his men
in the course of just one hour.

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Pizarro is on a quest
to both conquer the New World

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and plunder as much gold
as he can find.

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Pizarro starts to take these
gold and riches

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from the kingdoms of the Andes.

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And this really starts
a precedent for conquistadors

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trying to take riches
and send them back to Europe.

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This quest for gold
is what drives them.

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From the European point
of view, once there was

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the hint of gold up in the hills
of South America,

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it was an absolute frenzy.

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The indigenous people
all around them

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were literally draped in gold,

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the likes of which Europeans
never would see back at home.

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As the Spanish conquistadors
encountered indigenous people

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throughout South America,

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they heard stories of a vast
city made entirely out of gold.

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In fact, the Spanish came up
with a name for the golden city.

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They called it El Dorado.

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The name El Dorado comes from
the words "the golden."

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That's literally
what it translates to.

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The Spanish trekked through
rain forests

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and across swollen rivers
and up icy mountains

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in search of what they assumed
had to be a hidden city of gold,

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a place of untold riches
just waiting to be plundered.

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There were similarities
to all of these stories,

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and that kept
the Spaniards thinking,

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"Well, maybe there's something
to this. Maybe it's not a myth."

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And because they don't know
exactly where it is

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it starts to be thought of
as a lost city.

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The Spanish belief
that El Dorado

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was a real lost city of gold
was reinforced

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when they came into contact
with a mysterious civilization

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known as the Muisca people.

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The Muisca were the indigenous
people who occupied

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this particular
highland area of the Andes,

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which is, today, Colombia.

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And they occupied this area
for about a thousand years,

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beginning in 600 AD.
And, in fact,

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they were so sophisticated

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that they really
take their place alongside

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better known empires
in the region, such as the Inca.

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The Muisca were
incredible goldsmiths.

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They were really skilled
craftsmen at goldwork--

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finely wrought,
thinly pounded gold.

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They made animals,
they made gold

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that was depictions
of their deities.

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Spanish Conquistadors
searching for El Dorado

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came to believe that
it was built by the Muisca

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because of a curious ritual
they supposedly performed

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high in the mountains

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at a body of water
known as Lake Guatavita.

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When the Muisca
initiated a new leader,

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there was
a very specific ceremony

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that they performed
on Lake Guatavita.

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The leader would
plaster his body in gold dust.

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He would climb into a raft
surrounded by priests.

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At his feet
was a pile of offerings,

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gold and jewels.

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Once they had paddled out
to the middle of the lake,

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he would make his offering
to the god.

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And that involved dropping
all of the valuables

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off the raft into the water,

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and then diving in himself,
so that the gold dust

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would be washed from his body.

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When the conquistadors begin
to hear about these rituals

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that involve gold
and a golden man,

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it stood to reason that
this place, El Dorado,

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a lost city, is going to be
somewhere out there.

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The Spanish heard rumors
that the Muisca

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had performed this golden
ceremony at Lake Guatavita

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for a thousand years,

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since the beginning
of their civilization.

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The conquistadors
believed that El Dorado

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must be an ancient, hidden city
where, centuries earlier,

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the ancestors of the Muisca
had stockpiled

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vast amounts of gold
to be used in the sacred ritual.

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As conquistadores kept trying
to find El Dorado,

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they found a lot of gold,

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they found goldwork
made by the Muisca

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that was really, really
elaborate,

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and they kept getting
just enough

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to sort of tantalize them
to know or believe

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that there would be more,

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but they never quite found

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the El Dorado
that they had been looking for.

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Although the Spanish failed in
their quest to find El Dorado,

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for centuries, treasure hunters
from around the world

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journeyed to South America
in search of the lost city.

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And then, in 1912,

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an incredible discovery was made

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at the bottom of Lake Guatavita.

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00:14:15,542 --> 00:14:19,750
Hartley Knowles, a British
engineer, came to Lake Guatavita

247
00:14:19,917 --> 00:14:22,625
and, with a mining company,
was able

248
00:14:22,792 --> 00:14:27,125
to completely drain the lake
to the bottom.

249
00:14:28,250 --> 00:14:33,083
He found gold, rumored
to be about $20,000 worth,

250
00:14:33,250 --> 00:14:35,667
but what happened was
as the lake went down,

251
00:14:35,833 --> 00:14:38,792
all the silt and mud
at the bottom

252
00:14:38,958 --> 00:14:42,042
hardened in the sun
until it was like concrete,

253
00:14:42,208 --> 00:14:45,792
and they couldn't get
any more gold out of the bottom.

254
00:14:46,833 --> 00:14:49,375
They cut a notch
out of the side of the hill

255
00:14:49,542 --> 00:14:51,042
and drained the lake.

256
00:14:51,208 --> 00:14:53,708
But it only remained drained
for about 24 hours

257
00:14:53,875 --> 00:14:55,625
before the lake refilled.

258
00:14:57,417 --> 00:14:59,542
But what they found was some
objects that sort of showed that

259
00:14:59,708 --> 00:15:04,167
this idea of offerings being
thrown into the lake was true.

260
00:15:05,333 --> 00:15:08,208
Even more incredible evidence
of the Muisca rituals

261
00:15:08,375 --> 00:15:12,958
was found later,
in 1969, in a nearby cave.

262
00:15:13,167 --> 00:15:16,083
In 1969, some villagers

263
00:15:16,250 --> 00:15:19,750
stumbled upon an absolutely
spectacular find

264
00:15:19,958 --> 00:15:22,583
in a ceramic jar.

