1 00:00:01,958 --> 00:00:04,250 [rising mysterious drone] 2 00:00:04,833 --> 00:00:08,958 - Tonight, long lost relics believed to be buried 3 00:00:08,958 --> 00:00:10,417 and hidden from sight. 4 00:00:11,375 --> 00:00:12,917 - The LiDAR reveals a few new things 5 00:00:12,917 --> 00:00:15,167 that have never been seen before. 6 00:00:15,167 --> 00:00:18,417 - [Dennis] From Christianity's most sacred tomb... 7 00:00:18,417 --> 00:00:19,917 - Constantine and his mother assume 8 00:00:19,917 --> 00:00:22,125 that the worshipers have in fact, 9 00:00:22,125 --> 00:00:24,792 found the long lost tomb of Jesus. 10 00:00:24,792 --> 00:00:26,708 What if Constantine got it wrong? 11 00:00:26,708 --> 00:00:30,375 - To the discovery of a mystifying ancient temple. 12 00:00:30,375 --> 00:00:32,375 - The Hypogeum could potentially predate 13 00:00:32,375 --> 00:00:36,167 the first Egyptian pyramid by over 1300 years, 14 00:00:36,167 --> 00:00:39,667 making it the oldest prehistoric underground temple 15 00:00:39,667 --> 00:00:40,875 in the world. 16 00:00:40,875 --> 00:00:42,375 - We'll uncover the secrets 17 00:00:42,375 --> 00:00:46,958 behind the world's most elusive underground wonders. 18 00:00:46,958 --> 00:00:49,958 - The tunnel leads to the Mediterranean Sea. 19 00:00:49,958 --> 00:00:52,083 You load treasure onto a ship 20 00:00:52,083 --> 00:00:54,500 and you could take it anywhere. 21 00:00:54,500 --> 00:00:56,292 - When it comes to the underground secrets 22 00:00:56,292 --> 00:00:58,083 of the Knights Templar treasure, 23 00:00:58,083 --> 00:01:01,292 we've barely scratched the surface. 24 00:01:01,292 --> 00:01:04,208 - These sacred objects have inspired awe 25 00:01:04,208 --> 00:01:06,208 for thousands of years. 26 00:01:06,208 --> 00:01:09,792 Now, the remarkable stories behind history's 27 00:01:09,792 --> 00:01:11,792 most compelling "Holy Marvels". 28 00:01:12,625 --> 00:01:15,542 [uplifting music] 29 00:01:23,958 --> 00:01:26,208 Many of Christianity's most holy 30 00:01:26,208 --> 00:01:30,583 and powerful places lie in plain sight above ground, 31 00:01:30,583 --> 00:01:35,375 able to be seen, felt and explored, but not all of them. 32 00:01:36,708 --> 00:01:40,333 Take for example, one nondescript tomb in Jerusalem 33 00:01:41,208 --> 00:01:44,583 hidden just below the surface. 34 00:01:44,583 --> 00:01:46,875 - The tomb belongs to a wealthy man named Joseph 35 00:01:46,875 --> 00:01:49,792 of Arimathea, who had been planning to be buried there 36 00:01:49,792 --> 00:01:51,542 whenever he died, 37 00:01:51,542 --> 00:01:54,125 but instead, he's decided to give it away to a close friend 38 00:01:54,125 --> 00:01:57,875 who's recently been killed, Jesus of Nazareth. 39 00:01:57,875 --> 00:02:01,375 Joseph's tomb is very close to the crucifixion site, 40 00:02:01,375 --> 00:02:04,958 which is an area just outside the current city walls 41 00:02:04,958 --> 00:02:06,708 called the Hill of Golgotha, 42 00:02:06,708 --> 00:02:10,417 which roughly translates to the Hill of the Skull. 43 00:02:10,417 --> 00:02:12,625 - This event is described in all four gospels 44 00:02:12,625 --> 00:02:13,708 of the New Testament. 45 00:02:13,708 --> 00:02:16,333 Joseph is a prominent member of the Sanhedrin, 46 00:02:16,333 --> 00:02:19,375 the court that sentences Jesus to death. 47 00:02:19,375 --> 00:02:21,417 As such, he's one of the city's elites, 48 00:02:21,417 --> 00:02:25,750 but in a secret double life, he also is a disciple of Jesus. 49 00:02:25,750 --> 00:02:28,583 And so after the crucifixion, Joseph wants to make sure 50 00:02:28,583 --> 00:02:32,417 that Jesus receives a proper Jewish burial. 51 00:02:32,417 --> 00:02:34,792 So he talks Pontius Pilate into letting him take 52 00:02:34,792 --> 00:02:36,667 the body off the cross. 53 00:02:36,667 --> 00:02:41,333 - Joseph tries to properly clean and prepare Jesus' body. 54 00:02:41,333 --> 00:02:44,750 It's wrapped in strips of linen soaked with aloes and myrrh 55 00:02:44,750 --> 00:02:46,375 and buried in the tomb. 56 00:02:48,250 --> 00:02:52,042 It's not what you'd think of as a tomb today. 57 00:02:52,042 --> 00:02:53,417 The tomb is described in the Bible 58 00:02:53,417 --> 00:02:56,167 as being a hole cut from the rock 59 00:02:56,167 --> 00:02:59,042 with a limestone shelf used as a burial bed 60 00:02:59,042 --> 00:03:00,083 and there's no gravestone. 61 00:03:00,083 --> 00:03:01,417 There's not even a door. 62 00:03:02,458 --> 00:03:04,167 - After Joseph lays Jesus to rest, 63 00:03:04,167 --> 00:03:07,208 he seals the entrance with a large heavy stone. 64 00:03:07,208 --> 00:03:09,333 - We can imagine that right away, 65 00:03:09,333 --> 00:03:12,250 the site of the tomb becomes a place of holy significance 66 00:03:12,250 --> 00:03:15,667 where Jesus' disciples come to worship. 67 00:03:15,667 --> 00:03:18,000 - [Dennis] But two days after his burial, 68 00:03:18,000 --> 00:03:21,208 followers are met with a big surprise. 69 00:03:21,208 --> 00:03:23,083 - A group of women go to visit the tomb, 70 00:03:23,083 --> 00:03:24,542 including Mary Magdalene, 71 00:03:24,542 --> 00:03:27,250 and they're shocked to find out that it's empty. 72 00:03:27,250 --> 00:03:29,250 - According to the gospels of Mark and Luke, 73 00:03:29,250 --> 00:03:31,458 the stone has been rolled away from the entrance 74 00:03:31,458 --> 00:03:33,833 and an angel is there and instead of Jesus' body. 75 00:03:35,333 --> 00:03:37,583 - Mary Magdalene hurries to tell the male disciples 76 00:03:37,583 --> 00:03:41,167 and the stories of Jesus' resurrection begins 77 00:03:41,167 --> 00:03:44,583 to quickly spread among Jesus' followers 78 00:03:44,583 --> 00:03:49,333 and soon the story begins to attract new believers. 79 00:03:49,333 --> 00:03:51,542 Over time, these Christians come to see 80 00:03:51,542 --> 00:03:54,708 the site of the empty tomb as a holy place. 81 00:03:56,042 --> 00:04:00,042 - [Dennis] But by 66 AD growing tensions with the Romans 82 00:04:00,042 --> 00:04:04,500 turned the area from a place of worship into a war zone. 83 00:04:04,500 --> 00:04:08,375 - Judea has been a Roman province since 6 AD. 84 00:04:08,375 --> 00:04:11,292 For nearly 60 years, the Jews and Romans lived together 85 00:04:11,292 --> 00:04:14,250 in a tense coexistence. 86 00:04:14,250 --> 00:04:16,167 As time goes on, Jews become 87 00:04:16,167 --> 00:04:18,708 very unhappy living under Roman rule. 88 00:04:18,708 --> 00:04:23,375 And in 66 AD, a faction of Jews rebel against the Romans 89 00:04:23,375 --> 00:04:25,208 leading to a massive war. 90 00:04:26,833 --> 00:04:28,542 - [Dennis] Then in 70 AD, 91 00:04:28,542 --> 00:04:30,875 the conflict reaches a boiling point. 92 00:04:32,167 --> 00:04:33,292 - [Robert] The Romans entered Jerusalem 93 00:04:33,292 --> 00:04:35,167 and set the city ablaze. 94 00:04:35,167 --> 00:04:37,583 Jerusalem is reduced to rubble. 95 00:04:38,958 --> 00:04:41,917 - [Dennis] The destroyed city sits untouched for 60 years. 96 00:04:41,917 --> 00:04:47,500 But in 130 AD, Roman Emperor Hadrian decides to rebuild it. 97 00:04:48,875 --> 00:04:52,042 - He calls the new city Aelia Capitolina. 98 00:04:52,042 --> 00:04:55,875 Aelia for his family name and Capitolina, meaning, 99 00:04:55,875 --> 00:04:57,333 the god Jupiter. 100 00:04:58,625 --> 00:05:01,583 - Hadrian's empire is still facing resistance from Jews 101 00:05:01,583 --> 00:05:05,500 and from this new sect that has become known as Christians. 102 00:05:05,500 --> 00:05:08,625 Their religious fervor is a thorn in his side. 103 00:05:08,625 --> 00:05:11,708 His spies tell him of the holy sites they revere, 104 00:05:11,708 --> 00:05:16,042 including the place where Jesus was crucified and buried. 105 00:05:16,042 --> 00:05:18,500 So he decides to build a new temple over the side 106 00:05:18,500 --> 00:05:21,542 of the tomb, effectively to wipe it out 107 00:05:21,542 --> 00:05:25,208 and instead pay tribute to one of his family deities, 108 00:05:25,208 --> 00:05:27,708 most likely the pagan god, Venus, 109 00:05:27,708 --> 00:05:30,375 or perhaps the pagan god, Jupiter. 