1 00:00:01,301 --> 00:00:02,768 NARRATOR: They're watching you. 2 00:00:02,836 --> 00:00:06,071 More than 5,000 satellites circle the Earth. 3 00:00:07,407 --> 00:00:11,510 Every day, they uncover new, mysterious phenomena 4 00:00:11,578 --> 00:00:13,145 that defy explanation. 5 00:00:15,815 --> 00:00:17,616 Decoded from the skies. 6 00:00:19,119 --> 00:00:21,520 The Roman chamber of secrets. 7 00:00:21,588 --> 00:00:25,457 There are so many things that we just don't understand. 8 00:00:25,525 --> 00:00:28,660 NARRATOR: The unstoppable toxic tsunami. 9 00:00:28,728 --> 00:00:33,432 It's picking out any person and anything in its way. 10 00:00:33,500 --> 00:00:36,502 NARRATOR: And tomb of Frankenstein. 11 00:00:36,569 --> 00:00:37,903 KOUROUNIS: We've got multiple bodies 12 00:00:37,971 --> 00:00:42,074 brought together to create these composite mummies. 13 00:00:43,209 --> 00:00:47,312 NARRATOR: Baffling phenomena, mysteries from space. 14 00:00:47,380 --> 00:00:49,915 What on Earth are they? 15 00:00:49,983 --> 00:00:53,786 [theme music playing] 16 00:01:08,935 --> 00:01:10,969 Yorkshire, Northern England, 17 00:01:12,505 --> 00:01:15,874 a region first occupied 10,000 years ago, 18 00:01:17,110 --> 00:01:21,680 a land of warring tribes, Vikings, even vampires. 19 00:01:25,018 --> 00:01:28,454 This area has a lot of history attached to it. 20 00:01:28,521 --> 00:01:30,322 Nearby is the town of Whitby, 21 00:01:30,390 --> 00:01:33,859 where Dracula supposedly terrorized the population. 22 00:01:39,332 --> 00:01:41,266 NARRATOR: As well as bloody literature, 23 00:01:41,334 --> 00:01:42,935 this county's history is written 24 00:01:43,002 --> 00:01:44,937 in the ruins littering its landscape, 25 00:01:48,308 --> 00:01:50,976 ones that can be decoded from the skies, 26 00:01:52,412 --> 00:01:55,013 including a site only recently discovered. 27 00:01:57,851 --> 00:02:00,385 There are so many mysteries on this site. 28 00:02:00,453 --> 00:02:03,655 There's just so many things that we just don't understand. 29 00:02:06,426 --> 00:02:09,261 NARRATOR: During construction of a housing complex, 30 00:02:09,329 --> 00:02:11,163 excavators have uncovered a vast 31 00:02:11,231 --> 00:02:13,665 array of structures lost to history, 32 00:02:15,435 --> 00:02:18,437 structures built, according to lead archaeologist 33 00:02:18,505 --> 00:02:21,974 Paula Ware, more than 1,500 years ago. 34 00:02:23,710 --> 00:02:25,644 What we've actually got is 35 00:02:25,712 --> 00:02:31,550 an incredibly sophisticated complex of Roman buildings. 36 00:02:33,520 --> 00:02:35,087 And they're the most impressive that 37 00:02:35,121 --> 00:02:36,855 I've ever seen in my career. 38 00:02:41,427 --> 00:02:43,996 NARRATOR: Thousands of Roman ruins litter 39 00:02:44,063 --> 00:02:47,466 Europe and Britain, relics of the greatest empire 40 00:02:47,534 --> 00:02:48,934 of antiquity. 41 00:02:50,970 --> 00:02:54,406 But there is no record of these massive structures, 42 00:02:54,474 --> 00:02:56,742 and their layout is highly unusual. 43 00:02:58,478 --> 00:03:01,813 This is a massive discovery, and archaeologists 44 00:03:01,881 --> 00:03:04,883 are even calling it a world first. 45 00:03:04,951 --> 00:03:07,986 HORTON: There's no parallel for it anywhere else in the world, 46 00:03:08,021 --> 00:03:10,756 and there's no clear explanation 47 00:03:10,823 --> 00:03:12,791 as to what its function was. 48 00:03:19,766 --> 00:03:21,800 NARRATOR: To solve the mystery, 49 00:03:21,868 --> 00:03:23,769 Ware's team is turning to the skies. 50 00:03:25,505 --> 00:03:28,707 A drone captures hundreds of aerial photographs. 51 00:03:29,809 --> 00:03:33,779 These images are processed to produce a detailed 3D model 52 00:03:33,846 --> 00:03:35,447 of the structures. 53 00:03:35,515 --> 00:03:37,916 WARE: The model that's being produced is just amazing. 54 00:03:37,984 --> 00:03:40,519 It's absolutely incredible in giving us so much 55 00:03:40,586 --> 00:03:43,255 detail that we can't even see on the ground. 56 00:03:44,591 --> 00:03:47,092 NARRATOR: The drone reveals a sophisticated array of 57 00:03:47,160 --> 00:03:50,662 buildings, likely built around the 3rd century A.D. 58 00:03:52,432 --> 00:03:54,633 The preservation is quite remarkable. 59 00:03:54,701 --> 00:03:57,202 But what were these buildings used for? 60 00:03:57,270 --> 00:04:00,405 We have no idea, and it's got Roman specialists stumped. 61 00:04:04,444 --> 00:04:06,311 NARRATOR: Historians turn to the Romans' 62 00:04:06,379 --> 00:04:09,181 conquest of Britain for clues, 63 00:04:09,249 --> 00:04:13,018 a conquest that begins when Julius Caesar invades 64 00:04:13,085 --> 00:04:16,488 the island 55 years before the birth of Christ. 65 00:04:18,258 --> 00:04:20,726 It takes more than a century of slaughter 66 00:04:20,793 --> 00:04:23,528 and subjugation before Rome's legions reach Yorkshire. 67 00:04:25,531 --> 00:04:28,033 This part of North Yorkshire was actually 68 00:04:28,101 --> 00:04:31,136 at the extreme limit of the Roman empire. 69 00:04:31,204 --> 00:04:34,306 This is where Rome ended and the wilderness, 70 00:04:34,407 --> 00:04:36,074 from their perspective, began. 71 00:04:37,610 --> 00:04:40,479 NARRATOR: The wilderness is what we now call Scotland, 72 00:04:41,614 --> 00:04:44,049 territory of fearsome warriors, 73 00:04:44,117 --> 00:04:45,751 the Picts. 74 00:04:45,818 --> 00:04:50,088 The Picts are a mysterious set of Scottish tribes. 75 00:04:50,123 --> 00:04:52,057 They're known as the painted people 76 00:04:52,125 --> 00:04:55,360 because of their body art and tattoos. 77 00:04:55,428 --> 00:04:57,929 This was the only group of people in this area who 78 00:04:57,997 --> 00:05:00,766 were able to stand their ground successfully against 79 00:05:00,833 --> 00:05:02,701 the advancing Roman legions. 80 00:05:02,769 --> 00:05:04,503 They must have been quite astonishing. 81 00:05:06,539 --> 00:05:09,207 NARRATOR: The Picts' ferocity forces 82 00:05:09,275 --> 00:05:11,076 the Romans to construct a giant 83 00:05:11,144 --> 00:05:13,812 barrier between their empire and Scotland, 84 00:05:14,881 --> 00:05:17,883 the 73-mile-long Hadrian's Wall. 85 00:05:20,653 --> 00:05:23,755 Over the following decades, Rome launches 86 00:05:23,823 --> 00:05:27,592 several attempts to subdue the wild Scots. 87 00:05:27,660 --> 00:05:29,661 This culminates in 88 00:05:29,729 --> 00:05:33,031 a Roman invasion of unparalleled brutality, 89 00:05:33,099 --> 00:05:36,268 one that some speculate could help explain 90 00:05:36,336 --> 00:05:39,237 the ruins being studied from the skies. 