1 00:00:01,467 --> 00:00:03,000 NARRATOR: They're watching you. 2 00:00:03,100 --> 00:00:06,867 More than 6,000 satellites circle the Earth. 3 00:00:06,967 --> 00:00:11,567 Every day, they uncover new, mysterious phenomena 4 00:00:11,567 --> 00:00:13,467 that defy explanation. 5 00:00:15,367 --> 00:00:17,066 Revealed from the skies, 6 00:00:17,066 --> 00:00:20,367 the lost castle of the king makers. 7 00:00:20,367 --> 00:00:22,467 CAVELL: What's clear is that something 8 00:00:22,567 --> 00:00:25,100 really catastrophic has happened here. 9 00:00:25,166 --> 00:00:27,367 BELLINGER: This was not just destroyed, 10 00:00:27,367 --> 00:00:30,000 but brutally obliterated. 11 00:00:30,100 --> 00:00:33,700 NARRATOR: Bad science in the Badlands. 12 00:00:33,767 --> 00:00:36,100 RUBEN: This is the sort of test that governments would 13 00:00:36,166 --> 00:00:38,000 not permit today. 14 00:00:38,066 --> 00:00:41,300 NARRATOR: And the city that ate itself. 15 00:00:41,367 --> 00:00:43,367 KOUROUNIS: The ground starts to turn 16 00:00:43,367 --> 00:00:47,367 into this bubbly, soupy mess. 17 00:00:47,367 --> 00:00:48,700 That's got to be terrifying. 18 00:00:48,767 --> 00:00:52,400 NARRATOR: Baffling phenomena. Mysteries from space. 19 00:00:52,467 --> 00:00:55,166 What on Earth are they? 20 00:00:55,166 --> 00:01:00,000 [theme music playing] 21 00:01:00,000 --> 00:01:00,266 [theme music playing] 22 00:01:12,967 --> 00:01:15,467 The county of Norfolk in the east of England, 23 00:01:17,467 --> 00:01:20,266 a flat, low-lying landscape formed of fields, 24 00:01:20,367 --> 00:01:21,767 forests, and wetlands. 25 00:01:28,700 --> 00:01:30,000 Karen Bellinger has been drawn here 26 00:01:30,000 --> 00:01:30,900 Karen Bellinger has been drawn here 27 00:01:31,000 --> 00:01:33,200 by a mystery captured from the skies. 28 00:01:36,100 --> 00:01:39,000 This is a really intriguing discovery. 29 00:01:39,066 --> 00:01:41,467 It's not what I'd expect to find here at all. 30 00:01:43,567 --> 00:01:46,700 NARRATOR: A LIDAR aerial scanner passing over a remote part of 31 00:01:46,767 --> 00:01:48,600 the county 32 00:01:48,667 --> 00:01:51,166 has revealed something strange concealed 33 00:01:51,166 --> 00:01:52,500 within a patch of woodland. 34 00:01:54,567 --> 00:01:57,300 The LIDAR image is really exciting, because hidden by 35 00:01:57,367 --> 00:01:58,567 those trees, 36 00:01:58,667 --> 00:02:00,000 right in the middle of that field, is something special. 37 00:02:00,000 --> 00:02:01,000 right in the middle of that field, is something special. 38 00:02:05,100 --> 00:02:06,867 There's no question in my mind that this 39 00:02:06,867 --> 00:02:10,000 is a fort or castle of some sort. 40 00:02:10,066 --> 00:02:12,400 You see the four towers, 41 00:02:12,467 --> 00:02:14,467 and you see the walls around the whole thing. 42 00:02:16,266 --> 00:02:18,767 NARRATOR: What's weird is that this once mighty 43 00:02:18,767 --> 00:02:22,567 fortification has apparently been hidden from prying eyes. 44 00:02:23,700 --> 00:02:25,867 What's clear is that something 45 00:02:25,967 --> 00:02:28,166 really catastrophic has happened here. 46 00:02:31,367 --> 00:02:33,467 It seems to have been wiped out almost 47 00:02:33,567 --> 00:02:37,667 completely, like it's been purposely erased from history. 48 00:02:39,800 --> 00:02:43,000 NARRATOR: The lost castle's location intrigues analysts. 49 00:02:45,767 --> 00:02:47,667 Tribes and warriors have fought 50 00:02:47,667 --> 00:02:50,000 over Norfolk's lands for countless millennia. 51 00:02:52,500 --> 00:02:56,567 The Romans, Saxons, Vikings, and Normans have 52 00:02:56,567 --> 00:02:58,867 all left their mark in the fortifications 53 00:02:58,867 --> 00:03:00,000 littering the landscape here. 54 00:03:00,000 --> 00:03:00,500 littering the landscape here. 55 00:03:02,600 --> 00:03:06,900 HORTON: Norfolk is one of the richest places to 56 00:03:07,000 --> 00:03:12,166 tell the story of England over thousands of years. 57 00:03:13,400 --> 00:03:16,600 Norfolk has such a vibrant and rich history that 58 00:03:16,667 --> 00:03:18,900 I've got to wonder how this fits into it. 59 00:03:23,100 --> 00:03:25,200 NARRATOR: The image leads Bellinger to a rural 60 00:03:25,266 --> 00:03:28,166 area three miles inland from Norfolk's coast. 61 00:03:35,300 --> 00:03:37,300 When she approaches the structure, 62 00:03:37,367 --> 00:03:41,066 it becomes clear that it has been untouched for centuries. 63 00:03:44,567 --> 00:03:47,300 This place is almost completely overgrown. 64 00:03:49,100 --> 00:03:51,400 It's like the castle is 65 00:03:51,467 --> 00:03:53,500 still defending itself, even though 66 00:03:53,567 --> 00:03:55,800 the people who lived here are long gone. 67 00:04:03,166 --> 00:04:06,367 NARRATOR: As Bellinger pushes deeper into the woods, 68 00:04:06,367 --> 00:04:08,166 she discovers what appears to be 69 00:04:08,266 --> 00:04:10,400 the remains of a defensive moat. 70 00:04:11,867 --> 00:04:16,200 Wow! This explains so much. 71 00:04:16,266 --> 00:04:18,000 The moat was the first line of defense, 72 00:04:19,500 --> 00:04:22,667 and then here's the proper defenses of the stone wall. 73 00:04:24,500 --> 00:04:26,667 So substantial. 74 00:04:26,767 --> 00:04:30,000 I mean, I can really see how heavily built this castle was. 75 00:04:30,000 --> 00:04:31,066 I mean, I can really see how heavily built this castle was. 76 00:04:33,667 --> 00:04:36,266 NARRATOR: The three-foot-thick flint wall appears to be 77 00:04:36,266 --> 00:04:37,433 medieval in origin 78 00:04:39,266 --> 00:04:42,500 and would likely have once stood at least 20 feet high. 79 00:04:44,567 --> 00:04:46,100 BELLINGER: Astonishing, really, 80 00:04:46,166 --> 00:04:48,100 this amount of destruction. 81 00:04:48,166 --> 00:04:50,367 This structure was totally obliterated. 82 00:04:52,266 --> 00:04:54,100 This isn't natural decay. 83 00:04:55,467 --> 00:04:57,567 AUERBACH: It's extremely unusual to see 84 00:04:57,567 --> 00:05:00,000 a castle completely destroyed and overgrown like this. 85 00:05:00,000 --> 00:05:01,300 a castle completely destroyed and overgrown like this. 86 00:05:01,367 --> 00:05:05,467 CAVELL: This has been leveled, and the question is why? 87 00:05:05,567 --> 00:05:08,367 Why would such a massive facility 88 00:05:08,467 --> 00:05:10,100 be taken down to the ground? 89 00:05:12,500 --> 00:05:15,066 NARRATOR: Bellinger hopes historic land records 90 00:05:15,066 --> 00:05:16,700 will shed some light. 91 00:05:18,767 --> 00:05:21,367 BELLINGER: So the land records here go way back 92 00:05:21,367 --> 00:05:22,967 to a thousand years ago, 93 00:05:24,667 --> 00:05:27,700 and it looks like the land in this part 94 00:05:27,767 --> 00:05:30,000 of Norfolk was owned by a family called the Pastons. 95 00:05:30,000 --> 00:05:32,500 of Norfolk was owned by a family called the Pastons. 96 00:05:34,567 --> 00:05:36,000 NARRATOR: According to the records, 97 00:05:36,066 --> 00:05:38,700 the Pastons were wealthy, local landowners. 98 00:05:40,166 --> 00:05:41,767 Their rise to power is 99 00:05:41,767 --> 00:05:45,367 a century-long tale of blood and subterfuge. 