The Truth Behind History’s Greatest Legends | Expedition Unknown

This is crazy.
Be one with the game. Be one with the game. Be one with the Get me out of here.
Bill, >> what would you say to people who think uh there’s no such thing as Lasser’s Reef? It was all made up. A man does not die for nothing, >> right?
>> And if it’s not out in the west, then where is it?
>> Right.
>> And the most important things of the whole lot is the landmarks. If you don’t have the landmarks, you haven’t got Lacid’s roof.
>> Got it.
>> That’s him on the right.
>> Right over there.
>> Yep.
>> Those are three hills in an otherwise pretty featureless landscape.
All right, I’m biting.
>> Yep.
>> Well, there’s all the quartz running out through there. You can see it all in the distance.
>> The white stuff?
>> Yep. That’s all quartz.
>> That’s all quartz.
>> Yep.
>> In the distance, a series of white outcroppings ripple through the landscape like a sea monster.
>> Okay, Josh. This is the spot here. This is where we’re going to land.
>> This is it.
>> Yep.
>> Okay, let’s put her down.
300 m east of Alice Springs, Australia, Bill Darly and I stand on an impressive stretch of quartz that he believes could be Lacier’s Reef, the legendary gold deposit that has eluded seekers for nearly a century.
>> Says quartz.
>> Quartz.
>> Yep. Quartz.
>> Yep.
>> Quartz.
>> Yep.
>> Quartz.
>> Yep.
>> I mean, as far as you can see, it’s just outcroppings of quartz.
>> Yep.
>> It’s a reef.
>> Do you believe me now?
>> I think I might.
>> If this is the right spot, Yeah.
>> There has to be three hills.
>> I saw those from the chopper.
>> There you go.
>> 1 2 3.
>> And you can’t mistake them. And they’re the only hills that have that hill on top of a hill effect like a sun bonnet.
Despite my initial skepticism, it’s clear that Bill has indeed pinpointed a massive quartz reef that actually does lie near an unusual formation of three hills. But whether it’s Lacier’s reef has yet to be proven, >> you still have to pass another hurdle.
>> Okay.
>> Is there any gold in it?
>> That’s what we’re here to find out.
>> Right. So, divide and conquer.
>> Absolutely.
>> All right. Let’s find some gold. Come on, man.
We comb through the area for over an hour looking for anything that sparkles yellow amidst all this bright white.
>> Oh, Bill.
>> Yo, >> Bill, come here.
Bill, what is this?
>> That looks like very, very suspicious.
>> What is it?
>> That’s gold, mate.
>> That’s gold.
>> That’s gold.
>> You sure?
>> Absolutely.
>> 100%.
>> 100%. Your first flicker of gold from Lacid’s reef.
>> Holy.
It ain’t much, but that’s gold.
>> Oh, yeah. Yeah, >> that is gold. Um, >> congratulations.
>> Hey, thanks mate.
>> Well done.
>> Unbelievable.
>> A great job.
>> This may not be a huge nugget of gold, but when you think about this whole reef, >> that’s exactly right.
>> Miles of this quartz >> and you’re doing pretty good.
>> Somewhere in this reef is the mother lode, >> right? And this may be a little piece of it.
>> That’s it. You’ve got it.
>> Unbelievable.
>> You’ve just got yourself a piece of Lacid’s reef. I’m sold. You know what else do you need? I’m taking this entire section home with me.
>> Okay. So, we’re staying here, are we?
All the rocks going.
>> We’re living here now. This is it, Bill.
You and I live here. Gold and then their hills officially.
>> Adam, this is the river AD.
>> Yes.
>> And so, how does that fit into Camelot?
>> Cam means twisted and gic. Loth means a marsh.
>> So, Camelot is a marsh. Camelot was a description of where Arthur lived.
>> It’s funny when we when we think of Camelot, we think of >> you think of turrets. You think of castles. You think of women with pointy hats and shifon and men in plate armor.
Yes.
>> All anacronisms. All things made up later. Josh, simply for commercial reasons, people who were living 700 years after Arthur existed.
>> Amazing.
>> What has Adam all worked up is an old Royal Air Force survey of this area from the 1940s.
While reviewing the photos for his research, Adam found a small fragment of stonework peeking out from the foliage.
To his knowledge, no one has excavated or explained these ruins, and he thinks they could be of major significance in the search for the historic King Arthur.
Well, I don’t think the horses are going up that.
Okay.
All right. On foot from here. Here we go.
Looks like it opens up here. Yes. And uh I think that’s the summit up there.
So we’ve got this sort of stacked stone here. See this Adam? Well, it’s an unusual place to have field stones high up in a hill. Seems to be a wide feature running uphill.
>> This whole thing >> for some Yes. For some reason. question is what is it? Let’s walk on. See what else we can find.
Oh my god. Huge stones.
Look at that. Perfectly flat. The very peak here.
These look totally worked. They’re squared off in the edges. Totally flat.
It might be a foundation stone or something up here at the top.
looking out over the whole marsh. That is so cool. So, anything that would have been really built up here in that era would probably have been wooden, right?
>> Most likely on the top it would have been wooden, probably with a stone foundation.
>> That’s right. So, what we may be seeing here is just the underside of something.
>> It certainly looks like someone’s made an awful lot of effort to make something of real substance up in the top of this hill.
>> You know, it’s funny. Everywhere that I’ve looked, so many people have said to me, “Oh, it’s just a legend.” But but what’s really amazing to me is the more that we investigate it, the more that there seems to be real history here.
>> Well, I think there was real history here, Josh. I think what happened was that Arthur moved from history into legend. And if one looks at the evidence, you can see that he can move from legend back into history. Someone once said, “If you know the truth and you know the legend, print the legend.” Why do that? Especially when the history is even more wonderful than perhaps the most wonderful story ever told. Ah, >> it’s amazing. It really is. To be able to come up here and see this is just so incredible. Now we got to get home in the dark though.
>> Now we have to get home in the dark chaos.
>> Right here.
>> Right there.
>> Who’s that?