110 00:05:31,500 --> 00:05:33,125 - Scholars from the time suggested Hadrian 111 00:05:33,125 --> 00:05:36,333 is trying to show the dominance of Roman religion. 112 00:05:36,333 --> 00:05:37,792 [soldiers marching] 113 00:05:37,792 --> 00:05:42,375 - [Dennis] The pagan Romans rule Judea until 324 AD 114 00:05:42,375 --> 00:05:44,750 when after a series of civil wars, 115 00:05:44,750 --> 00:05:48,042 Constantine becomes the sole emperor. 116 00:05:48,042 --> 00:05:51,042 - Constantine had been born into the Pagan religion, 117 00:05:51,042 --> 00:05:54,708 but encounters Christianity during his travels in the East. 118 00:05:54,708 --> 00:05:58,292 In 312 AD, while fighting for the right to sit upon 119 00:05:58,292 --> 00:06:02,000 the Roman throne, Constantine sees a sign. 120 00:06:02,000 --> 00:06:04,750 Some accounts say a cross of fire in the heavens, 121 00:06:04,750 --> 00:06:08,625 followed by a vision of Jesus promising victory in battle 122 00:06:08,625 --> 00:06:13,583 if he converts to Christianity. He does and he wins. 123 00:06:15,000 --> 00:06:19,250 - Consequently, Constantine credits much of his success 124 00:06:19,250 --> 00:06:21,542 in this battle to the Christian God. 125 00:06:22,708 --> 00:06:25,500 - After that, Christians are no longer persecuted 126 00:06:25,500 --> 00:06:27,042 in the holy city 127 00:06:27,042 --> 00:06:29,833 and the religion is legalized making it possible 128 00:06:29,833 --> 00:06:32,958 for the followers of Jesus to worship openly. 129 00:06:32,958 --> 00:06:35,667 One of the first places they start to return to 130 00:06:35,667 --> 00:06:38,583 is this temple Hadrian built. 131 00:06:39,958 --> 00:06:41,958 - [Dennis] Even Emperor Constantine's mother, 132 00:06:41,958 --> 00:06:47,083 Helena makes a pilgrimage to the area in 326 AD. 133 00:06:47,708 --> 00:06:50,875 - Helena is surprised to see all these Christians gathering 134 00:06:50,875 --> 00:06:54,542 and worshiping at a pagan temple from Hadrian's era. 135 00:06:54,542 --> 00:06:57,667 So she asks around and she's told, 136 00:06:57,667 --> 00:06:59,708 well, we're not doing this because of the temple. 137 00:06:59,708 --> 00:07:02,917 We're here for what we believe is underneath. 138 00:07:02,917 --> 00:07:06,875 This is the tomb where our Lord was resurrected. 139 00:07:06,875 --> 00:07:09,792 Constantine and his mother assume 140 00:07:09,792 --> 00:07:12,375 that the worshipers have in fact found 141 00:07:12,375 --> 00:07:13,917 the long lost tomb of Jesus. 142 00:07:15,083 --> 00:07:18,458 - Constantine orders Hadrian's temple torn down. 143 00:07:18,458 --> 00:07:19,833 Just as he hoped 144 00:07:19,833 --> 00:07:23,667 an excavation of the site reveals a rock-cut tomb 145 00:07:23,667 --> 00:07:24,833 beneath the rubble. 146 00:07:24,833 --> 00:07:26,542 [upbeat music] 147 00:07:26,542 --> 00:07:28,708 - [Dennis] Constantine declares this location, 148 00:07:28,708 --> 00:07:32,125 a holy landmark and builds a new place of worship 149 00:07:32,125 --> 00:07:36,500 on the grounds called the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. 150 00:07:37,625 --> 00:07:41,083 - It contains both the alleged tomb of Jesus 151 00:07:41,083 --> 00:07:42,750 and the site of the crucifixion, 152 00:07:42,750 --> 00:07:44,667 and it's still standing today. 153 00:07:44,667 --> 00:07:48,792 The complex covers over 50,000 square feet. 154 00:07:48,792 --> 00:07:51,083 It's comprised of several connected 155 00:07:51,083 --> 00:07:53,292 chapels and a courtyard. 156 00:07:53,708 --> 00:07:57,542 - The biggest draws for the devout are the Martyrium 157 00:07:57,542 --> 00:07:59,500 and the Aedicule. 158 00:07:59,500 --> 00:08:01,583 - The Martyrium in the great Basilica 159 00:08:01,583 --> 00:08:05,667 is the most extravagantly decorated section of the church. 160 00:08:05,667 --> 00:08:07,708 The name Martyrium, of course, refers to the place 161 00:08:07,708 --> 00:08:09,500 where Jesus was martyred. 162 00:08:09,500 --> 00:08:11,750 This section encloses the supposed site 163 00:08:11,750 --> 00:08:15,042 where the crucifixion took place on the hill of Golgotha. 164 00:08:16,417 --> 00:08:18,458 - [Dennis] The Aedicule, an ancient Roman term 165 00:08:18,458 --> 00:08:22,375 for a small shrine is even more revered. 166 00:08:22,375 --> 00:08:23,708 - In the front room is a fragment 167 00:08:23,708 --> 00:08:25,542 known as the Angel Stone. 168 00:08:25,542 --> 00:08:28,292 This piece of rock is believed to come from the door 169 00:08:28,292 --> 00:08:29,875 that sealed the tomb. 170 00:08:29,875 --> 00:08:32,917 In the other room, stands the tomb itself. 171 00:08:32,917 --> 00:08:37,458 - Christ's tomb has now been encased in a marble shrine. 172 00:08:37,458 --> 00:08:40,208 They've made very sure the whole church 173 00:08:40,208 --> 00:08:44,542 and everything inside are incredibly well protected. 174 00:08:44,542 --> 00:08:47,125 [solemn music] 175 00:08:47,125 --> 00:08:51,000 - Services are still held near the tomb by the Catholics, 176 00:08:51,000 --> 00:08:53,958 the Greek Orthodox and the Armenian Apostolic Church. 177 00:08:55,250 --> 00:08:57,250 The most well known occurs on Easter which is 178 00:08:57,250 --> 00:09:00,542 the day that commemorates the resurrection of Jesus 179 00:09:00,542 --> 00:09:03,167 that many people believe happened right here. 180 00:09:04,625 --> 00:09:07,333 - [Dennis] But not everyone is convinced this actually 181 00:09:07,333 --> 00:09:09,708 is the correct tomb. 182 00:09:09,708 --> 00:09:12,542 - Throughout the years, many researchers have asked, 183 00:09:12,542 --> 00:09:14,167 what if Constantine got it wrong? 184 00:09:19,917 --> 00:09:22,792 - [Dennis] Influenced by the Roman Emperor Constantine, 185 00:09:22,792 --> 00:09:26,042 many Christians believe the tomb of Jesus Christ 186 00:09:26,042 --> 00:09:29,792 lies inside Jerusalem's Church of the Holy Sepulchre. 187 00:09:30,917 --> 00:09:32,750 - Constantine bases his opinion on the fact that 188 00:09:32,750 --> 00:09:36,708 Christians were found worshiping at the site in 326 AD, 189 00:09:36,708 --> 00:09:38,417 but this is the 4th century, 190 00:09:38,417 --> 00:09:41,458 almost 300 years after Jesus' death. 191 00:09:41,458 --> 00:09:45,542 So how did the Christians know that this is the right place? 192 00:09:45,542 --> 00:09:47,083 How does Constantine know? 193 00:09:48,583 --> 00:09:50,375 - Jerusalem has been occupied. 194 00:09:50,375 --> 00:09:52,167 It's been attacked multiple times. 195 00:09:52,167 --> 00:09:54,292 It's been destroyed twice. 196 00:09:54,292 --> 00:09:55,917 The city plans have changed, 197 00:09:55,917 --> 00:09:58,375 the locations have been forgotten and obscured. 198 00:09:58,375 --> 00:10:02,083 Even with today's technology, it's very difficult 199 00:10:02,083 --> 00:10:06,750 to determine precisely what was where during Jesus' time. 200 00:10:06,750 --> 00:10:08,917 - A number of Protestant scholars start questioning 201 00:10:08,917 --> 00:10:12,542 the Holy Sepulchre site throughout the 1800s. 202 00:10:12,542 --> 00:10:14,708 - [Dennis] This uncertainty gives rise 203 00:10:14,708 --> 00:10:19,500 to a number of other ideas on where the tomb could be, 204 00:10:19,500 --> 00:10:21,625 including a location just outside 205 00:10:21,625 --> 00:10:24,667 the walls of Jerusalem's old city, 206 00:10:24,667 --> 00:10:27,125 it's known as the Garden Tomb. 207 00:10:28,708 --> 00:10:31,833 - Located close to the city's northwest gate, 208 00:10:31,833 --> 00:10:35,833 the Garden Tomb was first excavated in 1867 209 00:10:35,833 --> 00:10:37,875 by a local landowner from Jerusalem. 