100 00:05:46,467 --> 00:05:49,367 The Pastons were a big deal here in Norfolk, 101 00:05:49,467 --> 00:05:53,567 but what these documents tell me is that this family was 102 00:05:53,667 --> 00:05:56,200 caught up in one of the bloodiest episodes in 103 00:05:56,266 --> 00:05:57,200 English history. 104 00:05:57,266 --> 00:06:00,000 [bell tolling] 105 00:06:00,000 --> 00:06:00,467 [bell tolling] 106 00:06:00,567 --> 00:06:03,867 NARRATOR: That history begins in 1348 107 00:06:03,967 --> 00:06:06,000 when the bubonic plague sweeps 108 00:06:06,066 --> 00:06:07,100 across England, 109 00:06:07,166 --> 00:06:09,467 killing around two million people, 110 00:06:10,467 --> 00:06:13,000 almost half the entire population. 111 00:06:15,266 --> 00:06:17,100 Land prices plummet, 112 00:06:17,166 --> 00:06:19,300 creating an opportunity for the Pastons. 113 00:06:20,667 --> 00:06:24,567 HUNT: They profited immensely from the Black Death, 114 00:06:24,567 --> 00:06:26,967 sweeping up many, 115 00:06:26,967 --> 00:06:30,000 many estates, going from cunning peasants 116 00:06:30,000 --> 00:06:31,467 many estates, going from cunning peasants 117 00:06:31,467 --> 00:06:35,867 to large land owners with a bad reputation. 118 00:06:37,000 --> 00:06:40,367 NARRATOR: In 1427, the Pastons use their wealth 119 00:06:40,467 --> 00:06:43,166 to acquire the fortress in the woods, 120 00:06:43,166 --> 00:06:45,100 called Gresham Castle, 121 00:06:46,367 --> 00:06:48,467 and large tracts of land around it. 122 00:06:49,767 --> 00:06:52,100 But controversy follows in their wake. 123 00:06:53,467 --> 00:06:56,767 HORTON: The Pastons owned the castle, 124 00:06:56,767 --> 00:07:00,000 but it was claimed by another Norfolk family, the Moleyns. 125 00:07:00,000 --> 00:07:00,767 but it was claimed by another Norfolk family, the Moleyns. 126 00:07:01,867 --> 00:07:05,166 WALTERS: Lord Moleyns says, "No, this sale's illegal. 127 00:07:05,166 --> 00:07:08,400 This land belongs to me. You've basically stolen it." 128 00:07:09,500 --> 00:07:12,100 The Pastons weren't willing to relinquish their claim on 129 00:07:12,166 --> 00:07:14,367 the castle, and it created a feud 130 00:07:14,367 --> 00:07:16,767 between these families, which lasted for years. 131 00:07:18,266 --> 00:07:21,066 NARRATOR: As the feud between the two families festers, 132 00:07:22,300 --> 00:07:24,166 the Moleyns turn to violence. 133 00:07:26,900 --> 00:07:30,000 HUNT: Lord Moleyns was so angry at the Pastons that he 134 00:07:30,000 --> 00:07:31,867 HUNT: Lord Moleyns was so angry at the Pastons that he 135 00:07:31,867 --> 00:07:35,100 commandeered a local army of 136 00:07:35,166 --> 00:07:38,567 a thousand people and marched on 137 00:07:38,667 --> 00:07:40,667 this castle. 138 00:07:40,767 --> 00:07:43,767 AUERBACH: The Pastons were massively outnumbered, 139 00:07:43,867 --> 00:07:47,500 and the family is forcibly carried out from the castle. 140 00:07:50,767 --> 00:07:53,800 NARRATOR: After being evicted, the Pastons begged the king 141 00:07:53,867 --> 00:07:55,100 to intervene. 142 00:07:55,166 --> 00:07:57,266 He returns the castle to them, 143 00:07:57,266 --> 00:07:59,967 infuriating Lord Moleyns even further. 144 00:08:01,567 --> 00:08:05,700 The Moleyns, in a fit of pique before handing the castle back 145 00:08:05,767 --> 00:08:07,000 to the Pastons, 146 00:08:07,066 --> 00:08:11,767 completely destroyed it, and that explains why there are no 147 00:08:11,867 --> 00:08:14,066 walls surviving above ground. 148 00:08:16,100 --> 00:08:18,200 NARRATOR: Medieval records reveal the story of 149 00:08:18,266 --> 00:08:20,567 the warring families doesn't end there. 150 00:08:23,767 --> 00:08:26,667 They go on to play a role in a period of bloodshed, 151 00:08:26,767 --> 00:08:29,367 which echoes through history to this day. 152 00:08:32,367 --> 00:08:37,100 This is a time so steeped in violence and political intrigue 153 00:08:37,166 --> 00:08:41,467 that the Game of Throne series is based on this period. 154 00:08:41,467 --> 00:08:44,200 CAVELL: If your family chooses the wrong side, 155 00:08:44,266 --> 00:08:46,066 you could lose everything -- 156 00:08:46,066 --> 00:08:50,266 your property, your position, and your life. 157 00:08:55,066 --> 00:08:59,166 NARRATOR: Coming up, murder, treasure, and betrayal. 158 00:08:59,266 --> 00:09:00,000 They don't call it "getting medieval" for nothing. 159 00:09:00,000 --> 00:09:02,166 They don't call it "getting medieval" for nothing. 160 00:09:02,266 --> 00:09:05,600 NARRATOR: And the lost empire of Persia. 161 00:09:05,667 --> 00:09:09,467 This is one of the greatest powers in ancient history. 162 00:09:20,100 --> 00:09:22,100 NARRATOR: Drawn by a mystery structure 163 00:09:22,166 --> 00:09:24,266 revealed from the skies over England, 164 00:09:25,467 --> 00:09:27,767 Karen Bellinger has discovered a lost 165 00:09:27,867 --> 00:09:31,166 castle destroyed during a medieval blood feud. 166 00:09:32,700 --> 00:09:35,166 BELLINGER: This castle charts the rise 167 00:09:35,166 --> 00:09:38,567 of a really gutsy and ambitious family. 168 00:09:40,767 --> 00:09:43,967 NARRATOR: That family is the Pastons, whose stronghold 169 00:09:43,967 --> 00:09:45,021 is captured and obliterated by the Moleyns. 170 00:09:45,021 --> 00:09:46,567 is captured and obliterated by the Moleyns. 171 00:09:49,100 --> 00:09:50,867 In the mid-15th century, 172 00:09:50,867 --> 00:09:53,767 their generation-long dispute spills over into 173 00:09:53,867 --> 00:09:56,266 some of the bloodiest events in English history. 174 00:09:58,467 --> 00:10:01,767 This is a time that is really tumultuous in England. 175 00:10:01,867 --> 00:10:05,767 You have rival factions warring against each other 176 00:10:05,767 --> 00:10:08,100 about who should legitimately 177 00:10:08,166 --> 00:10:10,767 control England and who should be king. 178 00:10:13,266 --> 00:10:14,266 NARRATOR: At the time, 179 00:10:14,367 --> 00:10:15,021 the English throne is held by King Henry VI. 180 00:10:15,021 --> 00:10:17,166 the English throne is held by King Henry VI. 181 00:10:19,767 --> 00:10:23,867 Seen as an ineffectual monarch, in 1455, 182 00:10:23,867 --> 00:10:25,367 he suffers a mental breakdown, 183 00:10:25,367 --> 00:10:28,500 triggering a battle for control of his realm. 184 00:10:29,700 --> 00:10:33,567 What happens is this dynastic scrap between 185 00:10:33,667 --> 00:10:37,100 two rival royal houses for the British throne. 186 00:10:37,166 --> 00:10:39,066 You've got the Lancastrians on one side 187 00:10:39,066 --> 00:10:40,667 and the Yorkists on the other. 188 00:10:41,767 --> 00:10:44,667 NARRATOR: The prolonged battle that follows between the houses 189 00:10:44,767 --> 00:10:45,021 of York and Lancaster 190 00:10:45,021 --> 00:10:46,400 of York and Lancaster 191 00:10:46,467 --> 00:10:49,166 becomes known as the Wars of the Roses. 192 00:10:50,300 --> 00:10:52,867 It's called the Wars of the Roses because of 193 00:10:52,867 --> 00:10:55,100 the symbol that each side adopted to represent 194 00:10:55,200 --> 00:10:56,400 their family. 195 00:10:56,467 --> 00:11:00,066 The Yorks chose the white rose, the Lancasters, the red. 196 00:11:00,066 --> 00:11:02,567 HORTON: It was basically a slugfest, 197 00:11:02,667 --> 00:11:04,667 and some of the very bloodiest 198 00:11:04,667 --> 00:11:07,367 battles in English history 199 00:11:07,467 --> 00:11:09,166 were fought during the Wars of the Roses. 