265
00:15:22,708 --> 00:15:25,625
They found an exquisite raft

266
00:15:25,833 --> 00:15:29,167
crafted all out of gold.

267
00:15:29,292 --> 00:15:31,958
The workmanship was incredible.

268
00:15:32,125 --> 00:15:35,042
But even more exciting is that

269
00:15:35,208 --> 00:15:38,667
it corroborated everything
that had been written down

270
00:15:38,833 --> 00:15:42,333
about the Muisca rituals
in Lake Guatavita

271
00:15:42,500 --> 00:15:45,000
when they were
initiating a new ruler.

272
00:15:46,042 --> 00:15:48,292
Since the story of the ritual
performed by the Muisca chief

273
00:15:48,458 --> 00:15:51,750
was proven to be true,
does that suggest that

274
00:15:51,917 --> 00:15:55,333
the tales of El Dorado,
the lost city of gold,

275
00:15:55,542 --> 00:15:57,375
could also be true?

276
00:15:57,500 --> 00:16:01,958
And if so,
where might it be hidden?

277
00:16:04,500 --> 00:16:08,250
Cities in the Amazonian region,
over time, have a tendency

278
00:16:08,417 --> 00:16:13,167
to become absorbed
and enveloped by the jungle.

279
00:16:13,375 --> 00:16:16,333
South America is an incredible
place to keep secrets

280
00:16:16,542 --> 00:16:20,667
and for a lost city
like El Dorado to dwell.

281
00:16:21,625 --> 00:16:25,708
Could El Dorado have really
existed only to be swallowed up

282
00:16:25,875 --> 00:16:30,500
by the dense jungle, its vast
riches buried and beyond reach?

283
00:16:30,667 --> 00:16:34,542
Perhaps one day other precious
artifacts like the golden raft

284
00:16:34,667 --> 00:16:36,542
will be unearthed and provide
yet another clue

285
00:16:36,708 --> 00:16:40,583
to solving the mystery
of the lost city of gold.

286
00:16:42,042 --> 00:16:43,917
But there's another
object of fascination,

287
00:16:44,042 --> 00:16:46,167
this one made of stone,

288
00:16:46,375 --> 00:16:49,208
that inspired a search
of an entirely different kind--

289
00:16:50,042 --> 00:16:51,833
a quest to find
a mythical outpost

290
00:16:51,958 --> 00:16:54,667
of the infamous Nordic warriors

291
00:16:54,875 --> 00:16:57,250
known as the Vikings.

292
00:17:02,792 --> 00:17:04,458
According to a collection
of medieval prose

293
00:17:04,667 --> 00:17:07,042
called the Icelandic Sagas,

294
00:17:07,208 --> 00:17:10,292
a group of Vikings were said
to have taken a daring voyage

295
00:17:10,458 --> 00:17:13,500
from Scandinavia
across the Atlantic Ocean

296
00:17:13,708 --> 00:17:18,667
on a journey to reach a
faraway realm known as Vinland.

297
00:17:18,833 --> 00:17:22,000
The Sagas describe Vinland
as a bountiful paradise

298
00:17:22,208 --> 00:17:24,375
and, for centuries,
historians thought

299
00:17:24,542 --> 00:17:26,708
it was merely the stuff
of myth and legend.

300
00:17:29,042 --> 00:17:31,375
But then, in 1960,

301
00:17:31,542 --> 00:17:35,167
Norwegian husband-and-wife team
Helge and Anne Ingstad

302
00:17:35,375 --> 00:17:39,333
set out to prove not only
that Vinland was a real place

303
00:17:39,500 --> 00:17:44,042
but also that it was located
in North America.

304
00:17:45,667 --> 00:17:48,500
Helge and Anne Stine Ingstad
combed the entire

305
00:17:48,708 --> 00:17:52,125
coast of Canada
to try and find this site.

306
00:17:52,292 --> 00:17:54,250
And they were very confident
that the Sagas

307
00:17:54,417 --> 00:17:56,667
had an element of fact about it.

308
00:17:56,792 --> 00:17:58,458
And they were right, they did.

309
00:17:59,875 --> 00:18:01,667
The Norwegian couple
uncovered the remains

310
00:18:01,875 --> 00:18:05,792
of a Viking settlement on the
northern tip of Newfoundland

311
00:18:05,958 --> 00:18:09,750
that dated to
the 11th century AD.

312
00:18:11,000 --> 00:18:13,167
This profound discovery,
which is now

313
00:18:13,333 --> 00:18:16,625
a UNESCO World Heritage Site
called L'Anse aux Meadows,

314
00:18:16,833 --> 00:18:21,625
is indisputable proof that
the Sagas may hold more truth

315
00:18:21,792 --> 00:18:26,083
about the Vikings
than we ever thought possible.

316
00:18:47,542 --> 00:18:50,458
L'Anse aux Meadows is actually
the physical evidence

317
00:18:50,625 --> 00:18:56,375
of Scandinavian habitation
on the North American continent.

318
00:18:57,333 --> 00:18:59,833
The Vikings
did discover North America

319
00:19:00,042 --> 00:19:02,542
500 years before
Christopher Columbus.

320
00:19:03,750 --> 00:19:07,500
We know that there were Viking
settlements in the New World.

321
00:19:07,708 --> 00:19:10,208
When I was a young boy
that was considered a legend.