210 00:10:39,042 --> 00:10:41,708 - At first this isn't thought to be Jesus's tomb, 211 00:10:41,708 --> 00:10:44,250 just an interesting archaeological find. 212 00:10:45,917 --> 00:10:49,500 - [Dennis] Then in 1883, a British officer finds evidence, 213 00:10:49,500 --> 00:10:52,125 he believes connects the tomb to Jesus. 214 00:10:53,667 --> 00:10:56,542 - General Charles Gordon comes upon the Garden Tomb 215 00:10:56,542 --> 00:10:59,000 while he's stationed in Jerusalem. 216 00:10:59,000 --> 00:11:02,125 In his book "Reflections in Palestine," he proposes 217 00:11:02,125 --> 00:11:06,083 that this is the actual final resting place of Christ. 218 00:11:06,083 --> 00:11:08,542 - The prevailing Christian viewpoint as well 219 00:11:08,542 --> 00:11:10,708 as the historical record suggests that 220 00:11:10,708 --> 00:11:15,042 Jesus would've been crucified outside the city walls. 221 00:11:15,042 --> 00:11:17,500 And the Bible states that his tomb is right nearby 222 00:11:17,500 --> 00:11:19,208 the crucifixion site. 223 00:11:19,208 --> 00:11:23,917 The tomb at the Holy Sepulchre is inside the city walls. 224 00:11:23,917 --> 00:11:26,833 Now, many scholars believe that wasn't always the case 225 00:11:26,833 --> 00:11:29,167 that the walls were extended, 226 00:11:29,167 --> 00:11:31,750 and if that's true, then the Holy Sepulchre tomb 227 00:11:31,750 --> 00:11:34,500 was once also outside the city walls. 228 00:11:34,500 --> 00:11:37,917 But since we don't know for sure, it plants a seed of doubt. 229 00:11:39,167 --> 00:11:41,000 - [Dennis] General Gordon finds another piece 230 00:11:41,000 --> 00:11:45,458 of compelling evidence in the area to make his case. 231 00:11:45,458 --> 00:11:49,083 - Just past the garden wall that houses the tomb, 232 00:11:49,083 --> 00:11:51,458 there's an outcropping of rock 233 00:11:51,458 --> 00:11:55,417 and it features a naturally occurring formation 234 00:11:55,417 --> 00:11:57,167 in the shape of a skull. 235 00:11:57,167 --> 00:12:00,250 This feature is what convinces General Gordon 236 00:12:00,250 --> 00:12:03,333 that he's found the right spot since in the Bible it says 237 00:12:03,333 --> 00:12:06,875 that Jesus is crucified on the Hill of Golgotha, 238 00:12:06,875 --> 00:12:09,333 known in English as Skull Hill. 239 00:12:09,333 --> 00:12:11,000 Many Christian scholars believe 240 00:12:11,000 --> 00:12:14,708 that this is the actual location of the crucifixion. 241 00:12:16,750 --> 00:12:18,125 - [Dennis] Despite this, 242 00:12:18,125 --> 00:12:21,250 experts have not yet conclusively proven 243 00:12:21,250 --> 00:12:24,375 that this is where Jesus was buried. 244 00:12:24,375 --> 00:12:27,000 - Scholars have found that this tomb doesn't have 245 00:12:27,000 --> 00:12:30,417 the normal features of a 1st century tomb. 246 00:12:30,417 --> 00:12:32,625 It seems much older. 247 00:12:32,625 --> 00:12:34,375 Depending on which archaeologists you ask, 248 00:12:34,375 --> 00:12:37,083 the Garden Tomb could date back anywhere 249 00:12:37,083 --> 00:12:42,000 between the 2nd century and the 8th century BC. 250 00:12:42,000 --> 00:12:45,000 This of course, is way before the crucifixion of Jesus. 251 00:12:45,917 --> 00:12:47,917 - Now tombs were often reused 252 00:12:47,917 --> 00:12:49,333 and maybe that's what happened, 253 00:12:49,333 --> 00:12:52,375 but the Bible states that Jesus was buried 254 00:12:52,375 --> 00:12:56,500 in a brand new unused tomb that Joseph of Arimathea 255 00:12:56,500 --> 00:12:58,250 had set aside for himself. 256 00:12:59,375 --> 00:13:01,917 - [Dennis] Even so, the Garden Tomb retains 257 00:13:01,917 --> 00:13:04,458 its fair share of believers. 258 00:13:04,458 --> 00:13:05,625 - While the Catholic church 259 00:13:05,625 --> 00:13:07,833 doesn't recognize it as the real deal, 260 00:13:07,833 --> 00:13:11,250 many Evangelical and Protestant churches do. 261 00:13:11,250 --> 00:13:13,833 And it manages to draw hundreds of thousands 262 00:13:13,833 --> 00:13:15,375 of visitors annually. 263 00:13:15,375 --> 00:13:17,667 - [Dennis] But there's another potential site 264 00:13:17,667 --> 00:13:19,875 to consider nearby. 265 00:13:21,000 --> 00:13:24,292 In 1980, a mysterious rock-cut tomb 266 00:13:24,292 --> 00:13:28,708 is discovered three miles south of Jerusalem's old city. 267 00:13:28,708 --> 00:13:31,167 - In the Talpiot region in East Jerusalem, 268 00:13:31,167 --> 00:13:34,875 workers building an apartment complex find an ancient tomb. 269 00:13:34,875 --> 00:13:37,917 It contains an 8 x 8 foot square central room 270 00:13:37,917 --> 00:13:39,917 with an entrance on one side 271 00:13:39,917 --> 00:13:43,542 and body length burial niches cut perpendicularly 272 00:13:43,542 --> 00:13:45,542 into three other sides. 273 00:13:45,542 --> 00:13:49,292 - In total, the Talpiot tomb contains 10 burial spaces 274 00:13:49,292 --> 00:13:50,708 or called ossuaries, 275 00:13:50,708 --> 00:13:53,917 six of which contain inscribed epigraphs. 276 00:13:53,917 --> 00:13:57,042 One of the epigraphs says "Yeshua Bar Yehosef," 277 00:13:57,042 --> 00:14:00,708 which is "Jesus, Son of Joseph" in the Aramaic language 278 00:14:00,708 --> 00:14:03,875 and another epigraph says "Mariamne E Mara," 279 00:14:03,875 --> 00:14:07,375 which means, "Mary known as the Master." 280 00:14:07,375 --> 00:14:11,333 - [Dennis] There are a few other notable names as well. 281 00:14:11,333 --> 00:14:13,833 - Three of the other stone burial boxes are marked, 282 00:14:13,833 --> 00:14:16,042 Matthew, Joseph and Judas. 283 00:14:16,042 --> 00:14:18,042 There is also an additional box marked 284 00:14:18,042 --> 00:14:19,333 with the name of Mary. 285 00:14:20,667 --> 00:14:22,083 - This leads some scholars to believe 286 00:14:22,083 --> 00:14:24,625 that Jesus was not in fact buried 287 00:14:24,625 --> 00:14:26,625 in Joseph of Arimathea's tomb, 288 00:14:26,625 --> 00:14:30,000 but was instead interred here with his entire family, 289 00:14:30,000 --> 00:14:34,583 where nearly 2,000 years later they might still be found. 290 00:14:34,583 --> 00:14:37,125 - The ossuaries contain bones, 291 00:14:37,125 --> 00:14:41,208 but they're in an advanced state of deterioration 292 00:14:41,208 --> 00:14:43,042 and they're also all kind of jumbled up. 293 00:14:43,042 --> 00:14:47,083 So it seems that the site was previously disturbed 294 00:14:47,083 --> 00:14:49,500 at some point in antiquity. 295 00:14:49,500 --> 00:14:52,500 And soon after the discovery, the bones were given over 296 00:14:52,500 --> 00:14:55,375 to Jewish religious authorities for reburial. 297 00:14:55,375 --> 00:14:59,958 So we can only speculate as to who these people were. 298 00:14:59,958 --> 00:15:01,875 - Until we can find some hard evidence 299 00:15:01,875 --> 00:15:03,958 that supports Jesus being buried 300 00:15:03,958 --> 00:15:06,667 in one of these alternate tombs in Jerusalem, 301 00:15:06,667 --> 00:15:10,000 I think most Christians will continue to stick by 302 00:15:10,000 --> 00:15:11,625 the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. 303 00:15:13,250 --> 00:15:17,542 - [Dennis] Then in 1933, another possible location comes 304 00:15:17,542 --> 00:15:22,542 to the forefront and this one is nowhere near Jerusalem. 305 00:15:23,917 --> 00:15:25,083 - [Varun] One of the most surprising claims 306 00:15:25,083 --> 00:15:26,542 to the final resting place of Jesus 307 00:15:26,542 --> 00:15:29,208 is almost halfway around the world from where he was born 308 00:15:29,208 --> 00:15:31,542 in the town of Shingo, Japan. 309 00:15:32,750 --> 00:15:34,125 - It sounds crazy to think 310 00:15:34,125 --> 00:15:38,542 that Jesus might actually be buried 5,600 miles away 311 00:15:38,542 --> 00:15:42,958 from Jerusalem, especially in a tiny Japanese village 312 00:15:42,958 --> 00:15:46,042 with a population of just 2,200 people. 