200 00:11:13,867 --> 00:11:15,021 NARRATOR: Over a 30-year period, 201 00:11:15,021 --> 00:11:15,867 NARRATOR: Over a 30-year period, 202 00:11:15,867 --> 00:11:17,900 it's believed the Wars of the Roses 203 00:11:18,000 --> 00:11:20,567 claim more than 100,000 lives. 204 00:11:22,867 --> 00:11:26,667 In 1461, at the Battle of Towton alone, 205 00:11:26,767 --> 00:11:29,266 28,000 men are slain, 206 00:11:29,266 --> 00:11:32,200 one percent of the total English population. 207 00:11:33,567 --> 00:11:35,967 The archaeological record shows just 208 00:11:35,967 --> 00:11:39,400 how the dead were utterly mutilated, 209 00:11:39,467 --> 00:11:41,767 people hacked to pieces and then 210 00:11:41,867 --> 00:11:45,000 slung naked into these mass burial pits. 211 00:11:46,266 --> 00:11:49,000 AUERBACH: They don't call it getting medieval for nothing. 212 00:11:50,266 --> 00:11:53,467 We're talking about large men smashing large, 213 00:11:53,467 --> 00:11:55,266 sharp bits of metal into each other. 214 00:11:58,100 --> 00:12:00,700 NARRATOR: As the conflict unfolds, control of 215 00:12:00,767 --> 00:12:03,367 the crown switches from one side to the other. 216 00:12:05,600 --> 00:12:07,500 If you want to come out on top, 217 00:12:07,567 --> 00:12:10,700 you have to be very canny about choosing your side. 218 00:12:10,767 --> 00:12:12,600 If you support the losing side, 219 00:12:12,667 --> 00:12:15,021 you could just as easily be labeled as a traitor, 220 00:12:15,021 --> 00:12:15,767 you could just as easily be labeled as a traitor, 221 00:12:15,767 --> 00:12:17,900 and the cost of that is your life. 222 00:12:19,700 --> 00:12:20,567 NARRATOR: In Norfolk, 223 00:12:20,567 --> 00:12:22,300 the owners of the ruined castle 224 00:12:22,367 --> 00:12:24,800 gamble on who will emerge victorious. 225 00:12:27,100 --> 00:12:31,567 What the documents tell me is that the Pastons tried to stay 226 00:12:31,567 --> 00:12:33,967 out of the conflict as long as they could, 227 00:12:33,967 --> 00:12:35,767 but eventually throw their weight 228 00:12:35,867 --> 00:12:37,967 behind the Lancastrian cause. 229 00:12:39,467 --> 00:12:41,767 The decision proves to be a wise one. 230 00:12:42,800 --> 00:12:45,021 In 1485, following the decisive battle of 231 00:12:45,021 --> 00:12:46,300 In 1485, following the decisive battle of 232 00:12:46,367 --> 00:12:47,900 Bosworth Field, 233 00:12:48,000 --> 00:12:50,066 the Lancastrians seize the crown. 234 00:12:53,166 --> 00:12:56,500 This kickstarts the long reign of the Tudor kings, 235 00:12:56,567 --> 00:12:58,400 beginning with Henry VII, 236 00:12:58,467 --> 00:13:02,266 during which time the Pastons' status continues to grow. 237 00:13:04,900 --> 00:13:07,567 After the Wars of the Roses conclude, 238 00:13:07,667 --> 00:13:11,600 the Pastons continue to fight alongside the Tudor kings, 239 00:13:11,667 --> 00:13:14,567 and they grow wealthy and powerful in the process. 240 00:13:14,567 --> 00:13:15,021 In contrast, the Moleyns did much less well 241 00:13:15,021 --> 00:13:19,367 In contrast, the Moleyns did much less well 242 00:13:19,367 --> 00:13:21,266 and never really achieved 243 00:13:21,367 --> 00:13:24,400 the prestige that they had held 244 00:13:24,467 --> 00:13:25,967 during the Wars of the Roses. 245 00:13:28,867 --> 00:13:30,667 NARRATOR: Leaving their wrecked castle 246 00:13:30,767 --> 00:13:32,500 to be claimed by the forest, 247 00:13:32,567 --> 00:13:35,300 the Pastons used the spoils of war to construct 248 00:13:35,367 --> 00:13:40,166 Oxnead Hall, where they reside for over 170 years. 249 00:13:42,900 --> 00:13:45,021 Now, that's the payoff for choosing the right side. 250 00:13:45,021 --> 00:13:46,000 Now, that's the payoff for choosing the right side. 251 00:13:47,000 --> 00:13:48,266 Look at this place. 252 00:13:50,367 --> 00:13:53,467 It's a far cry from that ruined castle, 253 00:13:53,567 --> 00:13:54,600 that's for sure. 254 00:13:57,000 --> 00:13:59,266 NARRATOR: This gives rise to another twist in 255 00:13:59,367 --> 00:14:01,567 the tale of the lost castle in the woods. 256 00:14:03,900 --> 00:14:06,100 HORTON: So there is a local legend that 257 00:14:06,166 --> 00:14:08,266 they accumulated so much wealth 258 00:14:08,367 --> 00:14:12,266 that they had a great golden figurine 259 00:14:12,367 --> 00:14:15,021 of a calf, and this was hidden away in the tunnels lying 260 00:14:15,021 --> 00:14:17,000 of a calf, and this was hidden away in the tunnels lying 261 00:14:17,100 --> 00:14:19,700 underneath the castle shown in the LIDAR image. 262 00:14:21,066 --> 00:14:23,800 If you're the Pastons, why not hide it here, 263 00:14:23,867 --> 00:14:27,100 allow the grass to grow, the trees to reclaim 264 00:14:27,166 --> 00:14:29,200 the old castle, 265 00:14:29,266 --> 00:14:31,367 and bury your treasure right there? 266 00:14:36,200 --> 00:14:39,000 NARRATOR: The lost castle has never been fully explored. 267 00:14:42,200 --> 00:14:43,467 It's a reminder of one of 268 00:14:43,467 --> 00:14:45,021 the most divisive periods in English history, 269 00:14:45,021 --> 00:14:46,200 the most divisive periods in English history, 270 00:14:47,867 --> 00:14:51,667 when family turned on family in the pursuit of power. 271 00:14:53,900 --> 00:14:58,867 The ruins we see in this image are an amazing connection to 272 00:14:58,867 --> 00:15:01,800 an age of war and blood 273 00:15:01,867 --> 00:15:04,567 and death, and maybe that's why it's never 274 00:15:04,667 --> 00:15:06,600 been dug up or rebuilt. 275 00:15:15,367 --> 00:15:19,567 NARRATOR: Coming up, Canada's mystery mega blast. 276 00:15:19,567 --> 00:15:23,200 This is truly a crazy experiment. 277 00:15:23,266 --> 00:15:25,400 NARRATOR: And nature's fury. 278 00:15:25,467 --> 00:15:27,266 You can see the roadways bent 279 00:15:27,367 --> 00:15:30,667 and warped, buildings just sort of washed aside. 280 00:15:38,767 --> 00:15:42,767 NARRATOR: July 9th, 2022. 281 00:15:42,767 --> 00:15:46,300 A satellite orbiting above the Badlands of Alberta, 282 00:15:46,367 --> 00:15:50,667 Canada, scans the landscape 400 miles below. 283 00:15:52,367 --> 00:15:54,667 This is a really strange image. 284 00:15:54,667 --> 00:15:58,266 This is the Canadian wilderness, and yet there are 285 00:15:58,266 --> 00:16:00,200 these circles 286 00:16:00,266 --> 00:16:03,166 that are deeply etched into the landscape. 287 00:16:04,367 --> 00:16:04,800 ORWOLL: As you look at these rings, 288 00:16:04,800 --> 00:16:06,467 ORWOLL: As you look at these rings, 289 00:16:06,467 --> 00:16:08,867 one of the first things you notice is how perfectly 290 00:16:08,867 --> 00:16:10,066 concentric they are, 291 00:16:10,066 --> 00:16:11,767 but also how large they are. 292 00:16:11,767 --> 00:16:13,300 Very odd. 293 00:16:16,767 --> 00:16:18,467 NARRATOR: The outermost ring measures 294 00:16:18,567 --> 00:16:20,266 more than 20 miles in diameter. 295 00:16:21,867 --> 00:16:23,700 This is some really impressive 296 00:16:23,767 --> 00:16:26,266 piece of engineering taking place here. 297 00:16:26,266 --> 00:16:28,467 My best guess is that this 298 00:16:28,567 --> 00:16:30,900 is some sort of a military installation. 