>> Roger Godberg.
>> Roger Godbird.
And Godbird.
>> He was a real man.
>> He was a real man. Yes.
>> Roger Godbird was a convicted arsonist, burglar, and murderer. There aren’t many stories where I could imagine him being the good guy. His story and elements of the Robin Hood story fit quite nicely.
He was in Sherwood Forest in the right period of history. He also was an outlaw from this particular village of Lockxley. He was even captured by the sheriff of Nottingham at one point and taken to Nottingham Castle.
To tie the thing even more closely with the Robin Hood legend, the records from this church show that this gravestone may well have been moved from a place called Kirk Lee’s Priary.
>> It’s the place where Robin Hood actually died.
>> Right. Yeah, we were just there. where he fired his last arrow. And consequently, there is a grave site there. And this stone was reputedly moved from there. And in the 16th century, someone drew what the gravestone was like. And it bears a remarkable resemblance to the one we’ve got here.
>> And so Robin Hood could be right here.
>> It could be.
>> Wow.
So, if Robin did die at Kirkleys, he may have been buried there. But then they moved the grave here. Now, did they move the stone or the stone and the body?
>> Well, we don’t know at the moment.
>> So, that’s the mystery then.
>> Yes, that’s the mystery.
>> And I take it that excavating here is probably not an option.
>> No, it’s not. No, it’s sacred ground.
Would be wrong to disturb it. So, what we’re really going to do is scan this area and find out once and for all, is there something in this grave?
Once again, I’m bearing witness to a world first. This is the first time that Robert and the society have been granted permission to scan the grave, and we’re using a device known as a Pharaoh scanner to do it. Am I safe to be holding this?
>> Oh, yeah. I’m okay to have children.
>> You are.
>> Okay, here we go. Scanning starting now.
A ferro scanner detects ironbased materials underground. If Robin was indeed buried with his spear, bow, and arrows, as the legend says, this scanner will detect it. It should also tell us if there’s a burial here or just a stone moved from Kirkley’s priaryy.
>> All right. Well, that’s a lot of it. I think you had the better deal up here.
>> Oh, definitely. Without doubt.
I’ll import the data onto here and we’ll have a look and see what we’ve got.
>> So, what am I looking for here? a guy holding a bow.
>> What we’re now looking for is any indications underneath as we move across from left to right.
>> This up here is just kind of the stone on top. Is that what I’m seeing there?
>> Yeah.
>> So, I’m looking at a profile view.
>> That’s right.
>> Okay, got it. Nothing yet down there.
>> No, nothing. Only just look at that.
>> Look at that right there.
>> Frankie, >> there’s something down there.
>> That’s really significant, >> Bob. There’s something down there.
>> There is absolutely >> that’s amazing. I mean, that is as clear as the stone above. It’s a clear solid object there.
>> Could be a burial.
>> It could be a burial. That’s right.
>> How cool is it to be the first people to look under this grave in hundreds of years.
>> That’s quite something, isn’t it? Isn’t it?
>> Absolutely.
>> We’ve hit per. This is an occupied grave. Confirming that this is Godbird will take future DNA analysis, but there is a distinct possibility that we are standing on the grave of Robin Hood.
So, it could be that the legend leads right here. Yeah, we may well be looking at Robin Hood himself.
>> That’s amazing.
>> This is the one that Jesse’s brother, Frank, was looking for, and he said if he could find it, he’d find stacks of gold bars.
>> And have a lot of folks seen that?
>> No. Not very many people have.
>> And uh can we take a look at it? Is that possible?
>> I don’t know if we should show this one on camera.
>> You want to think about it for a second?
>> Yeah, let’s think about that.
>> Yeah. Okay, take a second. Think about it. Let me know what you want to do.
>> Last time someone seen it and end up part of it, I feel like this is not going to go my way. It wasn’t a good deal cuz >> Hey guys, sorry not to bust you up. How I have a compromise that has occurred to me. What if we don’t show it to camera?
You can be sure as hell I won’t be able to interpret it. I’m just a dumb TV host. What if we kind of keep it from the cameras a little bit so that the secret doesn’t get out?
>> We’ll do that.
>> Yeah, sounds good. We can do that.
>> Yeah, you sure. appreciate that. Thank you. Yeah.
>> Though we can’t show you the map, Jamie and his team believe that it narrows down their search grid to less than two square miles and we’re right at the center. Now, this is a pretty complicated looking map. To me, it looks like chaos.
>> Map has to be worked in two separate parts, north and south, south and north.
And that’s about all I can go into that.
>> You guys aren’t going to kill me at the end of this, are you?
Look at this. This is a high-tech operation here. Jamie and his crew are on the cutting edge of the Jesse James Gold Rush.
>> Unleash the beast.
>> What is this?
>> This is a metal detector. It’s all electronic. This one will take you 30 ft deep. It’s not your grandma’s coin shooter.
>> This square is actually the sensor. This is the This is >> That’s what finds the money.
>> Is it safe?
>> Sure.
>> That’s why you’re holding it, >> right? I noticed that you’ve gotten 10 ft behind us. And what is this?
>> A shat.
>> A shat. That’s definitely a madeup word.
What is that?
>> It finds cast iron >> in the event that the treasure is inside of something.
>> Like a teapot or something like that.
Yeah.
>> This is like some 21st century treasure hunting. Are you ready?
>> That’s ready.
>> Let’s go. What do we do?
>> Walk that way.
>> All right, I can do that.
>> We’re just going back and forth in a straight lines here.
>> Yeah, you have to work it kind of like a grid.
>> Are you visually seeing data or >> Yeah, I’m visually seeing data right now.
And what is that?
>> It’s probably the nails in your boots.
>> Oh yeah.
If it’s something more substantial, I assume it makes a different noise.
>> If it’s a short one, it’s probably your boots. If it’s a really loud one, then we’ll got it.
>> I’m starting to realize that even with all this fancy equipment, treasure hunting is still a lot of walking. I can’t believe how patient these guys are. It’s basically like mowing along.