313 00:15:47,500 --> 00:15:51,042 Shingo is known for its cattle ranches and yam production, 314 00:15:51,042 --> 00:15:53,542 and it's also home to the only family in the world 315 00:15:53,542 --> 00:15:56,708 that claims to be descendants of Jesus. 316 00:15:57,375 --> 00:15:59,500 - There's a set of religious texts called 317 00:15:59,500 --> 00:16:04,583 the Takenouchi Documents, and these are discovered in 1933 318 00:16:04,583 --> 00:16:07,708 and they say that Jesus did not die on Golgotha Hill. 319 00:16:07,708 --> 00:16:11,208 Instead, he flees from Roman persecution in Jerusalem, 320 00:16:11,208 --> 00:16:14,542 taking with him a lock of the Virgin Mary's hair 321 00:16:14,542 --> 00:16:16,958 and an ear that belonged to his younger brother 322 00:16:16,958 --> 00:16:18,542 who is named Isukiri. 323 00:16:20,125 --> 00:16:24,250 - The texts say that Isukiri took Jesus' place on the cross 324 00:16:24,250 --> 00:16:28,500 and that it was he not Jesus who died that day in 33 AD, 325 00:16:28,500 --> 00:16:31,333 and it's also Isukiri who is buried in Jerusalem. 326 00:16:32,500 --> 00:16:33,500 - [Dennis] This means, 327 00:16:33,500 --> 00:16:36,208 according to the Takenouchi Documents, 328 00:16:36,208 --> 00:16:38,750 there is no resurrection. 329 00:16:38,750 --> 00:16:42,208 - In this story, Jesus manages to leave Jerusalem. 330 00:16:42,208 --> 00:16:45,375 He travels up to Siberia across to Alaska 331 00:16:45,375 --> 00:16:48,000 and then by ship back over to Asia landing 332 00:16:48,000 --> 00:16:49,333 in northeastern Japan. 333 00:16:50,375 --> 00:16:53,375 - Once he's in Japan, Jesus changes his name 334 00:16:53,375 --> 00:16:57,208 to Daitenku Tora Torai and settles in the Aomori province 335 00:16:57,208 --> 00:16:58,875 in the village of Shingo. 336 00:16:58,875 --> 00:17:00,333 He becomes a rice farmer. 337 00:17:00,333 --> 00:17:03,917 He marries a 20-year-old Japanese woman named Miyuko. 338 00:17:03,917 --> 00:17:06,250 The couple goes on to have three children 339 00:17:06,250 --> 00:17:09,042 and at least one grandchild before Jesus dies 340 00:17:09,042 --> 00:17:11,917 at the very old age of 106. 341 00:17:11,917 --> 00:17:14,708 When he dies, his family takes his bones 342 00:17:14,708 --> 00:17:17,750 and buries them in a pit in the center of the village, 343 00:17:17,750 --> 00:17:19,250 marking it with a cross. 344 00:17:20,542 --> 00:17:23,208 - The Sawaguchi family lives in Shingo claim 345 00:17:23,208 --> 00:17:25,750 that they are the direct descendants 346 00:17:25,750 --> 00:17:28,083 of one of Jesus' daughters. 347 00:17:28,083 --> 00:17:29,333 It's interesting that, although 348 00:17:29,417 --> 00:17:32,208 the family has lived in the village for centuries, 349 00:17:32,208 --> 00:17:35,167 they do possess some non-Japanese features, 350 00:17:35,167 --> 00:17:40,167 but there's no proof that their Western ancestor is Jesus. 351 00:17:41,375 --> 00:17:43,333 - One footnote worth mentioning after being transferred 352 00:17:43,333 --> 00:17:45,542 to Tokyo during World War II, 353 00:17:45,542 --> 00:17:48,333 the Takenouchi Documents disappear. 354 00:17:48,333 --> 00:17:51,708 So there's no longer any written verification 355 00:17:51,708 --> 00:17:53,250 that this story is true. 356 00:17:53,250 --> 00:17:54,875 Of course, there's nothing to prove 357 00:17:54,875 --> 00:17:56,708 that it isn't true either. 358 00:18:00,792 --> 00:18:02,208 - In the northwest of Israel 359 00:18:02,208 --> 00:18:04,958 sits the ancient port city of Acre. 360 00:18:04,958 --> 00:18:07,208 Dating back to the Bronze Age, it's known 361 00:18:07,208 --> 00:18:10,375 as the oldest continuously inhabited city 362 00:18:10,375 --> 00:18:15,375 in the world and it's a city with secrets. 363 00:18:16,667 --> 00:18:19,542 - From the Egyptians and the Phoenicians to the Ottomans 364 00:18:19,542 --> 00:18:24,000 and the Israelis, Acre has been ruled by many 365 00:18:24,000 --> 00:18:25,292 of the greatest empires. 366 00:18:25,292 --> 00:18:28,667 It's chock full of celebrated religious sites 367 00:18:28,667 --> 00:18:30,792 and in a place with this much history 368 00:18:30,792 --> 00:18:34,125 the cool thing is that there are still many new discoveries 369 00:18:34,125 --> 00:18:36,125 being made each year, 370 00:18:36,125 --> 00:18:37,958 - [Dennis] Including one sacred site 371 00:18:37,958 --> 00:18:40,458 that's found completely by accident. 372 00:18:43,375 --> 00:18:46,500 - In 1994, a resident of Acre's old city discovers 373 00:18:46,500 --> 00:18:49,542 that one of the drains beneath his house is all blocked up. 374 00:18:49,542 --> 00:18:52,083 This regular run-of-the-mill plumber shows up 375 00:18:52,083 --> 00:18:53,792 to check the drain 376 00:18:53,792 --> 00:18:56,042 and makes one of the most shocking archaeological 377 00:18:56,042 --> 00:18:58,167 discoveries in recent history. 378 00:18:58,167 --> 00:18:59,750 Right beneath the resident's house, 379 00:18:59,750 --> 00:19:03,125 the plumber finds a medieval stone tunnel filled 380 00:19:03,125 --> 00:19:04,583 with sea water. 381 00:19:04,583 --> 00:19:06,375 - An archaeological team is called in 382 00:19:06,375 --> 00:19:09,708 and they determined that not only does the tunnel date 383 00:19:09,708 --> 00:19:11,792 all the way back to the 12th century, 384 00:19:11,792 --> 00:19:14,042 but it's been built by a group 385 00:19:14,042 --> 00:19:17,250 of the most famous residents of the city, 386 00:19:17,250 --> 00:19:18,500 the Knights Templar. 387 00:19:20,167 --> 00:19:22,375 - [Dennis] The famed military order is created 388 00:19:22,375 --> 00:19:25,792 by the Roman Catholic Church in the 12th century. 389 00:19:25,792 --> 00:19:29,375 - The Templars are founded on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem 390 00:19:29,375 --> 00:19:33,458 and they are a highly- skilled group of fighters. 391 00:19:33,458 --> 00:19:37,042 They travel far and wide across Europe and the Middle East. 392 00:19:37,042 --> 00:19:40,208 They also help to protect pilgrims 393 00:19:40,208 --> 00:19:42,542 who are traveling to and from Jerusalem 394 00:19:44,667 --> 00:19:48,500 - Due to pirate and marauder attacks from Muslim raiders, 395 00:19:48,500 --> 00:19:50,750 traveling is especially dangerous for people 396 00:19:50,750 --> 00:19:52,375 of means and wealth, 397 00:19:52,375 --> 00:19:55,167 so the Knights Templar also rent their ships out for hire 398 00:19:55,167 --> 00:19:56,667 to help rich people get around. 399 00:19:58,417 --> 00:20:01,208 - [Dennis] But the Templars guard more than just people. 400 00:20:01,208 --> 00:20:03,667 - They transport valuables and important goods 401 00:20:03,667 --> 00:20:07,500 like wine and horses or large sums of money. 402 00:20:07,500 --> 00:20:11,417 They even broker trade deals on behalf of sovereigns, 403 00:20:11,417 --> 00:20:13,708 foreign merchants and pilgrims. 404 00:20:13,708 --> 00:20:15,417 - The interesting thing about this 405 00:20:15,417 --> 00:20:18,042 is that despite handling vast amounts of wealth 406 00:20:18,042 --> 00:20:21,375 for other people, the Knights Templar are technically 407 00:20:21,375 --> 00:20:25,167 a monastic group, so they've sworn an oath of poverty. 408 00:20:26,292 --> 00:20:28,667 - But the oath of poverty doesn't stop them 409 00:20:28,667 --> 00:20:30,542 from accepting tips. 410 00:20:30,542 --> 00:20:32,083 Over the years, the group collects 411 00:20:32,083 --> 00:20:34,000 a vast amount of money given to them 412 00:20:34,000 --> 00:20:37,833 by charitable Christians grateful for their protection. 413 00:20:37,833 --> 00:20:39,792 - [Dennis] As the Templars wealth grows, 414 00:20:39,792 --> 00:20:44,292 so does their reputation as clever financiers. 415 00:20:44,292 --> 00:20:47,208 - Apparently, the oath of poverty also doesn't apply 416 00:20:47,208 --> 00:20:48,375 to cheating the taxmen. 