299 00:16:32,500 --> 00:16:34,800 NARRATOR: Government records confirm that the circles sit 300 00:16:34,800 --> 00:16:35,567 NARRATOR: Government records confirm that the circles sit 301 00:16:35,667 --> 00:16:38,000 close to the largest military research center 302 00:16:38,066 --> 00:16:39,166 in North America. 303 00:16:41,300 --> 00:16:44,266 This proximity suggests the giant pattern could 304 00:16:44,266 --> 00:16:46,300 be connected to highly controversial 305 00:16:46,367 --> 00:16:48,867 experiments here around 80 years ago. 306 00:16:50,467 --> 00:16:52,567 Suffield military base has been 307 00:16:52,567 --> 00:16:54,967 in operation since World War II, 308 00:16:54,967 --> 00:16:56,900 and records reveal that some of 309 00:16:57,000 --> 00:17:01,000 the things that were tested here were chemical weapons. 310 00:17:02,200 --> 00:17:04,800 WALTERS: During the 1940s, Suffield specializes in 311 00:17:04,800 --> 00:17:05,700 WALTERS: During the 1940s, Suffield specializes in 312 00:17:05,767 --> 00:17:08,467 the testing of one particularly nasty 313 00:17:08,567 --> 00:17:11,367 chemical weapon, and that's mustard gas. 314 00:17:14,500 --> 00:17:18,266 NARRATOR: During World War I, mustard gas, a sulfurous 315 00:17:18,367 --> 00:17:21,667 compound that blisters and burns the skin and lungs, 316 00:17:21,667 --> 00:17:25,900 kills or injures 120,000 soldiers. 317 00:17:27,667 --> 00:17:30,367 In 1925, the Geneva Protocol 318 00:17:30,467 --> 00:17:33,800 prohibits its use on the battlefield. 319 00:17:33,867 --> 00:17:34,800 But as World War II dawns, 320 00:17:34,800 --> 00:17:36,767 But as World War II dawns, 321 00:17:36,867 --> 00:17:39,867 concerns grow that Hitler will defy the treaty. 322 00:17:41,066 --> 00:17:44,867 The Allies feared that the Nazi 323 00:17:44,867 --> 00:17:48,867 forces might start employing mustard gas again, 324 00:17:48,867 --> 00:17:52,700 so wanted to experiment on the effects 325 00:17:52,767 --> 00:17:55,767 on troops and how best to protect them. 326 00:17:57,867 --> 00:18:01,000 NARRATOR: Three thousand Canadian recruits participate in 327 00:18:01,100 --> 00:18:03,600 these experiments at Suffield military base. 328 00:18:06,400 --> 00:18:08,967 Many are ordered to act as human targets 329 00:18:08,967 --> 00:18:11,700 while aircraft rain chemicals down on them. 330 00:18:13,967 --> 00:18:15,400 The image does look like 331 00:18:15,467 --> 00:18:19,567 a large-scale, high-altitude military bombing target. 332 00:18:21,000 --> 00:18:23,000 The military could then measure the effects of 333 00:18:23,066 --> 00:18:28,100 the things like gas masks or decontamination powders 334 00:18:28,166 --> 00:18:30,600 and then what kind of damage the people sustained, 335 00:18:30,667 --> 00:18:33,200 and the damage was horrible. 336 00:18:33,266 --> 00:18:34,800 CAVELL: These tests were really monstrous. 337 00:18:34,800 --> 00:18:35,900 CAVELL: These tests were really monstrous. 338 00:18:36,000 --> 00:18:39,367 The men who were exposed to mustard gas suffered horrible 339 00:18:39,367 --> 00:18:41,867 burns on their legs, on their buttocks, 340 00:18:41,967 --> 00:18:45,166 on their backs, and for many of them, 341 00:18:45,266 --> 00:18:49,367 this created really long-term health problems. 342 00:18:49,367 --> 00:18:51,166 NARRATOR: Many of the soldiers go on to 343 00:18:51,166 --> 00:18:53,867 suffer from catastrophic respiratory problems 344 00:18:53,967 --> 00:18:55,300 and cancers. 345 00:18:56,967 --> 00:18:59,000 They received the equivalent of just 346 00:18:59,066 --> 00:19:02,567 50 cents a day in payment for the trials. 347 00:19:02,667 --> 00:19:04,266 They're given letters claiming 348 00:19:04,266 --> 00:19:04,800 they are not, quote, guinea pigs. 349 00:19:04,800 --> 00:19:06,667 they are not, quote, guinea pigs. 350 00:19:06,667 --> 00:19:10,800 But unfortunately, that's exactly what they were. 351 00:19:10,867 --> 00:19:11,767 It's safe to say 352 00:19:11,767 --> 00:19:13,800 this is the sort of test that governments 353 00:19:13,867 --> 00:19:15,367 would not permit today, 354 00:19:15,367 --> 00:19:19,200 but, at the time, it shows you how scared governments were 355 00:19:19,266 --> 00:19:22,166 that this sort of weapon could be used in war. 356 00:19:24,700 --> 00:19:27,567 NARRATOR: But when experts dig further into declassified 357 00:19:27,667 --> 00:19:28,934 military files, 358 00:19:29,000 --> 00:19:32,667 they suspect the giant circles are a more recent construction 359 00:19:34,166 --> 00:19:34,800 and may have been used to test 360 00:19:34,800 --> 00:19:35,900 and may have been used to test 361 00:19:36,000 --> 00:19:39,000 the destructive force of a very different kind of weapon. 362 00:19:40,467 --> 00:19:43,367 ORWOLL: Records show that one of the largest non-nuclear 363 00:19:43,467 --> 00:19:44,800 explosive devices ever 364 00:19:44,867 --> 00:19:48,166 to be detonated was set off where these concentric circles 365 00:19:48,166 --> 00:19:49,800 are located. 366 00:19:49,867 --> 00:19:53,166 CAVELL: This is truly a crazy military experiment, 367 00:19:53,166 --> 00:19:55,266 I mean, on an enormous scale 368 00:19:55,266 --> 00:19:57,200 and the effects were just catastrophic for 369 00:19:57,266 --> 00:19:58,467 the surrounding area. 370 00:20:01,100 --> 00:20:04,800 NARRATOR: During the 1960s, increased Cold War tensions 371 00:20:04,800 --> 00:20:05,100 NARRATOR: During the 1960s, increased Cold War tensions 372 00:20:05,166 --> 00:20:08,266 fuel fears that Soviet TU-95 373 00:20:08,266 --> 00:20:10,367 long range bombers will use Canada 374 00:20:10,367 --> 00:20:12,767 as a shortcut to targets in the U.S. 375 00:20:15,000 --> 00:20:17,867 As panic mounts, the government decides to 376 00:20:17,967 --> 00:20:20,266 simulate the impact of such an attack. 377 00:20:21,500 --> 00:20:24,200 It is code named Operation Snowball. 378 00:20:26,000 --> 00:20:28,266 RUBEN: The goal of Operation Snowball was to test 379 00:20:28,266 --> 00:20:31,667 the effects of a nuclear bomb without the nuclear fallout. 380 00:20:31,667 --> 00:20:34,100 And so they created a conventional explosion 381 00:20:34,166 --> 00:20:34,800 that was as big as a nuclear explosion would have been. 382 00:20:34,800 --> 00:20:36,667 that was as big as a nuclear explosion would have been. 383 00:20:37,900 --> 00:20:41,367 NARRATOR: In July 1964, 384 00:20:41,367 --> 00:20:43,867 scientists place various pieces of equipment 385 00:20:43,967 --> 00:20:47,467 and hardware at points around the predicted blast zone. 386 00:20:49,867 --> 00:20:54,300 At its center, they stack over 30,000 blocks of TNT. 387 00:20:56,400 --> 00:20:59,700 The way they set this explosion up was to bring 388 00:20:59,767 --> 00:21:01,867 in 500 short tons 389 00:21:01,967 --> 00:21:04,800 of TNT, and they effectively created a giant 390 00:21:04,800 --> 00:21:05,200 of TNT, and they effectively created a giant 391 00:21:05,266 --> 00:21:07,300 igloo of explosive. 392 00:21:08,867 --> 00:21:12,767 This is kind of a classic Cold War military experiment. 393 00:21:12,867 --> 00:21:16,100 We have a lot of explosives. 394 00:21:16,166 --> 00:21:17,467 Let's just detonate it all at once 395 00:21:17,567 --> 00:21:19,266 and measure what happens. 