How long are we going to be out here doing this? Do you have a tent? Oh boy, this is going to be a long day.
>> Look at this.
>> What do you got?
>> I don’t know.
>> It’s right in there.
>> Yeah, it’s definitely detecting something.
>> This thing picks up iron, so maybe just the rock.
>> Let’s get that shovel and try and dig that out. Yeah.
What? Now, what if what if something comes running out here? Well, >> wait. What do you mean? Like what?
>> I don’t know. Something lives in there.
>> Give me like your top three things that could be living in here.
>> A snake. Packrat.
>> What’s a packrat? That’s a real thing.
That’s an animal.
>> Yeah.
>> I thought that was just a hoarder.
Before I lose a finger to a packrat, I need to make sure the Shaunstat isn’t just picking up the iron in the rocks.
So, we’re bringing out the big gun and getting into position.
>> Hey, go back. Something there.
>> Go back. Yeah. Check that spot again.
>> What’s it seeing?
>> Yeah, we got some kind of metal there.
Do it again.
>> There you go. Got it.
>> So, it’s just imaging something down there. Something kind of elongated.
>> Yeah.
>> Holy. Okay, great. Let’s check it out.
Come on.
>> Here. Let’s get that shovel.
Jamie, get over here. What do >> you got?
>> Seriously, what is this?
It’s a bar.
>> Are you kidding me? Bar of what?
>> Silver, maybe?
>> Are you me?
>> Jamie, what is this?
>> Some kind of bar.
>> It weighs a ton.
>> Yeah, it’s got weight to it, don’t it?
>> It’s got some written on it. Do you have a brush or something? Or some water?
Maybe water? Here’s some >> Lyman.
>> Lyman.
>> What is that?
>> It’s going to be lead.
>> Yep. That’s a lead bar.
>> They’re a lead manufacturing company.
>> Yeah, that’s what they make bullet castings out of.
>> What year you think this is, >> man? I don’t know. It could be 100 years old.
>> That is unbelievable. It’s not Jesse James Treasure, but it’s still pretty amazing. Well, we know your machine works.
>> Yeah, >> for a split second, I thought I was rich. What’s the value of lead these days?
>> Not enough.
>> Yeah, I was so close. Part of me thought that just maybe, we hit Jesse James lost gold.
It’s a rush. And now I understand why people like Bud and Jamie spend their lives chasing it. Is there any doubt in your mind that that treasure is still up here somewhere?
>> That treasure is still here. It’s just going to take a little more searching to find it.
>> Too many clues have been discovered over the last century to dismiss the treasure as pure legend. The brass bucket with the contract, the cryptic markers, the copper map. As for Jesse James, beneath the myth is a man, and perhaps not a very decent one at that. Though it’s easy to say he was a product of his time, his tendencies for brutal violence can’t be overlooked.
But the air of mystery surrounding him is undeniable. I think Jesse’s fame endures because we see in him only what we want to see. A thirst >> gently. This thing’s too heavy to not have some part of something in it.
>> Ah, cut a hole.
>> Not much. We see the outline of it, but it doesn’t really penetrate the chest at all.
>> No. A little bit of the surface.
>> What does he think the problem is?
>> It’s too thick. It’s the density of the material.
>> Huh.
>> It’s too dense.
>> Frustratingly, the chest and its contents are too dense for the X-ray to penetrate. These are the breaks when it comes to the slow and careful process of archaeological preservation.
>> But at least the other artifacts we were able to get a really good look at.
>> Absolutely. Absolutely. I mean, we we’ve got a lot of data here. Next step is to take that info and try and figure out how to make sense of it.
>> Finding the wellpreserved cargo from a 17th century vessel is nothing short of amazing. But have we gathered enough information from these artifacts to determine whether or not they’re from the Satisfaction? After careful examination, I’ve asked Fritz to give me his expert analysis. The Satisfaction was a friendship. Mhm.
>> So in in looking at this wreck, what do the photos, the artifacts, the x-rays, what do they tell us about the origin of this vessel?
>> Looking at that next shirt, basically we’re looking at a Spanish olive jar.
Basically, the Tupperware or the water bottle of 16th to 18th century Spanish.
>> So we’re in the right time period, but a Spanish type of ceramic, not French.
>> Exactly. Artifact number two is the mule shoe that we recovered when we were on our dive.
>> Right. These are counter sunk and that’s a technique that only the Spanish used.
The English didn’t use it. French didn’t use it. And so again, we have another artifact that we’ve recovered from the wreck that’s that’s Spanish in origin.
>> Okay. Also significant as what we are seeing is what we aren’t seeing. We know the satisfaction was 120 tons and it also carried 22 guns. And honestly, we aren’t seeing any guns anywhere on this shipwreck. The only weapon we have are a few sword blades because the cannons which were recovered were taken from the reef. but not found near the wreck.
>> Exactly.
>> The million-dollar question then, is this the satisfaction?
>> I can answer that in one word. No.
But that’s not the end of the story. In looking over all the evidence, we have made what is an extremely exciting discovery. That’s actually the manifest of a ship called Nora Seora, the Incarnation.
A lot of the chests match up to what we’re seeing in the document. and it sank just off of the Shagras River in the general area of where the shipwreck is.
The Encarion was the same kind of vessel that Christopher Columbus used when he first sailed over to the Western Hemisphere.
>> That’s amazing. Fritz’s analysis is that this shipwreck appears to be the Encarnation and not part of Morgan’s fleet. However, that does little to diminish the significance of this incredible find.
This pristine 17th century shipwreck may be the single best preserved vessel of its kind ever found. In addition, it offers a glimpse into the world of Captain Morgan. But the question remains, where is the satisfaction?
We know the reef that the boat wrecked on. There’s a record of the boat wrecking. It has to be there.
>> Yeah, absolutely.
>> It just feels like it is so within reach.
>> The ships are out there. I’m sure we’re going to find it eventually.
>> Thanks for >> Yeah. Thank you, Josh. Appreciate it.
>> We hike on deeper into the site to a new lead in the search for the tombs of the snake kings.