417 00:20:48,375 --> 00:20:49,542 They devise a system 418 00:20:49,542 --> 00:20:52,167 to circumvent certain medieval laws. 419 00:20:52,167 --> 00:20:54,875 This enables them to levy interest on loans 420 00:20:54,875 --> 00:20:57,333 and they continue to expand their fortune. 421 00:20:58,792 --> 00:21:00,500 - But they can't just carry this fortune around with them 422 00:21:00,500 --> 00:21:03,500 that would be extremely impractical and dangerous, 423 00:21:03,500 --> 00:21:06,208 and so they begin to build heavily-guarded castles 424 00:21:06,208 --> 00:21:08,375 in order to protect their wealth. 425 00:21:08,375 --> 00:21:10,542 - Everything they collect is originally stored 426 00:21:10,542 --> 00:21:13,000 at their headquarters on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem, 427 00:21:13,000 --> 00:21:16,583 but when the Muslim Sultan Saladin conquers Jerusalem 428 00:21:16,583 --> 00:21:19,875 in 1187, the Templars are forced out. 429 00:21:21,500 --> 00:21:23,708 - [Dennis] According to a 13th century journal written 430 00:21:23,708 --> 00:21:26,333 by a former knight, the Templars retreat 431 00:21:26,333 --> 00:21:29,333 to a fortress by the sea. 432 00:21:29,333 --> 00:21:32,167 - The journal belongs to a Templar named Pierre. 433 00:21:32,167 --> 00:21:34,333 He doesn't give us his last name. 434 00:21:34,333 --> 00:21:36,833 He says that within their seaside fortress 435 00:21:36,833 --> 00:21:40,458 is a tower where the knights keep the treasure. 436 00:21:40,458 --> 00:21:42,875 He doesn't say where this fortress is located, 437 00:21:42,875 --> 00:21:46,375 probably on purpose so nobody will come and steal from them. 438 00:21:47,750 --> 00:21:50,000 - When this tunnel is discovered by the plumber in Acre 439 00:21:50,000 --> 00:21:53,875 in 1994, people begin to put two and two together. 440 00:21:53,875 --> 00:21:56,333 The tunnel starts at the sea at Acres port 441 00:21:56,333 --> 00:21:57,875 on the east side of the city. 442 00:21:57,875 --> 00:22:00,083 It runs from there to the southwestern tip 443 00:22:00,083 --> 00:22:02,208 where the Templars built a fortress, 444 00:22:02,208 --> 00:22:04,750 some of which still stands today. 445 00:22:04,750 --> 00:22:08,583 - The tunnel cuts across the old city's Pisan quarter. 446 00:22:08,583 --> 00:22:11,875 It is at least 500 feet in length, though some sources say 447 00:22:11,875 --> 00:22:14,875 it could have originally been nearly 1000 feet. 448 00:22:14,875 --> 00:22:17,917 The lower part of the tunnel is carved out of natural rock. 449 00:22:17,917 --> 00:22:20,958 While the upper section is a semi-barrelled dome 450 00:22:20,958 --> 00:22:22,583 made out of hewn stones. 451 00:22:23,875 --> 00:22:27,708 - Its entrance is protected by two soaring towers 452 00:22:27,708 --> 00:22:32,667 with 28-foot thick walls flanked by two smaller towers, 453 00:22:33,667 --> 00:22:36,542 each adorned with a huge gilded ox. 454 00:22:37,667 --> 00:22:39,667 - [Dennis] Could this tunnel and fortress 455 00:22:39,667 --> 00:22:42,542 have housed a vast hoard of treasure? 456 00:22:43,625 --> 00:22:45,042 - We know for sure that the Templars use 457 00:22:45,042 --> 00:22:48,500 the tunnel as a strategic underground passageway 458 00:22:48,500 --> 00:22:50,375 from the fort to the port, 459 00:22:50,375 --> 00:22:52,625 as well as an escape route during battle. 460 00:22:52,625 --> 00:22:55,375 There's no reason why they couldn't also have brought goods 461 00:22:55,375 --> 00:22:57,250 and supplies and, for that matter, 462 00:22:57,250 --> 00:22:59,583 a giant sacred treasure through there, too. 463 00:23:00,625 --> 00:23:02,542 - As soon as the tunnel is discovered, 464 00:23:02,542 --> 00:23:05,500 the press runs with this idea and begins 465 00:23:05,500 --> 00:23:07,917 to even call this the treasure tunnel. 466 00:23:07,917 --> 00:23:10,833 - But the vast fortune of the Knights Templar, 467 00:23:10,833 --> 00:23:13,625 if it exists, has never been found. 468 00:23:13,625 --> 00:23:16,542 It's certainly not still sitting in this tunnel, 469 00:23:16,542 --> 00:23:19,292 and the fortress has been over the years 470 00:23:19,292 --> 00:23:21,542 extensively explored and excavated, 471 00:23:21,542 --> 00:23:23,625 and it's not there either. 472 00:23:25,000 --> 00:23:27,000 - [Dennis] Historians and treasure hunters 473 00:23:27,000 --> 00:23:28,375 have long questioned 474 00:23:28,375 --> 00:23:32,750 where else the alleged Templar fortune might be? 475 00:23:32,750 --> 00:23:35,625 - Like many ancient cities in Israel, 476 00:23:35,625 --> 00:23:40,458 Acre is like a massive sandwich of archaeological layers. 477 00:23:40,458 --> 00:23:43,292 It's got thousands of years of construction 478 00:23:43,292 --> 00:23:46,208 built all on top of itself. 479 00:23:46,208 --> 00:23:47,542 - Finding this tunnel and fortress 480 00:23:47,542 --> 00:23:49,625 are really just the tip of the iceberg 481 00:23:49,625 --> 00:23:51,708 compared to all that's hidden down below. 482 00:23:51,708 --> 00:23:53,042 [dark drone builds to crescendo] 483 00:23:57,667 --> 00:23:59,708 - [Dennis] Throughout history, there have been vast 484 00:23:59,708 --> 00:24:03,167 and mysterious treasures hidden below the surface, 485 00:24:04,417 --> 00:24:06,542 and when a secret Knights Templar tunnel 486 00:24:06,542 --> 00:24:10,000 is unearthed in Israel in 1994, 487 00:24:10,000 --> 00:24:14,542 many believe it could contain an incredible payload. 488 00:24:15,708 --> 00:24:17,208 - The Templars are headquartered in Acre 489 00:24:17,208 --> 00:24:18,750 for nearly a hundred years, 490 00:24:18,750 --> 00:24:20,375 and some historians have suggested 491 00:24:20,375 --> 00:24:22,375 that they brought a large amount of riches 492 00:24:22,375 --> 00:24:25,375 through this tunnel to a rumored treasure tower 493 00:24:25,375 --> 00:24:27,458 within a large fortress. 494 00:24:27,458 --> 00:24:30,167 - [Dennis] But after an extensive search, 495 00:24:30,167 --> 00:24:32,542 archaeologists come up empty. 496 00:24:33,875 --> 00:24:37,958 A conflict in 1291 could explain why. 497 00:24:39,875 --> 00:24:43,083 - The Mamluks, a Muslim Sultanate that rules Egypt 498 00:24:43,083 --> 00:24:45,375 and the surrounding area calls upon members 499 00:24:45,375 --> 00:24:47,542 of their empire across the Middle East 500 00:24:47,542 --> 00:24:50,625 to help them battle the Christian Crusaders. 501 00:24:50,625 --> 00:24:52,958 - Men come all the way from Egypt, 502 00:24:52,958 --> 00:24:55,833 from Syria and Lebanon to amass an army 503 00:24:55,833 --> 00:24:58,917 of nearly 100,000 volunteer fighters. 504 00:24:58,917 --> 00:25:01,542 It's the largest collection of soldiers 505 00:25:01,542 --> 00:25:05,083 they have had in their 200-year existence. 506 00:25:05,083 --> 00:25:08,625 - The Mamluk army attacks the city of Acre. 507 00:25:08,625 --> 00:25:11,667 [tense dramatic music] 508 00:25:11,667 --> 00:25:14,250 Their goal is to destroy the city walls, 509 00:25:14,250 --> 00:25:17,833 the Templar fortress, and anything else they can 510 00:25:17,833 --> 00:25:21,625 so that the city could never be used by Christians again. 511 00:25:22,708 --> 00:25:24,875 This isn't just the last stand of Acre, 512 00:25:24,875 --> 00:25:28,000 it's the last stand of all the Crusader states. 513 00:25:29,125 --> 00:25:30,708 - Most of the city is captured by the Mamluks 514 00:25:30,708 --> 00:25:32,875 in a matter of hours, 515 00:25:32,875 --> 00:25:36,375 but the Templar fortress holds out for 10 more days. 516 00:25:36,375 --> 00:25:39,708 It's finally taken on May 28th, 1291, 517 00:25:39,708 --> 00:25:41,583 and the Mamluks used explosives 518 00:25:41,583 --> 00:25:43,875 to destroy one of the towers. 519 00:25:43,875 --> 00:25:46,542 [explosion] 520 00:25:46,542 --> 00:25:48,458 This is pretty much the end of the Crusades 521 00:25:48,458 --> 00:25:51,042 and a stunning defeat for the Knights Templar. 522 00:25:54,833 --> 00:25:56,042 - In the aftermath of the battle, 523 00:25:56,042 --> 00:25:58,375 which is written about quite extensively. 