322
00:19:10,417 --> 00:19:12,083
Now it is historical fact.

323
00:19:12,250 --> 00:19:14,125
And they may have actually been
more extensive

324
00:19:14,292 --> 00:19:16,208
than we see
in the Sagas themselves.

325
00:19:16,417 --> 00:19:19,750
L'Anse aux Meadows
is in Newfoundland.

326
00:19:19,875 --> 00:19:22,375
And we know that
they were there.

327
00:19:22,542 --> 00:19:24,542
But then, of course,
it begs the question,

328
00:19:24,708 --> 00:19:26,583
how far in did they get?

329
00:19:26,750 --> 00:19:28,875
Is it possible the Vikings

330
00:19:29,042 --> 00:19:31,625
traveled deep
into North America?

331
00:19:31,792 --> 00:19:34,625
Well, there are those
who believe the answer is yes,

332
00:19:34,792 --> 00:19:37,500
and they claim
the proof can be found

333
00:19:37,625 --> 00:19:39,708
more than 2,000 miles away
from Newfoundland...

334
00:19:42,917 --> 00:19:45,417
...in Alexandria, Minnesota.

335
00:19:46,458 --> 00:19:50,083
This small city, about 130
miles northeast of Minneapolis,

336
00:19:50,250 --> 00:19:53,333
is home to the Runestone Museum.

337
00:19:53,542 --> 00:19:58,042
Inside is an artifact that
many point to as evidence

338
00:19:58,208 --> 00:20:01,083
that the Vikings traveled
well beyond

339
00:20:01,250 --> 00:20:03,167
the northeastern tip of Canada

340
00:20:03,375 --> 00:20:06,333
and into the heartland
of America.

341
00:20:06,500 --> 00:20:11,625
Because on display is the
remarkable yet controversial

342
00:20:11,792 --> 00:20:13,917
Kensington Runestone.

343
00:20:14,083 --> 00:20:19,292
The Kensington Runestone is
about the size of a gravestone.

344
00:20:19,458 --> 00:20:23,833
And it was discovered
in 1898 in Kensington

345
00:20:24,000 --> 00:20:25,958
in Douglas County in Minnesota

346
00:20:26,125 --> 00:20:30,333
by a Swedish immigrant,
Olof Ohman,

347
00:20:30,542 --> 00:20:35,458
and it is covered in runes.

348
00:20:35,583 --> 00:20:38,208
And what intrigues people
is that

349
00:20:38,375 --> 00:20:40,750
it seems to be
incontrovertible proof

350
00:20:40,917 --> 00:20:42,625
that the Vikings were there.

351
00:20:43,667 --> 00:20:47,208
Runes are Viking works of art.

352
00:20:47,375 --> 00:20:49,167
And runestones are located

353
00:20:49,333 --> 00:20:50,583
pretty much throughout
the Viking realm.

354
00:20:50,750 --> 00:20:53,125
Runes were kind of cumbersome
to write with.

355
00:20:53,292 --> 00:20:55,417
And so things
tended to be short.

356
00:20:55,542 --> 00:21:00,125
So what you end up with
is very often cryptic poetry

357
00:21:00,250 --> 00:21:02,333
with a tremendous
amount of meaning

358
00:21:02,500 --> 00:21:04,833
packed into
very obscure passages.

359
00:21:04,958 --> 00:21:07,333
So, even to be able
to understand these runes

360
00:21:07,458 --> 00:21:10,042
was sort of a master craft.

361
00:21:11,167 --> 00:21:13,875
For over a century, people have
speculated about the meaning

362
00:21:14,042 --> 00:21:17,917
of the cryptic markings
on the Kensington Runestone.

363
00:21:19,375 --> 00:21:21,167
By comparing it with other
known runestones,

364
00:21:21,375 --> 00:21:23,667
historians have theorized
that the stone

365
00:21:23,792 --> 00:21:28,542
tells the tale
of a Viking expedition.

366
00:21:28,708 --> 00:21:31,833
Allegedly,
the Kensington Runestone

367
00:21:32,000 --> 00:21:34,375
has an intriguing story

368
00:21:34,500 --> 00:21:36,500
written in Runic script,

369
00:21:36,667 --> 00:21:39,458
about a group of about 30
Vikings

370
00:21:39,625 --> 00:21:42,500
who journey from Vinland

371
00:21:42,667 --> 00:21:45,958
all the way down
into what is now Minnesota.

372
00:21:48,083 --> 00:21:50,167
Now, ten of them are massacred

373
00:21:50,333 --> 00:21:53,583
en route by the local people.

374
00:21:54,708 --> 00:21:57,708
But the suggestion
is that these Vikings

375
00:21:57,875 --> 00:22:01,833
made it to the interior
of North America.

376
00:22:03,250 --> 00:22:04,833
Based on this translation,

377
00:22:04,958 --> 00:22:08,125
many believe that the Kensington
Runestone is a memorial

378
00:22:08,292 --> 00:22:13,083
to Vikings who died on their
quest to explore North America.

379
00:22:13,250 --> 00:22:18,083
But skeptics have questioned
the stone's authenticity.

380
00:22:19,167 --> 00:22:22,375
This could either
be a genuine account

381
00:22:22,500 --> 00:22:26,500
of an incredible journey
by intrepid warriors

382
00:22:26,625 --> 00:22:30,249
deep into America,
or the other theory

383
00:22:30,250 --> 00:22:32,625
is that this was
Swedish immigrants

384
00:22:32,792 --> 00:22:35,083
trying to prove
to their neighbors

385
00:22:35,208 --> 00:22:38,042
that they had
a much longer presence

386
00:22:38,208 --> 00:22:40,167
and an entitlement to be there

387
00:22:40,375 --> 00:22:43,542
because their ancestors
had been there.

