1 00:00:00,967 --> 00:00:03,068 NARRATOR: They're watching you. 2 00:00:03,136 --> 00:00:05,637 More than 5,000 satellites circle the Earth. 3 00:00:06,906 --> 00:00:08,941 Every day, they uncover new, 4 00:00:09,008 --> 00:00:13,345 mysterious phenomena that defy explanation. 5 00:00:14,948 --> 00:00:16,715 Lair of the living god 6 00:00:16,783 --> 00:00:19,284 and the super warrior of the ancient world. 7 00:00:19,319 --> 00:00:21,120 FINE: He's one of the greatest generals in the history 8 00:00:21,187 --> 00:00:22,688 of warfare, and he conquered 9 00:00:22,722 --> 00:00:24,223 much of the known world at the time. 10 00:00:25,191 --> 00:00:29,561 NARRATOR: Riches and bloodshed in the California deserts. 11 00:00:29,596 --> 00:00:31,130 RUBEN: This is a great example of one of 12 00:00:31,197 --> 00:00:34,033 those hidden places that have shaped human history. 13 00:00:35,001 --> 00:00:37,970 NARRATOR: And the multibillion dollar money pit. 14 00:00:38,004 --> 00:00:40,439 This site feels absolutely cursed. 15 00:00:40,473 --> 00:00:44,443 NARRATOR: Baffling phenomena, mysteries from space. 16 00:00:44,477 --> 00:00:47,946 What on Earth are they? 17 00:00:48,014 --> 00:00:52,151 [theme music playing] 18 00:01:06,332 --> 00:01:09,535 The Taurus Mountains, southeastern Turkey, 19 00:01:11,071 --> 00:01:15,541 87,000 square miles of virtually impenetrable peaks, 20 00:01:17,844 --> 00:01:20,079 an ocean of limestone that rises 21 00:01:20,113 --> 00:01:23,182 some 12,000 feet towards the heavens. 22 00:01:25,652 --> 00:01:27,319 Wow, look at the views from up here! 23 00:01:28,288 --> 00:01:30,222 I've been walking for hours, 24 00:01:30,256 --> 00:01:32,591 and I'm still nowhere near the peak. 25 00:01:36,796 --> 00:01:39,264 NARRATOR: Kenneth Fine is trekking through 26 00:01:39,332 --> 00:01:42,367 these desolate lands, hooked by a strange image 27 00:01:42,401 --> 00:01:45,604 captured in June 2021. 28 00:01:45,671 --> 00:01:48,907 When I looked at satellite images of the area, 29 00:01:48,942 --> 00:01:50,909 one thing jumped out at me from the miles of 30 00:01:50,944 --> 00:01:52,711 arid mountains. 31 00:01:52,745 --> 00:01:54,680 There's a smooth, circular peak. 32 00:01:56,616 --> 00:01:59,952 NARRATOR: The mystery feature is hundreds of feet in diameter 33 00:02:00,019 --> 00:02:01,887 and sits on the summit of one of 34 00:02:01,954 --> 00:02:03,655 the highest mountains in the range. 35 00:02:05,158 --> 00:02:08,127 It's like you poured sugar onto a table. 36 00:02:08,161 --> 00:02:09,128 I don't know what it is. 37 00:02:09,162 --> 00:02:11,830 I -- I am genuinely baffled. 38 00:02:11,898 --> 00:02:13,899 BELLINGER: This is an incredible structure. 39 00:02:13,966 --> 00:02:19,638 We're looking at something human-made and likely ancient. 40 00:02:19,706 --> 00:02:22,174 NARRATOR: Closer analysis reveals the giant cone 41 00:02:22,241 --> 00:02:25,611 is surrounded by terraces and other ruins. 42 00:02:25,712 --> 00:02:27,813 Historical records reveal 43 00:02:27,847 --> 00:02:30,282 it's the legacy of a self-declared living 44 00:02:30,316 --> 00:02:33,118 deity and descendant of the greatest warrior 45 00:02:33,186 --> 00:02:34,820 of antiquity. 46 00:02:34,854 --> 00:02:37,456 This place is known as Nemrut Dagi. 47 00:02:38,725 --> 00:02:41,860 I mean, the sheer scale is sort of eye-watering. 48 00:02:41,928 --> 00:02:44,096 It's incredible to think that this place was one 49 00:02:44,130 --> 00:02:48,033 of the craziest construction projects in all of history. 50 00:02:49,602 --> 00:02:52,204 NARRATOR: The Taurus Mountains played a key role 51 00:02:52,271 --> 00:02:54,573 in early human history. 52 00:02:54,607 --> 00:02:57,643 Many of its peaks and valleys have been stained with blood 53 00:02:57,844 --> 00:03:00,312 shed by some of the most powerful civilizations of 54 00:03:00,346 --> 00:03:01,547 the ancient world. 55 00:03:04,217 --> 00:03:08,220 Turkey is a land that people have historically fought over, 56 00:03:08,287 --> 00:03:10,189 and many empires have risen and fallen here. 57 00:03:14,260 --> 00:03:16,795 NARRATOR: What makes these mountains so important 58 00:03:16,829 --> 00:03:20,332 is that they mark the border between Europe and Asia, 59 00:03:20,366 --> 00:03:24,770 a 930-mile-long frontier separating 60 00:03:24,804 --> 00:03:27,973 the warring civilizations of East and West. 61 00:03:28,875 --> 00:03:31,944 These narrow passageways have been used as trade routes 62 00:03:31,978 --> 00:03:36,381 and by armies looking for new lands to conquer. 63 00:03:36,449 --> 00:03:40,886 It's a choke point between Europe, Africa, and Asia. 64 00:03:40,920 --> 00:03:43,255 And this place sits at the heart of that. 65 00:03:45,425 --> 00:03:47,659 NARRATOR: To the southwest of the site 66 00:03:47,727 --> 00:03:49,361 sit the Cilician Gates, 67 00:03:49,395 --> 00:03:52,931 a military artery used by the Hittites, Romans, 68 00:03:52,999 --> 00:03:57,302 Mongols, and medieval crusaders. 69 00:03:57,337 --> 00:03:59,838 The structure's location suggests it could 70 00:03:59,872 --> 00:04:02,941 be connected to this strategically vital pass. 71 00:04:05,979 --> 00:04:07,779 One of the first rules of any form 72 00:04:07,814 --> 00:04:10,983 of military activity is to control the high ground. 73 00:04:13,152 --> 00:04:16,255 Maybe this strange mound is the remains of some sort of fort? 74 00:04:18,157 --> 00:04:20,993 From a defensive perspective, this place would be ideal. 75 00:04:21,027 --> 00:04:23,395 You'd see an invading army coming from miles away. 76 00:04:27,934 --> 00:04:30,569 NARRATOR: Yet as Fine approaches the giant cone... 77 00:04:32,038 --> 00:04:34,039 This is crazy, so windy up here. 78 00:04:35,008 --> 00:04:37,609 NARRATOR: It becomes evident that it served 79 00:04:37,677 --> 00:04:39,144 a different purpose. 80 00:04:41,080 --> 00:04:42,848 Whoa, that's impressive. 81 00:04:42,882 --> 00:04:44,416 Look at that. I'm speechless. 82 00:04:46,653 --> 00:04:49,154 NARRATOR: A massive mound of stones rises more 83 00:04:49,221 --> 00:04:52,357 than 160 feet from the mountain summit. 84 00:04:53,826 --> 00:04:55,160 I knew this thing was big, 85 00:04:55,227 --> 00:04:57,863 but I hadn't fully appreciated the size 86 00:04:57,897 --> 00:04:59,231 or the scope of it until now. 87 00:05:03,036 --> 00:05:04,303 This is unreal. 88 00:05:08,374 --> 00:05:11,143 There's only one thing I could think of, 89 00:05:12,178 --> 00:05:13,445 and that would be a tomb. 90 00:05:15,081 --> 00:05:17,883 NARRATOR: The scale of the mountaintop tomb is almost 91 00:05:17,917 --> 00:05:19,685 without precedent, 92 00:05:19,719 --> 00:05:23,055 yet what's also strange is its remote location. 93 00:05:23,122 --> 00:05:26,224 We know about the great pyramids of Egypt, which had 94 00:05:26,259 --> 00:05:30,962 been built by pharaohs who ruled over huge kingdoms. 