91 00:05:39,305 --> 00:05:43,175 The site might be connected to the emperor Septimus Severus, 92 00:05:43,242 --> 00:05:46,978 who moved to this area of North Yorkshire 93 00:05:47,046 --> 00:05:51,116 for three years, from A.D. 208 to 211. 94 00:05:51,184 --> 00:05:55,320 He was annoyed that there was this anomalous boundary at 95 00:05:55,388 --> 00:05:56,388 Hadrian's Wall. 96 00:05:56,456 --> 00:05:58,824 He wanted to capture the whole of Scotland. 97 00:06:01,794 --> 00:06:05,263 NARRATOR: To quash the Picts, Severus unleashes the fury of 98 00:06:05,331 --> 00:06:08,700 some 57,000 elite Roman troops. 99 00:06:09,936 --> 00:06:13,171 Septimus Severus planned a conquest of 100 00:06:13,239 --> 00:06:15,040 extraordinary violence. 101 00:06:16,042 --> 00:06:19,177 The Roman army basically killed everything that was in 102 00:06:19,245 --> 00:06:23,448 its way -- women, children, dogs, cattle, sheep. 103 00:06:23,516 --> 00:06:27,919 It was a very brutal campaign into the heart of Scotland. 104 00:06:27,954 --> 00:06:29,755 [man grunts] 105 00:06:29,822 --> 00:06:31,723 SILBEY: But what he discovered was that they were simply 106 00:06:31,791 --> 00:06:36,061 too wild, too resistant to live loyally as subjects of Rome. 107 00:06:36,129 --> 00:06:39,264 So after signing the peace treaty with the Scots, 108 00:06:39,332 --> 00:06:42,467 Severus retreated back behind Hadrian's Wall. 109 00:06:44,303 --> 00:06:47,005 NARRATOR: Near the mystery structures are the remains of 110 00:06:47,073 --> 00:06:50,575 military camps used during Rome's wars with the Picts. 111 00:06:53,513 --> 00:06:56,915 But Ware doubts this complex served a similar purpose. 112 00:06:58,451 --> 00:07:00,619 At the present time, we have absolutely no 113 00:07:00,686 --> 00:07:05,223 evidence to support a military occupation of this site. 114 00:07:05,258 --> 00:07:07,092 It's the level of sophistication 115 00:07:07,160 --> 00:07:09,528 and detail that makes this so different. 116 00:07:10,897 --> 00:07:13,064 NARRATOR: Unlike military fortifications, 117 00:07:13,132 --> 00:07:14,166 some of the structures 118 00:07:14,233 --> 00:07:17,402 here are formed from ornate decorated limestone, 119 00:07:18,738 --> 00:07:22,707 a sign that whoever once lived here had amassed huge wealth. 120 00:07:23,943 --> 00:07:25,477 The amount of capital that's gone 121 00:07:25,545 --> 00:07:28,413 into these buildings is just incredible. 122 00:07:28,481 --> 00:07:30,115 It would have been a real showpiece. 123 00:07:32,952 --> 00:07:35,454 NARRATOR: During the Romans' occupation of England, 124 00:07:35,521 --> 00:07:38,990 they create vast farms, turning it into a grain basket 125 00:07:39,058 --> 00:07:41,893 for the empire's 500,000 soldiers. 126 00:07:43,763 --> 00:07:46,865 Landowners use their riches to construct massive, 127 00:07:46,933 --> 00:07:49,868 ornate villas, which partially resemble 128 00:07:49,936 --> 00:07:51,436 the mystery structures. 129 00:07:51,504 --> 00:07:53,872 But key aspects differ. 130 00:07:55,107 --> 00:07:56,274 WARE: The villas that we have in 131 00:07:56,342 --> 00:07:59,311 the area conform to standard villa plans. 132 00:07:59,378 --> 00:08:01,913 What we're looking at here does not conform to 133 00:08:01,981 --> 00:08:05,450 those plans, and that really is the big mystery. 134 00:08:05,518 --> 00:08:08,420 NARRATOR: The answer to the riddle 135 00:08:08,488 --> 00:08:12,023 could lie in the chambers at the center of the complex. 136 00:08:12,091 --> 00:08:15,694 Experts speculate their shape and arrangement suggests 137 00:08:15,761 --> 00:08:18,096 they were a place of secretive rituals. 138 00:08:18,164 --> 00:08:23,602 Roman temples will often have a central tower, 139 00:08:23,669 --> 00:08:25,971 a circular tower, but the fact 140 00:08:26,038 --> 00:08:29,040 it's got these projecting wings is a completely 141 00:08:29,108 --> 00:08:30,809 unique feature. 142 00:08:31,978 --> 00:08:34,246 It's the three rooms that have got most Roman 143 00:08:34,313 --> 00:08:38,884 specialists intrigued as to the function of these buildings. 144 00:08:38,951 --> 00:08:40,719 One of the theories is maybe we're 145 00:08:40,786 --> 00:08:43,622 looking at some form of cult activity. 146 00:08:48,661 --> 00:08:52,197 NARRATOR: Rome was a hotbed of religious cults, 147 00:08:53,900 --> 00:08:56,668 and one infamous for its gruesome practices is 148 00:08:56,736 --> 00:08:59,771 known to have flourished near the mystery structures. 149 00:09:01,073 --> 00:09:04,309 Even the Romans, who would gather in stadiums to watch 150 00:09:04,377 --> 00:09:08,113 people fed to animals, found this cult too barbaric 151 00:09:08,180 --> 00:09:09,414 for them. 152 00:09:09,482 --> 00:09:13,318 The question is, is the structure associated with that? 153 00:09:15,988 --> 00:09:19,257 NARRATOR: Coming up, blood orgies of ancient Rome. 154 00:09:19,325 --> 00:09:23,662 They would pass their sexual powers over 155 00:09:23,729 --> 00:09:25,564 to the goddess. 156 00:09:25,631 --> 00:09:28,033 NARRATOR: And Hitler's secret super gun. 157 00:09:28,100 --> 00:09:30,569 We're talking about a gun barrel the length 158 00:09:30,636 --> 00:09:32,571 of the height of the Statue of Liberty. 159 00:09:41,781 --> 00:09:45,183 NARRATOR: In Yorkshire, Northern England, archaeologist 160 00:09:45,251 --> 00:09:48,920 Paula Ware is decoding newly discovered ancient ruins. 161 00:09:50,456 --> 00:09:52,357 What we've actually got is 162 00:09:52,425 --> 00:09:57,996 an incredibly sophisticated complex of Roman buildings. 163 00:09:59,699 --> 00:10:01,900 NARRATOR: Aerial modeling has revealed a strange 164 00:10:01,968 --> 00:10:05,804 cross-shaped array of chambers, possibly ritualistic, 165 00:10:05,871 --> 00:10:09,240 but unlike anything discovered before. 166 00:10:09,308 --> 00:10:12,377 We don't know the actual function of this complex 167 00:10:12,445 --> 00:10:13,845 of buildings. 168 00:10:13,913 --> 00:10:16,581 Are we looking at a religious or cult site? 169 00:10:19,518 --> 00:10:22,354 SILBEY: The Romans had an enormous number of different 170 00:10:22,421 --> 00:10:25,056 cults -- that would explain why this is not 171 00:10:25,124 --> 00:10:27,058 the kind of design we've seen from any other 172 00:10:27,126 --> 00:10:28,292 Roman architecture. 173 00:10:30,329 --> 00:10:33,732 NARRATOR: Pagan Romans had 12 gods and goddesses, which 174 00:10:33,766 --> 00:10:37,335 they believed ruled heaven, the earth, and the underworld. 175 00:10:38,871 --> 00:10:42,641 Yet as their empire grows, some adopt new deities, 176 00:10:42,708 --> 00:10:44,509 ones worshipped in secret, 177 00:10:44,577 --> 00:10:47,812 away from the prying eyes of religious authorities. 