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NARRATOR: We have looked for it
deep in the Amazonian jungle...

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we've followed South America's
most dangerous rivers...

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..to the continent's
most remote mountains...

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El Dorado: A lost city,
brimming with riches...

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A place said to be made of gold...

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A place that has inspired

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generations of explorers
and conquerors.

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More than 500 years
after Christopher Columbus

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discovered America,
El Dorado remains one of history's

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most famous and controversial myths.

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Over the centuries,
the myth has evolved,

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and theories on
its location have changed.

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To discover it,
thousands of adventurers have faced

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the most hostile places
in South America.

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FERN RIDDELL: What could be more
logical than a dense, dangerous,

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and almost impenetrable jungle

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to safeguard a legendary
and fabulous treasure?

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NARRATOR: Where do the first
mentions of El Dorado arise?

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And what do they refer to?

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Which civilization
might have had enough wealth

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to build a city of gold?

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- The Muiscas reserved
gold for their gods.

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And since the gods are everywhere,
the Muiscas put gold everywhere

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NARRATOR:
Is there somewhere out there...

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traces of such a city...

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and what clues could help
researchers locate it?

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VIRGINIE GIROD: (speaking in French)

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NARRATOR: To untangle
the truth from the fiction,

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we assembled a team of
five international experts:

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anthropologists,
historians, and archaeologists.

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Together,
they conducted the investigation.

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Thanks to their testimonies,
reconstructions,

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and a methodical exploration
of the places where El Dorado

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was sought, we're going
to walk in the footsteps

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of the first conquistadores who
dared to set out in search of it.

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- Every time
they discover a treasure,

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they're convinced there's
an even bigger one somewhere else.

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- Who knows what else
is buried deep in the Amazon?

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NARRATOR: Fantasy or reality,
an investigation into El Dorado,

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an obsession, and the most
coveted treasures in history.

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- (tense music)

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NARRATOR: El Dorado,
or "The Golden One".

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It's the name given to a place
hidden somewhere in South America

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that's said to be made of gold.

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A mythical city
that gave rise to one of

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the bloodiest
treasure hunts in history.

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- (soldiers yelling)
- (horse whinnies)

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NARRATOR: This legend
originated in 16th-century Colombia.

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Even today, 500 years later,
in Bogota, the country's capital,

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the existence of El Dorado is still
the subject of many theories.

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The famous Gold Museum houses
more than 35,000 gold objects -

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ornaments, necklaces, bracelets -

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all dating from pre-Columbian times,
before Christopher Columbus

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and the first Spanish settlers
arrived in the Americas.

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These precious relics are proof
of the wealth of the people

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that lived in the region
at the time.

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An abundance of gold
that fuelled the legend

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of this mysterious city of gold.

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A place that no-one
has yet managed to locate.

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To investigate its existence,
we have to go back

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to the origins of the myth...

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- (suspenseful music)

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NARRATOR: ..to the time of
the first great maritime expeditions

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of the 15th century,
and one in particular

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launched by the man
who was to become one of

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the greatest explorers in history:
Christopher Columbus.

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- (speaking in French)

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NARRATOR: To secure this patronage,

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Christopher Columbus
used the lure of gold,

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relying on the tales told
by Marco Polo during

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his travels in Asia
at the end of the 13th century.

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- During his visit to Burma,
Marco Polo recounted his fascination

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with the golden pagodas
in Buddhist temples.

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- (dramatic music)

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- Columbus convinced his patrons of
the existence of similar treasures

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to be found on his voyage,
and launched his first expedition

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on August 3rd, 1492.

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NARRATOR: Two months after
his departure, on 12 October 1492,

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Christopher Columbus landed
not in Japan as he had expected,

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but in the Caribbean:
first in the Bahamas, then in Cuba,

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and finally on the island
of Hispaniola, present-day Haiti.

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- (suspenseful music)

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NARRATOR:
He looked for gold immediately,

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but found only a few gold mines
with very limited yields.

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Undaunted he was convinced
that great sources of gold existed,

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he just had to keep looking.

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- Christopher Columbus subscribed
to ancient beliefs that gold,

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like silver or precious stones,

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obeyed specific laws
well known to alchemists.

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Gold was considered a living thing,
and to grow, it depended on the sun.

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So, it was logical to look for gold
in the hottest regions

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of the planet: the intertropical
zones on either side of the equator.

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NARRATOR: The stories told by
Christopher Columbus gave rise

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to what quickly became known as
the "myth of the cities of gold".

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According to the explorer,
these cities must exist,

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and that place must be in America.

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- It wasn't yet El Dorado,
but the "cities of gold"

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Columbus spoke of were a beginning.

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This was the fertile ground for
the seed of the El Dorado myth,

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which, in a few years, would become
an obsession for the conquistadores,

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including Hernan Cortes.

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- (dramatic music)

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NARRATOR: Almost 30 years after
Christopher Columbus' expedition,

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and still on behalf of
the Spanish crown,

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Hernan Cortes set off
in search of new riches

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that were increasingly
coveted in Europe.

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Leaving Cuba in February 1519,
by April he landed in Veracruz

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on the coast of what is now Mexico,

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right in the heart of
Aztec territory,

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one of the most advanced
civilisations in the Americas.

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Its leader was Moctezuma II.

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The Aztec people had occupied
the region for several centuries.

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They built cities with religious
temples and majestic palaces,

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the remains of which
can still be seen today.

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The capital of the empire
was called Tenochtitlan,

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which is now Mexico City.

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Hernan Cortes and his men
arrived there in November 1519.

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- They were welcomed with great pomp
by Emperor Moctezuma the Second,

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who gave them
a tour of his sumptuous palace.

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NARRATOR:
During their visit to the palace,

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the conquistadores were captivated
by one room in particular.

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This episode is recounted
by Bernal Diaz del Castillo,

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a travelling companion
of Hernan Cortes.

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(reads out quote)

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- (dramatic music)

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NARRATOR: It was the first time that
the Spanish had been confronted

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with such a large quantity
of gold in the New World.

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And according to the only existing
accounts of the Spaniards' arrival

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in Aztec territory,
Hernan Cortes and his men

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were soon obsessed with this
treasure of Emperor Moctezuma II.

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- All sources claim that
Moctezuma II graciously offered it

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to Cortes as a sign of goodwill,
peace, or perhaps submission.

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But these accounts come from the
point of view of the conquistadores.

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One thing is certain:
the situation quickly deteriorated.

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- (tense music)

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NARRATOR: While the first contacts
between the Aztecs

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and the Conquistadors were friendly,
curiosity soon gave way

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to mistrust, and war soon followed.

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In the spring of 1521, after
several months of fierce fighting,

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the city of Tenochtitlan
fell to the Spanish invaders,

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precipitating the end
of the Aztec empire.

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- (sombre music)

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NARRATOR: It was a bloody period
during which the booty

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that Hernan Cortes is said
to have recovered simply vanished.

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Even today, the mystery of
this disappearance remains unsolved.

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But the contemporary accounts
of Hernan Cortes' men

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confirmed the certainties
of Christopher Columbus.

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The existence of abundant riches
amassed by Amerindian civilisations

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is no longer in any doubt...