>> Josh, this is uh one of the buildings we’re currently excavating here at Miridor.
>> And inside that excavation is a senior member of Richard’s team.
>> Hey. Hey. How are you?
>> Hey, >> this is Ricky.
>> Hey, Rick. Josh, nice to meet you.
>> Nice to meet you, too.
>> So, okay, explain this place to me. What am I looking at, >> Josh? This is one of the later buildings at the site. We’re excavating to understand the whole sequence of occupation here and then one of the later buildings.
>> And so what do you think? What’s down here?
>> We find a stock of floor and underneath underneath the Maya dog pit.
>> They had this older floor. They chopped down into it and put something in there.
>> Do we know why they did that?
>> We don’t know. We need to find out.
>> And can we see it? Is it possible to go down?
>> Yes, it’s possible.
>> Okay. Yeah, let’s do it. Come on.
>> I’m first.
>> Yeah. All right, Josh. Here’s a Here’s a lantern.
>> Okay, thanks. Take that. Okay, I am going in.
>> Enrique and his group have excavated most of this small room, leaving just enough space for Richard and I to squeeze in. And I do mean just enough space.
>> Okay, walk me through what we’re seeing here before it before it collapses and kills me.
>> This is the floor right down here on the bottom. And then and you can see that rock. It just goes right down into a big pit.
>> And so the question is, what’s under this?
>> What’s under this? This may be a garbage pit. Maybe it was a latrine. Or maybe it was a burial. We don’t know.
>> That’s like the two opposite ends of the spectrum.
>> It’s either untold riches or a pilot.
>> But how do you know in this in this business? You never know.
>> That’s right.
>> Okay. So, how do we proceed here?
>> All right. We’re going to take the excavation a little wider to reveal the full dimensions of the pit. We’re going to take it a little higher so it’s easier to move around in here. Have a little more protection.
>> Got it.
>> Because this can be a little risky, Josh. It’s um >> a little risky.
>> Little risky here. Yeah.
>> Thank you.
>> We form a bucket brigade and begin removing dirt and debris from the chamber.
As the sun beats down, the room slowly widens.
After 4 hours of excavation, we finally clear the floor. It’s time to see if one of the elusive snake kings is hiding underneath it. All right, let’s take a look. Josh, >> all cleaned up.
>> It’s all cleaned up. You can see the full size of the the pit that they put in here. They chopped right through that floor.
>> The big capstones across the top.
>> Inside the pit, ancient capstones are protecting a cavity that could contain a precious burial. They must be removed carefully because if they fall, they could utterly destroy whatever is underneath.
>> I got it. I got it. Removing the first block leaves no doubt there is a hidden chamber beneath this floor.
>> So, what’s the next one out? Well, this it’ be this one right here. There you go. You got it.
>> The blocks are heavy and there’s almost no room to move in here.
>> Okay. Okay.
>> In short, this is a high stakes game of Jenga.
>> Now, these lateral these lateral blocks are what are sustaining these big huge blocks on the side.
Oh, >> it’s cracking in two. Holy cow.
Don’t lose that.
>> It’s slipping. Hang on.
>> Oh my gosh.
Okay, >> that was way too close.
>> Wow, Josh.
The first time somebody’s ever seen this since of the day it was put in there. Oh my god.
>> The chamber is finally open. Now, for the first time in thousands of years, we’re going to glimpse its contents.
The only question is what or who is inside.
>> Josh, there’s bone in there. We’re looking at a burial.
That is astounding.
This is crazy.
Be one with the chain. Be one with the chain. Be one with the chain. Get me out of here.
We have to go back.
>> This isn’t the right way.
Stay >> in.
>> You got to go back. Sit down. just ends in a huge waterfall and drops out. We got to go back to the last junction and turn around.
>> As we retrace our steps to get back on track, I keep my eyes peeled for any side chambers or glimmers of metal tablets in the rushing water.
After a few more wrong turns in the tight maze of flooded passages and nearly 3 m underground, we finally arrive at our destination, the end of the map.
We’ve come all the way through here and we’re literally here. Exactly.
>> This is as far as anybody’s been.
>> Nobody else has been further than this spot. This is usually flooded.
>> Why is it so much lower?
>> We have a dry summer.
>> So, have you ever seen any of this before?
>> No. Nobody has seen this before.
>> Let’s check it out. Come on.
>> Okay, let’s go.
>> The low water levels in this chamber reveal something that the 1976 expedition couldn’t see. A tight tunnel that goes even deeper.
Could this be where the cave’s original explorer, Juan Maritz, found his metal library?
Like everything else in this cave, the passage looks uncomfortably narrow.
>> I think it goes through. We should try it.
>> All right, I’m right behind you. Let’s do it.
>> This is a leap of faith. There may be a chamber beyond this tunnel, but to reach it, we’ll have to swim underwater in hopes of finding another air pocket. If we become trapped, there is a very real danger of drowning here.
>> I’m through. I’m through.
>> All right, Josh. I’m coming through.
Look at this. There’s a whole another world back here.
>> With a soaring ceiling and smooth flat walls, it feels like we’re in the corridor of a grand temple.
>> Josh, look at these walls. Everything here has been flooded. All this kind of sticky material is clay. Nobody has filmed or documented this before.
>> Undiscovered.
>> Undiscovered.
>> And what is that there? It looks like stairs. There’s a staircase here. Look at that.
>> Unbelievable.
>> Well, where does it go?
>> I don’t know. Let’s go through.
>> It’s It’s solid.
Each step is perfectly proportioned as though carved by hand. We could be standing in the antichamber to the fabled metal library.
Oh my god, look at this. Come here. Get a camera here. There’s a staircase here.
Look at that.
>> Unbelievable.
>> Well, where does it go?
>> I don’t know. Let’s go through.
Oh my god. Look at this. Come here. Get a camera here.
Oh wow. Look at this thing.
It’s as though we’ve entered the beating heart of Taios. a chamber hundreds of feet high filled with the most spectacular formations I’ve ever seen.