95 00:05:30,997 --> 00:05:34,232 But here, we've got a monument of a similar scale 96 00:05:34,267 --> 00:05:40,005 that was constructed out in the mountainous wilderness. 97 00:05:40,072 --> 00:05:42,641 NARRATOR: Mountains are sacred to many cultures 98 00:05:42,709 --> 00:05:44,276 around the world. 99 00:05:44,343 --> 00:05:47,346 They are places where deities reside and are 100 00:05:47,413 --> 00:05:51,183 seen as boundaries between this world and the next. 101 00:05:53,119 --> 00:05:54,853 On Turkey's Mount Ararat, 102 00:05:54,887 --> 00:05:58,724 some claim, sit the remains of Noah's Ark, stranded for 103 00:05:58,758 --> 00:06:01,860 eternity by the great flood. 104 00:06:01,894 --> 00:06:05,330 People often associated gods with being high up in the sky. 105 00:06:05,365 --> 00:06:08,400 So if you build on top of a mountain, 106 00:06:08,434 --> 00:06:11,436 you are that bit closer to the gods. 107 00:06:12,705 --> 00:06:15,240 NARRATOR: Ancient civilizations believed these mountains to 108 00:06:15,307 --> 00:06:18,343 be inhabited by storm and thunder gods. 109 00:06:19,078 --> 00:06:22,848 They were often depicted as bulls -- Taurus in Latin -- 110 00:06:22,915 --> 00:06:25,050 Which gives this mountain range its name. 111 00:06:27,887 --> 00:06:30,956 FINE: It's hard to believe 112 00:06:30,990 --> 00:06:33,191 there could be human remains buried 113 00:06:33,225 --> 00:06:34,593 under this giant pile of rocks. 114 00:06:35,495 --> 00:06:36,962 I've never seen anything like this. 115 00:06:36,996 --> 00:06:38,930 It's amazing. 116 00:06:38,998 --> 00:06:41,400 What it means is that whoever was buried there 117 00:06:41,434 --> 00:06:45,370 had another mountain made on top of a mountain. 118 00:06:45,405 --> 00:06:48,206 WALTERS: If this is your grave, I think it's pretty safe 119 00:06:48,274 --> 00:06:51,143 to assume you're not gonna be some lowly peasant. 120 00:06:51,210 --> 00:06:55,313 It's gonna be the tomb of someone very important. 121 00:06:56,349 --> 00:06:59,951 NARRATOR: Exploring further, Fine discovers other structures 122 00:07:00,019 --> 00:07:02,454 not visible in the satellite image. 123 00:07:05,324 --> 00:07:08,160 Wow, look at these stone heads. 124 00:07:14,167 --> 00:07:16,001 I'm totally flabbergasted. 125 00:07:16,736 --> 00:07:19,671 NARRATOR: The bodies of the 30-foot-high statues 126 00:07:19,705 --> 00:07:22,340 stands sentinel at the base of the burial mound, 127 00:07:22,374 --> 00:07:26,144 their decapitated heads resting on a terrace below them. 128 00:07:29,081 --> 00:07:33,518 Fine calculates that each likely weighs around 10 tons. 129 00:07:38,858 --> 00:07:41,193 That's gotta be the Greek god, Zeus. 130 00:07:41,260 --> 00:07:42,828 Zeus was the god of sky and thunder, 131 00:07:42,862 --> 00:07:45,030 but he was also the king of the gods. 132 00:07:45,832 --> 00:07:50,202 The stone heads reflect a mixing of cultural influences. 133 00:07:50,269 --> 00:07:54,406 So we see both Greek and Persian elements. 134 00:07:56,042 --> 00:07:57,609 NARRATOR: In the distant past, 135 00:07:57,676 --> 00:08:00,245 someone commanded their subjects to inter them 136 00:08:00,279 --> 00:08:03,315 under a man-made mountain of stones, 137 00:08:03,349 --> 00:08:07,018 guarded by giant Greek and Persian gods. 138 00:08:11,257 --> 00:08:12,991 This has to be one of 139 00:08:13,025 --> 00:08:16,027 the most insane and incredible tombs I've ever seen. 140 00:08:16,095 --> 00:08:18,430 But the question is who's buried here? 141 00:08:22,134 --> 00:08:26,137 NARRATOR: Coming up, secrets of the mountaintop tomb. 142 00:08:26,172 --> 00:08:30,308 This guy was a military genius with an insatiable 143 00:08:30,376 --> 00:08:33,945 desire for bloodshed and conquest. 144 00:08:33,980 --> 00:08:36,081 NARRATOR: And Nazis versus witches. 145 00:08:36,115 --> 00:08:38,149 The Nazis tried to incorporate 146 00:08:38,184 --> 00:08:41,520 the occult into an advantage on the battlefield. 147 00:08:50,730 --> 00:08:54,466 Drawn by a weird structure revealed from the skies... 148 00:08:54,500 --> 00:08:56,201 It's one of the most incredible things 149 00:08:56,235 --> 00:08:58,203 I've ever seen. 150 00:08:58,237 --> 00:09:00,005 Kenneth Fine is exploring 151 00:09:00,039 --> 00:09:02,607 a mammoth Turkish mountaintop mausoleum, 152 00:09:03,976 --> 00:09:07,379 guarded by the ruined statues of pagan gods. 153 00:09:10,783 --> 00:09:13,118 These statues are amazing. 154 00:09:13,185 --> 00:09:16,054 They represent a blend of the Persian and Greek empires. 155 00:09:20,626 --> 00:09:24,396 NARRATOR: Close to the statues are more clues etched in stone. 156 00:09:25,898 --> 00:09:27,032 Look here. 157 00:09:27,934 --> 00:09:29,901 It's an ancient Greek inscription. 158 00:09:29,936 --> 00:09:37,936 ♪ 159 00:09:38,711 --> 00:09:41,413 I can make out the name Antiochus. 160 00:09:43,816 --> 00:09:46,651 NARRATOR: The giant tomb is the resting place 161 00:09:46,752 --> 00:09:48,253 of the megalomaniac ruler 162 00:09:48,287 --> 00:09:50,255 of an overlooked yet pivotal kingdom 163 00:09:50,289 --> 00:09:52,090 of the ancient world. 164 00:09:54,293 --> 00:09:56,328 Antiochus ruled one of the kingdoms that 165 00:09:56,362 --> 00:09:58,563 formed after the death of Alexander the Great. 166 00:09:59,832 --> 00:10:01,933 HUNT: One of the names he gave himself 167 00:10:01,968 --> 00:10:06,137 was Antiochus Theos, meaning Antiochus the God. 168 00:10:08,074 --> 00:10:12,911 NARRATOR: The story of the giant tomb begins in 336 B.C., 169 00:10:12,978 --> 00:10:16,982 When Alexander the Great becomes ruler of Macedonia, some 170 00:10:17,049 --> 00:10:19,184 900 miles to the northwest. 171 00:10:23,656 --> 00:10:27,058 His father taught him military rule. 172 00:10:27,092 --> 00:10:31,162 His tutor was Aristotle, who made his mind razor sharp. 173 00:10:31,196 --> 00:10:32,931 No one was better suited to 174 00:10:32,998 --> 00:10:35,233 conquer the world than Alexander the Great. 175 00:10:35,267 --> 00:10:38,236 This guy was a military genius with 176 00:10:38,270 --> 00:10:43,441 an insatiable desire for bloodshed and conquest. 177 00:10:44,210 --> 00:10:47,178 NARRATOR: Alexander quickly defeats Macedonia's 178 00:10:47,213 --> 00:10:49,881 neighboring Greek states before moving past 179 00:10:49,948 --> 00:10:51,916 the site in the image to conquer the mighty 180 00:10:51,951 --> 00:10:53,385 Persian empire. 181 00:10:55,788 --> 00:10:58,957 Key to his victories is the use of the phalanx, 182 00:10:59,024 --> 00:11:01,926 a formation of 128 warriors equipped 183 00:11:01,961 --> 00:11:04,429 with lances up to 20 feet long. 184 00:11:05,197 --> 00:11:08,266 Part of Alexander's success was his willingness to 185 00:11:08,300 --> 00:11:11,503 throw himself into battle and fight alongside them. 186 00:11:14,440 --> 00:11:18,743 That front line bravery earned him enormous devotion 187 00:11:18,778 --> 00:11:20,345 from his men, 188 00:11:20,379 --> 00:11:24,683 who probably also thought he was a living god. 189 00:11:24,717 --> 00:11:26,151 [men shouting] 190 00:11:26,185 --> 00:11:30,121 NARRATOR: By the age of just 32, Alexander has built 191 00:11:30,189 --> 00:11:33,158 an empire spanning three continents and covering 192 00:11:33,192 --> 00:11:36,761 two million square miles. 