1
00:00:00,583 --> 00:00:01,167
An ancient nuclear weapon

2
00:00:02,375 --> 00:00:04,833
that turned a city to glass.

3
00:00:05,167 --> 00:00:07,625
A pillar made of iron,

4
00:00:08,000 --> 00:00:09,875
impervious to decay.

5
00:00:10,250 --> 00:00:13,875
And a mystical chemical elixir
that turns lead

6
00:00:14,000 --> 00:00:15,625
into gold.

7
00:00:17,208 --> 00:00:19,875
Today, many of us believe
that we're living

8
00:00:20,250 --> 00:00:22,583
in a civilization
that has reached the height

9
00:00:22,917 --> 00:00:25,167
of technological innovation.

10
00:00:26,125 --> 00:00:27,583
But all around us,

11
00:00:27,958 --> 00:00:30,708
there are clues
that an ancient world

12
00:00:31,042 --> 00:00:33,500
once existed which possessed

13
00:00:33,875 --> 00:00:35,833
extraordinary feats
of engineering,

14
00:00:36,333 --> 00:00:39,125
chemistry
and mechanical marvels.

15
00:00:40,542 --> 00:00:44,042
What innovations can be found
in the legends of the past?

16
00:00:44,500 --> 00:00:47,667
And who were the masterminds
behind what we might call

17
00:00:48,042 --> 00:00:51,667
impossible ancient inventions?

18
00:00:52,958 --> 00:00:56,333
Well, that is what
we'll try and find out.

19
00:00:56,458 --> 00:00:58,375
♪ ♪

20
00:01:14,125 --> 00:01:18,125
SHATNER:
This Mediterranean stronghold
was once the most beautiful

21
00:01:18,500 --> 00:01:21,667
and powerful city
of ancient Greece.

22
00:01:22,042 --> 00:01:24,167
But in 213 BC,

23
00:01:24,542 --> 00:01:26,333
the Romans wanted to take it
for themselves

24
00:01:26,542 --> 00:01:27,750
and began a siege,

25
00:01:28,083 --> 00:01:29,958
deploying a formidable force

26
00:01:30,208 --> 00:01:31,417
of over 60 warships

27
00:01:31,750 --> 00:01:34,000
equipped with the latest devices

28
00:01:34,292 --> 00:01:36,250
to support their assault.

29
00:01:36,792 --> 00:01:38,958
Yet they would soon discover
that overpowering the defenses

30
00:01:39,333 --> 00:01:42,917
at Syracuse
would be a terrifying task

31
00:01:43,250 --> 00:01:45,875
as they faced
the ingenious inventions

32
00:01:46,375 --> 00:01:49,833
of the great mathematician
Archimedes.

33
00:01:51,208 --> 00:01:53,917
TOK THOMPSON:
Archimedes is a huge figure
in intellectual history,

34
00:01:54,250 --> 00:01:55,333
and he was a-a scientist,

35
00:01:55,708 --> 00:01:57,708
he was an inventor,
he was a philosopher.

36
00:01:58,167 --> 00:01:59,667
He did many, many
important inventions,

37
00:02:00,000 --> 00:02:00,833
such as the Archimedes' screw,

38
00:02:01,208 --> 00:02:03,208
which was basically a screw

39
00:02:03,667 --> 00:02:07,500
to draw water up from the
waterways so you can irrigate.

40
00:02:07,875 --> 00:02:10,250
And he was located in Syracuse,

41
00:02:10,708 --> 00:02:14,500
so when the Romans decided
to lay siege to the city,

42
00:02:14,958 --> 00:02:18,000
we have Archimedes using
his considerable intellect

43
00:02:18,375 --> 00:02:20,250
and his considerable
practical skills

44
00:02:20,792 --> 00:02:23,667
and technological skills to try
to help save his home city.

45
00:02:24,208 --> 00:02:26,833
LANCE GEIGER:
One of the things he did is
he built numerous kinds

46
00:02:27,125 --> 00:02:29,042
of catapults and ballistae--

47
00:02:29,458 --> 00:02:31,667
things that threw
bolts and rocks.