396 00:21:20,667 --> 00:21:25,166 NARRATOR: On July 17th, the mountain of TNT detonates. 397 00:21:25,266 --> 00:21:27,367 [explosion blasts] 398 00:21:30,467 --> 00:21:33,900 It's the largest non-nuclear explosion in history. 399 00:21:35,800 --> 00:21:40,100 When it was ignited, the blast was unimaginable. 400 00:21:41,266 --> 00:21:44,967 ORWOLL: When the TNT was set off, there was a mushroom cloud, 401 00:21:44,967 --> 00:21:47,066 a huge one, that was seen for miles around. 402 00:21:47,066 --> 00:21:49,100 It was just a massive explosion. 403 00:21:52,500 --> 00:21:54,700 NARRATOR: The force generated by the blast is 404 00:21:54,767 --> 00:21:57,700 equivalent to more than seven million hand grenades 405 00:22:00,300 --> 00:22:04,800 and turns the TNT into a ball of superheated, pressurized gas. 406 00:22:10,700 --> 00:22:13,567 The diameter of the crater that was left behind 407 00:22:13,567 --> 00:22:17,467 was 240 feet wide, and the shockwaves 408 00:22:17,467 --> 00:22:20,500 from the explosion were felt miles away. 409 00:22:22,500 --> 00:22:25,767 The blast's aftermath provides valuable insight into how 410 00:22:25,867 --> 00:22:28,767 military hardware and infrastructure would withstand 411 00:22:28,767 --> 00:22:30,166 a nuclear explosion. 412 00:22:32,900 --> 00:22:34,800 By excavating a cross section of the crater, 413 00:22:34,800 --> 00:22:35,667 By excavating a cross section of the crater, 414 00:22:35,767 --> 00:22:37,500 scientists can also analyze how 415 00:22:37,567 --> 00:22:39,767 the shockwaves pulse through the ground. 416 00:22:42,000 --> 00:22:44,867 The information from this informed 417 00:22:44,867 --> 00:22:47,467 more than just military weapons experts. 418 00:22:47,467 --> 00:22:51,200 It informed geologists and geographers and seismologists, 419 00:22:51,266 --> 00:22:52,300 you name it. 420 00:22:52,367 --> 00:22:54,266 There was a lot of data that came out of this. 421 00:22:58,100 --> 00:23:00,800 NARRATOR: In the years following Operation Snowball, 422 00:23:00,867 --> 00:23:02,567 the military carries out more 423 00:23:02,667 --> 00:23:04,600 massive blast tests at Suffield, 424 00:23:07,000 --> 00:23:08,667 ones designed to assess 425 00:23:08,767 --> 00:23:11,467 the effectiveness of its newest defensive technology. 426 00:23:13,467 --> 00:23:16,100 Today, the base continues to conduct 427 00:23:16,166 --> 00:23:18,900 clandestine experiments in the Canadian wilderness. 428 00:23:20,166 --> 00:23:23,100 A lot of military tests are still classified. 429 00:23:23,166 --> 00:23:25,667 So who knows what other tests have taken place 430 00:23:25,667 --> 00:23:29,000 at these circles that we still don't know about. 431 00:23:36,367 --> 00:23:39,800 NARRATOR: Coming up, destroyed in seconds. 432 00:23:39,867 --> 00:23:41,767 You never know when the rug was 433 00:23:41,867 --> 00:23:43,266 gonna get pulled out from under you. 434 00:23:44,567 --> 00:23:47,767 And the slayers of the Roman Empire. 435 00:23:47,767 --> 00:23:50,567 They regarded themselves as kings of kings. 436 00:23:50,667 --> 00:23:51,900 [horse neighs] 437 00:24:00,066 --> 00:24:02,266 NARRATOR: October 2018. 438 00:24:04,066 --> 00:24:05,767 An orbiting camera passes over 439 00:24:05,767 --> 00:24:07,900 the Indonesian island of Sulawesi 440 00:24:09,667 --> 00:24:11,800 and uncovers something strange. 441 00:24:12,800 --> 00:24:16,200 Clearly, this is a city, but right in the middle of this, 442 00:24:16,266 --> 00:24:18,467 something odd is going on. 443 00:24:19,467 --> 00:24:22,266 RUBEN: The strange thing about this image is that it's like 444 00:24:22,266 --> 00:24:24,500 a giant hand has just kind of, like, rubbed out 445 00:24:24,567 --> 00:24:25,300 a bit of the city, but the rest is untouched. 446 00:24:25,300 --> 00:24:27,467 a bit of the city, but the rest is untouched. 447 00:24:29,967 --> 00:24:32,000 NARRATOR: A mystery force has erased entire 448 00:24:32,100 --> 00:24:34,000 neighborhoods in the city of Palu. 449 00:24:35,467 --> 00:24:39,166 It's like a real-world version of Photoshop, where someone has 450 00:24:39,266 --> 00:24:43,200 gone and used the smudge tool to streak it across 451 00:24:43,266 --> 00:24:45,000 the landscape. 452 00:24:45,066 --> 00:24:47,166 I'm gonna zoom into some of these locations 453 00:24:47,266 --> 00:24:49,367 and try to figure out what's going on. 454 00:24:51,600 --> 00:24:54,567 NARRATOR: Ken Joyce uses Maxar's SecureWatch 455 00:24:54,567 --> 00:24:55,300 technology to scroll through time. 456 00:24:55,300 --> 00:24:56,667 technology to scroll through time. 457 00:24:58,266 --> 00:25:01,300 Overnight, whole sections of the city have 458 00:25:01,367 --> 00:25:03,767 shifted hundreds of feet to the west. 459 00:25:05,667 --> 00:25:08,867 Seeing this level of destruction across multiple 460 00:25:08,867 --> 00:25:10,367 sites in the city 461 00:25:10,367 --> 00:25:13,200 makes me think of landslides created 462 00:25:13,266 --> 00:25:14,667 by a heavy rainstorm. 463 00:25:16,600 --> 00:25:19,667 NARRATOR: Indonesia receives some of the highest rainfall on 464 00:25:19,667 --> 00:25:22,900 Earth, with up to 15 inches falling per day. 465 00:25:25,300 --> 00:25:27,367 These deluges can unleash rivers 466 00:25:27,367 --> 00:25:30,166 of mud which envelope entire communities. 467 00:25:31,767 --> 00:25:35,266 RUBEN: This photo was taken during Indonesia's dry season, 468 00:25:35,266 --> 00:25:38,166 so it couldn't have been a landslide. 469 00:25:38,166 --> 00:25:39,667 It has to be something else. 470 00:25:41,700 --> 00:25:44,600 NARRATOR: Analysts turn to local environmental data 471 00:25:44,667 --> 00:25:46,467 and discover a clue. 472 00:25:48,200 --> 00:25:50,700 Cross-referencing with geological records, 473 00:25:50,767 --> 00:25:53,867 we can see that this satellite image was taken very 474 00:25:53,867 --> 00:25:55,300 shortly after a magnitude 7.5 earthquake shook the town 475 00:25:55,300 --> 00:25:57,867 shortly after a magnitude 7.5 earthquake shook the town 476 00:25:57,967 --> 00:25:59,700 of Palu. 477 00:25:59,767 --> 00:26:03,667 7.5 on the Richter scale is a huge earthquake. 478 00:26:03,767 --> 00:26:05,367 This is not just a little tremor. 479 00:26:05,467 --> 00:26:07,700 This is a notable event. 480 00:26:11,967 --> 00:26:14,400 NARRATOR: Indonesia sits on the Ring of Fire, 481 00:26:16,000 --> 00:26:20,967 a 25,000-mile-long chain of seismically active sites 482 00:26:20,967 --> 00:26:24,300 and home to three quarters of the world's volcanoes. 483 00:26:25,967 --> 00:26:27,867 This makes Indonesia one of 484 00:26:27,867 --> 00:26:31,600 the most disaster-prone countries on Earth. 485 00:26:31,667 --> 00:26:34,266 The Ring of Fire around the Pacific Ocean is 486 00:26:34,367 --> 00:26:36,467 one of the most unstable parts of the planet. 487 00:26:36,467 --> 00:26:38,900 It contains hundreds of volcanoes 488 00:26:39,000 --> 00:26:40,900 and the potential for huge earthquakes. 489 00:26:43,667 --> 00:26:45,867 NARRATOR: The massive quake has its epicenter 490 00:26:45,867 --> 00:26:48,200 43 miles to the north of Palu. 491 00:26:51,467 --> 00:26:53,400 This triggers a chain reaction, which 492 00:26:53,467 --> 00:26:55,300 creates the strange smear in the image. 