388
00:22:44,583 --> 00:22:49,708
But the idea that these warriors
ventured deep into North America

389
00:22:49,875 --> 00:22:54,625
into places that
we know well today, Minnesota--

390
00:22:55,292 --> 00:22:57,125
that really
captures the imagination.

391
00:22:59,167 --> 00:23:01,875
Did a group of Viking explorers,

392
00:23:02,083 --> 00:23:04,750
adorned with axes and shields,

393
00:23:04,958 --> 00:23:07,667
venture deeper into
the forests of North America

394
00:23:07,875 --> 00:23:09,375
than we've been
led to believe?

395
00:23:09,542 --> 00:23:11,125
Whatever the truth may be,

396
00:23:11,292 --> 00:23:15,083
discoveries that rewrite
the timeline of human history

397
00:23:15,208 --> 00:23:17,792
have far-reaching implications.

398
00:23:17,958 --> 00:23:22,417
Such is the case with an ancient
kingdom in Southeast Asia

399
00:23:22,583 --> 00:23:25,917
that constructed what may be

400
00:23:26,042 --> 00:23:29,167
the oldest pyramid on Earth.

401
00:23:36,583 --> 00:23:39,958
In the countryside
of this lush, tropical island

402
00:23:40,167 --> 00:23:41,667
located in the Indian Ocean

403
00:23:41,875 --> 00:23:44,792
lies a mountain that,
from a distance,

404
00:23:45,000 --> 00:23:47,542
looks no different from
any other peak in the region.

405
00:23:47,708 --> 00:23:51,708
But close examination
of the mountaintop reveals

406
00:23:51,875 --> 00:23:55,333
a series of ancient
stone terraces

407
00:23:55,542 --> 00:24:00,000
that are littered with thousands
of megalithic blocks.

408
00:24:00,125 --> 00:24:03,083
This intriguing site is known

409
00:24:03,250 --> 00:24:05,958
as Gunung Padang.

410
00:24:07,792 --> 00:24:09,667
Gunung Padang has all these

411
00:24:09,792 --> 00:24:13,417
remarkable kind of hexagonal
basalt columns

412
00:24:13,542 --> 00:24:15,707
as part of
the entire construction.

413
00:24:15,708 --> 00:24:17,833
Hundreds of thousands
of them, in fact.

414
00:24:18,875 --> 00:24:20,625
Each of the stones--
they weigh up to

415
00:24:20,792 --> 00:24:22,917
about a third of a ton each.

416
00:24:23,125 --> 00:24:25,792
They make up the foundation,
and they're also placed

417
00:24:26,000 --> 00:24:28,917
in certain configurations
at the top.

418
00:24:29,083 --> 00:24:32,500
There's something very powerful
about this place.

419
00:24:32,708 --> 00:24:35,583
It was only really
rediscovered by farmers

420
00:24:35,750 --> 00:24:38,167
over the last few decades.

421
00:24:38,375 --> 00:24:40,667
It is almost untouched.

422
00:24:40,833 --> 00:24:44,000
It's like it hasn't been known
about for thousands of years.

423
00:24:44,167 --> 00:24:47,125
It makes you wonder who
could have done this and when.

424
00:24:47,292 --> 00:24:51,667
The thousands of stone blocks
strewn atop Gunung Padang

425
00:24:51,792 --> 00:24:55,707
are a perplexing sight.
It's hard to imagine

426
00:24:55,708 --> 00:24:58,208
what structure
they could have been part of

427
00:24:58,375 --> 00:25:00,208
or what purpose they served.

428
00:25:00,375 --> 00:25:02,792
And the origin
of these curious ruins

429
00:25:02,958 --> 00:25:05,042
has long been
shrouded in mystery.

430
00:25:06,875 --> 00:25:10,833
But in 2013, archaeologists
excavating the mountain

431
00:25:11,042 --> 00:25:14,625
discovered that the truth
about this mysterious site

432
00:25:14,833 --> 00:25:18,792
is hidden beneath
layers of dirt and rubble.

433
00:25:20,625 --> 00:25:23,167
A team of experts did drilling,

434
00:25:23,333 --> 00:25:28,833
they did radar surveys and
they did radiocarbon testing.

435
00:25:28,958 --> 00:25:32,750
And what this revealed
is that, beneath the site

436
00:25:32,875 --> 00:25:35,875
that is visible today,
which includes a number

437
00:25:36,042 --> 00:25:38,750
of incredible stone settings
and rock mounts,

438
00:25:38,875 --> 00:25:41,375
is something
even more incredible.

439
00:25:41,542 --> 00:25:44,500
We now know that this site

440
00:25:44,625 --> 00:25:48,000
does actually conceal beneath it

441
00:25:48,208 --> 00:25:50,292
a massive pyramid complex.

442
00:25:51,708 --> 00:25:55,167
Gunung Padang
is really like a step pyramid

443
00:25:55,333 --> 00:25:57,917
buried under stone and earth.

444
00:25:58,083 --> 00:26:01,583
And the evidence suggests
this is extremely ancient

445
00:26:01,792 --> 00:26:04,375
and is a very,
very important place.