524 00:25:58,375 --> 00:26:01,792 No mention is made of a large treasure hoard being captured. 525 00:26:03,208 --> 00:26:06,208 - [Dennis] This leads many to believe it's lost somewhere 526 00:26:06,208 --> 00:26:08,708 in the bowels of the fortress. 527 00:26:08,708 --> 00:26:12,542 - In 1840, the remains of the former Templar complex 528 00:26:12,542 --> 00:26:14,750 is used for ammunition storage. 529 00:26:14,750 --> 00:26:16,125 During a battle with the British army, 530 00:26:16,125 --> 00:26:20,042 the fortress is hit by enemy fire and it explodes. 531 00:26:20,042 --> 00:26:23,125 [cannon fires] 532 00:26:23,125 --> 00:26:26,208 It's pretty much in ruins for decades after that. 533 00:26:29,250 --> 00:26:33,833 - In 1912, a modern lighthouse is built on the western edge 534 00:26:33,833 --> 00:26:36,542 and people continue to visit the ruins 535 00:26:36,542 --> 00:26:39,750 of the once magnificent Templar stronghold. 536 00:26:39,750 --> 00:26:41,917 But in the aftermath of all that destruction 537 00:26:41,917 --> 00:26:44,375 and occupation, there's just no way 538 00:26:44,375 --> 00:26:48,208 to properly explore the site and to see what's down there. 539 00:26:49,708 --> 00:26:53,958 - [Dennis] Until the tunnel is rediscovered in 1994. 540 00:26:53,958 --> 00:26:56,042 - After its initial discovery by the plumber, 541 00:26:56,042 --> 00:26:58,083 the Acre Development company in collaboration 542 00:26:58,083 --> 00:27:01,583 with Israel's antiquities authority spends several years 543 00:27:01,583 --> 00:27:03,792 exploring the tunnel and fixing it up 544 00:27:03,792 --> 00:27:05,417 as a tourist attraction. 545 00:27:05,417 --> 00:27:09,500 The entire tunnel is finally opened to the public in 2007. 546 00:27:09,500 --> 00:27:11,333 - They don't find any treasure 547 00:27:11,333 --> 00:27:12,625 while they're doing this work, 548 00:27:12,625 --> 00:27:15,375 but they do open up a new avenue for exploration. 549 00:27:15,375 --> 00:27:18,167 Once the tunnels are fixed up, it allows better access 550 00:27:18,167 --> 00:27:21,375 to anything that might be hidden even further beneath them, 551 00:27:21,375 --> 00:27:24,917 including perhaps the Knights Templar treasure. 552 00:27:26,083 --> 00:27:29,875 - [Dennis] In 2019, an American archeologist 553 00:27:29,875 --> 00:27:31,750 uses state-of-the-art technology 554 00:27:31,750 --> 00:27:35,042 to scan the area underneath. 555 00:27:35,042 --> 00:27:37,083 - During the filming of a documentary in an effort 556 00:27:37,083 --> 00:27:38,917 to discover anything that remains 557 00:27:38,917 --> 00:27:40,792 of the Knights Templar era, 558 00:27:40,792 --> 00:27:43,958 archaeologist, Albert Lin uses LiDAR technology 559 00:27:43,958 --> 00:27:46,542 to scan the tunnel from above. 560 00:27:46,542 --> 00:27:48,375 - The LiDAR reveals a few new things 561 00:27:48,375 --> 00:27:49,958 that have never been seen before. 562 00:27:49,958 --> 00:27:52,542 There's an additional sprawling network of tunnels 563 00:27:52,542 --> 00:27:55,375 as well as what appears to be a guardhouse 564 00:27:55,375 --> 00:27:57,125 buried underneath the city. 565 00:27:57,125 --> 00:27:59,958 It doesn't specifically reveal the location of any gold, 566 00:27:59,958 --> 00:28:02,042 but these new tunnels and chamber 567 00:28:02,042 --> 00:28:03,792 are still a promising find. 568 00:28:03,792 --> 00:28:05,125 They haven't been excavated yet, 569 00:28:05,125 --> 00:28:07,333 but who knows what might be in there. 570 00:28:07,333 --> 00:28:09,792 [tense pulsating music] 571 00:28:09,792 --> 00:28:11,250 - [Dennis] There could be another reason 572 00:28:11,250 --> 00:28:13,292 the treasure hasn't been found yet. 573 00:28:14,708 --> 00:28:16,875 - So look, they had this tunnel, right? 574 00:28:16,875 --> 00:28:19,792 And if it brought the treasure into Acre, 575 00:28:19,792 --> 00:28:22,000 could it have also taken the treasure out? 576 00:28:22,000 --> 00:28:23,875 It's definitely possible. 577 00:28:23,875 --> 00:28:27,708 In advance of the Mamluk attack in 1291, 578 00:28:27,708 --> 00:28:30,583 the Templars have time to prepare. 579 00:28:30,583 --> 00:28:32,208 Before storming the city, 580 00:28:32,208 --> 00:28:36,000 the Mamluks hold it under siege for about five weeks. 581 00:28:36,000 --> 00:28:38,458 Plus, even after the attack begins, 582 00:28:38,458 --> 00:28:40,875 the Templars have that 10-day period 583 00:28:40,875 --> 00:28:43,500 where they're holding out inside the fortress. 584 00:28:43,500 --> 00:28:45,167 That's plenty of time to pack up 585 00:28:45,167 --> 00:28:49,042 and escape through their secret tunnel with their treasure. 586 00:28:49,042 --> 00:28:52,792 - We know for sure that some Templars escaped in this way. 587 00:28:52,792 --> 00:28:55,333 We have an account of one of the battle's survivors, 588 00:28:55,333 --> 00:28:59,250 a knight named Thibaud Gaudin, who's able to sneak away 589 00:28:59,250 --> 00:29:01,875 to Lebanon, and he's not the only one. 590 00:29:01,875 --> 00:29:06,292 There are stories of Templar survivors all across Europe. 591 00:29:06,292 --> 00:29:09,542 - [Dennis] If the treasure is in fact carried out of Acre, 592 00:29:09,542 --> 00:29:13,375 the possibilities for its whereabouts are endless. 593 00:29:13,375 --> 00:29:16,167 - The tunnel leads to the Mediterranean Sea. 594 00:29:16,167 --> 00:29:18,750 Now you load treasure onto a ship 595 00:29:18,750 --> 00:29:21,375 and you could take it anywhere. 596 00:29:21,375 --> 00:29:22,875 - There are all kinds of rumors 597 00:29:22,875 --> 00:29:25,958 as to where the Templar treasure ends up, 598 00:29:25,958 --> 00:29:29,917 the north of Scotland or Portugal, or Italy, 599 00:29:29,917 --> 00:29:33,083 even as far away as Oak Island in Nova Scotia. 600 00:29:34,375 --> 00:29:36,083 - The reach of the Knights Templar was vast. 601 00:29:36,083 --> 00:29:37,833 They had over a hundred castles 602 00:29:37,833 --> 00:29:40,292 and fortresses across nearly 20 countries. 603 00:29:40,292 --> 00:29:42,833 Many feature underground vaults, chambers 604 00:29:42,833 --> 00:29:45,875 and tunnels just like the one in Acre. 605 00:29:45,875 --> 00:29:49,000 - [Dennis] And not all of them have been fully explored. 606 00:29:49,000 --> 00:29:51,500 - Remember, this tunnel wasn't even found until 1994. 607 00:29:51,500 --> 00:29:55,167 As recently as 2023, researcher Edward Spencer Dyas 608 00:29:55,167 --> 00:29:58,583 finds an 800-year-old Templar cemetery 609 00:29:58,583 --> 00:30:00,958 all the way up in Enville, England. 610 00:30:00,958 --> 00:30:02,542 - It just goes to show that when it comes 611 00:30:02,542 --> 00:30:05,792 to the underground secrets of the Knights Templar treasure, 612 00:30:05,792 --> 00:30:07,417 we've barely scratched the surface. 613 00:30:11,625 --> 00:30:14,000 - 1902, Paola, Malta. 614 00:30:14,000 --> 00:30:17,375 Workers digging a cistern for a housing development make 615 00:30:17,375 --> 00:30:21,917 an unexpected find 30 feet beneath the surface. 616 00:30:23,417 --> 00:30:25,375 - They break through the roof of a large chamber, 617 00:30:25,375 --> 00:30:27,000 and when they look inside, they realize 618 00:30:27,000 --> 00:30:29,542 that there's some kind of manmade temple in there. 619 00:30:31,042 --> 00:30:34,042 - At first, the workers tried to hide what they found. 620 00:30:35,167 --> 00:30:36,917 They worry that this could sidetrack 621 00:30:36,917 --> 00:30:38,917 the construction project. 622 00:30:38,917 --> 00:30:41,458 - Eventually, someone else sees what they've uncovered 623 00:30:41,458 --> 00:30:44,292 and reports it to the local authorities. 624 00:30:44,292 --> 00:30:45,542 By November of 1903, 625 00:30:45,542 --> 00:30:49,042 archaeologists are called in to investigate. 