>> It’s just being made by the dripping of the of the water coming down.
>> Yeah. Can you imagine? But this is thousands and thousands of years.
>> This formation, this is all uh calcium >> calcium carbonate. Yes. Forming this cauliflower structure.
>> Awesome.
>> I can’t believe this. I see it and I can’t believe this.
>> It’s insane.
>> That’s so huge. We don’t have this kind of structure at any part of the whole cave.
It’s a chimney. It looks like at least 150 ft.
>> The first people ever to lay eyes on this.
>> This is us.
>> Smile.
>> And look at this. Look at the walls.
>> This looks like a writing.
>> It does look a bit like a library.
>> Yeah, it does.
>> But I assume there’s a lot more cave to be found. So, we can’t say for sure that it doesn’t exist. but treasures nonetheless.
>> The map ended there at the sinkhole and we extended it.
>> So, we’ve just taken the map from your father’s expedition. We’ve added a little onto it.
>> We’ve added something on. Yeah, this is incredible. It’s amazing. What more can you wish for?
>> I know. Our team has extended Eileen’s father’s expedition map and revealed a whole new region of the Taio Cave. A discovery that adds another chapter to this truly legendary place.
>> Thank you so much. My pleasure, >> Eileen. A real honor. This is incredible. Okay, now how do we Now, how do we get out of this thing?
>> Something is down there. A field of debris spanning nearly 100 ft. But is it Lefit’s flagship?
The only way to find out for sure is to take samples. You can kind of punch into it a little.
>> Yeah, I want to know what that is. It’s not rock. How do we pull something up?
>> Put a hose down in there and vacuum it out with a sump pump.
>> Let’s do it.
Cody assembles his device, which looks like a cross between something from Ghostbusters and something that explodes.
>> We are going to suck up our debris. It’s going to get trapped in this chamber and we’ll be able to pull it out in theory.
What do you mean in theory?
>> It hasn’t been tested yet.
>> Oh my god, this is going to blow up. I’m going to be right over here. Here we go.
We insert a large diameter pipe and route around with a metal rod. Break up whatever we were hitting with the probe.
Then, despite my better judgment, I stick around as Cody fires up his machine.
Whoa. Hold on.
Leak.
I’ll just keep my finger on this. It’s sucking for sure.
>> Yeah.
>> Okay. So, >> okay. Let’s see what it sucked up. Yeah.
>> Yeah. Let’s see.
>> We open the collection chamber.
>> All right.
>> And it’s filled with debris.
>> There we go. All right. So, what do we got? It’s definitely lots of organic material.
>> Nothing in there that looks like it’s been sitting there for 200 years.
Definitely heavier material, too. Look at all this sand. Sand and shells. This is from way down.
>> Is that wood?
>> That’s wood. That’s charred, too. That’s burned wood.
>> That’s it.
>> That could be from a ship.
>> This could be a fragment from Jean Lefit’s flagship, the Pride. That’s awesome.
>> It’s incredible to think that a pirate ship may be resting directly below our feet, covered in nearly two centuries of mud and sediment.
>> I’m finding something here. What is this?
>> What is it?
>> Wood?
>> No. No. This is something else.
>> That’s metal. That’s a nail.
>> That is a nail.
>> That’s a nail. And not modern. For sure not modern.
>> Wow. It’s a square and nail. It’s handmade. The fact that we’re finding these together might mean that we’re looking at a piece of decking or planking here. And look at that right there. You see that? In the wood, we actually have what looks like it could be >> where the nail might have been.
>> Part of where the nail pops out. Look at that.
>> Look at that. That might have been where that nail popped right out of there.
>> Absolutely.
>> Now, there’s no question there’s something down there. There’s >> something there.
>> That doesn’t necessarily mean that it’s Leit ship. We can’t say that.
>> But I think you guys are really on to something here. Yeah, >> you guys keep at it for sure.
>> Oh, yeah.
>> Keep at it, you guys. I’m serious. This is historic. The mag is hitting something that is man-made, >> has nails in it, and is the dimensions of what you’re looking for in the place that you’re looking for.
>> Absolutely.
>> This could be the very first puzzle piece in an enormous discovery.
>> Awesome.
>> Nice work, boys. Seriously.
>> Thank you, Brad.
>> Yeah. Great job. Awesome.
But as much as I want to run this gizmo another thousand times and suck up every piece of evidence we can, today was just the beginning. Lab tests and dating, gathering more samples and eventually a full-scale excavation await. But for now, we can cruise off into the sunset knowing we’re one step closer to solving the mystery of Jean Lee’s ship.
ship.
>> Since he might be part of your family, I want to hear your thoughts on Lefit the man. He just seems like the ultimate survivor.
>> Yeah, totally. Keeps reinventing himself.
>> Yeah.
>> So, how do you think he deserves to be remembered? Really? Villain or hero?
>> Hero.
>> Little bit of both.
>> Little bit of both. You want the good, you got to take the bad.
>> But you can’t defend his business. I mean, he’s a smuggler. He’s a criminal.
He’s moving all sorts of contraband, but also helped turn the tide of war to save the United States.
>> That’s right. That’s right.
>> This is the Mitchell Hedges call. Are you ready for this?
>> Yeah, I’m ready.
Wow.
>> Look at that.
It really does feel like it pulls you inside.
>> You can see a photo of it and that’s one thing, but when you see it in person, it’s a whole different thing, isn’t it?
>> It really is. And the way the light refracts in it is kind of dizzying. Bill and I take the skull into the museum’s lab where minologist and geocchemist Dr.
Aaron Celestian is waiting to receive us.
>> This is Bill H. Homeman. Bill, this is Dr. Aaron Celestian. He’s going to be helping us out today.
>> Definitely.
>> Where do we start?
>> We start right over here with the microscope. Please lead the way.
>> If you can, can you slide that underneath the microscope?
>> Sure.
>> Okay. One of the things I was looking to find out about, is it made from a single piece of crystal? I would say yes, it is made from a single piece of crystal. If I just shine a laser at this piece of paper or this box, I just see a single spot. Right.