193 00:11:36,796 --> 00:11:38,897 Alexander the Great was unquestionably one of the most 194 00:11:38,931 --> 00:11:41,132 influential people in human history. 195 00:11:41,200 --> 00:11:43,768 He never lost a battle, and he conquered much of the known 196 00:11:43,803 --> 00:11:45,403 world at the time. 197 00:11:45,471 --> 00:11:49,307 Julius Caesar, before he conquered Gaul, 198 00:11:49,341 --> 00:11:52,210 lamented, "At my age, 199 00:11:52,277 --> 00:11:54,946 "Alexander has already conquered the world. 200 00:11:55,013 --> 00:11:56,648 What have I done?" 201 00:11:58,117 --> 00:12:02,654 NARRATOR: In 323 B.C., Alexander dies of a fever, 202 00:12:02,722 --> 00:12:05,356 triggering a strange sequence of events 203 00:12:05,390 --> 00:12:07,258 that leads to the construction of the giant 204 00:12:07,293 --> 00:12:08,993 mountain peak mausoleum. 205 00:12:10,996 --> 00:12:12,997 After Alexander's death, 206 00:12:13,032 --> 00:12:18,737 this vast empire that he had very quickly conquered, 207 00:12:18,771 --> 00:12:21,639 just as quickly fell apart. 208 00:12:21,741 --> 00:12:25,110 His empire is effectively kind of atomized, and it's split into 209 00:12:25,177 --> 00:12:28,046 all these sort separate little kingdoms ruled by 210 00:12:28,113 --> 00:12:32,250 his former generals, and one of them is this place here. 211 00:12:32,317 --> 00:12:34,119 It is the kingdom of Commagene. 212 00:12:36,355 --> 00:12:38,690 NARRATOR: Commagene is a small kingdom, 213 00:12:38,724 --> 00:12:40,225 but it controls trade routes 214 00:12:40,259 --> 00:12:43,995 through the Taurus Mountains, and that makes it strategically 215 00:12:44,062 --> 00:12:46,331 vital to its more powerful neighbors, 216 00:12:46,365 --> 00:12:50,935 the Armenian, Parthian, Syrian, and Roman Empires. 217 00:12:52,905 --> 00:12:54,973 Commagene, because it's at the kind of nexus 218 00:12:55,007 --> 00:12:56,808 of all these bigger empires, 219 00:12:56,875 --> 00:12:58,476 acts as a kind of buffer between them, 220 00:12:58,544 --> 00:13:01,613 and that makes it very wealthy. 221 00:13:01,747 --> 00:13:05,817 NARRATOR: In 70 B.C., Antiochus the First becomes 222 00:13:05,884 --> 00:13:07,852 ruler of the kingdom of Commagene. 223 00:13:07,887 --> 00:13:10,889 He was one of the final rulers of 224 00:13:10,923 --> 00:13:13,191 Commagene before it fell to the Romans. 225 00:13:13,225 --> 00:13:17,028 HORTON: He was an unusual king. 226 00:13:17,095 --> 00:13:22,133 He had what might describe as a very high opinion of himself. 227 00:13:23,335 --> 00:13:27,305 NARRATOR: Like his forefather, Alexander the Great, Antiochus 228 00:13:27,372 --> 00:13:30,275 believes he is a deity in human form. 229 00:13:30,309 --> 00:13:33,578 He creates an imperial cult in honor 230 00:13:33,645 --> 00:13:37,649 of himself, one celebrated with orgiastic feasts. 231 00:13:39,985 --> 00:13:42,120 And, to enshrine his legacy, 232 00:13:42,187 --> 00:13:44,956 he orders the construction of the grandest 233 00:13:44,990 --> 00:13:46,624 temple tomb of its era. 234 00:13:49,094 --> 00:13:52,630 Not only did he encourage all this feasting 235 00:13:52,665 --> 00:13:54,866 and enjoyment while he was alive, 236 00:13:54,933 --> 00:13:59,137 but he also constructed one of the most extraordinary 237 00:13:59,204 --> 00:14:03,174 and fantastical monuments to his memory on Earth. 238 00:14:03,242 --> 00:14:09,080 This tomb becomes the physical embodiment of megalomania, 239 00:14:09,849 --> 00:14:13,418 a man who sees himself as a god. 240 00:14:15,254 --> 00:14:18,590 NARRATOR: Work on the epic mortuary complex begins 241 00:14:18,657 --> 00:14:22,360 in 50 B.C., with massive boulders being hauled 242 00:14:22,394 --> 00:14:25,063 up the 7,000-foot-high mountain. 243 00:14:27,833 --> 00:14:29,968 Around the tomb itself are piled 244 00:14:30,002 --> 00:14:32,804 70,000 tons of limestone, 245 00:14:32,838 --> 00:14:36,107 extending its peak yet further towards the heavens. 246 00:14:37,509 --> 00:14:40,345 This was one of the most staggering construction projects 247 00:14:40,412 --> 00:14:42,013 in history. 248 00:14:42,080 --> 00:14:45,116 Basically, he remade the peak of the mountain 249 00:14:45,150 --> 00:14:46,651 in his own image. 250 00:14:47,753 --> 00:14:50,421 NARRATOR: Next to the 200,000-square-foot 251 00:14:50,489 --> 00:14:53,791 burial mound, engineers carve giant statues 252 00:14:53,826 --> 00:14:55,226 depicting Antiochus among 253 00:14:55,294 --> 00:14:58,162 a pantheon of Greco-Persian gods. 254 00:15:00,799 --> 00:15:03,134 Antiochus would have wanted his link 255 00:15:03,168 --> 00:15:05,970 to Alexander the Great to be seen by all. 256 00:15:06,038 --> 00:15:08,640 Having these monumental statues accomplishes that. 257 00:15:10,943 --> 00:15:13,645 The guy's ego knew no limits. 258 00:15:13,879 --> 00:15:16,214 Just goes to show you how determined he was 259 00:15:16,248 --> 00:15:18,082 to be remembered. 260 00:15:19,818 --> 00:15:22,654 NARRATOR: Two millennia after his death, 261 00:15:22,755 --> 00:15:25,256 the god king is immortalized by one of 262 00:15:25,324 --> 00:15:27,692 the most incredible structures on Earth, 263 00:15:27,726 --> 00:15:29,961 visible from the heavens. 264 00:15:31,130 --> 00:15:35,333 But this place is far more than that king in that tomb. 265 00:15:35,400 --> 00:15:37,936 It represents the legacy of Alexander the Great, 266 00:15:38,003 --> 00:15:39,337 and the bringing together of 267 00:15:39,404 --> 00:15:42,340 the ancient Greeks and Persians in this antique land. 268 00:15:45,945 --> 00:15:49,781 NARRATOR: Coming up, the Mojave Desert's 269 00:15:49,815 --> 00:15:52,350 extraterrestrial cipher. 270 00:15:52,417 --> 00:15:56,054 The circles kind of look like giant alien Petri dishes. 271 00:15:56,088 --> 00:15:58,423 I don't know what this is. 272 00:15:58,490 --> 00:16:01,859 NARRATOR: And haunt of the mad emperor. 273 00:16:01,894 --> 00:16:05,663 His insanity was notorious. 274 00:16:13,372 --> 00:16:16,274 NARRATOR: August 18th, 2018. 275 00:16:16,341 --> 00:16:19,844 Eyes in the sky scan arid desert near 276 00:16:19,878 --> 00:16:21,179 Death Valley, California, 277 00:16:22,314 --> 00:16:24,449 and capture this image. 278 00:16:27,252 --> 00:16:29,187 MORGAN: This is an unusual sight. 279 00:16:29,221 --> 00:16:30,922 You don't typically look down from 280 00:16:30,956 --> 00:16:32,824 space and see anything like this. 281 00:16:32,891 --> 00:16:34,559 What's really extraordinary about this are 282 00:16:34,626 --> 00:16:37,161 both the colors and the shapes. 