626 00:30:49,042 --> 00:30:51,125 Once the experts have a look, they're shocked, 627 00:30:51,125 --> 00:30:53,208 absolutely dumbfounded 628 00:30:53,208 --> 00:30:55,083 because the sacred space dates back 629 00:30:55,083 --> 00:30:59,167 to between 4000 and 2000 BC. 630 00:30:59,167 --> 00:31:01,167 - That means it could potentially predate 631 00:31:01,167 --> 00:31:05,500 the first Egyptian pyramid by over 1,300 years, making it 632 00:31:05,500 --> 00:31:09,583 the oldest prehistoric underground temple in the world. 633 00:31:09,583 --> 00:31:12,542 [dark suspenseful drone] 634 00:31:12,542 --> 00:31:17,042 - The cavern is named the Hal Saflieni Hypogeum. 635 00:31:17,042 --> 00:31:18,417 Hypogeum is a Greek word 636 00:31:18,417 --> 00:31:21,208 that just literally means under the earth, 637 00:31:21,208 --> 00:31:23,958 while Hal Saflieni is the name of the village 638 00:31:23,958 --> 00:31:24,958 where it's found. 639 00:31:26,083 --> 00:31:27,667 - [Dennis] But the roots of this civilization 640 00:31:27,667 --> 00:31:29,708 go back much further. 641 00:31:29,708 --> 00:31:33,833 Malta is first settled around 5000 BC by fishermen, 642 00:31:33,833 --> 00:31:35,292 farmers, and hunters 643 00:31:35,292 --> 00:31:38,625 who make the journey from nearby Sicily. 644 00:31:38,625 --> 00:31:42,375 - These folks weren't considered an advanced civilization, 645 00:31:42,375 --> 00:31:46,125 not that many cultures were in 5000 BC, 646 00:31:46,125 --> 00:31:49,208 but once they find the Hypogeum, researchers realize 647 00:31:49,208 --> 00:31:51,625 that these early settlers to Malta 648 00:31:51,625 --> 00:31:54,583 might have been a whole lot brighter than we thought. 649 00:31:54,583 --> 00:31:56,875 - To put the Hypogeum into some kind of comparison, 650 00:31:56,875 --> 00:31:58,875 you know something else that was built 651 00:31:58,875 --> 00:32:01,625 around the same time, Stonehenge. 652 00:32:01,625 --> 00:32:05,375 Now look at the kind of rough- hewn nature of Stonehenge 653 00:32:05,375 --> 00:32:08,250 versus the refinement of this structure. 654 00:32:08,250 --> 00:32:10,958 The Hypogeum looks like it would fit in pretty well 655 00:32:10,958 --> 00:32:12,958 alongside a temple in ancient Greece, 656 00:32:12,958 --> 00:32:16,458 and that's pretty incredible. 657 00:32:16,458 --> 00:32:19,375 - [Dennis] Since there are no written records from the time, 658 00:32:19,375 --> 00:32:23,875 little is known about exactly who built the Hypogeum 659 00:32:23,875 --> 00:32:27,083 and more importantly, why? 660 00:32:27,083 --> 00:32:29,875 For clues, archaeologists start by looking 661 00:32:29,875 --> 00:32:31,708 at its construction. 662 00:32:31,708 --> 00:32:33,792 - They have a level of wisdom 663 00:32:33,792 --> 00:32:37,208 and engineering prowess unparalleled 664 00:32:37,208 --> 00:32:39,542 by any other prehistoric people. 665 00:32:39,542 --> 00:32:42,750 They include ceilings with one ring of carved stone, 666 00:32:42,750 --> 00:32:44,833 overhanging the one below 667 00:32:44,833 --> 00:32:48,042 to imitate a roof of corbelled masonry. 668 00:32:48,042 --> 00:32:51,708 - The structure also includes trilithon doorways 669 00:32:51,708 --> 00:32:55,000 and windows. There are two upright pillars supporting 670 00:32:55,000 --> 00:32:57,750 a cross piece that goes along the top. 671 00:32:57,750 --> 00:32:59,208 The most famous example 672 00:32:59,208 --> 00:33:03,042 of prehistoric trilithon architecture is Stonehenge. 673 00:33:04,167 --> 00:33:07,042 It almost makes you wonder if the builders 674 00:33:07,042 --> 00:33:10,500 of Stonehenge ever saw the Hypogeum of Malta 675 00:33:10,500 --> 00:33:14,125 and used some of its architectural style. 676 00:33:14,125 --> 00:33:15,917 We have absolutely no proof 677 00:33:15,917 --> 00:33:18,000 that anything like that ever happened, 678 00:33:18,000 --> 00:33:20,333 but the parallels are pretty amazing. 679 00:33:21,708 --> 00:33:25,250 - [Dennis] Once archaeologists understand how it was built, 680 00:33:25,250 --> 00:33:27,708 they turn their attention to why? 681 00:33:29,042 --> 00:33:31,542 - The temple's builders lay out these chambers 682 00:33:31,542 --> 00:33:34,708 so that the sunlight reaches the middle of the Hypogeum 683 00:33:34,708 --> 00:33:36,333 and on the winter solstice, 684 00:33:36,333 --> 00:33:40,375 the main temple chamber is illuminated in holy splendor. 685 00:33:40,375 --> 00:33:43,917 This is somewhat reminiscent of once again, Stonehenge, 686 00:33:43,917 --> 00:33:45,875 which is also thought to be built 687 00:33:45,875 --> 00:33:47,417 to align with the solstice. 688 00:33:47,417 --> 00:33:49,208 - Due to the solstice alignment, 689 00:33:49,208 --> 00:33:52,917 some archaeologists think that the Hal Saflieni people 690 00:33:52,917 --> 00:33:54,875 practice nature-oriented rituals, 691 00:33:54,875 --> 00:33:56,458 worshiping the divine cycles 692 00:33:56,458 --> 00:33:58,542 and rhythms of the moon and the sun. 693 00:33:59,708 --> 00:34:03,375 - They also seem to revere the earth or the soil. 694 00:34:03,375 --> 00:34:06,667 A red ocher clay found on the island is used to adorn 695 00:34:06,667 --> 00:34:08,417 the inside walls of the chamber 696 00:34:08,417 --> 00:34:12,042 with spiral and honeycomb designs. 697 00:34:12,042 --> 00:34:14,875 Funerary goods such as pottery and beads 698 00:34:14,875 --> 00:34:16,875 are also discovered suggesting this might have been 699 00:34:16,875 --> 00:34:19,667 an underground cemetery. 700 00:34:20,917 --> 00:34:22,208 - [Dennis] Adding further proof, 701 00:34:22,208 --> 00:34:26,292 they also find bodies and lots of them. 702 00:34:26,292 --> 00:34:29,625 - It's estimated that at least 7,000 people are buried 703 00:34:29,625 --> 00:34:34,083 in the Hypogeum over the course of about 2,500 years. 704 00:34:34,083 --> 00:34:35,917 When the archaeologists gather 705 00:34:35,917 --> 00:34:37,458 and analyze some of these bones, 706 00:34:37,458 --> 00:34:41,375 they discover that the bones are also covered with traces 707 00:34:41,375 --> 00:34:45,250 of the very same red clay that's used on the walls. 708 00:34:45,250 --> 00:34:47,333 - We can't be sure why the red ocher is used, 709 00:34:47,333 --> 00:34:49,792 but one possibility is that the red color 710 00:34:49,792 --> 00:34:52,000 is part of a religious ritual 711 00:34:52,000 --> 00:34:55,375 that infuses the bones with the color of life. 712 00:34:57,250 --> 00:35:00,250 - Unfortunately, out of the 7,000 bodies in the Hypogeum, 713 00:35:00,250 --> 00:35:03,042 only six remain intact. 714 00:35:03,042 --> 00:35:06,000 It seems that while their pre-burial rituals 715 00:35:06,000 --> 00:35:07,375 might have been careful, 716 00:35:07,375 --> 00:35:10,458 when it came time to lay the bodies to rest, 717 00:35:10,458 --> 00:35:13,125 they just kind of chucked them down there. 718 00:35:13,125 --> 00:35:15,958 After all the effort that they took 719 00:35:15,958 --> 00:35:18,167 to build this incredible structure 720 00:35:18,167 --> 00:35:21,333 and then to bathe the bodies in red clay, 721 00:35:21,333 --> 00:35:25,542 and just toss them in afterwards seems a little bit strange. 722 00:35:26,542 --> 00:35:28,292 To give you an kind of an example 723 00:35:28,292 --> 00:35:29,833 of how much is down there in the space 724 00:35:29,833 --> 00:35:33,875 of about four cubic yards, archaeologists find the remains 725 00:35:33,875 --> 00:35:37,583 of no less than 120 individuals. 726 00:35:37,583 --> 00:35:41,333 - It seems like the actual depositing of human remains 727 00:35:41,333 --> 00:35:44,750 is more of an afterthought here than the main event. 728 00:35:44,750 --> 00:35:47,000 Maybe it's not just a cemetery. 729 00:35:47,000 --> 00:35:47,833 [dramatic music] 730 00:35:52,708 --> 00:35:55,750 - [Dennis] Built deep beneath the surface of Malta, 731 00:35:55,750 --> 00:36:00,125 the 5000-year-old Hal Saflieni Hypogeum features 732 00:36:00,125 --> 00:36:02,875 some of the most advanced building techniques 733 00:36:02,875 --> 00:36:04,667 ever found from its era, 734 00:36:06,000 --> 00:36:09,458 but why it was built remains a mystery. 