178 00:10:48,881 --> 00:10:53,418 We tend to think of the pantheon of Roman gods -- 179 00:10:53,486 --> 00:10:57,722 Jupiter, Juno, Mars, Venus -- 180 00:10:57,790 --> 00:11:00,225 Being the only gods Romans worshiped. 181 00:11:00,292 --> 00:11:04,396 But that is entirely not the case. 182 00:11:04,463 --> 00:11:07,432 NARRATOR: Followers of these new gods 183 00:11:07,466 --> 00:11:09,367 formed so-called mystery cults -- 184 00:11:09,435 --> 00:11:13,304 Sects renowned for their secrecy, symbols, 185 00:11:13,339 --> 00:11:15,874 and harrowing initiation ceremonies. 186 00:11:18,711 --> 00:11:21,746 They attract landowners and soldiers seeking good 187 00:11:21,814 --> 00:11:25,350 fortune in times of hardship and war. 188 00:11:25,418 --> 00:11:29,921 The Roman army was notorious for the variety 189 00:11:29,955 --> 00:11:34,192 of cults that were followed by the soldiers. 190 00:11:34,226 --> 00:11:39,297 HUNT: One of the cults that was extremely popular 191 00:11:39,365 --> 00:11:42,867 with the Roman legions was the cult of Mithras. 192 00:11:44,670 --> 00:11:47,272 NARRATOR: Mithras, a god believed to be able 193 00:11:47,339 --> 00:11:49,874 to control the cosmos and fight evil, 194 00:11:49,942 --> 00:11:53,678 once rivaled Christianity and popularity among Romans. 195 00:11:53,746 --> 00:11:55,947 [animal groaning] 196 00:11:56,015 --> 00:11:59,217 Cult members undergo seven stages of initiation, 197 00:11:59,285 --> 00:12:02,220 culminating in the ritual slaughter of a bull. 198 00:12:02,288 --> 00:12:04,656 [animal groaning loudly] 199 00:12:04,724 --> 00:12:08,593 HUNT: The bull's blood was said to balance out 200 00:12:08,661 --> 00:12:12,664 good and evil, and if you bathed in bull's blood, 201 00:12:12,732 --> 00:12:16,201 your sins could be washed away. 202 00:12:16,268 --> 00:12:18,503 NARRATOR: Mithras is known to have been 203 00:12:18,571 --> 00:12:19,971 worshipped in Roman England. 204 00:12:21,407 --> 00:12:25,043 However, another discovery in Yorkshire could suggest these 205 00:12:25,111 --> 00:12:28,246 chambers were used by an even bloodier cult. 206 00:12:29,415 --> 00:12:33,218 HYMEL: Nearby, archaeologists discovered a skeleton 207 00:12:33,285 --> 00:12:34,886 wearing a lot of jewelry. 208 00:12:34,954 --> 00:12:38,089 So the archaeologists at first believed that this was a woman 209 00:12:38,157 --> 00:12:41,359 of power and authority in the society, 210 00:12:41,427 --> 00:12:44,963 but on further examination, they realized it's a eunuch. 211 00:12:49,068 --> 00:12:51,736 NARRATOR: The castrated cadaver is believed to have been 212 00:12:51,804 --> 00:12:53,471 a follower of Cybele, 213 00:12:53,539 --> 00:12:56,608 a goddess of war and protector against disease. 214 00:12:59,445 --> 00:13:02,547 Her cult takes hold when soldiers credit her powers 215 00:13:02,615 --> 00:13:06,017 for their victory over General Hannibal during the Punic Wars. 216 00:13:06,085 --> 00:13:11,589 One of her functions was the protector of cities, 217 00:13:11,657 --> 00:13:14,559 the protector of walls, and that's one of 218 00:13:14,627 --> 00:13:19,430 the reasons Rome imported her to protect their walls 219 00:13:19,498 --> 00:13:21,266 against Hannibal. 220 00:13:21,300 --> 00:13:25,637 NARRATOR: Cybele is also a goddess of fertility, 221 00:13:25,704 --> 00:13:30,141 and her followers worship her with orgiastic abandon. 222 00:13:30,209 --> 00:13:35,079 The priests had to castrate themselves while in a state of 223 00:13:35,147 --> 00:13:36,948 sexual arousal -- this was 224 00:13:37,016 --> 00:13:40,351 particularly important so that they would then pass 225 00:13:40,419 --> 00:13:44,355 their sexual powers over to the goddess. 226 00:13:44,423 --> 00:13:46,658 They often cut themselves a little 227 00:13:46,725 --> 00:13:48,626 too badly and bled to death 228 00:13:48,694 --> 00:13:51,763 right in the middle of their frenzy. 229 00:13:51,831 --> 00:13:55,400 NARRATOR: As the cult's members swell in numbers, 230 00:13:55,467 --> 00:13:59,370 its rituals draw the anger of officials back in Rome. 231 00:13:59,438 --> 00:14:04,876 There were so many families who were deprived of sons 232 00:14:04,944 --> 00:14:07,712 who essentially cut off the lineage 233 00:14:07,780 --> 00:14:10,782 and so much bloodletting that the cult was 234 00:14:10,850 --> 00:14:12,884 ultimately banned. 235 00:14:12,952 --> 00:14:14,719 I don't know what the punishment was for 236 00:14:14,787 --> 00:14:16,788 worshiping, but it couldn't be any worse 237 00:14:16,856 --> 00:14:18,823 than what those priests were doing to themselves. 238 00:14:20,759 --> 00:14:22,727 NARRATOR: Despite being forbidden, 239 00:14:22,795 --> 00:14:25,663 the cult carries on in secret for many decades 240 00:14:25,731 --> 00:14:28,833 in far-flung regions of the empire. 241 00:14:28,901 --> 00:14:31,135 HUNT: Is this building 242 00:14:31,203 --> 00:14:35,540 a worship site far on the remote frontiers, 243 00:14:35,608 --> 00:14:38,176 away from the watchful eye of Rome? 244 00:14:40,713 --> 00:14:43,281 NARRATOR: The mysteries of this complex extend 245 00:14:43,349 --> 00:14:45,750 beyond the strange chambers at its center. 246 00:14:47,620 --> 00:14:49,520 Around it, Ware and her team have 247 00:14:49,588 --> 00:14:52,857 found elaborate plunge pools and heating systems, 248 00:14:54,326 --> 00:14:58,129 but for some reason, they were never used. 249 00:14:58,197 --> 00:15:00,064 They've gone to all the expense 250 00:15:00,066 --> 00:15:03,067 of fitting them out, and then suddenly, 251 00:15:03,135 --> 00:15:04,969 it's abandoned. 252 00:15:05,037 --> 00:15:07,338 Once the Romans completed building it, 253 00:15:07,406 --> 00:15:09,207 they just packed up their bags and left. 254 00:15:09,275 --> 00:15:11,676 Why would they do that? 255 00:15:11,743 --> 00:15:14,579 WARE: Is it part of a religious cult that 256 00:15:14,647 --> 00:15:18,182 is no longer fashionable and falls out of favor? 257 00:15:18,250 --> 00:15:20,585 It's clearly a mystery. 258 00:15:20,653 --> 00:15:24,322 NARRATOR: The strange structures modeled from 259 00:15:24,390 --> 00:15:28,893 the air continue to confound experts on the ground. 260 00:15:28,961 --> 00:15:31,930 WARE: The discovery of these buildings is really making us 261 00:15:31,964 --> 00:15:35,667 reassess our knowledge of the Roman Empire in the north. 262 00:15:37,903 --> 00:15:40,104 Whoever built it is not clear, 263 00:15:40,172 --> 00:15:42,974 but it was clearly a site of huge importance. 264 00:15:49,214 --> 00:15:52,150 NARRATOR: Coming up, jungle Armageddon. 265 00:15:52,217 --> 00:15:55,219 Everything in its way was literally wiped out. 266 00:15:55,287 --> 00:15:57,555 NARRATOR: And the tomb of horrors. 