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..and the quest to discover possible
gigantic cities of gold continued.

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After Hernan Cortes' expedition
to the Aztec empire in

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Central America, Francisco Pizarro,
another famous conquistador,

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was taken in by the myth
and began a quest further south.

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Setting out from Panama, in 1532,
he landed in what is now Peru

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and entered Inca territory,

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which was one of the largest
kingdoms in America.

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It stretched over 3,500 kilometres
down the Pacific coast

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and 800 kilometres across
the Andean mountain range.

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Pizarro and his men decided
to carry out a surprise attack

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on the town of Cajamarca,

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one of the largest
Inca cities in the region.

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- (suspenseful music)

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GIROD: (speaking in French)

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- (horse neighs)
- (soldiers yelling)

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- (horse neighs)
- (soldiers yelling)

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GIROD: (speaking in French)

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- (indistinct chatter)

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NARRATOR: The episode is
recounted by the Spanish historian

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Gonzalo Fernandez
de Oviedo in his work

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On the History of
the Conquest of the Americas.

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(reads out quote)

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- According to historian
Gonzalo Fernandez de Oviedo,

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the Inca emperor pledged to deliver
more than six tons of gold

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and twice as much silver.

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For weeks,
precious metals were delivered

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from every corner of the Empire!

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A treasure estimated at
over 350 million euros!

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Pizarro and his men sent a fifth
of the hoard back to Spain

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and split the rest.

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NARRATOR: But in a worrying trend,
the conquistadores

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reneged on their agreement...

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..and ended up murdering Atahualpa.

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- (sombre music)

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NARRATOR: And the treasure
they recover in Cajamarca

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will prove to them
just how rich the region is.

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Their thirst for gold
has not been sated.

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They are now more convinced
that the region could well be home

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to the famous El Dorado,
dreamt of by Christopher Columbus.

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- (dramatic music)

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NARRATOR: In November 1533,
they reached Cuzco,

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one of the oldest Inca cities,

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located in the south
of present-day Peru.

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- Once again, Pizarro and his men
were struck by the riches of

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the Incas, especially the literally
dazzling Temple of the Sun.

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The most sacred site in the empire,
dedicated to the Sun God Inti,

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was considered to be
the centre of the world!

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The temple is part of a larger
religious complex called

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the Qorikancha, which in Quechua,
the language of the Incas,

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means "enclosure of gold".

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NARRATOR: The walls of the
Qorikancha were adorned with

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a gold cornice, and the interior was
said to be studded with emeralds.

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In this sanctuary dedicated
to the greatest Incan divinities,

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the buildings glistened
with a thousand lights.

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Their walls, both inside and out,

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were covered with
700 sheets of gold.

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A large gold disc
was centrally located

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and reflected the sun's rays.

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But the temple also contained
something even more special:

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a jewel-encrusted gold statue,
the Punchao.

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- The Punchao,
which can mean "daylight" or "dawn",

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was one of the most
important Inca idols.

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It represents their supreme deity,
the sun god Inti.

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From his royal headband
stream rays of sunlight,

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and from his body, lions symbolise
humanity, the world of the living,

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and snakes symbolize the afterlife,
the world of the dead.

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NARRATOR: Inside the Qorikancha,

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a sumptuous garden
was dedicated to the god Inti.

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Everything was made
of gold and silver.

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There were sculptures of llamas,
jaguars, monkeys, and birds.

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There were jars
encrusted with precious stones,

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all set in the middle
of a cornfield.

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BELLINGER: Part of this
fabulous treasure had already

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been stripped to buy the freedom
of the Inca emperor Atahualpa.

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- (tense music)

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BELLINGER: When Pizarro
and his men arrived in Cuzco,

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they plundered what remained,

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and desecrated the mummies
of the Inca emperors.

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- (tense music)

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NARRATOR: The capture of Cuzco
by the Spanish was one of the events

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that precipitated
the fall of the Inca empire.

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Peru's gold reserves,
plundered by the conquistadores,

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were soon exhausted.

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And it was around this same time
that a new legend

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began to circulate
to the north of the Inca territory,

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among the conquistadors
stationed in Quito,

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00:17:13,760 --> 00:17:16,080
the capital of what is now Ecuador.

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00:17:16,240 --> 00:17:20,160
In his book, the historian
Gonzalo Fernandez de Oviedo

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00:17:20,320 --> 00:17:23,760
recounts that the conquistadors
had heard that in the dense forests

239
00:17:23,920 --> 00:17:26,760
around Bogota,
in what is now Colombia,

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00:17:26,920 --> 00:17:29,120
there was a man called "El Dorado".

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00:17:31,360 --> 00:17:35,720
"The Golden One", a king who was
permanently covered in gold.

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00:17:35,880 --> 00:17:37,280
- (dramatic music)

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00:17:46,720 --> 00:17:48,880
NARRATOR: (reads out quote)

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00:18:30,760 --> 00:18:32,560
- (dramatic music)

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00:18:32,720 --> 00:18:35,880
NARRATOR: A golden king with such
riches that he could cover himself

246
00:18:36,040 --> 00:18:37,880
in gold every morning.

247
00:18:38,040 --> 00:18:42,320
At the time, the legend was enough
to make the conquistadors dream,

248
00:18:42,480 --> 00:18:46,400
and again, they decided to launch
an expedition to find this land

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00:18:46,560 --> 00:18:49,440
and this city of gold
that still evaded them.

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00:18:49,600 --> 00:18:52,120
- (dramatic music)

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00:18:58,000 --> 00:19:01,080
NARRATOR:
The expedition was launched in 1536.

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00:19:01,240 --> 00:19:04,160
It was led by
Gonzalo Jimenez de Quesada.

253
00:19:04,320 --> 00:19:06,120
From the Atlantic coast of Colombia,

254
00:19:06,280 --> 00:19:09,680
he set off up the Magdalena River
towards the interior,

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00:19:09,840 --> 00:19:14,480
accompanied by around 800 men
and 3,500 indigenous people.

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00:19:14,640 --> 00:19:16,280
- (birdsong)
- (suspenseful music)

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00:19:23,160 --> 00:19:27,280
McMAHON: A swampy area
seriously hindered their progress

258
00:19:27,440 --> 00:19:29,680
and the expedition
soon turned tragic.

259
00:19:29,840 --> 00:19:32,600
The torrential rains
made the food rot,

260
00:19:32,760 --> 00:19:36,680
and Quesada and his men were
reduced to eating their horses,

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00:19:36,840 --> 00:19:40,200
and then the corpses
of starving natives!

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00:19:40,360 --> 00:19:42,000
- (dramatic music)

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00:19:44,600 --> 00:19:48,960
NARRATOR: One year later,
only 179 of the 800 Spaniards

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00:19:49,120 --> 00:19:53,560
involved in the expedition managed
to reach the Colombian highlands

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00:19:53,720 --> 00:19:55,400
near present-day Bogota.

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00:19:55,560 --> 00:19:59,200
The survivors entered a territory
inhabited by the Chibchas,

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00:19:59,360 --> 00:20:01,240
also known as Muiscas,

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00:20:01,400 --> 00:20:04,160
a region where gold
seems to flow freely.