>> But when a laser interacts with a crystal, especially a crystal of quartz, that spot should split into two.
>> This is telling me that this is a single block of crystal. If it was multiple crystals, you would not see the splitting of light in this direction.
>> So, this was made from a single piece.
>> Yes.
>> So far, Hedg’s story that the skull was forged from a single piece of crystal stands up. But to find out when the skull was made, Dr. Celestian wants to dig deeper.
If this was made by the Maya or prea, we would expect that it was made using stone tools. If it was made in the early 20th century, as some people have suggested, we might find modern tool marks or evidence of modern abrasives.
Right.
>> It is possible. Yes.
We take the crystal mandible and bring it to an X-ray fluorescent microscope while the rest of the skull is run through a spectroscopy machine. The results should tell us every element present in and on the crystal.
>> Vast majority of what is present is silicon. We’re also seeing traces of other elements like calcium. Calcium’s coming from probably from the teeth.
Strong teeth.
>> Uh, we’re not on the teeth right now.
But >> that was my attempt at a mineral joke, Aaron. That’s all I had.
The elements in the scan show that the skull’s origins may be in Central or South America, which may fit Hedg’s claims, but there’s nothing on here to definitively date it. The only thing left to do is look at the markings on the skull itself.
What jumps out at me is that this the striations and the scratching are all unbelievably parallel.
They’re all going in the same direction.
This is telling me that it wasn’t a rag or something and somebody was just polishing like you polish a car here.
They’re always going in one direction.
My analysis of the marks means that it was polished using unidirectional technique like a polishing wheel of some kind and also machine polished by humans.
>> So in your mind, no doubt there’s a machine polish happening here. There’s some sort of uniform polishing.
>> That’s correct.
>> Right. If it was hand polished, it would have a different signature.
>> That’s right.
Since the Maya and other pre-Colombian civilizations before them lacked the wheel, uniform polishing marks like this would seem to be direct evidence that the skull was made in modern times by a high-speed machine, likely one with high-grade diamondcoated bits. But whether this scientific evidence convinces Bill is less certain. Does seeing this sway you at all to believe it was made in the 20th century?
>> Uh, no, >> it doesn’t.
>> Not Not even one bit. No, I believe it was made some by someone that had higher level of technology than we have today.
Yes.
>> Which is a great idea, but the problem of course with that is we don’t really have evidence of that technology.
>> Yeah. Well, the thing is it it doesn’t really matter because you have one person has their opinion and this one has that one.
>> Sometimes with science though, you have to listen to the monitor over there that’s hooked up to the laser.
>> Well, it’s telling me exactly what I believe. I believe that uh it it wasn’t some Mayan sitting there polishing by hand. It had to be brought there by a a civilization that had advanced technology.
>> Even though we have no evidence for that technology, >> a lot of it’s being hidden. But yes, when you see the skull and you’re with the skull and you feel that energy, it’s it’s a it’s a gift. It’s a blessing.
It’s a wonderful thing. Uh that’s what matters. My team and I are searching just offshore of Porttoello, Panama, near a mysterious island called Drake’s Rock. The barometer is falling. The weather is making us nervous. And our Sidescan sonar just picked up something unbelievable.
>> What is that?
>> Look at the shape on it.
>> I mean, I don’t want to sound like a crazy person, but what is that the shape of?
>> It’s about 6 or 7 ft.
>> I mean, it looks like a coffin.
What is it?
>> Let’s go find out. Let’s go diving.
We’re going diving. Let’s go.
>> Our target is positioned on the edge of a reef near Drake’s Rock.
Jim and I gear up to dive just as the rough weather we’re fearing arrives.
>> Okay, Jim, you read me? Region loud and clear, Josh.
>> Surge is wicked down here.
The swift current threatens to drive us into the reef, but Jim and I press on.
All right, let’s see if we can figure out what that sonar saw.
Suddenly, something stunning comes into view.
>> OH MY GOD, LOOK AT THIS.
>> It’s not a coffin, Josh, but it’s a beautiful cannon.
>> Oh my word. Look at the size of it.
Help me measure it, Josh. Let’s just take a couple of notes.
>> Okay, here we go.
>> Jim’s measurements will help him determine if this cannon could have been part of Drake’s fleet.
>> It’s 8 ft from the muzzle to the brereech.
>> 8ft cannon. Unbelievable.
And just a few feet away, we make another discovery.
Oh my word. Look at this. Come here.
WE GOT ANOTHER CANNON. There’s two of them down here.
Are you able to estimate a date for these? I would give it around,700.
possibly a little before.
>> So, this is post Drake, but we’re still talking 300 plus years old.
>> Still a lot of history represented by these cannons.
>> But where is the ship they came from?
We continue to search the reef for wreckage, but don’t even find a scrap of wood.
Still, the twin cannons are a stunning find. A maritime mystery waiting to be unraveled. And Jim already has a theory.
>> Ship might have run ground here and then toss the cannons off to lighten its load.
>> Well, that’s a tough day at sea.
>> Hey Jim, it’s not a coffin, but I’ll tell you what, man. I’ll take it. This is history right here.
>> Absolutely.
>> Awesome job, buddy. Okay, let’s head back to the boat.
Flying the drone low and slow, Bruce gets to work running a grid pattern over the field.
After a few passes, the ground penetrating radar picks something up.
>> All right. Are we getting data?
>> Yes, we’re getting great data.
>> Wow. We got something here.
>> Right there. How deep is that hit?
>> Less than 5 ft.
>> We got something out there.
>> Yep. This thing works.
The GPR detected a disturbance in the soil nearly 7 ft long, potentially big enough to be Buudaca’s tomb, or maybe a treasure trove of offerings.
John and I join Allan and Dave from the Narc Squad, and we begin to sweep the area where the GPR spotted the anomaly.
>> Anything, John? Nothing so far.
>> But metal detecting is all about persistence.
And Dave here didn’t earn his narc vest for nothing.
>> Alan. Hey, >> you got something?
>> Got some here.