48
00:02:32,042 --> 00:02:33,000
And so they could
never even get close

49
00:02:33,375 --> 00:02:35,167
with their big siege towers.

50
00:02:35,583 --> 00:02:37,625
He also used his knowledge
of levers.

51
00:02:38,000 --> 00:02:39,500
You can, say,
lever out a huge rock

52
00:02:39,792 --> 00:02:40,667
and drop it right on a ship.

53
00:02:42,292 --> 00:02:45,792
JEFF HECHT:
Archimedes was a master
of tools of war.

54
00:02:46,208 --> 00:02:49,250
He could try
the Claw of Archimedes,

55
00:02:49,625 --> 00:02:53,583
and it was an iron claw
like my hand.

56
00:02:53,958 --> 00:02:56,625
And it reached out from shore,

57
00:02:56,917 --> 00:02:58,958
grabbed the ship,

58
00:02:59,333 --> 00:03:03,625
pressed it down,
and caused it to sink.

59
00:03:04,083 --> 00:03:06,208
But one of the things
that he may have had

60
00:03:06,583 --> 00:03:09,792
was the idea of the death ray.

61
00:03:10,875 --> 00:03:12,542
SHATNER:
In addition
to the monstrous claw,

62
00:03:13,000 --> 00:03:15,833
the great thinker invented
a devastating new technology

63
00:03:16,208 --> 00:03:17,375
that could attack ships

64
00:03:17,708 --> 00:03:19,833
before they reached
the island fortress.

65
00:03:21,333 --> 00:03:23,833
It's a weapon
shrouded in mystery and myth

66
00:03:24,292 --> 00:03:28,583
that has come to be known
as Archimedes' death ray.

67
00:03:30,000 --> 00:03:31,208
GEIGER:
Archimedes' death ray

68
00:03:31,583 --> 00:03:34,208
had some beam
of magic electrical

69
00:03:34,625 --> 00:03:37,125
or-or energy beam
that could reach out

70
00:03:37,375 --> 00:03:38,292
and sink these Roman ships,

71
00:03:38,667 --> 00:03:39,958
set them on fire
from a distance.

72
00:03:40,292 --> 00:03:43,417
Of course,
fire is terrifying at sea

73
00:03:43,875 --> 00:03:46,042
because the ship's
gonna burn to the waterline.

74
00:03:46,500 --> 00:03:49,250
So you're either gonna burn
to death or you're gonna drown.

75
00:03:49,708 --> 00:03:51,333
Neither one of those
are happy conclusions.

76
00:03:52,375 --> 00:03:54,542
So, this idea
that ancient Greeks

77
00:03:54,875 --> 00:03:57,000
in the third century BC

78
00:03:57,333 --> 00:03:59,833
had some beam

79
00:04:00,333 --> 00:04:02,625
that could reach out
and sink these Roman ships,

80
00:04:02,958 --> 00:04:04,083
set them on fire
from a distance,

81
00:04:04,417 --> 00:04:06,542
it just sparks the imagination.

82
00:04:08,208 --> 00:04:10,167
SHATNER:
The ingenious inventions
of Archimedes

83
00:04:10,542 --> 00:04:13,625
repelled Rome's nautical assault
for over a year.

84
00:04:14,792 --> 00:04:18,500
Eventually, in 212 BC,
the Roman army

85
00:04:19,000 --> 00:04:20,833
was able to breach the wall
of the outer city

86
00:04:21,208 --> 00:04:23,125
and take control of Syracuse.

87
00:04:23,417 --> 00:04:25,875
And at 78 years old,

88
00:04:26,292 --> 00:04:30,958
Archimedes was mistakenly killed
by a Roman soldier.

89
00:04:32,875 --> 00:04:36,250
Today, more than 2,200 years

90
00:04:36,583 --> 00:04:38,333
after the siege of Syracuse,

91
00:04:38,708 --> 00:04:42,000
the legend
of Archimedes' death ray

92
00:04:42,375 --> 00:04:45,333
continues to mystify us.