267 00:15:57,623 --> 00:16:00,124 NELSON: They found bones that were gnawed on, 268 00:16:00,192 --> 00:16:02,527 which suggests there was cannibalism. 269 00:16:10,536 --> 00:16:13,338 NARRATOR: January 2019. 270 00:16:13,405 --> 00:16:15,940 A NASA Earth observation satellite 271 00:16:16,008 --> 00:16:19,544 scans the 225,000-square-mile state 272 00:16:19,611 --> 00:16:22,680 of Minas Gerais in Southeastern Brazil 273 00:16:24,350 --> 00:16:27,185 and captures an unfolding disaster. 274 00:16:27,252 --> 00:16:32,223 At one point, there was villages and jungle, 275 00:16:32,291 --> 00:16:34,459 but then in the next image, 276 00:16:34,493 --> 00:16:38,196 there's this red smear across the landscape. 277 00:16:40,899 --> 00:16:44,135 HORTON: This is the most eerie picture. 278 00:16:44,203 --> 00:16:47,872 There's a great blob of red, with tentacles 279 00:16:47,940 --> 00:16:50,842 extending out into the valleys on either side. 280 00:16:52,478 --> 00:16:54,078 RUBEN: This covers a massive area. 281 00:16:54,113 --> 00:16:55,913 So whatever happened here, 282 00:16:55,981 --> 00:16:59,851 it is tremendous in scale, and it is not good. 283 00:17:01,587 --> 00:17:03,454 NARRATOR: The weird mass has engulfed 284 00:17:03,522 --> 00:17:07,492 an area equivalent to 470 football fields. 285 00:17:07,559 --> 00:17:10,828 Typically, when I've seen images like this before, 286 00:17:10,863 --> 00:17:13,498 it's been as a result of a flood. 287 00:17:13,532 --> 00:17:17,502 The thing is, there's no big bodies of water here, no lakes, 288 00:17:17,569 --> 00:17:21,539 no big rivers, and no evidence of an extraordinary rainfall 289 00:17:21,607 --> 00:17:23,374 that has recently come down. 290 00:17:23,409 --> 00:17:25,543 And also, why is it red? 291 00:17:27,813 --> 00:17:30,782 Analysts turned to Maxar's SecureWatch 292 00:17:30,849 --> 00:17:34,452 technology for answers. - Looking at clues from 293 00:17:34,520 --> 00:17:36,187 the satellite images, 294 00:17:36,255 --> 00:17:41,192 there's a large open pit mine right next to the disaster site. 295 00:17:42,528 --> 00:17:44,162 And what it looks like happened is 296 00:17:44,229 --> 00:17:47,031 the dam that formed the tailings pond 297 00:17:47,099 --> 00:17:49,067 collapsed dramatically. 298 00:17:52,671 --> 00:17:56,240 NARRATOR: Security footage captures the 280-foot-high 299 00:17:56,308 --> 00:17:58,409 tailing dam's catastrophic collapse. 300 00:18:00,679 --> 00:18:03,614 Three billion gallons of noxious sludge, 301 00:18:03,682 --> 00:18:05,583 a mix of mining waste, muck, 302 00:18:05,651 --> 00:18:08,586 and mud, cascades across the landscape. 303 00:18:10,355 --> 00:18:12,056 It was like a tsunami, and everything 304 00:18:12,124 --> 00:18:14,525 in its wake was literally wiped out. 305 00:18:16,361 --> 00:18:19,297 NARRATOR: Moments later, the giant, unstoppable wave 306 00:18:19,364 --> 00:18:21,232 of muck sweeps into the mine. 307 00:18:28,340 --> 00:18:31,075 It is now around 40 feet high 308 00:18:31,143 --> 00:18:33,211 and traveling at 100 feet per second. 309 00:18:34,546 --> 00:18:37,849 Security cameras have picked up people running for 310 00:18:37,916 --> 00:18:39,016 their lives, 311 00:18:39,084 --> 00:18:43,621 cars being enveloped in this wall of mud, 312 00:18:43,689 --> 00:18:46,090 knowing that there will actually be no escape. 313 00:18:46,158 --> 00:18:49,560 NARRATOR: The wall of death then flows 314 00:18:49,628 --> 00:18:54,132 into the valley below, engulfing entire communities. 315 00:18:54,166 --> 00:18:56,734 RUBEN: It's taking out cars, houses, 316 00:18:56,802 --> 00:18:59,003 any person and anything in its way. 317 00:19:00,672 --> 00:19:03,441 KOUROUNIS: It basically kills everything in its path 318 00:19:03,509 --> 00:19:05,643 and leaves that area pretty much 319 00:19:05,710 --> 00:19:08,312 uninhabitable afterwards. 320 00:19:08,380 --> 00:19:11,682 NARRATOR: Aerial images reveal that within 10 minutes, 321 00:19:11,750 --> 00:19:15,686 four billion cubic feet of contaminated waste has swamped 322 00:19:15,754 --> 00:19:18,523 the land and flowed into nearby rivers. 323 00:19:20,859 --> 00:19:24,629 The tragedy claims more than 250 lives. 324 00:19:26,865 --> 00:19:30,868 The aftermath is absolutely apocalyptic -- 325 00:19:30,936 --> 00:19:32,870 Rescue workers digging through 326 00:19:32,938 --> 00:19:38,509 this toxic mud, trying to find any sign of survivors. 327 00:19:38,544 --> 00:19:42,580 There were still people unaccounted for. 328 00:19:42,614 --> 00:19:44,916 So probably, we will never know 329 00:19:44,983 --> 00:19:47,385 the exact number killed in this disaster. 330 00:19:49,454 --> 00:19:52,690 NARRATOR: Authorities deployed 2,500 people to 331 00:19:52,758 --> 00:19:55,226 help with cleanup and rescue operations, 332 00:19:56,428 --> 00:20:00,798 painstakingly searching through mud up to 45 feet thick. 333 00:20:02,401 --> 00:20:05,203 With bereaved families demanding answers, 334 00:20:05,270 --> 00:20:07,071 investigators turn their attention to 335 00:20:07,139 --> 00:20:11,442 the cause of the dam's sudden calamitous failure. 336 00:20:11,509 --> 00:20:14,745 This type of dam failure is particularly 337 00:20:14,813 --> 00:20:19,183 awful in that there were no foreboding signs. 338 00:20:20,219 --> 00:20:22,853 There's no slow-moving destruction that 339 00:20:22,921 --> 00:20:24,822 you can watch and prepare for. 340 00:20:24,890 --> 00:20:26,757 It happens all at once. 341 00:20:30,195 --> 00:20:33,864 NARRATOR: This mine, called Corrego do Feijao, 342 00:20:33,932 --> 00:20:35,833 is one of over 300 in Brazil. 343 00:20:37,469 --> 00:20:40,438 Together, they produce more than 450 344 00:20:40,472 --> 00:20:43,708 million tons of iron ore a year, 345 00:20:43,775 --> 00:20:47,078 enough to build 3,000 Golden Gate Bridges. 346 00:20:48,780 --> 00:20:51,749 At the site in the image, waste from the extraction 347 00:20:51,816 --> 00:20:55,953 process is pumped into a walled pond higher up the valley. 348 00:20:57,856 --> 00:21:01,559 The method is what's known as upstream tailing, 349 00:21:01,627 --> 00:21:05,529 which effectively means you use the tailings themselves 350 00:21:05,597 --> 00:21:06,797 to create the dam. 351 00:21:08,100 --> 00:21:11,602 The tailings are kind of piled on top of each other 352 00:21:11,670 --> 00:21:16,440 in a way that they deform and harden to make the wall. 353 00:21:16,508 --> 00:21:19,543 NARRATOR: Authorities discover that the tailings dam 354 00:21:19,611 --> 00:21:21,612 suffered from several design defects, 355 00:21:22,714 --> 00:21:25,950 including poor water management and drainage. 