283 00:16:37,229 --> 00:16:40,765 The circles kind of look like giant alien Petri dishes. 284 00:16:40,832 --> 00:16:42,633 I don't know what this is. 285 00:16:42,768 --> 00:16:47,005 NARRATOR: The weird kaleidoscopic code covers around 286 00:16:47,039 --> 00:16:49,974 five square miles of the valley floor. 287 00:16:50,042 --> 00:16:53,077 When you see bright colors like this on the surface, 288 00:16:53,112 --> 00:16:56,180 you associate it with some form of mineral -- for my money, 289 00:16:56,248 --> 00:16:58,850 this has to be some form of mining. 290 00:16:58,884 --> 00:17:01,986 NARRATOR: Analysts turn to local geological records. 291 00:17:03,088 --> 00:17:07,058 What we're actually seeing here is a mineral called borax. 292 00:17:07,092 --> 00:17:08,092 It's what's left when 293 00:17:08,127 --> 00:17:12,030 alkaline lakes in arid regions dry up. 294 00:17:13,232 --> 00:17:16,034 NARRATOR: Each year, miners harvest hundreds of thousands of 295 00:17:16,068 --> 00:17:19,537 tons of borax from California's dry lake beds 296 00:17:21,240 --> 00:17:25,343 for use in anything, from pills to pesticides. 297 00:17:26,645 --> 00:17:29,247 And it's an industry built on an extraordinary tale 298 00:17:29,281 --> 00:17:34,252 of bloodshed and riches that stretches back 150 years. 299 00:17:34,286 --> 00:17:37,422 RUBEN: This is a great example of one of those hidden places 300 00:17:37,489 --> 00:17:40,925 that are so important to the forces that have shaped 301 00:17:40,959 --> 00:17:42,493 human history. 302 00:17:44,229 --> 00:17:46,831 NARRATOR: It's the late 1850s. 303 00:17:46,898 --> 00:17:49,634 The California Gold Rush is coming to an end, 304 00:17:49,768 --> 00:17:53,971 forcing prospectors to push deeper 305 00:17:54,039 --> 00:17:55,606 into the state's desert interior 306 00:17:55,641 --> 00:17:58,076 in search of the next mother lode. 307 00:17:58,110 --> 00:18:02,580 Those that reach the site in the image 308 00:18:02,647 --> 00:18:06,350 discover that untold riches lie right under their feet. 309 00:18:07,886 --> 00:18:09,954 What a couple of very enterprising American 310 00:18:09,988 --> 00:18:11,789 businessmen realized was 311 00:18:11,857 --> 00:18:15,860 actually these dried-out lake beds weren't rich in gold, 312 00:18:15,927 --> 00:18:18,729 but they were rich in borax. 313 00:18:18,797 --> 00:18:20,264 And in its way, that could be 314 00:18:20,332 --> 00:18:22,767 a hell of a lot more valuable than gold. 315 00:18:22,801 --> 00:18:26,771 NARRATOR: During the mid 19th century, borax is 316 00:18:26,805 --> 00:18:29,974 in high demand for America's booming industries. 317 00:18:32,411 --> 00:18:35,880 The prospectors discover that California's deserts contain 318 00:18:35,947 --> 00:18:37,615 one of the largest mineable 319 00:18:37,716 --> 00:18:41,252 reserves of it on Earth, worth billions of dollars. 320 00:18:45,357 --> 00:18:46,991 HYMEL: So, you have this rush of people 321 00:18:47,025 --> 00:18:49,627 to extract the borax out of the ground. 322 00:18:49,695 --> 00:18:52,563 The problem is, this is an incredibly 323 00:18:52,631 --> 00:18:57,235 inhospitable place to operate, much less live. 324 00:18:57,302 --> 00:19:00,905 NARRATOR: Much of the borax is located in Death Valley, 325 00:19:00,972 --> 00:19:04,041 the hottest place on Earth, 326 00:19:04,109 --> 00:19:06,611 and every ounce of the valuable mineral must 327 00:19:06,645 --> 00:19:09,580 be scraped by hand from the desert floor. 328 00:19:10,849 --> 00:19:14,018 MORGAN: The early teams that were involved in extraction 329 00:19:14,052 --> 00:19:16,587 were functionally enslaved, 330 00:19:16,655 --> 00:19:18,756 and many of the people that were involved in this 331 00:19:18,790 --> 00:19:22,927 undertaking were immigrants from China. 332 00:19:22,994 --> 00:19:27,198 Working in temperatures of up to 130 degrees Fahrenheit, 333 00:19:27,265 --> 00:19:29,200 the immigrant laborers are paid 334 00:19:29,267 --> 00:19:33,237 $1.30 for a 14-hour day. 335 00:19:33,272 --> 00:19:36,274 But the biggest challenge is yet to come. 336 00:19:36,341 --> 00:19:40,044 HUNT: Getting borax out of the desert 337 00:19:40,078 --> 00:19:42,513 is an intimidating problem. 338 00:19:42,548 --> 00:19:48,085 It's 165 miles from this borax deposit 339 00:19:48,153 --> 00:19:52,823 to the edge of the Mojave Desert. 340 00:19:52,891 --> 00:19:55,893 The most practical solution to this produced one of 341 00:19:55,961 --> 00:19:58,029 the indelible images of 342 00:19:58,096 --> 00:20:01,165 the 19th century, and that was the 20-mule team. 343 00:20:01,233 --> 00:20:04,969 NARRATOR: Between 1883 and 1889, 344 00:20:05,036 --> 00:20:08,039 so-called 20-mule teams haul thousands 345 00:20:08,106 --> 00:20:11,175 of tons of borax out of the desert. 346 00:20:12,911 --> 00:20:17,114 Lashed to some of the heaviest wagons ever pulled by animals, 347 00:20:17,182 --> 00:20:21,018 it takes 10 perilous days to complete each journey. 348 00:20:21,053 --> 00:20:24,589 Conditions on these 10-day treks 349 00:20:24,656 --> 00:20:28,059 with these mules must have been equally horrific for 350 00:20:28,126 --> 00:20:31,262 both man and animal alike. 351 00:20:31,329 --> 00:20:33,664 MORGAN: The slightest miscalculation 352 00:20:33,732 --> 00:20:35,933 could produce fatal results. 353 00:20:35,967 --> 00:20:39,070 If you're slowed down, then suddenly, you're going to be 354 00:20:39,137 --> 00:20:42,106 running through the amount of fresh water you had brought. 355 00:20:42,140 --> 00:20:45,977 You're going on for miles upon miles for days upon days 356 00:20:46,011 --> 00:20:48,613 in temperatures of over 100 degrees -- frankly, 357 00:20:48,680 --> 00:20:51,182 it's a miracle if any of them survived. 358 00:20:51,216 --> 00:20:53,217 NARRATOR: During the early 20th century, 359 00:20:53,285 --> 00:20:56,420 technological advancements lead to yet more minerals being 360 00:20:56,454 --> 00:20:59,156 extracted from Death Valley's salt beds. 361 00:21:00,826 --> 00:21:03,661 And another strange chapter opens in the history of 362 00:21:03,729 --> 00:21:06,030 the site revealed from space. 363 00:21:07,065 --> 00:21:10,001 WALTERS: This area isn't just rich in borax. 364 00:21:10,035 --> 00:21:13,771 It also contains another substance that's even more 365 00:21:13,838 --> 00:21:16,907 valuable, and that's potash. 366 00:21:16,941 --> 00:21:20,044 Potash is a central ingredient in fertilizer, 367 00:21:20,111 --> 00:21:22,246 and it is also an essential ingredient 368 00:21:22,314 --> 00:21:25,283 in the production of explosives. 369 00:21:25,350 --> 00:21:29,186 NARRATOR: In 1900, 40 percent of the U.S. population 370 00:21:29,220 --> 00:21:32,223 live on farms. 