93
00:04:45,833 --> 00:04:49,250
One of the fun things about
thinking about ancient devices,

94
00:04:49,625 --> 00:04:52,250
there are these ones
that have been a mystery.

95
00:04:52,625 --> 00:04:54,208
We think of them
as impossible things

96
00:04:54,542 --> 00:04:55,792
for ancients to have done.

97
00:04:56,208 --> 00:04:59,000
And certainly,
for most of human history,

98
00:04:59,292 --> 00:05:01,000
it's really fundamentally hard

99
00:05:01,375 --> 00:05:04,375
to get a ray beam to be
really tight and energetic.

100
00:05:05,458 --> 00:05:07,667
But we really don't know
how they did it.

101
00:05:08,708 --> 00:05:10,750
SHATNER:
How did Archimedes invent

102
00:05:11,083 --> 00:05:13,667
such an advanced
weapon technology

103
00:05:14,000 --> 00:05:15,292
thousands of years ago?

104
00:05:15,792 --> 00:05:19,833
Well, some experts theorize
that he devised

105
00:05:20,125 --> 00:05:22,333
a surprisingly simple solution.

106
00:05:22,708 --> 00:05:27,375
He harnessed the power
of the Sun.

107
00:05:35,333 --> 00:05:37,917
On a crisp autumn day,
students from

108
00:05:38,292 --> 00:05:40,417
the Massachusetts
Institute of Technology

109
00:05:40,917 --> 00:05:44,000
align dozens of mirrors
throughout the campus

110
00:05:44,292 --> 00:05:47,167
and wait for the Sun to shine.

111
00:05:47,708 --> 00:05:49,792
GEIGER:
One of the most
interesting experiments

112
00:05:50,125 --> 00:05:51,875
was with Archimedes' death ray.

113
00:05:52,250 --> 00:05:53,833
They built a-a model
of a piece of the ship,

114
00:05:54,167 --> 00:05:55,417
and they took about 40 mirrors,

115
00:05:55,792 --> 00:05:56,833
and they held them
up to the Sun.

116
00:05:57,125 --> 00:05:59,125
When they got them all focused

117
00:05:59,500 --> 00:06:01,875
and got ten minutes of good sun,

118
00:06:02,292 --> 00:06:04,292
they were able to catch
wood planking--

119
00:06:04,583 --> 00:06:06,917
like just
chunks of wood-- on fire.

120
00:06:07,375 --> 00:06:10,208
So it does suggest that
the Archimedes' death ray

121
00:06:10,500 --> 00:06:12,375
is not a crazy idea.

122
00:06:12,750 --> 00:06:14,417
You know, we don't
really know what happened,

123
00:06:14,875 --> 00:06:17,458
but this shows that something
sure could've happened

124
00:06:17,875 --> 00:06:19,167
that made
the Archimedes' death ray

125
00:06:19,542 --> 00:06:22,417
a totally interesting
and plausible story.

126
00:06:23,958 --> 00:06:25,417
MICHIO KAKU:
We have to commend them
for trying

127
00:06:25,792 --> 00:06:27,208
to duplicate the conditions

128
00:06:27,708 --> 00:06:31,125
that existed 2,000 years ago
in building this device.

129
00:06:32,417 --> 00:06:34,333
They were able
to set a small fire,

130
00:06:34,875 --> 00:06:38,083
but a fire that could knock out
a fleet of enemy ships

131
00:06:38,458 --> 00:06:40,292
probably was not done.

132
00:06:40,625 --> 00:06:42,833
The distances are enormous.

133
00:06:43,250 --> 00:06:46,250
So, it's possible
to focus the light,

134
00:06:46,625 --> 00:06:48,667
it's possible to create a fire,

135
00:06:49,167 --> 00:06:52,833
but not over the distances
involved and the number

136
00:06:53,292 --> 00:06:55,333
of fleets of ships
that are coming at you.

137
00:06:55,708 --> 00:06:58,458
SHATNER: The truth behind
Archimedes' death ray

138
00:06:58,833 --> 00:07:01,000
is still shrouded in mystery.