493 00:26:55,300 --> 00:26:56,767 creates the strange smear in the image. 494 00:26:56,767 --> 00:26:58,467 SALAITA: Usually when we think about earthquakes, 495 00:26:58,467 --> 00:27:00,500 we think of the dangers of falling buildings 496 00:27:00,567 --> 00:27:01,800 and bridges collapsing. 497 00:27:01,867 --> 00:27:05,767 But here, this situation was not that. 498 00:27:09,000 --> 00:27:12,767 NARRATOR: As the quake's seismic waves radiate outwards, 499 00:27:12,767 --> 00:27:16,000 they create a 20-foot-high tsunami, 500 00:27:16,100 --> 00:27:18,400 which devastates coastal areas of the city. 501 00:27:21,000 --> 00:27:23,900 They also generate another rarer but equally 502 00:27:24,000 --> 00:27:25,200 destructive force. 503 00:27:27,667 --> 00:27:30,166 If the conditions are just right, 504 00:27:30,166 --> 00:27:32,767 there's a very unusual phenomenon that 505 00:27:32,767 --> 00:27:35,800 can be triggered by some earthquakes. 506 00:27:35,867 --> 00:27:38,567 When that ground is full of sediment and waterlogged, 507 00:27:38,667 --> 00:27:41,300 it can make the ground do something strange. 508 00:27:43,700 --> 00:27:46,967 NARRATOR: Much of Palu sits on a marshy, sandy soil. 509 00:27:49,266 --> 00:27:51,567 As the earthquake pulses through it, 510 00:27:51,667 --> 00:27:53,700 it is subjected to liquefaction, 511 00:27:54,967 --> 00:27:55,300 the process which creates the carnage visible from space. 512 00:27:55,300 --> 00:27:58,266 the process which creates the carnage visible from space. 513 00:27:59,867 --> 00:28:05,000 Liquefaction is this bizarre process where the soil near 514 00:28:05,066 --> 00:28:07,467 the surface, when it's shaken under 515 00:28:07,567 --> 00:28:11,967 these earthquake conditions, can lose its integrity and turn 516 00:28:11,967 --> 00:28:15,500 into this wet, gloppy, soupy mess. 517 00:28:17,100 --> 00:28:20,700 If the ground shakes violently enough, all of the rocks and 518 00:28:20,767 --> 00:28:24,300 soil kind of settled downward, and the water goes upward. 519 00:28:24,367 --> 00:28:25,300 The soil starts acting like a liquid. 520 00:28:25,300 --> 00:28:27,600 The soil starts acting like a liquid. 521 00:28:29,066 --> 00:28:31,000 And so the result is that buildings just kind 522 00:28:31,100 --> 00:28:33,967 of slide along it or sink right down into it. 523 00:28:36,900 --> 00:28:38,767 NARRATOR: As the land liquefies, 524 00:28:38,867 --> 00:28:42,667 it consumes 3,500 homes and entombs 525 00:28:42,767 --> 00:28:45,066 many of those living inside. 526 00:28:45,066 --> 00:28:46,667 When we look at these images, 527 00:28:46,667 --> 00:28:48,867 we see the clear effects of liquefaction. 528 00:28:48,967 --> 00:28:51,567 You can see the roadways bent and warped. 529 00:28:51,567 --> 00:28:54,967 You can see the buildings just sort of washed aside. 530 00:28:54,967 --> 00:28:55,300 It must have been terrifying to witness this. 531 00:28:55,300 --> 00:28:57,567 It must have been terrifying to witness this. 532 00:28:57,567 --> 00:28:58,667 Whole buildings, 533 00:28:58,667 --> 00:29:01,567 buildings with ordinarily strong foundations, 534 00:29:01,567 --> 00:29:03,300 just sliding down the street. 535 00:29:05,567 --> 00:29:06,767 NARRATOR: The satellite image is 536 00:29:06,867 --> 00:29:09,400 a reminder of our planet's unpredictability 537 00:29:11,000 --> 00:29:14,000 and its capacity to destroy lives in an instant. 538 00:29:16,100 --> 00:29:20,100 We think that our world is static and stable. 539 00:29:20,166 --> 00:29:22,367 And then you realize that...no. 540 00:29:22,467 --> 00:29:25,100 You never know when the rug was gonna get 541 00:29:25,166 --> 00:29:25,300 pulled out from under you. 542 00:29:25,300 --> 00:29:26,266 pulled out from under you. 543 00:29:33,200 --> 00:29:36,867 NARRATOR: Coming up, Iran's desert secret. 544 00:29:36,867 --> 00:29:40,500 This is linked to one of the greatest powers in 545 00:29:40,567 --> 00:29:42,200 ancient history. 546 00:29:42,266 --> 00:29:44,767 NARRATOR: And the circuit board city. 547 00:29:44,867 --> 00:29:48,166 RUBEN: Why would anybody build something like this 548 00:29:48,266 --> 00:29:49,500 in the middle of nowhere? 549 00:29:56,900 --> 00:30:00,200 NARRATOR: February 13th, 2019. 550 00:30:00,266 --> 00:30:04,600 A satellite scans Fars Province, 551 00:30:06,467 --> 00:30:08,567 a mountainous region in southern Iran. 552 00:30:10,500 --> 00:30:13,100 This looks like agricultural fields 553 00:30:13,166 --> 00:30:16,967 clearly organized and maintained by humans. 554 00:30:16,967 --> 00:30:20,767 But what's weird is that this ring 555 00:30:20,867 --> 00:30:22,891 is sort of stuck in the middle. 556 00:30:22,891 --> 00:30:23,867 is sort of stuck in the middle. 557 00:30:23,867 --> 00:30:26,000 RODRIGUEZ McROBBIE: What's really striking about this image 558 00:30:26,100 --> 00:30:28,200 is that it's almost a perfect circle. 559 00:30:30,166 --> 00:30:31,700 NARRATOR: The mystery feature measures 560 00:30:31,767 --> 00:30:33,767 over 6,000 feet in diameter. 561 00:30:36,100 --> 00:30:38,266 It doesn't make sense that so much 562 00:30:38,266 --> 00:30:41,667 land would be cordoned off in this way. 563 00:30:41,667 --> 00:30:45,266 It's almost as if it's being protected in some fashion. 564 00:30:47,767 --> 00:30:49,367 NARRATOR: To aerospace experts, 565 00:30:49,467 --> 00:30:51,767 the structure's shape and location 566 00:30:51,767 --> 00:30:52,891 could be evidence of clandestine activity. 567 00:30:52,891 --> 00:30:54,200 could be evidence of clandestine activity. 568 00:30:55,467 --> 00:30:59,100 There are rocket launch sites in Iran that do have 569 00:30:59,166 --> 00:31:00,367 similarities to this that 570 00:31:00,367 --> 00:31:02,767 are circular, and if this is a launch site 571 00:31:02,767 --> 00:31:04,667 that could be very problematic. 572 00:31:07,000 --> 00:31:09,166 NARRATOR: Others disagree. 573 00:31:09,266 --> 00:31:10,567 Within the circle, what I can 574 00:31:10,567 --> 00:31:13,400 see are remnants of some old buildings. 575 00:31:13,467 --> 00:31:16,567 They look like they've sort of been crumbling away. 576 00:31:16,567 --> 00:31:20,400 SZULGIT: To me, this looks like an ancient defensive structure, 577 00:31:20,467 --> 00:31:22,891 possibly a fortress or even a massive walled city. 578 00:31:22,891 --> 00:31:23,900 possibly a fortress or even a massive walled city. 579 00:31:26,400 --> 00:31:29,166 NARRATOR: Analysts turn to local historic documents. 580 00:31:31,567 --> 00:31:33,767 They confirm the massive feature is what 581 00:31:33,767 --> 00:31:36,100 remains of a once mighty city called Darabgerd, 582 00:31:38,900 --> 00:31:42,066 which dates back more than 2,500 years. 583 00:31:43,367 --> 00:31:45,867 This is a settlement linked to one of 584 00:31:45,967 --> 00:31:49,600 the greatest and yet little known imperial powers in 585 00:31:49,667 --> 00:31:50,767 ancient history. 586 00:31:50,867 --> 00:31:52,891 They were known as the Sasanians. 587 00:31:52,891 --> 00:31:53,000 They were known as the Sasanians. 