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00:20:06,720 --> 00:20:09,000
- (dramatic music)

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00:20:14,480 --> 00:20:16,800
BELLINGER:
The Muiscas were a confederation of

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00:20:16,960 --> 00:20:19,880
pre-Columbian tribes
living in central Colombia,

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00:20:20,040 --> 00:20:23,200
on the eastern branch
of the Andes Mountain range.

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00:20:23,360 --> 00:20:27,480
Far less well known than the Aztec,
Maya, or Inca civilizations,

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00:20:27,640 --> 00:20:31,760
the Muiscas were nevertheless
a very prosperous civilization.

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00:20:31,920 --> 00:20:34,760
For almost 1,000 years,
they flourished between

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00:20:34,920 --> 00:20:38,040
the 7th and 17th centuries CE.

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00:20:38,200 --> 00:20:40,160
- (dramatic music)

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00:20:41,880 --> 00:20:44,640
BELLINGER: For the Muiscas,
gold wasn't a currency.

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00:20:44,800 --> 00:20:49,480
It had no economic value,
only religious significance.

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00:20:49,640 --> 00:20:54,160
Gold symbolized the sun,
fertility and power.

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00:20:54,320 --> 00:20:57,480
The Muiscas reserved
gold for their gods.

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00:20:57,640 --> 00:20:59,720
It was used as an offering.

283
00:20:59,880 --> 00:21:04,480
And since the gods are everywhere,
the Muiscas put gold everywhere,

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00:21:04,640 --> 00:21:08,560
in countless sanctuaries and even
in the homes of modest families.

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00:21:08,720 --> 00:21:11,760
This astounded the conquistadors,

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00:21:11,920 --> 00:21:16,840
who assumed the Muiscas
had access to vast stores of it.

287
00:21:18,240 --> 00:21:20,000
- (tense music)

288
00:21:20,160 --> 00:21:22,600
NARRATOR: An object found in 1969

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00:21:22,760 --> 00:21:25,240
and preserved in
Bogota's Gold Museum

290
00:21:25,400 --> 00:21:29,040
seems to make the link with
the legend of the famous El Dorado,

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00:21:29,200 --> 00:21:32,000
the golden king sought
by the conquistadors.

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00:21:34,000 --> 00:21:37,080
This unique piece has been dubbed
"the Muisca raft".

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00:21:41,040 --> 00:21:44,200
- This artefact, made between
the 11th and 16th centuries,

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00:21:44,360 --> 00:21:46,640
is a true work of art,
probably requiring

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00:21:46,800 --> 00:21:48,480
long and painstaking work.

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00:21:49,480 --> 00:21:53,000
The object has no joints;
everything has been melted together.

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00:21:53,160 --> 00:21:56,720
The gold, copper, and silver alloy
is so masterful that

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00:21:56,880 --> 00:21:59,000
they were able
to obtain different colours.

299
00:21:59,160 --> 00:22:02,400
A closer look reveals 11 figures

300
00:22:02,560 --> 00:22:04,520
standing on what
appears to be a raft,

301
00:22:04,680 --> 00:22:06,160
hence the name of this work.

302
00:22:06,320 --> 00:22:09,120
The most important figure
is in the centre.

303
00:22:09,280 --> 00:22:11,960
Clearly taller,
and wearing elaborate jewellery,

304
00:22:12,120 --> 00:22:14,080
the others seem to be his entourage.

305
00:22:14,240 --> 00:22:16,800
He is certainly a cacique,
the tribal chief.

306
00:22:24,880 --> 00:22:27,040
NARRATOR: On their arrival
in Muisca territory,

307
00:22:27,200 --> 00:22:30,760
the conquistadors also learned
of the existence of a ritual,

308
00:22:30,920 --> 00:22:33,880
some details of which seem
to correspond to the accounts given

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00:22:34,040 --> 00:22:38,200
in Gonzalo Fernandez de Oviedo's
book on the Golden King.

310
00:22:40,600 --> 00:22:43,720
- (dramatic music)

311
00:22:43,880 --> 00:22:48,160
- Each time a new cacique,
or a tribal chief, came to power,

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00:22:48,320 --> 00:22:52,560
an enthronement ritual took place
at dawn on Lake Guatavita,

313
00:22:52,720 --> 00:22:55,280
some 60 km north of the capital.

314
00:22:58,200 --> 00:23:00,800
NARRATOR: This ceremony
is recounted in detail by

315
00:23:00,960 --> 00:23:05,080
the 17th Century Spanish chronicler
Juan Rodríguez Freyle,

316
00:23:05,240 --> 00:23:08,240
who lived in the Bogota region
for several years.

317
00:23:09,200 --> 00:23:10,920
(reads out quote)

318
00:23:33,680 --> 00:23:35,400
- (tense music)

319
00:23:36,880 --> 00:23:39,760
BELLINGER: The tribal chief
would take his place on a raft,

320
00:23:39,920 --> 00:23:42,240
escorted by his greatest warriors.

321
00:23:42,400 --> 00:23:45,520
And when they reached
the middle of the lake, at sunrise,

322
00:23:45,680 --> 00:23:50,240
and light illuminated
his golden body, he would plunge in,

323
00:23:50,400 --> 00:23:52,880
while offerings to this
water dwelling god

324
00:23:53,040 --> 00:23:57,320
were thrown in after him,
including large quantities of gold!

325
00:24:05,040 --> 00:24:07,800
NARRATOR: Could El Dorado
be a man and not a place?

326
00:24:07,960 --> 00:24:11,120
Could the chief of the Muisca tribe
represented on the raft

327
00:24:11,280 --> 00:24:12,560
be the "Gilded One"?

328
00:24:12,720 --> 00:24:15,080
Is the ritual practised
on Lake Guatavita

329
00:24:15,240 --> 00:24:16,920
the inspiration for El Dorado?

330
00:24:17,080 --> 00:24:19,680
Despite the similarities
between the two stories,

331
00:24:19,840 --> 00:24:22,440
it is still impossible
to say for sure.

332
00:24:24,640 --> 00:24:27,120
But at the time,
these stories of men covered in gold

333
00:24:27,280 --> 00:24:31,240
aroused the curiosity
of the greedy conquistadors.

334
00:24:31,400 --> 00:24:34,680
They tried to dig up the bottom of
the lake in search of the treasures

335
00:24:34,840 --> 00:24:38,560
that had been thrown into the water
during the Muisca's ceremonies.

336
00:24:42,040 --> 00:24:43,440
GIROD: (speaking in French)

337
00:25:15,360 --> 00:25:18,680
NARRATOR: Lake Guatavita
lies at the heart of a crater.

338
00:25:18,840 --> 00:25:23,960
It measures 800 metres in diameter,
and in places is 50 metres deep.

339
00:25:26,400 --> 00:25:29,600
To drain it, Sepulveda decided
to break through the ridge

340
00:25:29,760 --> 00:25:32,560
surrounding the lake to allow
the water to flow naturally

341
00:25:32,720 --> 00:25:35,760
into a canal built
into the side of the mountain.