139
00:07:01,375 --> 00:07:02,917
Archeological evidence
of the invention

140
00:07:03,208 --> 00:07:04,458
has never been found,

141
00:07:04,917 --> 00:07:08,292
and there are no surviving
records from Archimedes himself.

142
00:07:08,792 --> 00:07:14,042
In fact, the first known mention
of Archimedes using mirrors

143
00:07:14,417 --> 00:07:18,250
appears 700 years
after the siege of Syracuse

144
00:07:18,750 --> 00:07:22,917
in a work by Greek mathematician
Anthemius of Tralles.

145
00:07:24,625 --> 00:07:26,833
It was pure speculation
that he had used some sort of

146
00:07:27,208 --> 00:07:29,417
large mirror or focusing device.

147
00:07:29,875 --> 00:07:34,292
But this idea of a directed
energy beam is a powerful idea.

148
00:07:34,708 --> 00:07:37,833
And then that carries through
to the technologies of today.

149
00:07:41,375 --> 00:07:42,708
Today, we use lasers.

150
00:07:43,208 --> 00:07:47,542
We use them to shoot missiles
out of the sky from our ships.

151
00:07:48,000 --> 00:07:51,167
Archimedes was talking
about death rays,

152
00:07:51,708 --> 00:07:54,750
something that we wouldn't see
for a few more thousand years.

153
00:07:55,750 --> 00:07:57,458
We're talking about laser beams.

154
00:07:57,875 --> 00:08:00,208
Laser beams
that have enough power

155
00:08:00,583 --> 00:08:02,292
to literally fry the enemy,

156
00:08:02,792 --> 00:08:06,083
to punch a hole
in the hull of enemy ships.

157
00:08:06,583 --> 00:08:10,250
Archimedes was onto something,
a new form of warfare,

158
00:08:10,708 --> 00:08:15,000
but the state of the matter is,
we simply don't know.

159
00:08:16,292 --> 00:08:19,333
SHATNER:
Whether Archimedes' death ray
existed or not,

160
00:08:19,708 --> 00:08:23,583
the details of this
mythic invention suggests...

161
00:08:25,125 --> 00:08:27,792
...that even our most advanced
modern technology

162
00:08:28,167 --> 00:08:32,333
may have started
in the ancient world.

163
00:08:32,917 --> 00:08:35,083
THOMPSON:
We like to think that science
is building steadily

164
00:08:35,375 --> 00:08:36,583
on earlier achievements.

165
00:08:37,000 --> 00:08:38,208
That it's sort of
a steady linear progression

166
00:08:38,625 --> 00:08:40,083
of adding knowledge
and technology.

167
00:08:40,500 --> 00:08:42,042
What we often find
is that civilizations

168
00:08:42,500 --> 00:08:44,958
go in-in spurts,
and-and-and they can disappear,

169
00:08:45,375 --> 00:08:46,667
and whole knowledge
can disappear.

170
00:08:46,958 --> 00:08:49,500
Civilizations can get invaded.

171
00:08:49,792 --> 00:08:51,667
Libraries can catch on fire.

172
00:08:52,042 --> 00:08:53,792
And so, a lot of
our technological process

173
00:08:54,333 --> 00:08:57,333
seem to be, every once in
a while, reinventing the wheel.

174
00:08:57,667 --> 00:08:59,583
SHATNER:
Could some of today's

175
00:09:00,042 --> 00:09:01,500
most cutting-edge advancements
actually be

176
00:09:01,875 --> 00:09:05,625
reinventions
of ancient technology?

177
00:09:07,333 --> 00:09:10,167
Perhaps further evidence
may be found by examining

178
00:09:10,500 --> 00:09:12,833
an ancient Hindu text

179
00:09:13,125 --> 00:09:17,000
said to describe
an atomic weapon.

180
00:09:27,542 --> 00:09:28,625
SHATNER:
In the final days of
World War II--

181
00:09:29,000 --> 00:09:31,375
the deadliest conflict
in human history--

182
00:09:31,792 --> 00:09:34,000
the United States
sends a B-29 bomber

183
00:09:34,375 --> 00:09:36,000
over the Japanese city
of Hiroshima

184
00:09:36,375 --> 00:09:39,542
and drop an atomic bomb.