446
00:26:05,458 --> 00:26:07,292
The revelation that
Gunung Padang is actually

447
00:26:07,500 --> 00:26:12,000
the ruins of a massive pyramid
made headlines around the world.

448
00:26:13,042 --> 00:26:16,292
And in recent years, further
investigation of the site

449
00:26:16,500 --> 00:26:19,750
has been led
by geologist Danny Hilman.

450
00:26:19,917 --> 00:26:23,500
Danny and his team believe
they have uncovered evidence

451
00:26:23,708 --> 00:26:25,583
of a hidden chamber.

452
00:27:15,875 --> 00:27:18,042
The discovery of a chamber
buried underground

453
00:27:18,208 --> 00:27:21,833
has added to the mystery
of Gunung Padang.

454
00:27:22,042 --> 00:27:25,000
But the most significant
revelation so far is that

455
00:27:25,125 --> 00:27:30,750
this structure might be
the oldest pyramid ever built.

456
00:27:49,667 --> 00:27:52,000
Ancient Egypt's
Pyramid of Djoser

457
00:27:52,208 --> 00:27:55,333
has long been considered
the world's oldest pyramid.

458
00:27:55,458 --> 00:27:58,708
But based on
Danny Hilman's research,

459
00:27:58,917 --> 00:28:01,083
Gunung Padang's buried pyramid

460
00:28:01,250 --> 00:28:06,208
could be ten or even
20,000 years older.

461
00:28:07,333 --> 00:28:11,833
If Gunung Padang
is a 20,000-year-old pyramid,

462
00:28:12,000 --> 00:28:16,750
it would place an hitherto
undiscovered culture

463
00:28:16,875 --> 00:28:18,917
at the heart of Indonesia.

464
00:28:19,083 --> 00:28:21,833
And it would completely disrupt
our understanding

465
00:28:22,000 --> 00:28:24,833
of the evolution of human
technology around the world.

466
00:28:50,208 --> 00:28:52,000
Do the technological
achievements

467
00:28:52,208 --> 00:28:55,000
of a lost civilization
lie hidden

468
00:28:55,167 --> 00:28:58,333
within the stone chambers
of this ancient pyramid?

469
00:28:58,542 --> 00:29:01,500
It's no surprise that
the empires of the past would

470
00:29:01,625 --> 00:29:05,833
go to great lengths to conceal
their most precious secrets.

471
00:29:06,042 --> 00:29:10,250
Such is the case surrounding
the actual resting place

472
00:29:10,417 --> 00:29:12,500
of one of the most
feared rulers in history.

473
00:29:13,208 --> 00:29:17,000
It is the mystery
of the lost tomb

474
00:29:17,208 --> 00:29:18,417
of Genghis Khan.

475
00:29:27,167 --> 00:29:30,167
Towering above the sparse
landscape is a massive,

476
00:29:30,375 --> 00:29:34,500
130-foot-tall statue
made of stainless steel.

477
00:29:34,708 --> 00:29:37,833
This magnificent monument
is a depiction

478
00:29:37,958 --> 00:29:41,167
of Mongolia's most famous ruler:

479
00:29:41,375 --> 00:29:44,000
Genghis Khan.

480
00:29:44,167 --> 00:29:47,500
Genghis Khan is one of the most
prominent figures

481
00:29:47,625 --> 00:29:49,917
in all of history.
And he came up as

482
00:29:50,083 --> 00:29:52,833
a very small, minor player
in what was a small,

483
00:29:53,000 --> 00:29:55,292
minor country that most
of the world hadn't heard of.

484
00:29:57,042 --> 00:29:58,583
But by the time he had died,

485
00:29:58,750 --> 00:30:00,333
he had conquered
most of the known world.

486
00:30:01,333 --> 00:30:02,958
Genghis Khan is unquestionably

487
00:30:03,125 --> 00:30:05,167
Mongolia's greatest cultural

488
00:30:05,375 --> 00:30:07,500
and historical
and national hero.

489
00:30:07,708 --> 00:30:10,667
He was at the head of

490
00:30:10,875 --> 00:30:13,000
one of the largest empires
in the world,

491
00:30:13,125 --> 00:30:15,542
second only
to the British Empire.

492
00:30:15,750 --> 00:30:19,000
And many people,
maybe outside of Mongolia,

493
00:30:19,167 --> 00:30:23,417
might remember Genghis Khan
for the bloodshed and conquests.

494
00:30:24,458 --> 00:30:28,542
But he was also at the origins
of many technological,

495
00:30:28,667 --> 00:30:33,375
scientific, astronomical
developments and advancements.

496
00:30:36,042 --> 00:30:38,750
After 20 years
of empire building,

497
00:30:38,917 --> 00:30:42,625
Genghis Khan died
in the year 1227 AD

498
00:30:42,792 --> 00:30:46,083
while battling
the Western Xia dynasty.

499
00:30:47,208 --> 00:30:50,458
Khan's exact cause of death
is a mystery.

500
00:30:51,500 --> 00:30:54,125
But before he passed,
he commanded that

501
00:30:54,292 --> 00:30:57,042
his final resting place
should be unmarked

502
00:30:57,167 --> 00:31:01,208
so that his tomb
would be undisturbed forever.

503
00:31:02,375 --> 00:31:05,708
The circumstances of his burial
are quite mysterious.