342
00:25:38,360 --> 00:25:42,480
The work took over 10 years,
and it seems to be working.

343
00:25:45,400 --> 00:25:48,880
As the water level drops,
gold and emeralds appear.

344
00:25:49,040 --> 00:25:50,840
- (dramatic music)

345
00:25:54,800 --> 00:25:58,600
McMAHON: Sepulveda is convinced
the lake hides huge treasure.

346
00:25:58,760 --> 00:26:02,400
But just as the workmen reach
a depth of only seven metres,

347
00:26:02,560 --> 00:26:06,080
disaster strikes.
The walls of the canal give way

348
00:26:06,240 --> 00:26:09,360
under the pressure of the water,
which rushes down the slope

349
00:26:09,520 --> 00:26:11,760
swallowing everything in its path.

350
00:26:16,400 --> 00:26:18,920
Hundreds of Muisca workers drown.

351
00:26:24,000 --> 00:26:27,640
NARRATOR: The remains of this tragic
episode can still be seen today

352
00:26:27,800 --> 00:26:30,760
in a hollow on the ridge
surrounding the lake.

353
00:26:42,280 --> 00:26:45,080
Further attempts were made
to drain the lake up until

354
00:26:45,240 --> 00:26:47,960
the middle of the 20th century,
but to no avail.

355
00:26:49,680 --> 00:26:52,360
But for the first Spaniards
that arrived in the region,

356
00:26:52,520 --> 00:26:55,800
the ritual practised
on Lake Guatavita was proof that

357
00:26:55,960 --> 00:26:58,520
the Muiscas' gold resources
were immense...

358
00:26:59,560 --> 00:27:01,440
..inexhaustible even.

359
00:27:03,560 --> 00:27:05,840
And they were determined
to plunder it all.

360
00:27:08,200 --> 00:27:12,640
RIDDELL: Gonzalo Jimenez de Quesada
continued explore Muisca territory

361
00:27:12,800 --> 00:27:15,320
and made two record-breaking finds.

362
00:27:16,600 --> 00:27:19,000
NARRATOR: In the northern part
of the Muisca's territory,

363
00:27:19,160 --> 00:27:22,280
Gonzalo Jimenez de Quesada
managed to steal

364
00:27:22,440 --> 00:27:25,280
4.6 tonnes of gold
from a local chief.

365
00:27:25,440 --> 00:27:30,720
Shortly afterwards, in Tunja,
they seized 190,000 gold pesos

366
00:27:30,880 --> 00:27:36,360
and almost 2,000 emeralds,
worth 38 million euros today!

367
00:27:38,960 --> 00:27:41,560
McMAHON: But that's still
not enough for the conquistadors.

368
00:27:41,720 --> 00:27:44,120
Every time they discover a treasure,

369
00:27:44,280 --> 00:27:47,480
they're convinced there's
an even bigger one somewhere else.

370
00:27:47,640 --> 00:27:49,960
- (tense music)

371
00:27:50,960 --> 00:27:54,640
McMAHON: When the region's
great Muisca chief refuses to reveal

372
00:27:54,800 --> 00:27:58,840
the source of his people's gold,
Quesada tortures him to death.

373
00:28:03,400 --> 00:28:05,800
- Given the abundance of gold,
the conquistadores were convinced

374
00:28:05,960 --> 00:28:07,840
that there were
gold mines in the area.

375
00:28:09,040 --> 00:28:11,160
And they wouldn't take no
for an answer.

376
00:28:11,320 --> 00:28:13,320
- (eerie music)

377
00:28:19,160 --> 00:28:22,320
- In the space of a few decades,
the conquistadors' insatiable quest

378
00:28:22,480 --> 00:28:25,400
for wealth brought
this civilization to its knees.

379
00:28:27,640 --> 00:28:29,920
In addition to pillaging,
massacring, and raping,

380
00:28:30,080 --> 00:28:33,440
they imported diseases to which
the Muiscas had no natural immunity.

381
00:28:33,600 --> 00:28:35,560
They tragically died
in the thousands.

382
00:28:38,880 --> 00:28:41,280
- (insects chirping)
- (eerie music)

383
00:28:44,960 --> 00:28:47,800
NARRATOR: And despite the sacrifices
and years of searching,

384
00:28:47,960 --> 00:28:50,840
the conquistadors never found
the gold mines from which

385
00:28:51,000 --> 00:28:53,800
the riches of the Muiscas
were extracted.

386
00:28:55,040 --> 00:28:56,760
There was a simple reason for this:

387
00:28:56,920 --> 00:28:58,720
the gold didn't come
from the region.

388
00:29:03,320 --> 00:29:05,320
ALTAWEEL: But there were
no gold mines to be found

389
00:29:05,480 --> 00:29:07,800
because the Muiscas
didn't have one.

390
00:29:07,960 --> 00:29:10,760
The gold had been traded
for their salt, their real treasure.

391
00:29:10,920 --> 00:29:12,520
- (dramatic music)

392
00:29:23,680 --> 00:29:26,960
ALTAWEEL: You can live without gold,
but not without salt.

393
00:29:27,120 --> 00:29:28,520
The Muiscas had a monopoly on it,

394
00:29:28,680 --> 00:29:31,240
exchanging it for gold
to honour their gods.

395
00:29:38,720 --> 00:29:41,360
- (tense music)

396
00:29:41,520 --> 00:29:45,360
NARRATOR: The conquistadores did not
find El Dorado in Muisca territory.

397
00:29:45,520 --> 00:29:47,720
But the abundance of riches
they plundered from there

398
00:29:47,880 --> 00:29:51,880
would spread to
all the colonists in South America.

399
00:29:56,320 --> 00:29:57,720
GIROD: (speaking in French)

400
00:30:12,640 --> 00:30:15,640
NARRATOR: The Spanish then turned
their attention to another region

401
00:30:15,800 --> 00:30:17,520
west of the Pacific coast.

402
00:30:19,520 --> 00:30:23,160
A previously unexplored territory
which could also be full of

403
00:30:23,320 --> 00:30:28,080
unsuspected riches, and perhaps
home to the famous El Dorado

404
00:30:28,240 --> 00:30:30,600
that everyone hopes to discover.

405
00:30:37,080 --> 00:30:42,840
In February 1541, a mission led by
the explorer Francisco de Orellana

406
00:30:43,000 --> 00:30:46,400
set off from Quito towards
the interior of the continent.

407
00:30:46,560 --> 00:30:50,160
The men managed to cross
the Andes amidst extreme conditions

408
00:30:50,320 --> 00:30:52,200
and reach the Napo river.

409
00:30:53,760 --> 00:30:55,400
- (tense music)

410
00:30:59,640 --> 00:31:01,640
NARRATOR: But while
many members of the expedition

411
00:31:01,800 --> 00:31:04,600
died during the journey,
Orellana decided to continue

412
00:31:04,760 --> 00:31:07,360
his quest to trace
the river's source.

413
00:31:10,440 --> 00:31:14,080
After several long weeks,
he and 57 of his men

414
00:31:14,240 --> 00:31:18,400
came upon an immense river
which would later be christened...

415
00:31:18,560 --> 00:31:20,520
the Amazon.