185
00:09:42,000 --> 00:09:46,125
Three days later, another A-bomb
is dropped on Nagasaki.

186
00:09:46,542 --> 00:09:49,208
Having witnessed
the devastating power

187
00:09:49,500 --> 00:09:50,667
of atomic weaponry firsthand,

188
00:09:51,125 --> 00:09:55,667
Emperor Hirohito announces
Japan's total surrender,

189
00:09:56,042 --> 00:09:59,542
and the Second World War
comes to an end.

190
00:10:01,083 --> 00:10:04,708
Before then, warfare was
always done on a small scale.

191
00:10:05,083 --> 00:10:07,708
It was settled right there
on the battlefield.

192
00:10:08,708 --> 00:10:10,208
But with nuclear weapons,

193
00:10:10,625 --> 00:10:14,000
you could vaporize the enemy.

194
00:10:14,500 --> 00:10:16,542
Never in the history
of Homo sapiens,

195
00:10:16,917 --> 00:10:18,833
until the development
of the atomic bomb,

196
00:10:19,333 --> 00:10:23,500
have we had the power
of total annihilation.

197
00:10:23,875 --> 00:10:26,125
SHATNER:
According to most historians,

198
00:10:26,500 --> 00:10:28,000
the bombings
of Hiroshima and Nagasaki

199
00:10:28,333 --> 00:10:30,500
mark the first and only time

200
00:10:30,917 --> 00:10:33,500
that atomic bombs
were deployed in warfare.

201
00:10:33,958 --> 00:10:37,000
But is it possible
that this technology

202
00:10:37,333 --> 00:10:39,250
existed in the distant past?

203
00:10:40,667 --> 00:10:42,333
There is a growing belief
that atomic weapons

204
00:10:42,833 --> 00:10:45,542
were not only invented
thousands of years ago

205
00:10:45,917 --> 00:10:47,542
but they were also
responsible for

206
00:10:47,917 --> 00:10:51,125
wiping an ancient metropolis
off the map.

207
00:10:59,875 --> 00:11:03,542
A team of researchers from
the Indian Archaeological Survey

208
00:11:04,000 --> 00:11:07,292
excavate a mound on the banks
of the Indus River.

209
00:11:08,708 --> 00:11:10,458
They find the remnants
of a vast city,

210
00:11:10,833 --> 00:11:14,250
dating back
an astonishing 5,000 years,

211
00:11:14,542 --> 00:11:18,250
called Mohenjo-Daro.

212
00:11:18,542 --> 00:11:19,667
THOMPSON:
Mohenjo-Daro

213
00:11:20,083 --> 00:11:22,000
is one of the first
real cities in the world.

214
00:11:22,375 --> 00:11:24,500
It seems to have been
one of the great centers

215
00:11:24,917 --> 00:11:27,042
of what is called
the Harappan civilization.

216
00:11:28,042 --> 00:11:29,667
This was a very,
very well-planned,

217
00:11:29,958 --> 00:11:31,500
very successful civilization.

218
00:11:31,917 --> 00:11:35,958
It had several cities,
but Mohenjo-Daro is the largest,

219
00:11:36,292 --> 00:11:38,167
stretching over 250 acres.

220
00:11:39,167 --> 00:11:41,500
It had thousands
and thousands of people.

221
00:11:41,708 --> 00:11:44,000
They had sewage systems.

222
00:11:44,375 --> 00:11:45,958
They had bathing systems.

223
00:11:46,500 --> 00:11:50,792
And then a very strange thing
about it is its rapid demise.

224
00:11:51,875 --> 00:11:54,042
It seems to, uh, disappear
very, very quickly

225
00:11:54,375 --> 00:11:55,667
from the archeological record.

226
00:11:57,125 --> 00:11:59,458
SHIMKHADA:
Mohenjo-Daro was a vital,

227
00:12:00,000 --> 00:12:05,083
thriving society civilization
for many thousands of years.