588 00:31:55,400 --> 00:31:57,467 NARRATOR: The Sasanians are a technologically 589 00:31:57,467 --> 00:31:58,567 advanced people 590 00:32:00,200 --> 00:32:03,967 Who rise from these lands around 1,800 years ago. 591 00:32:05,800 --> 00:32:07,900 After taking control of the city 592 00:32:08,000 --> 00:32:09,867 sometime around 200 CE, 593 00:32:10,967 --> 00:32:13,266 they use it as a base to expand 594 00:32:13,367 --> 00:32:14,667 their fledgling territory. 595 00:32:16,100 --> 00:32:18,867 BELLINGER: The circular wall in the image is believed to 596 00:32:18,867 --> 00:32:22,667 be one of the largest mud brick walls on Earth. 597 00:32:22,767 --> 00:32:22,891 It was once up to 30 feet tall and surrounds the ruins 598 00:32:22,891 --> 00:32:26,300 It was once up to 30 feet tall and surrounds the ruins 599 00:32:26,367 --> 00:32:30,100 of what was one of the most important Sasanian cities. 600 00:32:31,300 --> 00:32:33,567 NARDI: Based on what we can see in the image 601 00:32:33,567 --> 00:32:35,100 and what's left of it, 602 00:32:35,166 --> 00:32:36,900 this was a massive fortification 603 00:32:37,000 --> 00:32:38,600 that would be pretty impenetrable. 604 00:32:40,767 --> 00:32:42,100 NARRATOR: Ten years later, 605 00:32:42,166 --> 00:32:45,300 the city's rulers attack the Parthians, 606 00:32:45,367 --> 00:32:48,500 a civilization who rule much of Iran at the time. 607 00:32:49,967 --> 00:32:52,891 They finally defeat them in 224 CE. 608 00:32:52,891 --> 00:32:54,266 They finally defeat them in 224 CE. 609 00:32:54,266 --> 00:32:57,000 The Sasanians quickly established themselves as 610 00:32:57,100 --> 00:32:59,667 a formidable force in this region. 611 00:33:00,967 --> 00:33:03,767 They regarded themselves as kings of kings. 612 00:33:03,867 --> 00:33:05,600 They were hunter-warriors 613 00:33:05,667 --> 00:33:08,367 and wanted to aggressively expand their empire. 614 00:33:09,900 --> 00:33:12,867 Over the following years, the Sasanians conquer 615 00:33:12,867 --> 00:33:15,967 2.5 million square miles of territory, 616 00:33:17,000 --> 00:33:19,867 with land stretching from Pakistan to Egypt. 617 00:33:21,800 --> 00:33:22,891 They amass vast wealth by controlling commerce 618 00:33:22,891 --> 00:33:24,600 They amass vast wealth by controlling commerce 619 00:33:24,667 --> 00:33:27,467 and taxing luxury goods on the Silk Road, 620 00:33:29,100 --> 00:33:32,767 the 4,000-mile-long trade route that runs through their lands. 621 00:33:34,967 --> 00:33:36,667 SZULGIT: The empire expands quickly, 622 00:33:36,767 --> 00:33:40,000 but this also makes this region a target for outsiders. 623 00:33:40,100 --> 00:33:42,166 So fortified strongholds like the one in 624 00:33:42,166 --> 00:33:45,000 this image are vital for defending their lands. 625 00:33:46,266 --> 00:33:47,567 BELLINGER: To the east, 626 00:33:47,567 --> 00:33:50,500 the Huns were an ever-present threat, as well as the Arabs to 627 00:33:50,567 --> 00:33:52,891 the south, and so the Sasanians had to address threats 628 00:33:52,891 --> 00:33:54,166 the south, and so the Sasanians had to address threats 629 00:33:54,166 --> 00:33:56,100 from all directions. 630 00:33:57,900 --> 00:34:01,266 NARRATOR: The greatest threat of all lies to the west, 631 00:34:01,266 --> 00:34:03,867 where Sasanian lands meet the boundary 632 00:34:03,867 --> 00:34:05,100 of the Roman Empire. 633 00:34:06,867 --> 00:34:09,166 The Romans were their arch rivals. 634 00:34:09,166 --> 00:34:12,867 They fought many battles over the years, but in the end, 635 00:34:12,867 --> 00:34:15,567 the Sasanians really were the dominant force. 636 00:34:17,500 --> 00:34:19,767 NARRATOR: These bloody clashes culminate in 637 00:34:19,767 --> 00:34:22,891 the Battle of Edessa in 260 CE. 638 00:34:22,891 --> 00:34:24,667 the Battle of Edessa in 260 CE. 639 00:34:24,767 --> 00:34:27,700 The Sasanian army decimates Rome's legions, 640 00:34:28,800 --> 00:34:31,200 capturing 60,000 soldiers. 641 00:34:32,567 --> 00:34:34,800 This is probably one of the worst defeats in 642 00:34:34,867 --> 00:34:35,900 military history. 643 00:34:35,967 --> 00:34:38,767 Tens of thousands of Roman troops are captured, 644 00:34:38,767 --> 00:34:41,667 along with their emperor, Valerian. 645 00:34:41,767 --> 00:34:44,900 For the first and only time in recorded history, 646 00:34:45,000 --> 00:34:48,100 a Roman emperor was enslaved. 647 00:34:48,166 --> 00:34:52,100 The Sasanians even went so far as to humiliate Valerian by 648 00:34:52,166 --> 00:34:52,891 making him serve as a footstool 649 00:34:52,891 --> 00:34:54,667 making him serve as a footstool 650 00:34:54,767 --> 00:34:56,667 for the king to mount his horse. 651 00:34:59,300 --> 00:35:01,066 NARRATOR: Humiliated, 652 00:35:01,066 --> 00:35:03,800 the Romans withdraw from Sasanian lands, 653 00:35:05,300 --> 00:35:08,166 leaving them to reign for another four centuries. 654 00:35:09,800 --> 00:35:12,367 In 642 CE, 655 00:35:12,467 --> 00:35:16,467 a powerful Muslim force known as the Rashidun Caliphate, 656 00:35:16,467 --> 00:35:19,767 emerges from the south and topples their empire. 657 00:35:21,166 --> 00:35:22,891 The giant citadel is slowly claimed by the sands, 658 00:35:22,891 --> 00:35:24,600 The giant citadel is slowly claimed by the sands, 659 00:35:27,200 --> 00:35:30,066 only to be revealed once more from space. 660 00:35:32,266 --> 00:35:34,700 This crumbling circular site is now all 661 00:35:34,767 --> 00:35:37,767 that remains of a once dominant empire 662 00:35:37,767 --> 00:35:41,100 that took on the Romans and ruled the Near East 663 00:35:41,166 --> 00:35:42,233 for centuries. 664 00:35:47,667 --> 00:35:52,567 NARRATOR: Coming up, the secret $500 billion city. 665 00:35:52,567 --> 00:35:52,891 It is the people who currently live there 666 00:35:52,891 --> 00:35:54,867 It is the people who currently live there 667 00:35:54,867 --> 00:35:56,667 who are the ones paying the biggest price. 668 00:36:06,300 --> 00:36:08,900 NARRATOR: June 14th, 2020. 669 00:36:09,000 --> 00:36:13,367 The GeoEye-1 satellite 670 00:36:13,467 --> 00:36:15,567 orbiting above Saudi Arabia's Red Sea 671 00:36:15,667 --> 00:36:17,800 coastline spots something nestled 672 00:36:17,867 --> 00:36:19,767 in the vast empty sands below. 673 00:36:21,600 --> 00:36:22,967 KAYS: This is a really cool picture. 674 00:36:22,967 --> 00:36:27,467 This is a bunch of buildings packed super tight together. 675 00:36:27,467 --> 00:36:29,266 It's in the middle of a really hot desert. 676 00:36:29,367 --> 00:36:32,000 It's bizarre. It almost looks like 677 00:36:32,066 --> 00:36:35,100 a circuit board, and it's totally out of place. 678 00:36:37,467 --> 00:36:40,667 NARRATOR: Dialing up the magnification yields more clues. 679 00:36:42,000 --> 00:36:44,667 When you zoom in closer, you see there's streets. 680 00:36:44,767 --> 00:36:47,266 It looks like there might be some sort of transport system. 681 00:36:48,367 --> 00:36:51,266 RUBEN: There are houses and large buildings 682 00:36:51,266 --> 00:36:52,800 and maybe swimming pools. 683 00:36:52,867 --> 00:36:55,166 It looks like a military compound. 684 00:36:55,266 --> 00:36:58,567 But why would anybody build something like this 685 00:36:58,667 --> 00:36:59,867 in the middle of nowhere? 686 00:37:01,900 --> 00:37:02,059 NARRATOR: Analysts turn to local news reports. 687 00:37:02,059 --> 00:37:04,266 NARRATOR: Analysts turn to local news reports. 