416
00:31:22,240 --> 00:31:24,520
- (tense music)

417
00:31:24,680 --> 00:31:27,960
NARRATOR: Their journey was
to continue for many long months,

418
00:31:28,120 --> 00:31:31,880
but these gold hungry adventurers
managed to cross this hostile

419
00:31:32,040 --> 00:31:34,760
and totally unknown environment.

420
00:31:34,920 --> 00:31:39,480
After travelling 4,800 kilometres,
the few remaining survivors

421
00:31:39,640 --> 00:31:44,600
finally reached the Atlantic Ocean
on the 24th of August 1542.

422
00:31:46,000 --> 00:31:49,040
They became the first Europeans
to traverse the South American

423
00:31:49,200 --> 00:31:50,960
continent from west to east.

424
00:31:51,120 --> 00:31:54,520
The lure of gold was proving
a powerful motivator.

425
00:31:56,240 --> 00:31:59,720
It was a feat that raised new hopes
about the other cities of gold

426
00:31:59,880 --> 00:32:01,840
that had not yet been located.

427
00:32:02,000 --> 00:32:05,800
When Francisco de Orellana
returned from his expedition,

428
00:32:05,960 --> 00:32:10,040
he told of an incredible discovery
he had made during his journey.

429
00:32:12,120 --> 00:32:14,040
McMAHON: In the heart
of the Amazon rainforest,

430
00:32:14,200 --> 00:32:17,320
Orellana claims to have
come across a population that

431
00:32:17,480 --> 00:32:21,840
lived in large, fortified cities,
and practiced agriculture.

432
00:32:23,320 --> 00:32:25,800
His testimony was
corroborated a few years later

433
00:32:25,960 --> 00:32:29,600
by the Brasiles,
Indians from Brazil who travelled in

434
00:32:29,760 --> 00:32:32,280
the opposite direction,
from east to west.

435
00:32:32,440 --> 00:32:35,560
During their journey,
they claimed to have encountered

436
00:32:35,720 --> 00:32:38,880
large settlements
on the shores of a lake

437
00:32:39,040 --> 00:32:41,920
called the "Land of the Omaguas".

438
00:32:42,080 --> 00:32:46,200
Its inhabitants were highly skilled
in working precious metals,

439
00:32:46,360 --> 00:32:48,760
which they exchanged
for common tools.

440
00:32:48,920 --> 00:32:51,480
- (insects chirping)
- (birdsong)

441
00:32:51,640 --> 00:32:53,720
RIDDELL:
Even then, stories of the Amazon

442
00:32:53,880 --> 00:32:56,480
fascinated and frightened us.

443
00:32:56,640 --> 00:32:59,720
But for explorers,
it all made sense.

444
00:32:59,880 --> 00:33:03,640
What could be more logical
than a dense, dangerous,

445
00:33:03,800 --> 00:33:05,920
and almost impenetrable jungle

446
00:33:06,080 --> 00:33:09,040
to safeguard a legendary
and fabulous treasure?

447
00:33:12,400 --> 00:33:16,320
NARRATOR: The Amazon rainforest
quickly became a new obsession.

448
00:33:16,480 --> 00:33:20,440
The Spanish settlers were prepared
to do anything to return

449
00:33:20,600 --> 00:33:23,040
and discover whether
the land of the Omaguas

450
00:33:23,200 --> 00:33:25,760
could be the El Dorado
they had been looking for.

451
00:33:25,920 --> 00:33:28,040
- (dramatic music)

452
00:33:32,960 --> 00:33:34,440
GIROD: (speaking in French)

453
00:34:06,800 --> 00:34:10,000
NARRATOR: The expedition
was made up of 300 conquistadors,

454
00:34:10,160 --> 00:34:13,200
hundreds of Indians,
and several dozen slaves.

455
00:34:14,400 --> 00:34:17,000
McMAHON: After building
boats to sail upriver,

456
00:34:17,160 --> 00:34:20,880
Governor Ursua and his men
embarked on the Rio Maranon

457
00:34:21,040 --> 00:34:24,400
on September 26th, 1560.

458
00:34:24,560 --> 00:34:26,280
But trouble followed.

459
00:34:27,480 --> 00:34:30,160
Ursua was authoritarian,
to say the least,

460
00:34:30,320 --> 00:34:33,920
ignored the opinions of his men,
worked them mercilessly...

461
00:34:34,080 --> 00:34:36,920
So, trouble was definitely brewing.

462
00:34:37,080 --> 00:34:38,760
- (tense music)

463
00:34:41,360 --> 00:34:45,120
NARRATOR: Murders between
companions, lost boats, mutiny...

464
00:34:45,280 --> 00:34:47,600
In the heart of
the Amazon rainforest,

465
00:34:47,760 --> 00:34:50,680
the expedition
quickly turns into a fiasco.

466
00:34:52,760 --> 00:34:56,280
Governor Pedro de Ursua
is murdered by his own men,

467
00:34:56,440 --> 00:34:58,360
who end up killing each other.

468
00:35:00,960 --> 00:35:03,840
And not a single discovery
will be recorded during the course

469
00:35:04,000 --> 00:35:07,480
of the adventure. The quest
for El Dorado will continue

470
00:35:07,640 --> 00:35:10,240
the darkest passions
of the conquistadors.

471
00:35:10,400 --> 00:35:12,040
- (dramatic music)

472
00:35:13,560 --> 00:35:16,640
NARRATOR: After searching for
El Dorado in Aztec territory,

473
00:35:16,800 --> 00:35:18,800
within the vast Inca empire,

474
00:35:18,960 --> 00:35:23,400
on the high plateaux of Colombia
occupied by the Muisca Indians,

475
00:35:23,560 --> 00:35:27,440
or in the heart of the Amazon
rainforest among the Omaguas,

476
00:35:27,600 --> 00:35:31,360
European adventurers now turned
their attention to another region

477
00:35:31,520 --> 00:35:35,560
that was yet to give up all
its secrets: the Guianan Plateau.

478
00:35:35,720 --> 00:35:40,760
This immense area covers western
Venezuela and the territories

479
00:35:40,920 --> 00:35:45,040
that would later become Guyana,
Suriname, and French Guiana.

480
00:35:46,080 --> 00:35:50,120
In the heart of this area flows
the Orinoco, an immense river,

481
00:35:50,280 --> 00:35:53,200
rising in what is now
the Venezuelan rainforest

482
00:35:53,360 --> 00:35:55,520
and emptying
into the Atlantic Ocean.

483
00:35:55,680 --> 00:35:57,720
- (dramatic music)

484
00:36:02,680 --> 00:36:04,560
GIROD: (speaking in French)

485
00:36:22,960 --> 00:36:25,040
- (tense music)

486
00:36:25,200 --> 00:36:28,760
NARRATOR: It was now the turn of
an Englishman, Sir Walter Raleigh,

487
00:36:28,920 --> 00:36:32,000
who became one of the most fervent
supporters of the theory

488
00:36:32,160 --> 00:36:34,680
that El Dorado
was to be found in the region.