504
00:31:05,875 --> 00:31:08,500
According to legend,
Genghis Khan's body

505
00:31:08,667 --> 00:31:10,500
was brought back to Mongolia

506
00:31:10,667 --> 00:31:13,292
by a group of 2,000 servants

507
00:31:13,458 --> 00:31:17,833
who were guarded
by a group of soldiers.

508
00:31:18,000 --> 00:31:21,208
The servants were all killed
by the soldiers.

509
00:31:22,375 --> 00:31:25,542
Now, the soldiers themselves
were then killed

510
00:31:25,708 --> 00:31:27,917
by a second group of soldiers

511
00:31:28,083 --> 00:31:31,625
who then themselves
committed suicide

512
00:31:31,792 --> 00:31:34,042
so that the burial site
would remain

513
00:31:34,208 --> 00:31:37,167
forever undisturbed and unknown.

514
00:31:38,208 --> 00:31:40,125
Many great rulers
in many parts of the world

515
00:31:40,292 --> 00:31:44,041
have wanted not to display one's
body, but rather to hide it.

516
00:31:44,042 --> 00:31:46,750
And that would have been
the practice by Genghis Khan.

517
00:31:46,875 --> 00:31:50,083
Because he knew that his tomb,
if it was ever uncovered,

518
00:31:50,208 --> 00:31:55,000
would be an enormously political
tool for whoever uncovered it.

519
00:31:55,208 --> 00:31:57,542
And he wanted
to control that legacy.

520
00:31:58,583 --> 00:32:01,125
In the eight centuries
since Genghis Khan's death,

521
00:32:01,250 --> 00:32:03,708
many have tried
to find his tomb.

522
00:32:03,875 --> 00:32:07,167
But thus far, no one
has been able to defeat

523
00:32:07,333 --> 00:32:10,750
Khan's drastic measures
to keep its location a secret.

524
00:32:11,792 --> 00:32:15,333
Which naturally begs the
question: where could it be?

525
00:32:22,208 --> 00:32:25,125
A French archaeological
expedition ventures

526
00:32:25,292 --> 00:32:27,708
deep into this rugged region
of northern Mongolia

527
00:32:27,875 --> 00:32:31,208
to find Genghis Khan's
lost tomb.

528
00:32:33,375 --> 00:32:35,292
The team believes that
the tomb may be hidden near

529
00:32:35,458 --> 00:32:41,083
a particular mountain peak that
is known is Burkhan Khaldun.

530
00:32:59,542 --> 00:33:02,333
Burkhan Khaldun
is almost 8,000 feet high

531
00:33:02,500 --> 00:33:05,375
and covers more than
93 square miles.

532
00:33:06,375 --> 00:33:08,417
Exploring this vast,
rugged terrain is made

533
00:33:08,583 --> 00:33:11,042
even more difficult
because in 2015

534
00:33:11,208 --> 00:33:15,250
the mountain was designated
a UNESCO World Heritage Site,

535
00:33:15,375 --> 00:33:18,833
rendering if off-limits
to any excavations

536
00:33:19,000 --> 00:33:21,375
in search
of Genghis Khan's tomb.

537
00:33:22,333 --> 00:33:24,833
Mongolians, in general,
still desire

538
00:33:24,958 --> 00:33:26,792
to honor Genghis' Kahn's wishes.

539
00:33:27,000 --> 00:33:31,625
They discourage archaeological
digs to try to find the tomb.

540
00:33:31,833 --> 00:33:35,917
He is still very, very much
a hero in Mongolia.

541
00:33:36,083 --> 00:33:38,125
And his wishes
are still respected.

542
00:33:40,042 --> 00:33:41,042
Because of
the restrictions against

543
00:33:41,208 --> 00:33:43,167
searching Burkhan Khaldun,

544
00:33:43,292 --> 00:33:45,542
members of the French
expedition decided that

545
00:33:45,708 --> 00:33:48,958
the key to finding
Genghis Khan's tomb

546
00:33:49,083 --> 00:33:52,292
was to explore the mountain
from the sky.

547
00:33:52,458 --> 00:33:55,167
And in 2016, they used drones

548
00:33:55,375 --> 00:33:58,500
equipped with both photographic
and infrared cameras

549
00:33:58,708 --> 00:34:02,417
to do an unprecedented survey
of the area.

550
00:34:22,750 --> 00:34:25,167
After surveying the mountain
from above,

551
00:34:25,333 --> 00:34:27,958
the French team
made an extraordinary discovery.

552
00:34:28,125 --> 00:34:32,000
They identified a mound
that was 130 feet high

553
00:34:32,167 --> 00:34:34,500
and 820 feet wide

554
00:34:34,667 --> 00:34:38,583
that they believe
might be man-made.

555
00:34:50,500 --> 00:34:54,583
The French team
that accessed the mountain

556
00:34:54,750 --> 00:34:58,542
identified that
the pyramid-shaped elevation

557
00:34:58,708 --> 00:35:01,083
also had a little shrine

558
00:35:01,250 --> 00:35:03,833
and it sits atop
of this sacred mountain.

559
00:35:04,000 --> 00:35:07,417
So, they speculate
that this would

560
00:35:07,625 --> 00:35:10,250
probably be where
Genghis Khan is buried.

561
00:35:11,458 --> 00:35:13,208
Is it possible
that the structure

562
00:35:13,375 --> 00:35:16,750
discovered by the French
expedition on Burkhan Khaldun

563
00:35:16,917 --> 00:35:19,792
is the tomb of Genghis Khan?