356 00:21:28,320 --> 00:21:31,722 Once it became too saturated and unstable, 357 00:21:31,790 --> 00:21:33,791 all hell broke loose. 358 00:21:37,062 --> 00:21:39,163 KOUROUNIS: Hundreds of people died in this disaster 359 00:21:39,231 --> 00:21:41,332 that could have been absolutely prevented 360 00:21:41,400 --> 00:21:45,136 had the dam been designed properly in the first place. 361 00:21:50,742 --> 00:21:54,078 NARRATOR: What's more, analysts learn that six similar dams 362 00:21:54,179 --> 00:21:56,947 in Brazil have failed in the past few years. 363 00:21:58,350 --> 00:22:01,385 And the situation is getting worse. 364 00:22:01,420 --> 00:22:03,888 What's really scary is that this flawed 365 00:22:03,955 --> 00:22:07,191 type of construction is not limited to Brazil. 366 00:22:07,259 --> 00:22:09,927 So it's entirely possible to see one of 367 00:22:09,961 --> 00:22:13,397 these dam failures happen a lot closer to home. 368 00:22:14,633 --> 00:22:16,400 RUBEN: This was horrible and tragic. 369 00:22:16,468 --> 00:22:18,836 But there are dams like this all around 370 00:22:18,904 --> 00:22:21,772 the world, and the same thing could happen to them. 371 00:22:23,875 --> 00:22:26,944 NARRATOR: In the U.S. alone, over 40 such dams 372 00:22:27,012 --> 00:22:28,379 are considered high risk. 373 00:22:29,981 --> 00:22:32,183 It fuels fears that this will not be 374 00:22:32,250 --> 00:22:35,853 the last time such devastation is captured from the skies. 375 00:22:38,123 --> 00:22:40,958 And it's not just the short-term disastrous effects. 376 00:22:41,026 --> 00:22:44,362 There's also the long-term ecological effects 377 00:22:44,429 --> 00:22:46,297 of this toxic sludge 378 00:22:46,365 --> 00:22:49,633 that will be around for decades or maybe even 379 00:22:49,701 --> 00:22:51,202 generations to come. 380 00:22:57,976 --> 00:23:00,177 NARRATOR: Coming up, the mysterious curse of 381 00:23:00,245 --> 00:23:01,779 the Kennedys. 382 00:23:01,847 --> 00:23:04,949 What we're seeing here changed the course of history itself. 383 00:23:05,016 --> 00:23:07,385 NARRATOR: And lair of the bog bodies. 384 00:23:07,419 --> 00:23:09,587 We're looking at a real-life Frankenstein here. 385 00:23:18,530 --> 00:23:20,598 NARRATOR: Spring 2021. 386 00:23:22,234 --> 00:23:26,404 Aerial archaeologists take to the skies over Northern Poland. 387 00:23:28,440 --> 00:23:31,509 On-board lasers pierce the forest canopy below, 388 00:23:31,576 --> 00:23:33,077 peeling back history, 389 00:23:35,180 --> 00:23:38,149 and capture a puzzle hidden from human eyes. 390 00:23:39,451 --> 00:23:41,886 It looks like something dragged 391 00:23:41,953 --> 00:23:43,687 massive claws through the forest. 392 00:23:45,223 --> 00:23:49,126 They're long. They're hundreds of feet long. 393 00:23:49,161 --> 00:23:50,961 I don't know what caused this, 394 00:23:51,029 --> 00:23:54,064 but it's very strange, very unusual. 395 00:23:55,567 --> 00:23:57,067 NARRATOR: For centuries, 396 00:23:57,135 --> 00:23:59,537 locals here have reported sightings of 397 00:23:59,604 --> 00:24:03,073 a monstrous clawed creature called a basilisk. 398 00:24:05,343 --> 00:24:08,779 Further aerial images suggest the giant gashes in 399 00:24:08,847 --> 00:24:12,817 the woods may have a similarly disturbing origin. 400 00:24:12,884 --> 00:24:15,319 These slashes in the forest actually remind me of 401 00:24:15,387 --> 00:24:17,388 something else I've seen in Poland, 402 00:24:17,456 --> 00:24:21,625 and that's long barrows, which are elongated tombs. 403 00:24:22,961 --> 00:24:24,762 NARRATOR: Like the structures in the image, 404 00:24:24,830 --> 00:24:28,499 the tombs are around 350 feet in length 405 00:24:28,567 --> 00:24:31,268 and perfectly straight. 406 00:24:31,336 --> 00:24:35,372 They are the resting place of people buried 5,000 years ago, 407 00:24:35,440 --> 00:24:38,909 long before the construction of the great pyramids of Giza. 408 00:24:40,545 --> 00:24:43,514 But it's not just the age of the cadavers discovered here 409 00:24:43,582 --> 00:24:45,683 that intrigues experts. 410 00:24:45,750 --> 00:24:47,251 NELSON: At one particular site, 411 00:24:47,319 --> 00:24:50,821 they found bones that were not only charred, but gnawed on, 412 00:24:50,889 --> 00:24:54,425 which suggests there was cannibalism. 413 00:24:54,493 --> 00:24:56,427 HUNT: But this doesn't appear to 414 00:24:56,495 --> 00:25:00,130 be haphazard cannibalism from starvation. 415 00:25:00,198 --> 00:25:01,532 They're doing it ritually. 416 00:25:02,868 --> 00:25:04,969 NARRATOR: Analysis suggests the tombs were 417 00:25:05,036 --> 00:25:08,105 the site of some kind of cannibal feast, 418 00:25:08,173 --> 00:25:10,307 where bones were cooked and broken 419 00:25:10,375 --> 00:25:13,310 to consume the marrow concealed inside. 420 00:25:13,378 --> 00:25:17,848 Often, cannibalism is a reflection of people 421 00:25:17,916 --> 00:25:21,318 who want the power of their predecessors. 422 00:25:23,255 --> 00:25:26,924 So if you have a chieftain 423 00:25:26,992 --> 00:25:28,592 who is a mighty warrior, 424 00:25:28,660 --> 00:25:31,228 if you eat part of that chieftain, 425 00:25:31,296 --> 00:25:33,931 you assimilate that power. 426 00:25:33,999 --> 00:25:36,734 Maybe what we're looking at here 427 00:25:36,801 --> 00:25:40,337 are three long parallel tombs. 428 00:25:43,341 --> 00:25:46,610 NARRATOR: Military historian Martin Morgan disagrees. 429 00:25:47,979 --> 00:25:50,147 He's convinced the mystery structures are 430 00:25:50,215 --> 00:25:53,450 the hidden remains of a cataclysmic weapon, 431 00:25:53,518 --> 00:25:56,487 one that threatened to change the course of history. 432 00:25:58,990 --> 00:26:00,991 MORGAN: There's nothing like it anywhere else on Earth. 433 00:26:01,059 --> 00:26:02,793 We're talking about a gun barrel 434 00:26:02,861 --> 00:26:05,563 the length of the height of the Statue of Liberty. 435 00:26:09,067 --> 00:26:11,735 NARRATOR: The story of the massive super gun 436 00:26:11,803 --> 00:26:14,038 begins in 1943. 437 00:26:16,708 --> 00:26:18,876 In retaliation for devastating Allied 438 00:26:18,944 --> 00:26:20,110 bombing campaigns, 439 00:26:20,178 --> 00:26:23,247 Nazi Minister of War Albert Speer announces 440 00:26:23,315 --> 00:26:27,184 the development of a series of so-called vengeance weapons. 441 00:26:29,154 --> 00:26:32,590 The idea of these vengeance weapons was to chip away at 442 00:26:32,657 --> 00:26:36,427 the morale of the people that were on the receiving end of 443 00:26:36,494 --> 00:26:37,761 the attack, 444 00:26:37,829 --> 00:26:40,431 that they would eventually become so dispirited, 445 00:26:40,498 --> 00:26:42,299 that they wouldn't want to fight any longer. 