489
00:36:37,360 --> 00:36:42,000
On his return from his first
expedition to the Americas in 1595,

490
00:36:42,160 --> 00:36:45,480
he wrote a book with
an edifying title: The Discovery

491
00:36:45,640 --> 00:36:50,120
of the Great, Rich and Beautiful
Empire of Guyana, With a Report

492
00:36:50,280 --> 00:36:54,840
of the Great Gold City of Manoa,
Which the Spaniards call El Dorado.

493
00:36:55,000 --> 00:36:58,200
In it, Walter Raleigh
accurately described everything

494
00:36:58,360 --> 00:37:00,960
he had heard about
the region during his trip.

495
00:37:01,120 --> 00:37:03,200
(reads out quote)

496
00:37:41,160 --> 00:37:43,680
Over the pages,
the English explorer tells,

497
00:37:43,840 --> 00:37:47,000
with great conviction, of the riches
to be found in the region.

498
00:37:47,160 --> 00:37:50,480
Like many before him, he needed
to convince the British crown

499
00:37:50,640 --> 00:37:53,520
to entrust him with
the mission of discovering Manoa

500
00:37:53,680 --> 00:37:55,640
and the lake called Parime,

501
00:37:55,800 --> 00:37:58,400
around which
El Dorado is said to lie.

502
00:38:02,240 --> 00:38:04,320
And by fanning the flames of greed,

503
00:38:04,480 --> 00:38:07,320
Sir Walter Raleigh
will achieve his goal.

504
00:38:09,960 --> 00:38:12,640
BELLINGER: In 1616,
the Crown of England commissioned

505
00:38:12,800 --> 00:38:15,720
Walter Raleigh
to explore the Orinoco River,

506
00:38:15,880 --> 00:38:19,400
between Venezuela and Guyana,
in search of gold.

507
00:38:19,560 --> 00:38:22,440
By now, the Spanish attempts
to find El Dorado

508
00:38:22,600 --> 00:38:25,680
were well known in England,
and interest in the resources

509
00:38:25,840 --> 00:38:28,240
of the American continent
was growing.

510
00:38:28,400 --> 00:38:32,880
But Raleigh was warned
not to provoke a war with Spain.

511
00:38:33,040 --> 00:38:34,560
- (tense music)

512
00:38:35,680 --> 00:38:38,320
NARRATOR:
On the 7th of November 1617,

513
00:38:38,480 --> 00:38:42,600
the British explorer landed
on the island of Trinidad in search

514
00:38:42,760 --> 00:38:46,040
of the gold he had promised to bring
back to the King of England.

515
00:38:46,200 --> 00:38:48,880
But the expedition
was to be a total failure.

516
00:38:49,040 --> 00:38:51,840
Not only did Walter Raleigh
make no discoveries,

517
00:38:52,000 --> 00:38:56,200
but his expedition sparked off a
conflict with the Spanish colonists.

518
00:38:56,360 --> 00:38:59,800
He was forced to return to England,
where he was arrested

519
00:38:59,960 --> 00:39:03,600
and beheaded
on the 29th of October 1618.

520
00:39:05,640 --> 00:39:08,160
BELLINGER:
Paradoxically, despite his failures,

521
00:39:08,320 --> 00:39:12,480
Walter Raleigh helped to burnish
the European notion of El Dorado,

522
00:39:12,640 --> 00:39:16,160
even though his was the last
great expedition to look for it.

523
00:39:16,320 --> 00:39:20,280
All that remains is the legend
which, like a chimera,

524
00:39:20,440 --> 00:39:23,720
evolves and sometimes changes
name and location,

525
00:39:23,880 --> 00:39:26,800
merging with other
legendary cities of gold.

526
00:39:28,440 --> 00:39:30,320
- (dramatic music)

527
00:39:30,480 --> 00:39:33,200
NARRATOR: In the 18th century,
reason and rationality

528
00:39:33,360 --> 00:39:35,360
overtook fantasy and myth.

529
00:39:35,520 --> 00:39:38,600
The conquistadores gave way
to Enlightenment scientists

530
00:39:38,760 --> 00:39:40,760
looking for facts and evidence.

531
00:39:40,920 --> 00:39:43,880
Among them
was Charles Marie de la Condamine,

532
00:39:44,040 --> 00:39:46,880
a French encyclopaedist
and astronomer.

533
00:39:49,080 --> 00:39:51,600
ALTAWEEL: In 1743, de la Condamine

534
00:39:51,760 --> 00:39:54,920
took part in a major scientific
expedition to the Amazon equator

535
00:39:55,080 --> 00:39:56,880
to determine whether the earth was

536
00:39:57,040 --> 00:39:59,200
perfectly spherical
or flattened at the poles.

537
00:39:59,360 --> 00:40:01,400
His account would become
a veritable goldmine

538
00:40:01,560 --> 00:40:03,840
of information on the region.

539
00:40:06,560 --> 00:40:09,880
NARRATOR: On his return,
Charles Marie de la Condamine

540
00:40:10,040 --> 00:40:13,560
published details of the discoveries
made during his mission.

541
00:40:16,400 --> 00:40:22,080
Zoology, botany, medicine,
hydrography and astronomy...

542
00:40:24,360 --> 00:40:27,160
..the pages are packed
with information on the area.

543
00:40:28,240 --> 00:40:31,800
He was also one of the very first
to survey the Amazon River

544
00:40:31,960 --> 00:40:35,360
and its tributaries,
but even he wasn't immune to myth

545
00:40:35,520 --> 00:40:38,280
and included an investigation
on where the famous

546
00:40:38,440 --> 00:40:40,640
El Dorado might be hiding.

547
00:40:41,640 --> 00:40:43,520
(reads out quote)

548
00:41:01,080 --> 00:41:03,400
In his book,
the French scientist mentions

549
00:41:03,560 --> 00:41:07,040
the existence of an Amazonian tribe
called the Manaos,

550
00:41:07,200 --> 00:41:10,840
who extracted gold from a river
called the Yquiari,

551
00:41:11,000 --> 00:41:14,680
and who lived in a region where
there was a lake called Para-hi.

552
00:41:17,280 --> 00:41:19,080
(reads out quote)

553
00:41:40,120 --> 00:41:44,120
While Charles Marie de la Condamine
does not state with certainty

554
00:41:44,280 --> 00:41:47,480
that El Dorado is just a myth,
he does make it clear that

555
00:41:47,640 --> 00:41:50,280
the information that spread
among the Conquistadores

556
00:41:50,440 --> 00:41:54,280
may have been distorted,
and that the golden city of Manoa

557
00:41:54,440 --> 00:41:58,400
and Lake Parime may in fact
never have existed.

558
00:42:00,400 --> 00:42:02,320
- (suspenseful music)

559
00:42:04,800 --> 00:42:09,200
RIDDELL: In his view, El Dorado
was the product of European greed

560
00:42:09,360 --> 00:42:12,960
combined with the mischief of
the Amazon's indigenous peoples,

561
00:42:13,120 --> 00:42:17,160
who, to avoid being massacred,
sometimes led the Europeans

562
00:42:17,320 --> 00:42:18,840
on a nice little boat trip,

563
00:42:19,000 --> 00:42:21,920
dangling the promise of
El Dorado in front of them.