564
00:35:22,333 --> 00:35:24,500
For now, that question
is unanswered,

565
00:35:24,667 --> 00:35:27,667
because the Mongolian people
remain committed to honoring

566
00:35:27,833 --> 00:35:30,167
the revered emperor's dying wish

567
00:35:30,375 --> 00:35:33,667
that his tomb
should never be found.

568
00:36:11,417 --> 00:36:14,583
Located near the border
of Russia and Mongolia,

569
00:36:14,750 --> 00:36:18,292
this region is known
for its vast grasslands.

570
00:36:18,458 --> 00:36:23,125
But in 2021, archaeologists from
the Russian Academy of Sciences

571
00:36:23,250 --> 00:36:25,458
made a remarkable discovery.

572
00:36:25,667 --> 00:36:28,333
While conducting
an aerial survey,

573
00:36:28,542 --> 00:36:32,750
they spotted an enormous symbol
known as a geoglyph

574
00:36:32,875 --> 00:36:37,333
that was formed using carefully
arranged pebbles and sandstones.

575
00:36:39,333 --> 00:36:40,833
In Central Asia we have
something called

576
00:36:40,958 --> 00:36:42,500
the Siberian Bull.

577
00:36:42,708 --> 00:36:44,917
It's a very simple drawing
just done with dark stones

578
00:36:45,042 --> 00:36:48,750
making the outline of a tail
and the back legs of an animal.

579
00:36:48,875 --> 00:36:52,458
And, fortunately,
it's linked quite closely

580
00:36:52,625 --> 00:36:54,667
to an early Bronze Age burial,

581
00:36:54,875 --> 00:36:59,542
so we reckon it must
date to back to 2,000 BCE.

582
00:36:59,708 --> 00:37:04,333
It is some 4,000 years old,
and still there.

583
00:37:04,458 --> 00:37:06,375
Research on this
is still ongoing,

584
00:37:06,542 --> 00:37:09,208
but it shows that
there's still so much

585
00:37:09,375 --> 00:37:12,625
about these geoglyphs
and the beliefs and the values

586
00:37:12,792 --> 00:37:15,583
that were held by
the ancient people who made them

587
00:37:15,750 --> 00:37:17,125
that we do not know.

588
00:37:18,167 --> 00:37:22,500
The Siberian Bull is
ten feet tall and 13 feet long,

589
00:37:22,667 --> 00:37:25,000
and is the first geoglyph
of an animal

590
00:37:25,167 --> 00:37:26,833
discovered in Central Asia.

591
00:37:27,042 --> 00:37:28,667
But what's
more remarkable is that

592
00:37:28,792 --> 00:37:31,667
even larger ancient geoglyphs
have been found

593
00:37:31,875 --> 00:37:34,000
all over the world.

594
00:37:34,208 --> 00:37:36,458
Many of them are so vast

595
00:37:36,583 --> 00:37:40,167
that they can only be identified
from the sky.

596
00:37:40,375 --> 00:37:42,250
Geoglyphs are
an astonishing phenomenon.

597
00:37:42,375 --> 00:37:43,417
They're found in many,
many parts of the world,

598
00:37:43,542 --> 00:37:45,042
primarily in deserts.

599
00:37:46,208 --> 00:37:48,167
And they are often of huge size,

600
00:37:48,292 --> 00:37:50,542
involving an enormous
amount of work.

601
00:37:50,750 --> 00:37:53,500
Geoglyphs can be divided up,
really, into the ones

602
00:37:53,708 --> 00:37:56,125
that just look like
geometric shapes to us,

603
00:37:56,292 --> 00:37:57,833
and there are
many, many of those.

604
00:37:58,042 --> 00:38:01,167
You have lines which just
look like roads or paths

605
00:38:01,333 --> 00:38:02,875
going on for miles.

606
00:38:03,042 --> 00:38:06,167
And then, of course, you have
what seem to us to be

607
00:38:06,292 --> 00:38:09,167
depictions of birds,
animals, humans.

608
00:38:09,375 --> 00:38:12,500
And they must all have
very different meanings

609
00:38:12,667 --> 00:38:14,542
to the cultures
that produced them.

610
00:38:15,750 --> 00:38:19,500
In March 2022,
archeological researchers found

611
00:38:19,708 --> 00:38:22,167
what could be the largest
geoglyphs on the planet

612
00:38:22,333 --> 00:38:25,083
in the Thar Desert
of ancient India.

613
00:38:25,250 --> 00:38:27,542
They stretch over
a huge distance,

614
00:38:27,708 --> 00:38:30,000
and one of them kind of
forms into what appears to be

615
00:38:30,208 --> 00:38:32,083
a kind of strange spiral.

616
00:38:32,208 --> 00:38:36,292
And there's other ones which
are like sinuous serpents.

617
00:38:37,833 --> 00:38:39,500
One of the more fascinating
geoglyphs

618
00:38:39,708 --> 00:38:41,458
is the Uffington White Horse
that was found

619
00:38:41,625 --> 00:38:43,250
in Oxfordshire, England.

620
00:38:43,417 --> 00:38:46,000
They dug trenches
and they filled them with chalk

621
00:38:46,167 --> 00:38:48,333
to create this beautiful horse,

622
00:38:48,542 --> 00:38:51,500
which itself is 3,000 years old.

623
00:38:51,708 --> 00:38:54,500
And we expect to find more
as time goes on.