371 00:21:32,290 --> 00:21:34,592 Explosives are also reshaping the land, 372 00:21:34,626 --> 00:21:36,360 [explosion blasts] 373 00:21:36,428 --> 00:21:39,664 Creating the mines and railways that will transform 374 00:21:39,765 --> 00:21:43,200 the country into a superpower. 375 00:21:43,235 --> 00:21:45,903 This surge in demand for potash brings 376 00:21:45,970 --> 00:21:49,006 violence to the salt flats of the Mojave. 377 00:21:49,041 --> 00:21:50,941 You've got all these prospectors suddenly 378 00:21:50,976 --> 00:21:52,176 arriving at the area, 379 00:21:52,243 --> 00:21:54,078 trying to stake their claim to the potash. 380 00:21:54,112 --> 00:21:57,882 So what big companies do is they send 381 00:21:57,916 --> 00:22:02,053 in teams that they refer to as claim jumpers. 382 00:22:02,120 --> 00:22:05,022 The series of disputes that arose because these large 383 00:22:05,057 --> 00:22:07,658 corporations were rivaling the small claimants 384 00:22:07,726 --> 00:22:10,261 are sometimes referred to as the Potash Wars. 385 00:22:10,328 --> 00:22:14,265 NARRATOR: One of these claim jumpers is legendary lawman, 386 00:22:14,299 --> 00:22:16,934 Wyatt Earp, who, in 1910, 387 00:22:17,001 --> 00:22:19,603 tries to seize the reserves around the site. 388 00:22:19,671 --> 00:22:21,872 In the image. 389 00:22:21,940 --> 00:22:24,675 He's best known for the shootout 390 00:22:24,743 --> 00:22:26,010 at the O.K. Corral, 391 00:22:26,077 --> 00:22:30,281 but he was also an important player in the Potash Wars. 392 00:22:30,348 --> 00:22:34,985 NARRATOR: Today, California's gunslinging claim jumpers are long gone, 393 00:22:36,021 --> 00:22:37,855 but the riches that drew them here 394 00:22:37,889 --> 00:22:40,057 are still visible from space. 395 00:22:40,992 --> 00:22:43,094 WALTERS: We've all heard of the Gold Rush, 396 00:22:43,161 --> 00:22:45,996 but actually, who's heard of the Borax Rush 397 00:22:46,031 --> 00:22:47,130 or the Potash Rush? 398 00:22:47,132 --> 00:22:50,034 But they're just as important and, in many ways, 399 00:22:50,101 --> 00:22:54,004 more valuable, so actually, this image shows a really, 400 00:22:54,039 --> 00:22:57,441 really vital part of America's history. 401 00:22:59,845 --> 00:23:03,347 NARRATOR: Coming up, Mississippi's monster mystery. 402 00:23:03,415 --> 00:23:06,150 If you wanted to store Tyrannosaurus Rexes, 403 00:23:06,184 --> 00:23:07,885 this is the cage to put them in. 404 00:23:07,919 --> 00:23:10,254 NARRATOR: And the seventh circle of hell. 405 00:23:10,321 --> 00:23:15,226 This history was one of unbelievable savagery. 406 00:23:23,969 --> 00:23:27,037 NARRATOR: June 14th, 2020. 407 00:23:29,341 --> 00:23:31,842 Eyes in the sky scan an industrial complex 408 00:23:31,910 --> 00:23:34,545 north of the town of Iuka, Mississippi. 409 00:23:35,914 --> 00:23:39,216 RUBEN: I'm not seeing any sign of human activity. 410 00:23:39,251 --> 00:23:41,952 It looks like this whole site has been abandoned. 411 00:23:43,989 --> 00:23:45,790 HYMEL: And then right in the center, 412 00:23:45,857 --> 00:23:48,092 you can see a cage, 413 00:23:48,126 --> 00:23:51,962 and it just dwarfs everything else in the area. 414 00:23:52,931 --> 00:23:54,265 WALTERS: If Jurassic Park were real, and you wanted 415 00:23:54,332 --> 00:23:57,768 to store your Tyrannosaurus Rexes somewhere safe, 416 00:23:57,803 --> 00:23:59,637 I think this is the cage to put them in. 417 00:23:59,905 --> 00:24:03,140 NARRATOR: What's more, the monster cage isn't 418 00:24:03,208 --> 00:24:06,310 the only weird structure to be found here. 419 00:24:06,344 --> 00:24:09,079 There's this tall, rectangular building off to 420 00:24:09,147 --> 00:24:11,382 the left -- I mean, really tall. 421 00:24:12,284 --> 00:24:16,086 The building, it looks like it's made of very thick walls, 422 00:24:16,154 --> 00:24:18,055 making us wonder, could this be some kind of 423 00:24:18,089 --> 00:24:20,057 military project? 424 00:24:22,060 --> 00:24:25,396 NARRATOR: Analysts turn to local land records for clues. 425 00:24:27,165 --> 00:24:31,202 The two structures, it transpires, are the legacies of 426 00:24:31,236 --> 00:24:34,638 a catastrophic sequence of errors that have plagued 427 00:24:34,706 --> 00:24:35,906 this town for decades. 428 00:24:35,974 --> 00:24:40,177 What we're looking at in this image is not just one, 429 00:24:40,245 --> 00:24:44,782 but really two of the world's most expensive mistakes. 430 00:24:44,849 --> 00:24:47,017 This site feels absolutely cursed. 431 00:24:47,052 --> 00:24:52,656 NARRATOR: The structures have their origin in the early 1930s 432 00:24:52,757 --> 00:24:55,392 during the horrors of the Great Depression. 433 00:24:57,596 --> 00:24:59,864 With a quarter of people unemployed, 434 00:24:59,866 --> 00:25:02,633 President Roosevelt initiates a plan to help 435 00:25:02,767 --> 00:25:04,502 the ravaged southern states. 436 00:25:07,939 --> 00:25:10,107 ANNOUNCER: This was the plan -- 437 00:25:10,141 --> 00:25:13,377 To chain the river through a series of giant dams. 438 00:25:13,411 --> 00:25:15,613 The idea was to start damming 439 00:25:15,680 --> 00:25:18,182 up the rivers in the Tennessee Valley. 440 00:25:18,216 --> 00:25:20,117 That would both provide energy to 441 00:25:20,151 --> 00:25:23,087 the residents that live there and give jobs. 442 00:25:23,154 --> 00:25:25,022 WALTERS: The idea behind it was great. 443 00:25:25,089 --> 00:25:27,625 But there was a tremendous amount of blowback, because in 444 00:25:27,692 --> 00:25:30,227 order to create the hydro-electric power, 445 00:25:30,295 --> 00:25:32,596 you've got a flood valleys, and doing that, 446 00:25:32,631 --> 00:25:35,766 you're displacing the very poor people you're trying 447 00:25:35,833 --> 00:25:37,301 to help. 448 00:25:38,436 --> 00:25:40,137 NARRATOR: Despite these challenges, 449 00:25:40,171 --> 00:25:43,207 the Tennessee Valley Authority continues to grow, 450 00:25:43,241 --> 00:25:48,212 and by the 1950s, is the biggest energy provider in the country. 451 00:25:50,282 --> 00:25:54,585 It begins constructing coal, gas, and nuclear plants, 452 00:25:54,652 --> 00:25:58,255 with towns like a Iuka vying for the vast amounts of money 453 00:25:58,323 --> 00:25:59,857 they bring in. 454 00:25:59,859 --> 00:26:03,060 RUBEN: The site we see in this image was supposed to be 455 00:26:03,127 --> 00:26:04,828 the location of one of the TVA's 456 00:26:04,863 --> 00:26:08,132 new, gigantic nuclear power plants. 457 00:26:09,301 --> 00:26:13,370 NARRATOR: Work finally begins on the plant in 1978. 458 00:26:16,942 --> 00:26:20,644 Hundreds of millions of dollars pour in, and the base of 459 00:26:20,845 --> 00:26:23,013 the giant cooling tower begins to rise 460 00:26:23,081 --> 00:26:24,982 above the local skyline. 461 00:26:26,217 --> 00:26:29,053 But then, disaster strikes. 