735 00:36:09,458 --> 00:36:11,625 - There are many bodies buried here, 736 00:36:11,625 --> 00:36:14,458 but they aren't buried very carefully. 737 00:36:14,458 --> 00:36:17,083 This suggests that maybe there was another function 738 00:36:17,083 --> 00:36:18,333 for this space as well. 739 00:36:19,708 --> 00:36:24,042 - [Dennis] In 2007, a local composer develops a hunch 740 00:36:24,042 --> 00:36:25,792 as to what that might be. 741 00:36:26,750 --> 00:36:28,833 - There's a Maltese composer, Ruben Zahra, 742 00:36:28,833 --> 00:36:30,500 and he visits the Hypogeum 743 00:36:30,500 --> 00:36:34,458 and he learns more about its incredible acoustic properties 744 00:36:34,458 --> 00:36:38,208 because if somebody speaks in the central oblong chamber, 745 00:36:38,208 --> 00:36:42,042 the building creates an echoing acoustic effect 746 00:36:42,042 --> 00:36:44,208 that's amplified nearly a hundred times 747 00:36:44,208 --> 00:36:47,792 and you can hear it throughout the entire Hypogeum. 748 00:36:47,792 --> 00:36:50,542 - Because of the booming voice it creates, 749 00:36:50,542 --> 00:36:53,375 they refer to this room as the oracle room. 750 00:36:53,375 --> 00:36:54,583 Standing in the Hypogeum 751 00:36:54,583 --> 00:36:57,125 is like being inside a giant bell. 752 00:36:57,125 --> 00:36:59,792 At certain pitches, you can even feel 753 00:36:59,792 --> 00:37:03,042 the sound vibrating inside your bone and tissue 754 00:37:03,042 --> 00:37:05,167 as much as hearing it in the ear. 755 00:37:05,167 --> 00:37:09,875 - [Dennis] Intrigued, Zahra conducts more in-depth research. 756 00:37:09,875 --> 00:37:12,042 - Zahra and a research team from Italy find 757 00:37:12,042 --> 00:37:15,875 that the reverberating sound in the oracle chamber resonates 758 00:37:15,875 --> 00:37:18,917 at precisely 110 hertz. 759 00:37:18,917 --> 00:37:22,833 This gets the attention of many other researchers worldwide 760 00:37:22,833 --> 00:37:26,750 because 110 hertz has already become a well-known frequency. 761 00:37:26,750 --> 00:37:30,750 In acoustical science, it's known as the holy frequency 762 00:37:30,750 --> 00:37:33,167 or the divine frequency. 763 00:37:33,167 --> 00:37:37,417 - Now it's unknown who first studies the divine frequency, 764 00:37:37,417 --> 00:37:39,208 but it pops up at least as far back 765 00:37:39,208 --> 00:37:43,208 as the ancient Greek Pythagoras in 500 BC. 766 00:37:43,208 --> 00:37:46,250 His musical scale starts with the note A 767 00:37:46,250 --> 00:37:48,875 that resonates at 110 hertz. 768 00:37:50,042 --> 00:37:51,917 - [Dennis] Modern science has proven that exposure 769 00:37:51,917 --> 00:37:56,292 to this frequency can have remarkable benefits. 770 00:37:56,292 --> 00:38:00,208 - In 2008, a team at UCLA study 771 00:38:00,208 --> 00:38:02,958 how the brain is impacted when exposed 772 00:38:02,958 --> 00:38:05,208 to this wavelength of sound. 773 00:38:05,208 --> 00:38:07,500 And during the study, MRIs conducted 774 00:38:07,500 --> 00:38:10,958 on healthy volunteers exposed to the divine frequency 775 00:38:10,958 --> 00:38:15,750 appear to show that the brain's prefrontal cortex 776 00:38:15,750 --> 00:38:19,042 and language centers actually shut down 777 00:38:19,042 --> 00:38:23,708 and switch from left-side to right-side dominance. 778 00:38:23,708 --> 00:38:26,292 - Those affected by this divine frequency report feelings 779 00:38:26,292 --> 00:38:28,542 of creativity and intuition 780 00:38:28,542 --> 00:38:30,792 unlike anything they felt before. 781 00:38:30,792 --> 00:38:33,417 Believers even go so far as to proclaim 782 00:38:33,417 --> 00:38:36,375 that the sound can heal and rejuvenate the body. 783 00:38:36,375 --> 00:38:38,792 It leaves the listener with a sensation similar 784 00:38:38,792 --> 00:38:39,667 to a runner's high. 785 00:38:41,042 --> 00:38:43,875 - [Dennis] The frequency has reportedly been discovered 786 00:38:43,875 --> 00:38:46,833 in several other important spiritual sites, 787 00:38:46,833 --> 00:38:51,667 including Newgrange in Ireland and Cairn's Burial Mounds. 788 00:38:51,667 --> 00:38:53,583 - This divine frequency isn't just found 789 00:38:53,583 --> 00:38:55,667 in one room of the Hypogeum. 790 00:38:55,667 --> 00:38:59,125 The Saflieni-era builders created a series 791 00:38:59,125 --> 00:39:01,958 of underground catacombs all resonating 792 00:39:01,958 --> 00:39:06,042 at between 110 and 111 hertz. 793 00:39:06,042 --> 00:39:10,250 - [Dennis] Is it possible this was done intentionally? 794 00:39:10,250 --> 00:39:12,958 - So it would be a pretty big leap to assume 795 00:39:12,958 --> 00:39:17,125 that these people in 3000 BC knew how sound waves work, 796 00:39:17,125 --> 00:39:19,708 but they still might have heard these reverberations 797 00:39:19,708 --> 00:39:21,875 and felt something special going on 798 00:39:21,875 --> 00:39:24,583 without fully understanding what it was, 799 00:39:24,583 --> 00:39:26,542 and they might have sought to recreate it 800 00:39:26,542 --> 00:39:27,875 as they continued building. 801 00:39:29,708 --> 00:39:32,708 - The Italian researcher, Paolo Debertolis believes 802 00:39:32,708 --> 00:39:35,792 the acoustic properties are no accident, 803 00:39:35,792 --> 00:39:39,833 and in 2015 he sets out to prove it. 804 00:39:39,833 --> 00:39:42,583 - So ultrasensitive microphones are placed 805 00:39:42,583 --> 00:39:44,958 in the oracle chamber of the Hypogeum, 806 00:39:44,958 --> 00:39:47,542 and digital recorders are used to test 807 00:39:47,542 --> 00:39:50,583 the response of the chamber by different voices and 808 00:39:50,583 --> 00:39:54,000 different musical instruments that were similar to ones 809 00:39:54,000 --> 00:39:56,625 that might have been available to the ancient Maltese 810 00:39:56,625 --> 00:39:58,667 who built the structure. 811 00:39:58,667 --> 00:40:01,250 What they discover is that both 812 00:40:01,250 --> 00:40:05,042 a male human voice chanting... [chants] 813 00:40:05,042 --> 00:40:09,917 and a drum both created a strong simulation of resonance 814 00:40:11,250 --> 00:40:13,500 very close to the divine frequency. 815 00:40:13,500 --> 00:40:16,333 - So perhaps this is what the Maltese were doing 816 00:40:16,333 --> 00:40:17,708 in the space. 817 00:40:17,708 --> 00:40:20,000 Maybe it wasn't just a place for the dead after all, 818 00:40:20,000 --> 00:40:21,875 but a place for the living 819 00:40:21,875 --> 00:40:25,042 to come in and perform chanting rituals 820 00:40:25,042 --> 00:40:29,208 during which they'd feel a deeply powerful sensation 821 00:40:29,208 --> 00:40:30,667 rush through their bodies. 822 00:40:32,167 --> 00:40:34,542 - [Dennis] Today, a select number of visitors 823 00:40:34,542 --> 00:40:36,792 are allowed to enter the Hypogeum 824 00:40:36,792 --> 00:40:40,667 and experience the feeling for themselves. 825 00:40:40,667 --> 00:40:43,417 - Tourists are currently capped at 80 per day 826 00:40:43,417 --> 00:40:45,167 in an attempt to protect and preserve 827 00:40:45,167 --> 00:40:46,917 this incredible structure. 828 00:40:46,917 --> 00:40:49,375 But if you can score one of those coveted slots, 829 00:40:49,375 --> 00:40:52,208 you may be able to have a religious experience 830 00:40:52,208 --> 00:40:54,042 of your own comparable to the one 831 00:40:54,042 --> 00:40:57,083 that ancient Maltins had 5,000 years ago. 832 00:41:00,500 --> 00:41:04,500 - Sacred tombs, lost Templar treasures, 833 00:41:04,500 --> 00:41:06,875 miraculous frequencies, 834 00:41:06,875 --> 00:41:10,000 all remind us that ancient and powerful treasures 835 00:41:10,000 --> 00:41:13,833 can be found not just on the surface, but underground. 836 00:41:15,292 --> 00:41:18,833 I'm Dennis Quaid and thank you for watching "Holy Marvels."