446 00:26:45,704 --> 00:26:49,239 In June 1944, German scientists in Poland 447 00:26:49,307 --> 00:26:50,741 unleashed the V-1, 448 00:26:51,910 --> 00:26:57,381 a flying bomb armed with a 2,000-pound warhead. 449 00:26:59,017 --> 00:27:02,186 This is quickly followed by the V-2, 450 00:27:02,253 --> 00:27:04,855 the first ballistic missile in history. 451 00:27:04,923 --> 00:27:08,592 And the Nazis are just warming up. 452 00:27:08,660 --> 00:27:11,395 What we're seeing are the remains of 453 00:27:11,463 --> 00:27:13,564 the test platforms for the V-3. 454 00:27:14,966 --> 00:27:18,502 The V-3 super gun was the most awesome of them all. 455 00:27:20,271 --> 00:27:24,108 NARRATOR: The V-3 is the biggest gun the world had ever seen. 456 00:27:25,477 --> 00:27:27,678 Over 400 feet long, 457 00:27:27,746 --> 00:27:31,849 the massive cannon can propel a 310-pound shell 458 00:27:31,916 --> 00:27:33,417 more than 100 miles. 459 00:27:33,485 --> 00:27:35,386 MORGAN: You can't aim this gun barrel. 460 00:27:35,453 --> 00:27:38,922 Cannoneers had to compensate for the rotation of 461 00:27:38,957 --> 00:27:40,824 the Earth when they were firing 462 00:27:40,892 --> 00:27:42,993 over such a great distance. 463 00:27:43,061 --> 00:27:45,496 It's pretty amazing to think about the size of 464 00:27:45,563 --> 00:27:49,366 that gun, that it required an entire hillside for support. 465 00:27:49,434 --> 00:27:53,137 NARRATOR: After secret tests at the site 466 00:27:53,204 --> 00:27:55,506 in the image, Hitler begins construction 467 00:27:55,573 --> 00:27:58,142 of a V-3 battery in northern France. 468 00:27:59,411 --> 00:28:03,247 His plan is to install 25 super guns, 469 00:28:03,314 --> 00:28:06,417 each unleashing one bomb every 12 seconds 470 00:28:06,484 --> 00:28:08,752 over the English Channel and on to London. 471 00:28:08,820 --> 00:28:11,989 It's terrifying to think about that as 472 00:28:12,057 --> 00:28:14,758 a possibility -- The blitz was bad enough. 473 00:28:14,826 --> 00:28:17,227 This would be worse. 474 00:28:17,295 --> 00:28:20,998 This would have devastated England, and it 475 00:28:21,065 --> 00:28:23,400 would have turned the tide of the war. 476 00:28:23,468 --> 00:28:26,804 NARRATOR: When Allied intelligence officers learn 477 00:28:26,871 --> 00:28:28,272 of Hitler's new mega weapon, 478 00:28:28,339 --> 00:28:32,076 they initiate a plan to destroy the French bunkers, 479 00:28:32,143 --> 00:28:34,712 code-named Project Anvil. 480 00:28:34,779 --> 00:28:39,283 The idea was, essentially, that they would pack a plane full of 481 00:28:39,350 --> 00:28:42,920 bombs and then remotely crash into the bunker 482 00:28:42,987 --> 00:28:44,254 and take care of business. 483 00:28:45,924 --> 00:28:48,358 It had to take off with pilots aboard. 484 00:28:48,426 --> 00:28:51,595 Then these two pilots would bail out of the aircraft, and it 485 00:28:51,663 --> 00:28:54,364 would continue on under remote control all the way to 486 00:28:54,432 --> 00:28:56,133 the target. 487 00:28:56,201 --> 00:28:59,002 NARRATOR: The man charged with piloting the flying bomb 488 00:28:59,070 --> 00:29:02,606 is Joseph Kennedy, Jr., brother to the future 489 00:29:02,674 --> 00:29:04,408 U.S. President. 490 00:29:04,476 --> 00:29:07,377 20 minutes after he begins the mission, 491 00:29:07,445 --> 00:29:08,879 disaster strikes. 492 00:29:08,947 --> 00:29:12,683 Something went wrong -- As they armed the explosives, 493 00:29:12,717 --> 00:29:15,419 the entire package exploded, 494 00:29:15,487 --> 00:29:19,990 killing both men inside the aircraft even before it flew 495 00:29:20,058 --> 00:29:22,359 out over the English Channel. 496 00:29:22,427 --> 00:29:25,095 Adding to the tragedy is that 497 00:29:25,163 --> 00:29:28,031 it could have been avoided completely. 498 00:29:28,066 --> 00:29:31,602 MORGAN: Unknown to Project Anvil and the people working in it, 499 00:29:31,669 --> 00:29:34,671 the RAF dropped a series of Tallboy bombs 500 00:29:36,574 --> 00:29:38,609 that destroyed the site 501 00:29:38,676 --> 00:29:41,845 to the extent that it could not be used. 502 00:29:41,913 --> 00:29:45,149 NARRATOR: In honor of Joseph Kennedy, 503 00:29:45,216 --> 00:29:48,452 the U.S. Navy names a destroyer after him, 504 00:29:48,520 --> 00:29:51,855 on which his brother serves. 505 00:29:51,923 --> 00:29:54,358 75 years later, 506 00:29:54,425 --> 00:29:57,895 the test site that led to his death and threatened to kill 507 00:29:57,962 --> 00:30:01,231 millions of others is revealed from the skies. 508 00:30:01,299 --> 00:30:03,867 CHAMBERLAIN: What we're seeing here are the remnants 509 00:30:03,935 --> 00:30:05,769 of a Nazi weapon that could have 510 00:30:05,837 --> 00:30:07,805 changed the course of history itself. 511 00:30:13,745 --> 00:30:16,513 NARRATOR: Coming up -- The human jigsaw. 512 00:30:16,581 --> 00:30:18,615 JANULIS: Somebody has gone through bones from different 513 00:30:18,650 --> 00:30:23,053 people, putting them together into one composite body. 514 00:30:24,022 --> 00:30:27,925 And attack of the 5,000-mile-long blob. 515 00:30:27,992 --> 00:30:29,593 Is it something alive? 516 00:30:29,661 --> 00:30:32,196 Is it a lot of somethings alive? 517 00:30:40,972 --> 00:30:44,708 NARRATOR: May 5th, 2017. 518 00:30:44,776 --> 00:30:47,711 A satellite scan the Outer Hebrides, 519 00:30:47,778 --> 00:30:51,215 off the northwestern coast of great Britain. 520 00:30:51,282 --> 00:30:56,587 In this image, we're seeing what looks to be some strange 521 00:30:56,654 --> 00:30:58,956 structure on the island of North Uist, 522 00:30:58,990 --> 00:31:00,924 off the coast of Scotland. 523 00:31:02,560 --> 00:31:05,996 KAYS: It's not clear exactly what kind of structure it is, 524 00:31:06,064 --> 00:31:10,267 but it is striking in that it is in the middle of what's 525 00:31:10,335 --> 00:31:13,670 otherwise just very sort of barren-looking land. 526 00:31:16,241 --> 00:31:18,108 NARRATOR: Drone footage reveals further 527 00:31:18,176 --> 00:31:20,677 details about the mystery structure. 528 00:31:20,745 --> 00:31:23,947 KAYS: You can see that this is actually pretty big. 529 00:31:24,015 --> 00:31:25,716 It's about 80 feet wide. 530 00:31:25,783 --> 00:31:27,851 And it looks like, from this angle, 531 00:31:27,919 --> 00:31:30,954 it's basically a giant mound of rocks. 532 00:31:31,022 --> 00:31:34,825 KOUROUNIS: To me, this looks a bit like a burial mound, 533 00:31:34,893 --> 00:31:38,762 and there might be some type of an actual entrance. 