624
00:38:54,625 --> 00:38:59,333
Why did so many ancient cultures
across the world

625
00:38:59,500 --> 00:39:02,375
labor to carve these
enormous figures and symbols

626
00:39:02,542 --> 00:39:06,000
that could only be fully seen
from the sky?

627
00:39:07,167 --> 00:39:09,375
Well, according
to some researchers,

628
00:39:09,542 --> 00:39:12,667
it could be because the people
who created the geoglyphs

629
00:39:12,875 --> 00:39:17,500
intended them to be viewed
not by man but by gods.

630
00:39:18,875 --> 00:39:20,625
It seems a reasonable
supposition

631
00:39:20,750 --> 00:39:22,667
that a lot of these images,
which only make sense

632
00:39:22,833 --> 00:39:25,792
from the air, were very much
tied to things in the heavens.

633
00:39:25,958 --> 00:39:28,917
There are astronomical
orientations

634
00:39:29,083 --> 00:39:30,458
of some of the lines

635
00:39:30,625 --> 00:39:33,542
and some figures may
represent constellations.

636
00:39:33,708 --> 00:39:35,792
But there are so many
possibilities because there are

637
00:39:35,917 --> 00:39:38,625
so many hundreds
of different geoglyph types

638
00:39:38,750 --> 00:39:41,333
that you can't simply put
one explanation on all of them.

639
00:39:42,375 --> 00:39:46,625
Recently, a new theory has been
proposed to explain the famous

640
00:39:46,792 --> 00:39:52,000
Nazca Lines in Peru, which date
back more than 2,000 years.

641
00:39:52,167 --> 00:39:55,292
The great Nazca Lines are done
in one continuous line--

642
00:39:55,417 --> 00:39:57,750
the monkey or the spider.

643
00:39:57,917 --> 00:40:00,833
We've always assumed that the
people who made the Nazca Lines

644
00:40:00,958 --> 00:40:03,375
were trying to communicate
with gods, ancestors,

645
00:40:03,583 --> 00:40:04,958
spirits or whatever.

646
00:40:05,125 --> 00:40:07,500
But there was an idea
put forward quite recently

647
00:40:07,625 --> 00:40:09,167
by an American scholar

648
00:40:09,333 --> 00:40:11,667
who thought that
some of the geoglyphs

649
00:40:11,833 --> 00:40:14,958
might be linked to runoff from
hills and channeling the water

650
00:40:15,125 --> 00:40:16,417
and helping the crops to grow.

651
00:40:17,458 --> 00:40:20,500
There's a trend in backyard
gardening called permaculture,

652
00:40:20,625 --> 00:40:23,833
where the gardener
digs trenches and

653
00:40:24,042 --> 00:40:26,542
creates swells or hills
to sequester the water

654
00:40:26,708 --> 00:40:28,125
or capture the rainfall,

655
00:40:28,292 --> 00:40:32,000
so that way the ecosystem
supports their own garden

656
00:40:32,208 --> 00:40:35,167
and they don't have to bring in
extra irrigation.

657
00:40:36,208 --> 00:40:39,833
In places like where
the Nazca Lines are,

658
00:40:40,000 --> 00:40:44,583
we see a very barren,
arid, dry place, currently.

659
00:40:44,750 --> 00:40:47,125
But if you went back
thousands of years,

660
00:40:47,292 --> 00:40:49,167
you'd find alternating periods

661
00:40:49,333 --> 00:40:52,125
of extreme rainfall events.

662
00:40:54,042 --> 00:40:56,750
We don't have written records
of what they were thinking

663
00:40:56,875 --> 00:40:59,833
or what they were doing and why
they were building these sites.

664
00:41:00,000 --> 00:41:02,500
The fact is there are
different theories

665
00:41:02,625 --> 00:41:04,167
in different
parts of the world as to

666
00:41:04,375 --> 00:41:06,083
what they could have
been created for.

667
00:41:07,542 --> 00:41:09,167
But whether it's in a desert

668
00:41:09,333 --> 00:41:12,042
or whether it's like chalk hill
figures in ancient Britain,

669
00:41:12,208 --> 00:41:13,792
at least they still exist

670
00:41:13,958 --> 00:41:16,792
and we can appreciate
and study them today.

671
00:41:16,958 --> 00:41:21,708
From high in the Andes mountains
to the steppes of Mongolia,

672
00:41:21,875 --> 00:41:24,583
the evidence of powerful
bygone civilizations

673
00:41:24,750 --> 00:41:26,042
is all around us.

674
00:41:26,167 --> 00:41:29,167
What can we learn from the ruins

675
00:41:29,333 --> 00:41:31,875
of these once-great cultures?

676
00:41:32,042 --> 00:41:34,500
Perhaps they show us
a cautionary tale

677
00:41:34,667 --> 00:41:38,208
of how empires rise and fall,

678
00:41:38,417 --> 00:41:41,458
as well as reshape
our understanding

679
00:41:41,583 --> 00:41:43,583
of human history as we know it.

680
00:41:44,625 --> 00:41:48,375
It's clear that our innate need
to explore the mysteries

681
00:41:48,542 --> 00:41:51,875
of our ancient past
will keep the search going,

682
00:41:52,042 --> 00:41:55,583
because the most closely
guarded secrets

683
00:41:55,750 --> 00:41:58,333
of these
mighty kingdoms remain...

684
00:41:58,542 --> 00:42:01,208
unexplained.

685
00:42:01,333 --> 00:42:04,042
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