228
00:12:06,125 --> 00:12:09,792
And suddenly,
by around 1200 BCE,

229
00:12:10,083 --> 00:12:12,458
the civilization vanished.

230
00:12:12,792 --> 00:12:15,708
That's another baffling story.

231
00:12:16,042 --> 00:12:17,333
Some kind of disaster

232
00:12:17,708 --> 00:12:20,083
killed thousands
and thousands of people.

233
00:12:21,250 --> 00:12:25,250
Mohenjo-Daro means
the "Mound of the Dead"

234
00:12:25,542 --> 00:12:26,833
in Urdu language.

235
00:12:27,292 --> 00:12:31,542
Something unspeakable
happened in the site.

236
00:12:31,958 --> 00:12:35,500
Even though experts agree
that Mohenjo-Daro

237
00:12:35,958 --> 00:12:39,542
had at least
40,000 people living,

238
00:12:40,000 --> 00:12:44,458
we only found
43 skeletons so far.

239
00:12:45,000 --> 00:12:48,125
Which is very strange,
because we are supposed to find

240
00:12:48,375 --> 00:12:50,417
more human remains.

241
00:12:50,875 --> 00:12:56,250
So, what happened
to the humans there?

242
00:12:56,708 --> 00:12:58,625
One of the kind of
amazing features

243
00:12:59,083 --> 00:13:03,000
is this scene of what appears
to be massive destruction.

244
00:13:04,042 --> 00:13:06,458
They've discovered
over 40 bodies,

245
00:13:06,750 --> 00:13:08,708
clearly wiped out together.

246
00:13:09,167 --> 00:13:11,125
And researchers
have found evidence

247
00:13:11,542 --> 00:13:14,292
of high levels of radioactivity
in these skeletons.

248
00:13:14,708 --> 00:13:17,042
And I find this fascinating
because of a couple of things.

249
00:13:17,542 --> 00:13:20,875
One is, you know, could this
have been a nuclear explosion?

250
00:13:22,208 --> 00:13:24,167
ANDREW COLLINS:
The evidence on the ground

251
00:13:24,542 --> 00:13:27,333
during excavations
seem to reveal

252
00:13:27,625 --> 00:13:30,583
high levels of radioactivity.

253
00:13:30,917 --> 00:13:34,292
And this started to suggest

254
00:13:34,625 --> 00:13:37,167
that the ancient peoples

255
00:13:37,667 --> 00:13:42,458
did indeed have what we might
describe as atomic bombs.

256
00:13:47,792 --> 00:13:49,542
SHATNER:
Atomic bombs leave a clear

257
00:13:49,917 --> 00:13:52,542
radioactive signature
after detonation.

258
00:13:52,958 --> 00:13:55,417
And while these
radioactive skeletons

259
00:13:55,708 --> 00:13:56,833
are certainly intriguing,

260
00:13:57,333 --> 00:14:00,958
it's not the only evidence
of a nuclear event.

261
00:14:01,458 --> 00:14:05,333
COLLINS:
One of the most mysterious
aspects of Mohenjo-Daro

262
00:14:05,750 --> 00:14:09,500
was the discovery
of vitrified glass

263
00:14:09,875 --> 00:14:12,083
and evidence of fusion.

264
00:14:13,208 --> 00:14:16,792
It was found that stones
had quite literally melted,

265
00:14:17,208 --> 00:14:20,542
and that this was
being found at Mohenjo-Daro.

266
00:14:21,708 --> 00:14:25,500
Very similar to what happened
at Nagasaki and Hiroshima

267
00:14:25,750 --> 00:14:28,083
in the 20th century.

268
00:14:29,375 --> 00:14:31,583
SHATNER:
If one of
the oldest civilizations

269
00:14:31,958 --> 00:14:34,000
really was destroyed
by atomic warfare,

270
00:14:34,417 --> 00:14:36,333
would there be
a historical record

271
00:14:36,625 --> 00:14:38,000
of such a monumental event?

272
00:14:38,500 --> 00:14:43,042
Well, some believe there is,
in a 5,000-year-old Hindu text

273
00:14:43,458 --> 00:14:45,542
that speaks of
weapons of mass destruction

274
00:14:46,000 --> 00:14:49,000
deployed during
a great ancient war.