534 00:31:44,969 --> 00:31:49,106 NARRATOR: The satellite image has captured a chambered cairn, 535 00:31:49,173 --> 00:31:52,009 a kind of tomb built thousands of years ago. 536 00:31:53,678 --> 00:31:58,348 Its scale and remote location intrigue archaeologists. 537 00:31:58,416 --> 00:32:00,684 HUNT: Its size 538 00:32:00,752 --> 00:32:03,520 could suggest that it's the burial site 539 00:32:03,588 --> 00:32:05,155 of a very important person 540 00:32:05,223 --> 00:32:08,725 who is surrounded by a pretty big array of grave goods. 541 00:32:12,263 --> 00:32:14,331 NARRATOR: Excavations on burial sites 542 00:32:14,399 --> 00:32:16,433 on a neighboring island could shed light 543 00:32:16,501 --> 00:32:18,602 on who is interred in the massive tomb. 544 00:32:20,738 --> 00:32:23,040 What we found were skeletons 545 00:32:23,107 --> 00:32:24,908 that were incredibly well preserved. 546 00:32:26,911 --> 00:32:28,412 But there was something a little bit strange 547 00:32:28,479 --> 00:32:30,681 about those skeletons. 548 00:32:30,748 --> 00:32:32,749 YORK: It appears that they had been preserved in some kind of 549 00:32:32,817 --> 00:32:36,753 an acidic condition, likely a peat bog. 550 00:32:36,821 --> 00:32:39,389 NARRATOR: The cadavers are examples 551 00:32:39,457 --> 00:32:42,626 of what are known as bog bodies, 552 00:32:42,694 --> 00:32:44,962 corpses preserved for millennia 553 00:32:45,029 --> 00:32:47,130 after falling into peat marshes. 554 00:32:48,566 --> 00:32:51,802 JANULIS: Peat bogs are very dense, they're very low oxygen, 555 00:32:51,869 --> 00:32:53,070 and they have a lot of acid. 556 00:32:53,137 --> 00:32:56,807 So what that means is if a body falls into a peat bog, 557 00:32:56,874 --> 00:33:00,344 it might be found thousands of years later in a relatively 558 00:33:00,411 --> 00:33:01,845 intact condition. 559 00:33:04,182 --> 00:33:06,984 NARRATOR: Weirder still, these corpses had been 560 00:33:07,051 --> 00:33:10,153 intentionally submerged in the bog and then exhumed, 561 00:33:11,990 --> 00:33:13,323 the first examples of 562 00:33:13,391 --> 00:33:16,493 deliberate mummification discovered in Europe. 563 00:33:16,561 --> 00:33:19,329 To add another layer of strangeness 564 00:33:19,397 --> 00:33:21,031 to this whole thing, 565 00:33:21,099 --> 00:33:23,867 research reveals somebody has gone through carefully, taking 566 00:33:23,935 --> 00:33:25,635 bones from different people 567 00:33:25,703 --> 00:33:28,505 and putting them together into one composite body. 568 00:33:28,573 --> 00:33:32,275 We're looking at a real-life Frankenstein here. 569 00:33:33,444 --> 00:33:35,445 NARRATOR: The bodies found near the tomb 570 00:33:35,480 --> 00:33:38,248 in the image are Bronze Age chimeras, 571 00:33:40,985 --> 00:33:43,320 Franken-mummies 572 00:33:43,388 --> 00:33:45,922 fashioned from several different generations 573 00:33:45,990 --> 00:33:47,057 of ancestors. 574 00:33:47,125 --> 00:33:50,927 Further radiocarbon examination shows that these 575 00:33:50,995 --> 00:33:55,532 actual bones span hundreds of years. 576 00:33:55,566 --> 00:33:59,169 We've got multiple bodies brought together over who knows 577 00:33:59,237 --> 00:34:04,708 what period of time to create these composite mummies. 578 00:34:08,679 --> 00:34:10,614 JANULIS: These were found not very far 579 00:34:10,681 --> 00:34:12,382 from where our image sits. 580 00:34:12,417 --> 00:34:14,951 So is it possible that our 581 00:34:15,019 --> 00:34:17,521 structure has a Franken-mummy inside it? 582 00:34:19,057 --> 00:34:22,225 NARRATOR: Yet when experts turn to the archaeological record, 583 00:34:22,293 --> 00:34:24,594 the mystery deepens. 584 00:34:24,629 --> 00:34:27,731 YORK: The structure that we're seeing in these images is 585 00:34:27,799 --> 00:34:31,468 actually thousands of years older than these mummies. 586 00:34:31,536 --> 00:34:34,971 It was likely built by their ancestors. 587 00:34:36,040 --> 00:34:38,608 NARRATOR: The tomb appears to have been constructed during 588 00:34:38,676 --> 00:34:42,746 an intriguing period in human evolution -- the Neolithic. 589 00:34:43,815 --> 00:34:47,017 This is a time when mankind move from hunting 590 00:34:47,085 --> 00:34:50,153 and gathering to a life of agriculture and settlement. 591 00:34:52,990 --> 00:34:55,826 Giant mysterious stone structures also 592 00:34:55,893 --> 00:34:58,528 begin appearing across the land. 593 00:34:58,596 --> 00:35:01,865 CAVELL: All over, there are Neolithic sites that 594 00:35:01,933 --> 00:35:07,237 ancient Britons constructed as temples or observatories. 595 00:35:09,273 --> 00:35:11,308 NELSON: We know very little about Neolithic structures 596 00:35:11,375 --> 00:35:12,409 but the ones that exist 597 00:35:12,477 --> 00:35:15,779 today seem to be used for some sort of religious 598 00:35:15,847 --> 00:35:17,714 or ceremonial purpose. 599 00:35:17,748 --> 00:35:21,017 NARRATOR: Scotland's islands are among the first places 600 00:35:21,085 --> 00:35:23,854 to witness the arrival of these strange monuments, 601 00:35:25,056 --> 00:35:27,190 coded legacies of history's first 602 00:35:27,258 --> 00:35:29,993 true civilizations wrought in stone. 603 00:35:31,963 --> 00:35:34,197 CAVELL: Some of these settlements go back 604 00:35:34,232 --> 00:35:36,900 to 3,000 B.C.E., 605 00:35:36,968 --> 00:35:39,836 and clearly, it's been a place 606 00:35:39,904 --> 00:35:43,106 of great importance for a lot of those ancient people, 607 00:35:43,174 --> 00:35:45,842 because there are so many of these 608 00:35:45,910 --> 00:35:49,079 stone circles and ritual sites. 609 00:35:51,282 --> 00:35:54,151 NARRATOR: The giant tomb revealed from the skies 610 00:35:54,185 --> 00:35:55,852 may have been built to honor 611 00:35:55,920 --> 00:35:58,121 one of the leaders of these ancient peoples 612 00:35:58,189 --> 00:36:00,357 who transformed the world. 613 00:36:00,424 --> 00:36:02,325 But with much of it now collapsed, 614 00:36:02,393 --> 00:36:06,029 their identity will likely remain a mystery. 615 00:36:06,097 --> 00:36:09,633 This is a really enigmatic monument, attesting to 616 00:36:09,700 --> 00:36:12,502 the longevity of their culture in such a barren, 617 00:36:12,570 --> 00:36:13,937 remote place. 618 00:36:19,443 --> 00:36:22,913 NARRATOR: Coming up, the 22-million-ton sea monster. 619 00:36:24,348 --> 00:36:26,483 Once it starts hitting the shoreline, that's 620 00:36:26,551 --> 00:36:28,785 when all the problems really start to begin. 621 00:36:37,428 --> 00:36:40,463 NARRATOR: June 26th, 2018. 622 00:36:42,500 --> 00:36:44,534 Satellites capture something massive 623 00:36:44,602 --> 00:36:46,436 lurking off the Florida coast. 624 00:36:48,472 --> 00:36:51,775 There's something unusual going on in the Atlantic. 