462 00:26:30,221 --> 00:26:33,691 Construction was already well underway on this site when 463 00:26:33,758 --> 00:26:35,159 the Three Mile Island 464 00:26:35,226 --> 00:26:37,962 disaster happened, and that was one of the biggest near misses 465 00:26:38,029 --> 00:26:39,196 in nuclear history. 466 00:26:39,230 --> 00:26:41,999 So, the United States goes from this attitude of 467 00:26:42,033 --> 00:26:44,201 nuclear power being the great answer 468 00:26:44,235 --> 00:26:48,305 to it now being this great fear. 469 00:26:48,339 --> 00:26:51,609 NARRATOR: The subsequent drop in demand for nuclear power 470 00:26:51,643 --> 00:26:54,645 forces authorities to pull the plug on the plant, 471 00:26:54,779 --> 00:26:57,982 losing over a billion dollars in the process. 472 00:26:58,917 --> 00:27:00,718 But this mega-sized money pit's 473 00:27:00,752 --> 00:27:04,021 problems are only just beginning. 474 00:27:04,088 --> 00:27:06,190 After the TVA built all their infrastructure 475 00:27:06,224 --> 00:27:09,226 and left, NASA tried to move in. 476 00:27:09,293 --> 00:27:13,097 SILBEY: NASA was impressed by all the existing infrastructure 477 00:27:13,164 --> 00:27:14,665 and thought that they could use it for their own 478 00:27:14,733 --> 00:27:16,967 purposes to build a factory. 479 00:27:17,001 --> 00:27:20,070 ANNOUNCER: Lift off of the 25th space shuttle 480 00:27:20,105 --> 00:27:23,007 mission, and it has cleared the tower. 481 00:27:23,041 --> 00:27:25,609 NARRATOR: NASA is still reeling from 482 00:27:25,644 --> 00:27:28,012 the 1986 Challenger disaster... 483 00:27:28,046 --> 00:27:30,247 OVER RADIO: Challenger, go with throttle up. 484 00:27:30,314 --> 00:27:33,250 when a cataclysmic explosion on 485 00:27:33,317 --> 00:27:36,620 one of its rocket boosters kills all seven crew members. 486 00:27:38,957 --> 00:27:40,891 After the Challenger disaster, 487 00:27:40,958 --> 00:27:45,029 NASA decided to redesign and rebuild the solid fuel rockets, 488 00:27:45,096 --> 00:27:47,598 and that's where this new factory comes in. 489 00:27:47,632 --> 00:27:49,433 These are some of the most 490 00:27:49,500 --> 00:27:52,736 powerful engines mankind has ever made. 491 00:27:52,771 --> 00:27:55,773 These are awesome rockets. 492 00:27:55,840 --> 00:27:59,309 NARRATOR: At liftoff, NASA's twin boosters each 493 00:27:59,377 --> 00:28:03,180 produce over 6.5 million pounds of thrust. 494 00:28:08,586 --> 00:28:12,723 They burn 11,000 pounds of fuel a second, 495 00:28:12,790 --> 00:28:16,894 two million times the rate of the average family car. 496 00:28:16,928 --> 00:28:20,264 RUBEN: That tall building that we see in the image is where 497 00:28:20,331 --> 00:28:21,131 the scientists were going to 498 00:28:21,332 --> 00:28:23,901 turn the liquid fuel into solid fuel, 499 00:28:23,935 --> 00:28:25,769 which is very explosive. 500 00:28:25,804 --> 00:28:29,039 NARRATOR: The space agency also installs labs, 501 00:28:29,074 --> 00:28:32,743 multimillion-dollar computer systems, and brings in hundreds 502 00:28:32,810 --> 00:28:34,611 of new workers. 503 00:28:34,813 --> 00:28:39,583 By 1993, it has completed over 80 percent of its 504 00:28:39,617 --> 00:28:43,754 rocket factory and spent more than a billion dollars. 505 00:28:43,821 --> 00:28:47,991 But then the curse of Iuka strikes again. 506 00:28:48,026 --> 00:28:50,994 RUBEN: Even though NASA wanted to redesign the rocket 507 00:28:51,029 --> 00:28:53,897 boosters, instead, they made minor design changes. 508 00:28:53,965 --> 00:28:56,834 So there was no big design overhaul 509 00:28:56,901 --> 00:28:57,901 of the rocket boosters, 510 00:28:57,969 --> 00:29:01,572 so this site never got completed. 511 00:29:01,639 --> 00:29:04,007 You've got to feel for the folks in the nearby town, 512 00:29:04,042 --> 00:29:05,809 because first of all, 513 00:29:05,844 --> 00:29:07,845 it was this lovely big power station that was gonna 514 00:29:07,912 --> 00:29:09,880 provide jobs, and then that goes. 515 00:29:09,914 --> 00:29:11,348 Then NASA turned up. 516 00:29:11,382 --> 00:29:13,217 They're going to build this lovely, great big factory, 517 00:29:13,251 --> 00:29:16,186 and again, that's abandoned. 518 00:29:16,254 --> 00:29:19,423 NARRATOR: Three decades later, the crumbling structures 519 00:29:19,457 --> 00:29:22,159 revealed from space are all that remain 520 00:29:22,193 --> 00:29:25,596 of these multibillion dollar mistakes. 521 00:29:25,663 --> 00:29:28,432 The area in this image is like a graveyard 522 00:29:28,466 --> 00:29:31,902 of broken promises -- between the Tennessee Valley Authority 523 00:29:31,936 --> 00:29:32,869 and NASA, 524 00:29:32,871 --> 00:29:36,240 they spend more than $4 billion dollars, 525 00:29:36,274 --> 00:29:39,543 and yet, nobody has anything to show for it. 526 00:29:45,216 --> 00:29:48,886 NARRATOR: Coming up, insanity island. 527 00:29:48,953 --> 00:29:52,356 He tried to appoint his own horse as consul 528 00:29:52,423 --> 00:29:53,791 in the Senate. 529 00:29:53,825 --> 00:29:55,926 NARRATOR: And the slayers of the Roman Empire. 530 00:29:55,960 --> 00:29:59,963 Over 600 bodies have been found here and nearby. 531 00:30:07,338 --> 00:30:10,040 NARRATOR: January 1st, 2019. 532 00:30:10,107 --> 00:30:12,042 A satellite approaching 533 00:30:12,109 --> 00:30:15,979 Italy's west coast uncovers a mystery far below. 534 00:30:18,750 --> 00:30:21,819 What I'm looking at is a small island, 535 00:30:21,853 --> 00:30:26,089 but in the middle is what appears to be a very elaborate 536 00:30:26,124 --> 00:30:28,625 structure, sort of horseshoe-shaped. 537 00:30:28,693 --> 00:30:30,194 HUNT: It looks pretty desolate. 538 00:30:30,261 --> 00:30:33,130 There's no other visible sign of life here. 539 00:30:33,865 --> 00:30:35,632 WALTERS: This strikes me as a place where something 540 00:30:35,900 --> 00:30:39,169 quite strange, perhaps even sinister, has happened, 541 00:30:39,204 --> 00:30:43,373 but it doesn't look like it's been used for a very long time. 542 00:30:44,275 --> 00:30:48,612 NARRATOR: The isolated structure sits on the Pontine Islands, 543 00:30:48,679 --> 00:30:51,982 and they have long been a place of dread and terror. 544 00:30:52,016 --> 00:30:56,486 What we know from historical records is that the Romans 545 00:30:56,520 --> 00:31:00,390 used these islands as kind of dumping grounds for 546 00:31:00,425 --> 00:31:03,427 undesirables, prisoners, you name it. 547 00:31:04,963 --> 00:31:06,230 NARRATOR: In Roman times, 548 00:31:06,297 --> 00:31:09,800 the humiliation of exile on the Pontine Islands 549 00:31:09,834 --> 00:31:13,203 was often considered a fate worse than death. 550 00:31:14,339 --> 00:31:19,343 One of the most famous exiles was Agrippina the Younger. 551 00:31:19,377 --> 00:31:22,646 She was the sister of possibly 552 00:31:22,881 --> 00:31:25,215 the most notorious Roman emperor that ever 553 00:31:25,250 --> 00:31:27,184 ruled, Caligula. 