>> What do you got?
>> Oh, you got >> Oh my word. Look at that. That’s silver.
>> Yeah. Yeah, that’s Roman silver. And you can see there there’s no no later silver looks like that.
>> Alan, come here. Look at this. Oh my god.
Silver coin.
>> Wow. Definitely Roman. Gracian.
>> Gracian.
>> So he’ll be late 4th century or 370s.
>> Look at the condition of this. Hey, >> nice work.
>> Fantastic day.
>> So we’re looking at about 300 years after Buddaca here.
>> Yep. But there’s no problem with that at all cuz if this were a burial site, then why wouldn’t there be people passing by here, visiting here, even making offerings?
>> So I think the trick is now to take a more measured approach.
>> Keep looking around here.
>> Yeah. Okay.
>> And see what else we got.
Yeah, I got another signal here.
>> Another head.
>> Let’s see what comes up. Oh, >> and I got one here.
As quickly as we can, Dave and I dig in.
And just like that, >> we got another one.
>> Another coin.
>> Yeah.
>> Is it a silver coin?
>> Yeah.
>> I got something here.
Double jackpot. Yes. Yes.
>> Look at that. Another silver coin. This could be a treasure horde.
>> Holy.
>> YES.
>> WOW.
>> LOOK AT THAT. ANOTHER SILVER COIN.
>> THIS could be a treasure horde. Holy.
>> It’s a different emperor. Look different.
So, this is >> a violence. different emperor but still the same period of time late 4th century.
>> So we put them in order. First one top.
>> So that’s one, two, three coins >> in a row.
>> Yeah. I mean that’s incredible. It is.
>> Is this a normal day out for you guys?
>> Oh certainly not. In 22 years probably got eight or nine of them all together in 20 odd years of detecting.
>> Wow.
>> So now we got three >> in the span of about 6 ft.
>> That’s right.
>> Okay. EVERYBODY PICK UP A METAL DETECTOR.
With daylight fading fast, we continue combing the area.
>> We could have another one. Same signal.
>> And we keep getting hits >> right there.
>> Yeah. Look.
>> Is it >> number four?
>> Get out of here. Really?
>> Yeah. Brilliant. Number four.
>> If that’s another coin, beers are on me, boys.
It’s another one.
>> This is insane.
>> Five coins in probably no more than 10 ft. 11 ft.
>> Our pockets full of silver. We lay out the loot and keep looking.
>> Oh, I got something.
We quickly get a trifecta of hits.
Oh yeah, I got another one.
>> Another one?
>> Yeah. Don’t believe me?
>> Yep. ANOTHER ONE FOR ME.
>> YOU HAVE ONE?
>> YEAH.
>> This is it. WE LIVE IN THIS FIELD NOW.
>> And another two coins.
>> You had one.
>> Same hole.
>> Two silver coins.
>> Yeah. Wow.
>> And another. And another. We’ve hit the motherload. For the next hour, we continue plucking silver coins from the ground. A horde that may have been left in tribute to the rebel queen Buudaca.
>> Alan, what are we up to?
>> We’re up to 14 at the moment.
>> Maybe 15.
>> Another one for the pile.
>> 21.
>> Correction. 21 and a2.
>> Half count as one. 22.
>> 22.
>> Another one.
>> Allan, anything else?
>> No, nothing at all.
>> I think that might be it.
>> At least for at least for stuff by the surface.
>> Yeah.
>> What’s the final haul here? Let’s take a look at this. We have 6 12 18 24 25 coins.
>> Fantastic.
>> Yes, fantastic is the word. That’s amazing. Really, really great work.
>> Unbelievable. I mean, this is a horde.
>> That’s a horde.
>> Truly.
>> Absolutely.
>> Now, not to be negative. We don’t have Buudaca’s burial here yet. We don’t have her her horde, but we do have a horde.
This is really significant.
>> It is significant. And and that means that this site was significant to some people who chose to come here and put a lot of valuable material into the ground on dead Queen’s Mall.
>> And that’s something.
>> That is something. Maybe another puzzle piece to her story.
>> Absolutely. Possibly the key to unlocking the puzzle.
>> And for you guys to let me keep this.
That’s so generous.
>> The discovery of this Roman coin horde is one of the most exciting of my career. And there’s likely much more to find in dead queens. Moore here. Oh. Oh. Oh. Right here. Oh. Be careful. Right here. Look. Here, look.
The eyes are hole. And >> is it ceramic?
>> No. Is this a skull?
>> Is a skull. Look at that. That is a skull.
>> Yeah.
>> Can I have a brush?
>> The skull is perfectly preserved, having been protected by its capstone.
And until recently, a parking lot.
>> Look at this. More. Oh, no. It’s not a vessel.
>> That’s a vessel.
>> It’s a vessel.
>> It is. That ceramic. Look at that.
Is that intact? Maybe.
Absolutely incredible.
>> Is the lip. Yeah.
>> There’s the lip of the vessel right there.
>> Yes. Look at this.
>> As we brush away more dirt, something unmistakable catches the light.
>> What is that?
>> Sorto. Yeah, >> it’s gold.
>> It’s old.
>> IT’S GOLD.
>> YEAH. AH, >> IT’S a piece of gold.
>> Unbelievable. Look at this.
>> This is incredible. It’s gold and and copper. Yeah.
>> Yeah. It’s tumbaga.
>> That is unbelievable.
Tumbaga is a copper and gold alloy made by the Moisa. Its lower melting point made it easier to work with than pure gold. And the presence of copper explains the green patina.
>> Have you found this in other pits?
>> No.
>> No.
>> No. Ah! Ah! This is awesome. We carefully remove more soil from around the skull. Ah, this is incredible.
There’s more. Two more.
Another here.
>> Yep.
>> So, 1 2 3 4 5. What do you think?
>> I think he found Nicholas.
>> I mean, look at the positioning of it right under the skull.
>> That is absolutely incredible.
This must have been someone significant, right?
important.
>> Yeah.
>> Finally, after hours of painstaking brushing.
>> More.