564
00:42:26,640 --> 00:42:29,240
NARRATOR: Despite this age
of reason, and the scepticism

565
00:42:29,400 --> 00:42:32,240
of scientists of
an El Dorado teeming with riches,

566
00:42:32,400 --> 00:42:35,200
the thirst for gold
only continued to grow

567
00:42:35,360 --> 00:42:38,120
and soon spread
throughout the Americas.

568
00:42:45,400 --> 00:42:47,440
- (stirring music)

569
00:42:48,840 --> 00:42:50,280
ALTAWEEL: In the 19th century,

570
00:42:50,440 --> 00:42:53,120
major gold veins were discovered
in North America.

571
00:42:53,280 --> 00:42:55,440
This gold was
generally found in rivers

572
00:42:55,600 --> 00:42:57,080
through a process call panning.

573
00:42:57,240 --> 00:43:00,800
Gold beaters use a pan
to separate the sand from the gold,

574
00:43:00,960 --> 00:43:04,400
leaving behind larger flakes or
nuggets of gold, if they're lucky.

575
00:43:04,560 --> 00:43:06,680
- (dramatic music)

576
00:43:08,040 --> 00:43:11,480
McMAHON: On January 24th, 1848,
James Marshall,

577
00:43:11,640 --> 00:43:14,960
an American carpenter,
discovered a gold nugget

578
00:43:15,120 --> 00:43:19,080
in a small stream near his sawmill
on the banks of the American River.

579
00:43:19,240 --> 00:43:21,320
The news soon spread,

580
00:43:21,480 --> 00:43:25,160
even to the front pages of
the major East Coast newspapers.

581
00:43:25,320 --> 00:43:28,720
The President of the United States,
James Knox Polk,

582
00:43:28,880 --> 00:43:32,760
makes the gold discovery official
in a speech to Congress.

583
00:43:34,160 --> 00:43:36,000
- (suspenseful music)

584
00:43:36,160 --> 00:43:38,920
NARRATOR: Gold was discovered
in North Carolina, Georgia,

585
00:43:39,080 --> 00:43:43,280
and California, triggering what came
to be known as the gold rush.

586
00:43:45,760 --> 00:43:49,160
Within a few years, hundreds
of thousands of gold seekers

587
00:43:49,320 --> 00:43:52,520
from all over the world
flocked to the American West.

588
00:43:52,680 --> 00:43:55,400
But while California became
the "new El Dorado",

589
00:43:55,560 --> 00:43:58,680
South America was
abundant with veins of gold

590
00:43:58,840 --> 00:44:02,080
that seekers
would rediscover centuries later.

591
00:44:04,920 --> 00:44:07,320
ALTAWEEL: Until 1820,
before the discovery of other

592
00:44:07,480 --> 00:44:09,760
major gold deposits
around the world,

593
00:44:09,920 --> 00:44:13,880
Brazilian gold accounted for
nearly 80% of world production.

594
00:44:14,040 --> 00:44:15,720
From the very end
of the 19th century,

595
00:44:15,880 --> 00:44:18,480
and especially in the 20th,
new magnetic methods

596
00:44:18,640 --> 00:44:20,920
revealed numerous
gold mines in South America.

597
00:44:21,080 --> 00:44:23,000
Many are in Mexico and Peru.

598
00:44:23,160 --> 00:44:25,400
This is hardly surprising,
given that the Aztecs

599
00:44:25,560 --> 00:44:27,720
and Incas reigned
in these two territories.

600
00:44:27,880 --> 00:44:31,120
Archaeological digs
and analysis of the gold objects

601
00:44:31,280 --> 00:44:33,640
reveal that the Incas
most certainly exploited

602
00:44:33,800 --> 00:44:36,880
some gold mines in the Andes
as early as the second half

603
00:44:37,040 --> 00:44:40,600
of the 15th century, just before
the conquistadors arrived.

604
00:44:44,360 --> 00:44:46,080
- (tense music)

605
00:44:46,240 --> 00:44:48,640
NARRATOR: The discovery
of gold mines in these regions

606
00:44:48,800 --> 00:44:51,320
of South America
reminded the world of the wealth

607
00:44:51,480 --> 00:44:53,640
of pre-Columbian civilisations,

608
00:44:53,800 --> 00:44:56,800
and how it was plundered
by the conquistadores.

609
00:44:57,840 --> 00:45:00,800
Many explorers continued
to believe in the existence of

610
00:45:00,960 --> 00:45:03,920
lost cities containing
fabulous treasures.

611
00:45:04,080 --> 00:45:07,800
And in 1839, the discovery of
a mysterious document

612
00:45:07,960 --> 00:45:11,360
in the archives of
the National Library of Brazil

613
00:45:11,520 --> 00:45:14,800
re-launched this age-old
investigation.

614
00:45:14,960 --> 00:45:17,840
Its name: Manuscript 512.

615
00:45:20,160 --> 00:45:26,120
- This ten-page text, whose author
is unknown, recounts how, in 1753,

616
00:45:26,280 --> 00:45:31,160
Portuguese gold seekers discovered
a "lost city" in the middle of

617
00:45:31,320 --> 00:45:34,720
the Amazon rainforest in what is now
the province of Bahia.

618
00:45:34,880 --> 00:45:38,520
It describes the city's
architecture as reminiscent

619
00:45:38,680 --> 00:45:43,080
of the Greco-Roman cities of
antiquity, with their triple arches,

620
00:45:43,240 --> 00:45:47,240
obelisks, and statues of men
wearing laurel wreaths.

621
00:45:48,480 --> 00:45:50,720
NARRATOR:
The author of the manuscript gives

622
00:45:50,880 --> 00:45:52,920
a detailed description
of the abandoned town

623
00:45:53,080 --> 00:45:56,760
and recounts what the Portuguese
gold diggers discovered there.

624
00:45:59,840 --> 00:46:02,000
(reads out quote)

625
00:46:28,880 --> 00:46:31,040
Rocks encrusted
with silver and gold...

626
00:46:31,200 --> 00:46:33,760
details that were sure
to whet the appetite.

627
00:46:38,280 --> 00:46:40,160
- (suspenseful music)

628
00:46:41,880 --> 00:46:44,240
RIDDELL: The authenticity
of this manuscript has been

629
00:46:44,400 --> 00:46:46,480
the subject of much
debate among scholars,

630
00:46:46,640 --> 00:46:50,400
and cannot be considered
a reliable historical source.

631
00:46:50,560 --> 00:46:53,240
Its unknown author
and picturesque writing style

632
00:46:53,400 --> 00:46:55,320
raises a lot of questions.

633
00:46:55,480 --> 00:46:58,560
Some think it could be a variation
on the myth of El Dorado.

634
00:47:00,720 --> 00:47:04,480
Nevertheless, naive adventurers
and greedy fortune hunters

635
00:47:04,640 --> 00:47:09,800
will always believe the story and
forever search for the lost city.