554 00:31:27,251 --> 00:31:29,853 WALTERS: Agrippina the Younger took part in what was known as 555 00:31:29,921 --> 00:31:33,357 the Plot of Three Daggers to get her brother murdered. 556 00:31:33,391 --> 00:31:37,361 Now, that plot failed, Agrippina was captured, 557 00:31:37,395 --> 00:31:41,131 and Caligula banished his sister to these islands. 558 00:31:42,133 --> 00:31:45,302 NARRATOR: Agrippina's attempt to murder her brother 559 00:31:45,336 --> 00:31:47,804 takes place in 39 A.D., 560 00:31:47,872 --> 00:31:50,807 two years into Emperor Caligula's rule, 561 00:31:50,875 --> 00:31:53,844 a rule marked by decadence, 562 00:31:53,878 --> 00:31:56,647 mass murder, and carnal deviance. 563 00:31:57,949 --> 00:32:01,585 HORTON: He was often accused of incest and sexual depravity. 564 00:32:01,653 --> 00:32:05,389 But perhaps the most famous incident was when he tried 565 00:32:05,423 --> 00:32:09,192 to appoint his own horse as consul in the Senate. 566 00:32:09,227 --> 00:32:10,994 HUNT: He was mad. 567 00:32:11,029 --> 00:32:15,632 His insanity was notorious. 568 00:32:15,700 --> 00:32:20,971 Could this be a place where Agrippina was imprisoned? 569 00:32:22,140 --> 00:32:24,641 NARRATOR: Historical records reveal that the structure 570 00:32:24,842 --> 00:32:27,611 appears long after the collapse of the Roman Empire. 571 00:32:28,813 --> 00:32:30,147 And it's a relic of 572 00:32:30,181 --> 00:32:33,250 an equally dark period in this country's history. 573 00:32:35,086 --> 00:32:37,721 WALTERS: So what this building is, is a prison. 574 00:32:37,788 --> 00:32:40,257 It's Italy's Alcatraz. 575 00:32:40,324 --> 00:32:44,895 Its history was one of unbelievable savagery. 576 00:32:44,929 --> 00:32:47,764 It became like Dante's Inferno, 577 00:32:47,799 --> 00:32:51,168 with its seven levels of hell. 578 00:32:51,202 --> 00:32:54,304 NARRATOR: The prison's strange shape has its origins 579 00:32:54,339 --> 00:32:57,140 in the festering jails of 18th century 580 00:32:57,208 --> 00:33:00,811 England, where disease and maltreatment kill up to 581 00:33:00,878 --> 00:33:03,080 a quarter of all inmates. 582 00:33:03,147 --> 00:33:07,451 Prisons before the 18th century were never 583 00:33:07,485 --> 00:33:09,019 really properly designed. 584 00:33:09,086 --> 00:33:11,221 They didn't have cells. 585 00:33:11,288 --> 00:33:14,124 The conditions within them was appalling. 586 00:33:14,158 --> 00:33:18,228 But out of that came a movement to 587 00:33:18,295 --> 00:33:23,433 try and create more humane prisons to house convicts. 588 00:33:24,268 --> 00:33:26,636 NARRATOR: A leader of this movement is 589 00:33:26,771 --> 00:33:28,038 the philosopher Jeremy Bentham, 590 00:33:28,072 --> 00:33:32,042 who, in 1785, designs a prison 591 00:33:32,109 --> 00:33:34,711 he hopes will revolutionize the penal system. 592 00:33:34,779 --> 00:33:37,347 He calls it the panopticon. 593 00:33:40,084 --> 00:33:42,252 The whole idea of the panopticon was this incredibly 594 00:33:42,319 --> 00:33:43,820 effective way of 595 00:33:43,855 --> 00:33:46,823 keeping a large prison population under control with 596 00:33:46,858 --> 00:33:48,525 relatively few guards. 597 00:33:49,293 --> 00:33:53,430 NARRATOR: The panopticon's circular layout enables just 598 00:33:53,464 --> 00:33:56,867 a few centrally placed guards to constantly observe 599 00:33:56,934 --> 00:33:58,602 hundreds of prisoners. 600 00:34:00,872 --> 00:34:03,573 What's more, the inmates can't tell 601 00:34:03,608 --> 00:34:04,908 when they're being watched, 602 00:34:04,942 --> 00:34:09,146 which Bentham hopes will force them to behave at all times. 603 00:34:09,213 --> 00:34:13,150 He believed that prisoners should be 604 00:34:13,217 --> 00:34:17,988 under the watchful eye of guards 24-7. 605 00:34:18,022 --> 00:34:21,858 That's exactly what is accomplished in this place. 606 00:34:21,893 --> 00:34:24,594 HORTON: The idea was the prisoners could contemplate 607 00:34:24,629 --> 00:34:27,197 their -- their wickedness, and in that way, 608 00:34:27,231 --> 00:34:30,000 find a route to rehabilitation. 609 00:34:31,669 --> 00:34:34,271 NARRATOR: Inspired by Bentham's vision, 610 00:34:34,305 --> 00:34:37,441 Italian authorities construct the circular island prison 611 00:34:37,508 --> 00:34:39,376 in 1795. 612 00:34:41,012 --> 00:34:42,946 But conditions there soon spiral 613 00:34:42,980 --> 00:34:46,149 into a hellish, violent nightmare. 614 00:34:46,184 --> 00:34:51,088 The guards in this prison became notoriously sadistic. 615 00:34:51,122 --> 00:34:53,123 Prisoners were beaten, often to death, 616 00:34:53,190 --> 00:34:56,126 and because it was this open courtyard, 617 00:34:56,193 --> 00:35:00,097 these beatings were done in public view. 618 00:35:00,131 --> 00:35:02,599 NARRATOR: Instead of improving prisoner behavior, 619 00:35:02,666 --> 00:35:05,102 the fear of constant surveillance 620 00:35:05,136 --> 00:35:07,571 also turns many of them insane. 621 00:35:07,605 --> 00:35:10,907 You've got to imagine the kind of mental impact that's gonna 622 00:35:10,942 --> 00:35:13,977 have on you for -- for months and years, 623 00:35:14,011 --> 00:35:16,913 constantly thinking you're being looked at, never having 624 00:35:16,948 --> 00:35:18,748 a private moment. 625 00:35:18,816 --> 00:35:21,284 It is very, very inhumane. 626 00:35:22,720 --> 00:35:25,222 NARRATOR: In 1860, brewing anger among 627 00:35:25,289 --> 00:35:28,291 the inmates boils over, and they revolt. 628 00:35:29,627 --> 00:35:31,895 After overpowering the few guards, 629 00:35:31,962 --> 00:35:36,032 they take over the island and establish their own republic. 630 00:35:38,503 --> 00:35:44,274 It became an extraordinary little sort of micro nation 631 00:35:44,308 --> 00:35:46,143 run by prisoners, 632 00:35:46,177 --> 00:35:49,179 a kind of prisoner utopia on this tiny, 633 00:35:49,246 --> 00:35:51,314 rocky, barren island. 634 00:35:51,382 --> 00:35:55,252 In 1861, the following year, the Italians storm the island, 635 00:35:55,319 --> 00:35:58,155 take back control, and the short-lived republic is 636 00:35:58,189 --> 00:36:01,825 sadly, in some ways, no more. 637 00:36:01,859 --> 00:36:03,994 NARRATOR: During the 20th century, 638 00:36:04,061 --> 00:36:07,464 fascist dictator Benito Mussolini uses the island 639 00:36:07,531 --> 00:36:11,201 prison to incarcerate his opponents before it finally 640 00:36:11,268 --> 00:36:13,570 closes in 1965. 641 00:36:16,007 --> 00:36:19,943 Today, Italy's Alcatraz is a crumbling monument 642 00:36:20,010 --> 00:36:23,346 to a doomed vision, visible from space. 643 00:36:24,849 --> 00:36:27,317 HORTON: This panopticon prison 644 00:36:27,351 --> 00:36:33,123 was built with lofty ideals of prison reform, 645 00:36:33,157 --> 00:36:36,126 and the deep irony is it's actually ended up 646 00:36:36,160 --> 00:36:37,494 crushing them. 647 00:36:41,265 --> 00:36:42,966 NARRATOR: Coming up, 648 00:36:43,033 --> 00:36:45,168 Hitler's secret witch hunters. 