625 00:36:51,842 --> 00:36:54,778 There's some orange-brownish 626 00:36:54,845 --> 00:36:59,316 substance that's enveloping the coastline. 627 00:36:59,383 --> 00:37:04,120 It looks like the whole coastline is full of goo. 628 00:37:04,188 --> 00:37:06,523 RUBEN: Whatever this substance is, 629 00:37:06,591 --> 00:37:07,958 there's just tons and tons of it. 630 00:37:08,025 --> 00:37:09,926 Is it something that spilled? 631 00:37:09,994 --> 00:37:11,394 Is it something alive? 632 00:37:11,462 --> 00:37:14,931 Is it a lot of somethings alive? 633 00:37:14,966 --> 00:37:20,203 NARRATOR: Additional satellite data reveals something bizarre, 634 00:37:21,339 --> 00:37:26,409 blobs of the mystery goop span more than 5,000 miles of ocean. 635 00:37:27,945 --> 00:37:29,913 This is not just some local phenomenon. 636 00:37:29,980 --> 00:37:33,016 This thing is stretching across 637 00:37:33,050 --> 00:37:37,153 the Atlantic Ocean, like literally all the way. 638 00:37:37,221 --> 00:37:39,623 KOUROUNIS: From the west coast of Africa to Florida, 639 00:37:39,690 --> 00:37:43,627 it's just one big mass of orange. 640 00:37:45,363 --> 00:37:48,064 NARRATOR: Analysts track the weird mass to its source. 641 00:37:49,667 --> 00:37:51,401 This thing seems to be coming from 642 00:37:51,469 --> 00:37:54,137 a part of the Atlantic called the Sargasso Sea. 643 00:37:55,873 --> 00:37:58,975 And the Sargasso Sea is named after sargassum. 644 00:37:59,043 --> 00:38:02,846 I think maybe that's what we're seeing here. 645 00:38:04,482 --> 00:38:07,851 NARRATOR: Sargassum is a type of floating seaweed 646 00:38:07,918 --> 00:38:11,388 carried over vast distances by the ocean currents. 647 00:38:12,990 --> 00:38:14,824 Freak conditions have created 648 00:38:14,892 --> 00:38:17,093 the biggest bloom of it on record -- 649 00:38:17,161 --> 00:38:18,962 22 million tons, 650 00:38:20,064 --> 00:38:24,000 equivalent to more than 200 fully loaded aircraft carriers. 651 00:38:25,536 --> 00:38:27,537 We think of sea monsters as being 652 00:38:27,605 --> 00:38:30,106 these animals coming up from the depths. 653 00:38:30,174 --> 00:38:35,078 But in this particular case, our sea monster is a plant 654 00:38:35,146 --> 00:38:37,080 that has grown to the point 655 00:38:37,148 --> 00:38:38,882 where it's taking over an ocean. 656 00:38:40,718 --> 00:38:46,556 Even though this sargassum bloom happens every single year, 657 00:38:46,624 --> 00:38:49,359 we had never seen it at this size before. 658 00:38:51,896 --> 00:38:53,963 NARRATOR: In the vast open ocean, 659 00:38:54,031 --> 00:38:56,966 the seaweed islands provide food, shelter, 660 00:38:57,034 --> 00:39:01,104 and breeding grounds for a host of animals. 661 00:39:01,172 --> 00:39:03,873 When they head towards land in big numbers, 662 00:39:03,941 --> 00:39:05,642 it's a whole other story. 663 00:39:07,378 --> 00:39:11,114 It's one thing to have all this seaweed far out to sea, 664 00:39:11,182 --> 00:39:14,250 but once it starts hitting the shoreline, 665 00:39:14,318 --> 00:39:16,119 that's when all the problems really start. 666 00:39:18,656 --> 00:39:21,458 NARRATOR: Seaweed tsunamis 30 feet deep 667 00:39:21,525 --> 00:39:22,992 strip the ocean of oxygen, 668 00:39:23,060 --> 00:39:26,696 block out sunlight, and turn the entire coast 669 00:39:26,764 --> 00:39:27,897 into a dead zone. 670 00:39:29,433 --> 00:39:32,769 A little bit of sargassum is normal and healthy, 671 00:39:32,837 --> 00:39:38,274 but sargassum on this scale can smother and suffocate corals 672 00:39:38,342 --> 00:39:40,543 and sea grasses and lead to 673 00:39:40,611 --> 00:39:43,680 the declining of fish population. 674 00:39:45,116 --> 00:39:47,183 NARRATOR: What's more, 675 00:39:47,251 --> 00:39:49,619 alien species can use the mats 676 00:39:49,687 --> 00:39:52,555 as mother ships to invade Florida's waters. 677 00:39:54,525 --> 00:39:57,861 Organisms and other animals can ride on these 678 00:39:57,928 --> 00:40:01,965 rafts of seaweed, traveling from one place to another, 679 00:40:01,999 --> 00:40:04,834 which unleashes a whole other environmental problem. 680 00:40:07,204 --> 00:40:10,507 NARRATOR: Waves and tides force the sargassum onto beaches, 681 00:40:10,574 --> 00:40:13,676 creating slimy mounds stretching along hundreds of 682 00:40:13,744 --> 00:40:14,944 miles of coastline, 683 00:40:16,914 --> 00:40:20,383 and the sweet tropical air soon turns fetid with 684 00:40:20,451 --> 00:40:24,154 the scent of millions of tons of rotting seaweed. 685 00:40:25,456 --> 00:40:29,058 When this sargassum actually starts to decompose, 686 00:40:29,126 --> 00:40:31,361 the bacteria release hydrogen sulfide. 687 00:40:31,429 --> 00:40:33,863 So basically, it smells like rotten eggs. 688 00:40:35,633 --> 00:40:38,201 Hydrogen sulfide doesn't just smell bad. 689 00:40:38,269 --> 00:40:40,036 It's also been linked to neurological, 690 00:40:40,104 --> 00:40:43,039 digestive, and respiratory symptoms in humans. 691 00:40:46,744 --> 00:40:49,078 NARRATOR: Across Florida and the Caribbean, 692 00:40:49,146 --> 00:40:51,781 authorities spend tens of millions of dollars 693 00:40:51,849 --> 00:40:55,051 and deploy hundreds of machines to clean up the mess. 694 00:40:56,020 --> 00:40:58,087 It's possible to clean up this algae, 695 00:40:58,122 --> 00:41:00,490 but it's not easy, and it's expensive. 696 00:41:00,558 --> 00:41:03,793 You basically load it onto trucks and drive it away, 697 00:41:03,861 --> 00:41:08,565 and then after the truck is gone, more of it washes up. 698 00:41:08,599 --> 00:41:12,001 It's like that endless loop of Sisyphus pushing that rock up 699 00:41:12,069 --> 00:41:14,437 the hill, only to have it tumble back down again 700 00:41:14,505 --> 00:41:17,273 over and over and over again. 701 00:41:19,310 --> 00:41:21,811 NARRATOR: Scientists fear this won't be the last time 702 00:41:21,879 --> 00:41:24,113 this mega weed plagues our shores, 703 00:41:25,082 --> 00:41:29,886 creating the putrid waters and beaches revealed from space. 704 00:41:29,954 --> 00:41:32,822 These blooms have gotten bigger and bigger for 705 00:41:32,890 --> 00:41:37,227 the past decade, and there's no sign of it slowing down. 706 00:41:38,762 --> 00:41:41,397 FANARA: Deforestation, use of fertilizer, 707 00:41:41,465 --> 00:41:43,867 and changes in climate are 708 00:41:43,934 --> 00:41:47,070 causing algae blooms to occur more frequently 709 00:41:47,137 --> 00:41:48,605 and more intensely. 710 00:41:49,940 --> 00:41:53,943 This is something that can happen over and over again, 711 00:41:54,011 --> 00:41:56,279 and this may be our future.