>> Get out of here.
>> A dozen pyramid-shaped beads are revealed in all their glory.
>> When this was buried, it would have shined like gold, >> of course.
>> But over time, it toppers oxidizing.
>> Yeah.
>> And is most of the Muska gold like this?
>> In most of the cases, yes. It’s so fascinating because when we think of the myth of El Dorado and the Spanish obsession with the Muska gold, we think of pure gold, but it really wasn’t. And why is that?
>> It is because Miska people doesn’t have mines.
>> They weren’t mining their own gold, but they were making a lot of things using gold. So the gold was coming from where?
>> From the Magdalena Valley.
>> They were trading for it.
>> Yeah.
>> And what would the Muska use to trade for gold? Salt.
>> Salt.
>> They used to trade gold by doing salt.
>> Salt was as valuable as gold.
>> Yeah. In some cases, more.
>> This is a stunning revelation. The Muisa didn’t build a golden city or even a gold mine. In fact, they were known to other Colombian cultures as the salt people. They used their expansive trade network to barter for gold and developed sophisticated metallurgy to transform this rare and precious resource into gifts for their gods. You know, it’s so funny because the Spanish think that the Muska have endless gold. In reality, they have salt. We have this legend of El Dorado that is larger than life. You know, entire cities made of gold. But here is El Dorado. This is the reality.
Thank you so much.
>> You’re welcome.
>> Are there more of these around? Are there more stones we should be turning over?
>> Yeah, >> I have gold fever now.
>> In fact, there are more stones to turn in the Elorado legend. And mounting evidence suggesting that the concistador’s belief in a great lost civilization may not have been so far-fetched.
Oh my word.
It is. It’s It’s full of bones. It is full of bones.
Deep in a cave, we’re discovering the real history behind the legendary character of King Palio. And we’ve just discovered a new burial site. I can see part of a mandible. I can see teeth, long bones.
It’s different from the one we saw on the level above. The skulls here aren’t smashed at all.
>> Can you see anything else?
>> No, it’s just bones as far as you can see.
Given the extreme effort surely required to bring the bodies down to this level of the cave, it’s likely this was a hallowed place. Only artifacts will tell us for sure. Fortunately, wo, there’s something metal here.
There’s something metal in here for sure, >> Pablo. Mhm.
>> Now, what?
>> Well, let’s see. We’ll have to to take some photographs.
>> Photoggramometry? Yes.
>> Yeah. Yeah.
>> Okay, let’s get them in here.
This is a groundbreaking discovery, but we can’t risk touching any of the bones before preserving the scene with a photographic 3D scan. To create a workspace on a sheer ledge, the team sets climbing pins into the rock.
Then, team member Carlos climbs up and positions the camera while his partner Luis controls the shutter remotely.
Okay, you ready to start the photos?
>> They quickly take hundreds of photographs that are instantly beamed to a computer where they’ll be stitched together to create a final image and it all takes place in the blink of an eye.
We have data. Yes.
>> Yes, we have.
>> Okay, let’s see. What do we get?
>> This is incredible.
>> But so many bones.
>> There are bones everywhere and in the back.
>> Look there.
>> Oh, more in the back.
>> Yeah. concentration there of log bones.
>> So many more than you can see from the entrance. It goes all the way back.
>> How many people do we think this is?
>> It’s difficult to say. I mean, several of them.
>> Incredible. And the and the metal piece that’s near the front is where?
>> Where is that? Here. So here, this large piece of metal here. Some big chunk of iron. Yeah.
>> Yeah. Yeah.
>> Okay. So there’s a lot in here.
>> Yeah. Yeah.
>> I have seen a lot of buras. And this is one of the best I ever seen.
>> It’s incredible. It’s just incredible.
>> The preservation is so good.
>> Yeah.
>> Okay, we have incredible imagery. Now what?
>> Now it’s time to dig.
>> Time to dig.
>> Yes.
>> Let’s dig.
The scientists have tentatively dated this new burial to around the time of Paleo. More importantly, there appear to be metal artifacts here with the bodies.
Now that we’ve documented the find, we get to excavate and see exactly what they are.
>> Okay, coming to you.
>> This is going to be a type of archaeology I’ve never practiced before.
Delicately moving human remains while dangling off the ledge of a cave, but we managed to gently clear the bones away from the mysterious metal object.
>> This left humorus.
Got it. Once the bones are removed, Pablo can access the metal, which over the last thousand years appears to have been concreted to the cave.
He gently chisels at the calcium buildup on the wall to work it free until >> Yeah, I got it.
>> You got it?
>> Yeah, >> it’s free.
>> Yeah, it’s free.
>> Okay, hold on. Here, I’ll take it.
Behind you. Behind you. Okay, I have it.
>> Yeah, >> I have it.
Oh my word.
>> It’s an axe. Yeah, you can see the hole for the handle.
Unbelievable.
>> Now holding an axe head, we rush back down to rejoin the rest of the team so we can examine it. I mean, look. Look at this. It’s stunning.
>> Wonderful.
>> It’s wonderful.
>> Yeah. Yeah.
>> So, this is like not a household chopping item.
>> No, it’s a we >> This is a weapon.
>> Yes. When is this from?
>> Around Palio’s time.
>> So, who do you think this is? The person who owned this >> was probably a warrior.
>> A warrior. In this period in Spain, do we find many burials with weapons?
>> No. Burials with weapons are extremely rare.
>> Rare.
>> Rare. Have you found anything like this before?
>> No. It’s the first time I find an axe like this in my life.
>> Wow. Incredible. An Atorian warrior from the 8th century buried near the battle of Kovadanga is beyond rare and the implications are humbling. This could be a warrior of Pallayio right here.
Incredible. And now what will happen here? Much more work to be done.
>> Yeah, quite a lot because it will take quite a long long time to excavate that properly. But we will do it.
>> Good. And you’ll send me lots of photos.
>> Yeah. Many, many.
>> Hey, thank you so much. Gracias. Thank you so much. Okay, a long journey back up to the surface.
>> Let’s go.