649 00:36:45,236 --> 00:36:50,040 There was a concerted attempt by Nazi Germany to make 650 00:36:50,107 --> 00:36:54,077 this site a part of the history of Nazism. 651 00:37:01,552 --> 00:37:03,320 NARRATOR: July 2020. 652 00:37:04,088 --> 00:37:06,723 A survey plane scanning dense forest in 653 00:37:06,757 --> 00:37:10,727 northern Poland fires laser beams at the canopy, 654 00:37:10,761 --> 00:37:15,899 producing a Lidar image of what lies beneath. 655 00:37:15,966 --> 00:37:19,102 This image doesn't even look like it's the Earth's surface. 656 00:37:19,169 --> 00:37:22,038 It looks more like a moonscape. 657 00:37:24,008 --> 00:37:27,310 It actually looks like diseased or pocked skin. 658 00:37:27,378 --> 00:37:29,946 This is really strange. 659 00:37:29,981 --> 00:37:33,283 NARRATOR: Around 30 of the mystery features scar 660 00:37:33,317 --> 00:37:37,621 the landscape, some more than 100 feet in diameter. 661 00:37:38,856 --> 00:37:42,525 The shadows in this image reveal that a good number 662 00:37:42,559 --> 00:37:45,295 of these circular structures are mounds, 663 00:37:45,329 --> 00:37:48,031 they're raised from the earth. 664 00:37:48,065 --> 00:37:50,233 MORGAN: When you see mound-building like this, 665 00:37:50,268 --> 00:37:54,371 in many cases, it's associated with burial. 666 00:37:56,207 --> 00:37:58,441 NARRATOR: Archaeological records confirm 667 00:37:58,476 --> 00:38:02,112 the image has uncovered a vast cemetery dating back 668 00:38:02,146 --> 00:38:04,014 some 2,000 years. 669 00:38:07,084 --> 00:38:11,187 The people who created this were Goths, and this ancient 670 00:38:11,221 --> 00:38:15,325 cemetery tells us a great deal about what their culture was. 671 00:38:17,295 --> 00:38:20,297 NARRATOR: The Goths were a Germanic people who rose 672 00:38:20,364 --> 00:38:24,034 up against Roman rule during the 4th century A.D. 673 00:38:25,236 --> 00:38:27,270 In 410 A.D., 674 00:38:27,305 --> 00:38:29,739 they capture and loot Rome, 675 00:38:29,774 --> 00:38:31,608 triggering the empire's collapse. 676 00:38:33,878 --> 00:38:36,646 The site in the image was likely used to 677 00:38:36,814 --> 00:38:38,581 inter many of the leaders of 678 00:38:38,649 --> 00:38:40,917 these history-changing warriors. 679 00:38:40,984 --> 00:38:44,220 Over 600 bodies have been found here 680 00:38:44,255 --> 00:38:45,388 and in the barrows nearby. 681 00:38:45,456 --> 00:38:49,659 It's a site of incredible archaeological 682 00:38:49,760 --> 00:38:51,127 and cultural significance. 683 00:38:52,863 --> 00:38:54,664 NARRATOR: Over the following centuries, 684 00:38:54,799 --> 00:38:57,400 Poland's forests claim the Goth tombs, 685 00:38:57,468 --> 00:38:59,202 and the site disappears from 686 00:38:59,269 --> 00:39:01,738 the archaeological record. 687 00:39:01,805 --> 00:39:04,307 But around 100 years ago, 688 00:39:04,342 --> 00:39:08,078 it returns to play a bizarre role in some of the vilest 689 00:39:08,145 --> 00:39:10,246 events in human history. 690 00:39:10,281 --> 00:39:13,783 After the Germans capture and occupy Poland, they declared 691 00:39:13,818 --> 00:39:17,220 this a sight of German national identity. 692 00:39:17,287 --> 00:39:19,823 CHAMBERLAIN: Their archaeologists found that 693 00:39:19,890 --> 00:39:23,660 the stones were arranged in a sun, moon, stars -- 694 00:39:23,728 --> 00:39:25,161 The pattern, it led them to believe that 695 00:39:25,229 --> 00:39:27,564 this was some sort of ancient observatory. 696 00:39:29,166 --> 00:39:32,068 NARRATOR: Hitler is obsessed with Aryanism, 697 00:39:32,103 --> 00:39:36,106 the theory that the Nazis are descended from superior races 698 00:39:36,173 --> 00:39:39,209 and are therefore entitled to rule the world. 699 00:39:41,612 --> 00:39:43,646 By proving the Germanic Goths 700 00:39:43,714 --> 00:39:46,049 could create an advanced solar observatory, 701 00:39:46,116 --> 00:39:52,989 he hopes to show that his evil ideology has legitimate roots. 702 00:39:54,992 --> 00:39:58,728 MORGAN: The Nazis wanted to draw a direct line that connected 703 00:39:58,796 --> 00:40:00,397 modern-day national socialism 704 00:40:00,464 --> 00:40:02,565 to the cultural and religious practices of 705 00:40:02,633 --> 00:40:03,599 early Germans. 706 00:40:04,902 --> 00:40:06,936 NARRATOR: During the Nazis' rise to power, 707 00:40:07,004 --> 00:40:10,206 head of the SS, Heinrich Himmler, also develops 708 00:40:10,274 --> 00:40:12,409 a new religion, 709 00:40:12,476 --> 00:40:15,779 one that adopts the occultic rituals of tribes like 710 00:40:15,813 --> 00:40:17,547 the Goths. 711 00:40:19,817 --> 00:40:22,252 As part of his obsession with the dark arts, 712 00:40:22,286 --> 00:40:25,088 he forms a unit dedicated to witchcraft, 713 00:40:25,155 --> 00:40:28,057 the Hexen-Sonderauftrag. 714 00:40:29,260 --> 00:40:30,994 One of the things that this group does is they 715 00:40:31,028 --> 00:40:33,096 go throughout the records and the archives 716 00:40:33,163 --> 00:40:36,166 in libraries and look at witch trials and burnings. 717 00:40:36,233 --> 00:40:40,003 BELLINGER: One really crazy idea they had was that the historic 718 00:40:40,037 --> 00:40:42,505 witch trials were actually part of 719 00:40:42,573 --> 00:40:46,910 a Jewish, Catholic conspiracy to wipe out the authentic 720 00:40:46,977 --> 00:40:52,282 German faith and the true Germanic origins of society. 721 00:40:53,818 --> 00:40:56,586 NARRATOR: Working in secret, the unit combs through 722 00:40:56,654 --> 00:40:59,122 the records of hundreds of medieval witch trials 723 00:40:59,189 --> 00:41:00,957 and executions. 724 00:41:02,126 --> 00:41:05,128 It's psychotic, but they were seriously 725 00:41:05,195 --> 00:41:06,963 attempting to come up with proof 726 00:41:06,997 --> 00:41:11,267 to advance this false narrative that Jews and early 727 00:41:11,335 --> 00:41:14,204 Christians suppressed ancient Germans. 728 00:41:14,271 --> 00:41:19,209 It's not uncommon for military people to be superstitious. 729 00:41:19,276 --> 00:41:21,444 The Nazis took it to another level, and they tried 730 00:41:21,479 --> 00:41:24,614 to incorporate occult into an advantage on 731 00:41:24,681 --> 00:41:25,682 the battlefield. 732 00:41:27,384 --> 00:41:30,320 NARRATOR: The Nazis go on to use occultic rituals 733 00:41:30,354 --> 00:41:33,223 and beliefs as crazed justification 734 00:41:33,290 --> 00:41:36,025 for the murder of millions. 735 00:41:38,696 --> 00:41:40,830 And the place that helped give rise to 736 00:41:40,898 --> 00:41:46,102 these atrocities can now be revealed from the skies. 737 00:41:48,706 --> 00:41:52,642 There was a concerted attempt to make this site 738 00:41:52,977 --> 00:41:56,546 a part of the history and heritage of Nazism.