275
00:14:49,458 --> 00:14:52,417
PRAVEEN MOHAN:
According to historical text

276
00:14:52,750 --> 00:14:54,250
called Mahabharata,

277
00:14:54,792 --> 00:15:00,667
there was an ancient world war
that happened in India,

278
00:15:00,917 --> 00:15:03,917
very close to Mohenjo-Daro.

279
00:15:05,042 --> 00:15:08,792
In the Mahabharata,
there are advanced weapons

280
00:15:09,167 --> 00:15:12,292
very similar to nuclear weapons.

281
00:15:12,708 --> 00:15:18,083
The classic example of this
is called the Brahmastra.

282
00:15:18,417 --> 00:15:20,833
When you activate
the Brahmastra,

283
00:15:21,208 --> 00:15:25,917
it creates a huge fireball

284
00:15:26,208 --> 00:15:29,667
that can destroy an entire city.

285
00:15:30,958 --> 00:15:34,250
They talk about how bright it is
and how hot it is.

286
00:15:34,542 --> 00:15:36,083
So, it is quite possible

287
00:15:36,500 --> 00:15:39,583
that there was
a nuclear explosion

288
00:15:39,708 --> 00:15:41,667
in Mohenjo-Daro.

289
00:15:43,708 --> 00:15:45,125
SHATNER:
Is the Mahabharata proof

290
00:15:45,542 --> 00:15:48,292
that atomic weapons were
invented thousands of years ago?

291
00:15:49,250 --> 00:15:50,792
While it's a matter of debate,

292
00:15:51,250 --> 00:15:53,250
there is
a very strange coincidence

293
00:15:53,542 --> 00:15:54,583
surrounding this text.

294
00:15:55,708 --> 00:15:59,583
J. Robert Oppenheimer,
the father of the atomic bomb,

295
00:16:00,000 --> 00:16:01,667
who led
the top-secret U.S. program

296
00:16:02,208 --> 00:16:04,042
to develop the atomic bomb
during World War II,

297
00:16:04,417 --> 00:16:07,750
was obsessed
with the Mahabharata.

298
00:16:08,208 --> 00:16:11,125
And Oppenheimer developed
a particular affinity

299
00:16:11,542 --> 00:16:15,667
to a portion of this text called
the "Bhagavad Gita."

300
00:16:16,792 --> 00:16:19,500
In American Prometheus,
we write quite a bit about

301
00:16:19,875 --> 00:16:22,208
Oppenheimer's fascination
with the "Gita."

302
00:16:23,208 --> 00:16:24,667
We can quote from letters
that he wrote

303
00:16:25,042 --> 00:16:28,042
to his brother Frank,
saying how excited he was

304
00:16:28,542 --> 00:16:31,667
to have discovered
these Hindu scriptures.

305
00:16:31,958 --> 00:16:33,542
And Oppenheimer repeatedly

306
00:16:33,917 --> 00:16:35,833
quotes from the "Gita"
throughout his life.

307
00:16:36,375 --> 00:16:40,000
It's a little curious in that
he's a boy from New York City,

308
00:16:40,375 --> 00:16:42,583
he was a product
of Western culture,

309
00:16:42,875 --> 00:16:44,917
not Indian civilization

310
00:16:45,333 --> 00:16:47,667
that goes back
thousands of years,

311
00:16:48,125 --> 00:16:52,208
and yet there was
some driving attraction

312
00:16:52,667 --> 00:16:56,000
that Oppenheimer held
for the "Gita."

313
00:16:56,458 --> 00:17:00,292
SHIMKHADA:
We know that Oppenheimer
read the "Bhagavad Gita,"

314
00:17:00,750 --> 00:17:03,875
and it is all about
how the weapons were used,

315
00:17:04,250 --> 00:17:07,500
how the weapons were
designed or manufactured.

316
00:17:07,875 --> 00:17:10,667
So that might have
given him some idea

317
00:17:11,042 --> 00:17:16,125
or some impetus
to design this atomic bomb.