688 00:37:07,000 --> 00:37:10,967 They reveal that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has 689 00:37:10,967 --> 00:37:13,300 recently announced a plan to transform 690 00:37:13,367 --> 00:37:16,967 this patch of desert into a futuristic metropolis. 691 00:37:18,166 --> 00:37:21,166 It turns out that this structure that we're seeing is 692 00:37:21,166 --> 00:37:23,400 actually just the seed that's being planted 693 00:37:23,467 --> 00:37:25,066 for a huge megacity. 694 00:37:26,367 --> 00:37:28,100 It's a place called Neom. 695 00:37:28,166 --> 00:37:32,059 It's Saudi Arabia's attempt at an oil-free future -- 696 00:37:32,059 --> 00:37:32,200 It's Saudi Arabia's attempt at an oil-free future -- 697 00:37:32,266 --> 00:37:34,800 the city of the future. 698 00:37:39,066 --> 00:37:42,166 NARRATOR: The Crown Prince hopes his future city will act as 699 00:37:42,266 --> 00:37:45,367 an insurance policy against the expected decline of 700 00:37:45,367 --> 00:37:46,767 the Saudi oil industry, 701 00:37:48,867 --> 00:37:51,066 an industry which currently generates around 702 00:37:51,066 --> 00:37:54,867 $700 billion annually for his country 703 00:37:54,867 --> 00:37:58,300 and accounts for around 90 percent of its budget revenues. 704 00:37:59,867 --> 00:38:02,059 This industry has brought Saudi Arabia 705 00:38:02,059 --> 00:38:02,767 This industry has brought Saudi Arabia 706 00:38:02,767 --> 00:38:06,367 immense wealth and independence. 707 00:38:06,467 --> 00:38:09,900 They've really gone all in on the petroleum industry, 708 00:38:10,000 --> 00:38:11,500 which puts them in an economically 709 00:38:11,567 --> 00:38:12,700 vulnerable position. 710 00:38:15,100 --> 00:38:17,667 NARRATOR: Some studies suggest that efforts to mitigate 711 00:38:17,667 --> 00:38:19,100 against climate change 712 00:38:19,166 --> 00:38:23,266 could slash Saudi Arabia's oil revenues by almost 50 percent. 713 00:38:25,567 --> 00:38:28,400 KERLEY: Saudi leaders realize that their days may be numbered. 714 00:38:28,467 --> 00:38:31,166 If oil is your biggest industry, 715 00:38:31,166 --> 00:38:32,059 you need to diversify, and that's what they're doing. 716 00:38:32,059 --> 00:38:33,600 you need to diversify, and that's what they're doing. 717 00:38:35,567 --> 00:38:38,467 NARRATOR: The Saudis hope the circuit-board-like city 718 00:38:38,567 --> 00:38:41,567 will transform the country into a global tech hub, 719 00:38:43,600 --> 00:38:48,567 helping them to replace their oil wells with server farms. 720 00:38:48,667 --> 00:38:52,100 It seems that what they are trying to do with Neom is to 721 00:38:52,166 --> 00:38:54,066 attract high-tech businesses, 722 00:38:54,066 --> 00:38:58,867 people with means, to come and live in a place that they think 723 00:38:58,867 --> 00:39:00,900 will be somewhat utopian. 724 00:39:03,166 --> 00:39:07,367 NARRATOR: In 2019, planners identify an area near Saudi's 725 00:39:07,367 --> 00:39:10,900 Red Sea coastline as the site for their tech megacity, 726 00:39:12,000 --> 00:39:13,767 and the Crown Prince's plans for 727 00:39:13,767 --> 00:39:17,467 a desert dreamscape start to descend into a nightmare. 728 00:39:19,667 --> 00:39:21,667 This may look like it's in the middle of nowhere, 729 00:39:21,767 --> 00:39:24,600 but it's not nowhere to the people who are currently 730 00:39:24,667 --> 00:39:25,667 living there. 731 00:39:25,767 --> 00:39:28,867 There is a tribe that has been there for years, 732 00:39:28,967 --> 00:39:31,000 and many of those individuals 733 00:39:31,066 --> 00:39:32,059 are being told that they have to move. 734 00:39:32,059 --> 00:39:32,600 are being told that they have to move. 735 00:39:35,300 --> 00:39:37,166 NARRATOR: The tribe resists the Saudi 736 00:39:37,166 --> 00:39:39,767 authorities' attempts to confiscate their lands. 737 00:39:41,567 --> 00:39:44,767 But this is a country where dissent is not tolerated. 738 00:39:46,066 --> 00:39:49,000 Over recent years, we've seen human rights organizations 739 00:39:49,066 --> 00:39:51,567 repeatedly warning the world 740 00:39:51,667 --> 00:39:54,367 that repression and torture here is simply getting 741 00:39:54,367 --> 00:39:55,767 worse and worse. 742 00:39:57,266 --> 00:39:59,166 MUNOZ: You've seen the country become more 743 00:39:59,166 --> 00:40:02,059 brazen in how it addresses dissenters. 744 00:40:02,059 --> 00:40:03,266 brazen in how it addresses dissenters. 745 00:40:03,266 --> 00:40:05,066 There's no better example than 746 00:40:05,066 --> 00:40:08,000 what happened to journalist Jamal Khashoggi. 747 00:40:09,867 --> 00:40:13,800 NARRATOR: In 2018, Khashoggi, a vocal opponent of Saudi 748 00:40:13,867 --> 00:40:14,900 government policy, 749 00:40:15,000 --> 00:40:17,000 is brutally murdered in Turkey. 750 00:40:19,166 --> 00:40:23,000 MUNOZ: Western intelligence organizations have issued 751 00:40:23,066 --> 00:40:27,600 findings that the decision to kill and dismember 752 00:40:27,667 --> 00:40:32,059 Jamal Khashoggi was decided by the highest levels of 753 00:40:32,059 --> 00:40:32,500 Jamal Khashoggi was decided by the highest levels of 754 00:40:32,567 --> 00:40:34,767 government inside Saudi Arabia. 755 00:40:36,667 --> 00:40:38,500 NARRATOR: In 2020, 756 00:40:38,567 --> 00:40:41,800 security forces try to evict 20,000 people from 757 00:40:41,867 --> 00:40:44,166 the planned site of the Saudi future city, 758 00:40:46,066 --> 00:40:49,300 provoking more international outrage. 759 00:40:49,367 --> 00:40:51,200 The Bedouin aren't given much choice here. 760 00:40:51,266 --> 00:40:53,700 They either need to move or be thrown in jail. 761 00:40:53,767 --> 00:40:55,667 RUBEN: One of the vocal critics of 762 00:40:55,767 --> 00:40:58,000 this project was killed by Saudi police. 763 00:40:58,066 --> 00:41:02,059 So one person's utopia is often another 764 00:41:02,059 --> 00:41:02,100 So one person's utopia is often another 765 00:41:02,166 --> 00:41:03,800 person's dystopia. 766 00:41:05,367 --> 00:41:09,000 NARRATOR: Once completed, Neom will stretch across 767 00:41:09,066 --> 00:41:11,200 10,000 square miles of desert 768 00:41:11,266 --> 00:41:13,767 and will be run on artificial intelligence 769 00:41:13,767 --> 00:41:15,100 and green energy. 770 00:41:18,767 --> 00:41:21,100 The developers of this city are claiming that they're going 771 00:41:21,166 --> 00:41:25,266 to use cloud seeding to cause more rainfall 772 00:41:25,367 --> 00:41:27,800 to artificially fall on the desert. 773 00:41:27,867 --> 00:41:30,200 People will have autonomous vehicles. 774 00:41:30,266 --> 00:41:32,059 Everything will be connected to the Internet. 775 00:41:32,059 --> 00:41:32,100 Everything will be connected to the Internet. 776 00:41:32,166 --> 00:41:35,000 This is meant to be the smartest of smart cities. 777 00:41:36,700 --> 00:41:39,000 NARRATOR: The Saudi government is investing upwards 778 00:41:39,066 --> 00:41:42,667 of $500 billion dollars in the project, 779 00:41:42,767 --> 00:41:45,500 but some fear the true cost could be higher. 780 00:41:46,867 --> 00:41:50,867 While we may end up with some metropolis in the desert 781 00:41:50,867 --> 00:41:53,100 as a result, it is the people who currently 782 00:41:53,166 --> 00:41:55,867 live there were the ones paying the biggest price.