636
00:47:11,600 --> 00:47:15,480
NARRATOR: In 1925,
the British explorer Percy Fawcett,

637
00:47:15,640 --> 00:47:18,400
one of the greatest explorers
of the 20th century,

638
00:47:18,560 --> 00:47:21,040
was convinced
he could find the abandoned city

639
00:47:21,200 --> 00:47:26,120
mentioned in manuscript 512
in the heart of the Amazon jungle.

640
00:47:26,280 --> 00:47:28,320
- (insects chirping)
- (animals calling)

641
00:47:33,960 --> 00:47:37,240
NARRATOR: According to him, it is
located in the Serra do Roncador,

642
00:47:37,960 --> 00:47:39,520
the "Snoring Mountain"...

643
00:47:41,680 --> 00:47:44,520
..a mountain range
in the eastern part of the state

644
00:47:44,680 --> 00:47:46,880
of Mato Grosso in Brazil...

645
00:47:50,480 --> 00:47:52,640
..at the source of the Xingu river.

646
00:47:52,800 --> 00:47:56,680
In his notes,
he refers to it as "Z".

647
00:47:59,680 --> 00:48:01,680
- (tense music)

648
00:48:01,840 --> 00:48:04,240
NARRATOR: The story of
his expedition will be told

649
00:48:04,400 --> 00:48:07,400
in a film entitled
The Lost City of Z.

650
00:48:07,560 --> 00:48:09,720
- (music quickens)

651
00:48:22,680 --> 00:48:25,480
NARRATOR: But Percy Fawcett
never found the lost city...

652
00:48:26,480 --> 00:48:28,760
..and never returned
from the jungle.

653
00:48:28,920 --> 00:48:31,880
He was allegedly murdered
by local tribesmen

654
00:48:32,040 --> 00:48:34,720
and his body has never been found.

655
00:48:34,880 --> 00:48:37,080
- (sombre music)

656
00:48:39,480 --> 00:48:41,200
NARRATOR:
In the decades that followed,

657
00:48:41,360 --> 00:48:43,480
other adventurers
have tried their luck.

658
00:48:45,240 --> 00:48:47,000
All in vain.

659
00:48:49,920 --> 00:48:51,920
- (tense music)

660
00:48:53,880 --> 00:48:56,040
NARRATOR: Ever since
Christopher Columbus arrived

661
00:48:56,200 --> 00:49:00,880
in the Caribbean in 1492,
the location of a possible El Dorado

662
00:49:01,040 --> 00:49:03,440
has been the subject
of countless debates,

663
00:49:03,600 --> 00:49:07,600
and has aroused the hopes and
desires of thousands of adventurers.

664
00:49:09,480 --> 00:49:11,720
More than five centuries later,

665
00:49:11,880 --> 00:49:14,720
the American continent has been
explored from top to bottom,

666
00:49:14,880 --> 00:49:19,640
and no lost city teeming with riches
has yet been discovered.

667
00:49:21,160 --> 00:49:23,160
- (birdsong)

668
00:49:26,800 --> 00:49:29,080
- (mysterious music)

669
00:49:29,240 --> 00:49:31,400
NARRATOR:
But thanks to new detection methods,

670
00:49:31,560 --> 00:49:35,720
archaeologists are continuing
to carry out research in the region.

671
00:49:38,720 --> 00:49:42,600
- In 1999, two researchers
from the Ibero-American Institute

672
00:49:42,760 --> 00:49:47,000
in Finland spotted strange
geometric shapes known as geoglyphs

673
00:49:47,160 --> 00:49:48,800
in the upper Amazon basin,

674
00:49:48,960 --> 00:49:51,480
on the border between
Brazil and Bolivia.

675
00:49:55,560 --> 00:49:57,960
Four years later,
satellite detection helped them

676
00:49:58,120 --> 00:49:59,480
to refine their observations.

677
00:49:59,640 --> 00:50:01,760
- (curious music)

678
00:50:06,200 --> 00:50:09,320
ALTAWEEL: They counted
no less than 281 giant geoglyphs

679
00:50:09,480 --> 00:50:12,440
stretching over a region
of more than 250 km.

680
00:50:16,840 --> 00:50:20,480
NARRATOR: According to scientists,
these are the remains of a gigantic

681
00:50:20,640 --> 00:50:25,760
pre-Columbian city that thrived
between the 3rd and 13th centuries.

682
00:50:25,920 --> 00:50:28,120
The foundations would have been
built from networks

683
00:50:28,280 --> 00:50:31,680
of trenches 11 metres wide
and several metres deep,

684
00:50:31,840 --> 00:50:34,120
bounded by one-metre-high
embankments.

685
00:50:34,280 --> 00:50:39,680
This mysterious city could have
housed up to 60,000 inhabitants.

686
00:50:39,840 --> 00:50:43,040
By way of comparison,
the inhabitants of medieval towns

687
00:50:43,200 --> 00:50:48,600
in Europe at that time generally
numbered between 5,000 and 10,000.

688
00:50:51,160 --> 00:50:53,120
- The settlement's precise geometry

689
00:50:53,280 --> 00:50:55,720
indicates that
they were fine builders.

690
00:50:55,880 --> 00:50:59,200
The city also boasted
a carefully designed road network.

691
00:50:59,360 --> 00:51:03,520
The two researchers believe
that more than 2,000 structures

692
00:51:03,680 --> 00:51:06,280
remain hidden beneath
a thick curtain of jungle.

693
00:51:06,440 --> 00:51:10,720
The extraordinarily fertile soil
there suggests that the inhabitants

694
00:51:10,880 --> 00:51:13,440
could grow rich
and diversified crops,

695
00:51:13,600 --> 00:51:16,560
one the hallmarks
of great civilizations.

696
00:51:16,720 --> 00:51:19,160
- (dramatic music)

697
00:51:19,320 --> 00:51:22,800
ALTAWEEL: In a region further south,
on the banks of the river Xingu,

698
00:51:22,960 --> 00:51:26,160
archaeologists have uncovered
a complex comprising 20 towns

699
00:51:26,320 --> 00:51:29,920
and villages, spread over
some 20,000 square kilometres.

700
00:51:30,080 --> 00:51:33,920
That's the same size as Israel,
and home up to 50,000 inhabitants!

701
00:51:34,080 --> 00:51:36,000
And this may just be the beginning.

702
00:51:36,160 --> 00:51:38,560
Who knows what else
is buried deep in the Amazon?

703
00:51:38,720 --> 00:51:41,960
- (dramatic music)

704
00:51:43,080 --> 00:51:46,320
NARRATOR: Recent discoveries
in Amazonia prove that our knowledge

705
00:51:46,480 --> 00:51:49,960
of the civilisations that developed
in America long before

706
00:51:50,120 --> 00:51:54,120
the arrival of Europeans is still
very much a work in progress,

707
00:51:54,280 --> 00:51:58,400
and that many mysteries
still lurk in the forests

708
00:51:58,560 --> 00:52:00,200
or in the mountains.

709
00:52:02,040 --> 00:52:05,680
The myth of El Dorado
and the quest for gold and treasure,

710
00:52:05,840 --> 00:52:09,520
lost to the jungles of America
will continue to inspire

711
00:52:09,680 --> 00:52:14,440
generations of adventurers
for a long time to come.

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00:52:14,600 --> 00:52:18,120
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