318
00:17:17,875 --> 00:17:19,667
Was the atomic bomb
a reinvention

319
00:17:20,083 --> 00:17:22,583
of a devastating
ancient technology?

320
00:17:23,083 --> 00:17:25,000
There are some who certainly
believe it to be true.

321
00:17:25,375 --> 00:17:28,708
But there's another
legendary creation

322
00:17:29,208 --> 00:17:31,625
whose purpose is
not to destroy worlds

323
00:17:32,042 --> 00:17:34,583
but rather
to create true wonders.

324
00:17:35,125 --> 00:17:40,417
It's a mystical elixir known as
the philosopher's stone.

325
00:17:48,542 --> 00:17:50,708
SHATNER:
On the grounds
of this rural farmhouse

326
00:17:51,000 --> 00:17:52,875
is an apple tree that represents

327
00:17:53,292 --> 00:17:56,458
a legendary story
in the history of science.

328
00:17:56,792 --> 00:17:59,667
It is said that here, in 1666,

329
00:18:00,000 --> 00:18:01,833
a young Isaac Newton
was pondering

330
00:18:02,292 --> 00:18:03,708
the mysteries of the universe,

331
00:18:04,208 --> 00:18:07,208
when he saw an apple fall
straight down from the tree.

332
00:18:07,667 --> 00:18:11,625
In a flash of inspiration,
the great scientist and inventor

333
00:18:12,125 --> 00:18:14,667
formulated a theory
that would change the world,

334
00:18:15,042 --> 00:18:18,333
known as the law of gravity.

335
00:18:19,375 --> 00:18:22,667
Isaac Newton was
one of the foremost

336
00:18:23,167 --> 00:18:26,208
individuals in the so-called
Scientific Revolution.

337
00:18:27,250 --> 00:18:29,000
He had his hand in everything.

338
00:18:29,333 --> 00:18:30,792
He co-invented calculus.

339
00:18:31,125 --> 00:18:34,083
He formulated laws of motion.

340
00:18:34,500 --> 00:18:36,583
He did important
optical experiments,

341
00:18:36,958 --> 00:18:39,167
which explained
the nature of light.

342
00:18:39,542 --> 00:18:41,542
He was the first
to really theorize

343
00:18:41,875 --> 00:18:43,458
and mathematize gravity.

344
00:18:43,708 --> 00:18:45,333
Newton was a genius.

345
00:18:45,708 --> 00:18:47,042
But in addition to that,
there is a Newton

346
00:18:47,375 --> 00:18:48,292
that most people don't know,

347
00:18:48,583 --> 00:18:50,625
which is that
he was also an alchemist.

348
00:18:51,875 --> 00:18:54,042
SHATNER:
Sir Isaac Newton's
towering intellect

349
00:18:54,417 --> 00:18:57,708
helped lay the foundation
for modern science.

350
00:18:58,250 --> 00:19:01,250
But many are surprised to learn
that he was also obsessed

351
00:19:01,667 --> 00:19:04,667
with a mystical practice
that stretches back

352
00:19:05,042 --> 00:19:08,542
over 4,000 years
to ancient Egypt

353
00:19:08,833 --> 00:19:12,125
called alchemy.

354
00:19:14,417 --> 00:19:15,708
The ancient practice of alchemy

355
00:19:16,042 --> 00:19:17,667
is really an art
of transformation.

356
00:19:17,958 --> 00:19:19,667
Taking substances apart,

357
00:19:20,125 --> 00:19:21,250
breaking them down
to their essences,

358
00:19:21,625 --> 00:19:23,292
and then recombining
those essences

359
00:19:23,667 --> 00:19:25,500
in the hope of getting
something that is

360
00:19:25,833 --> 00:19:27,500
more pure, more useful.

361
00:19:28,542 --> 00:19:30,000
It does sound like magic,
but it's actually

362
00:19:30,375 --> 00:19:32,458
the precursor
to modern chemistry.

363
00:19:33,542 --> 00:19:34,708
THOMPSON:
The idea is that it's sort of

364
00:19:35,125 --> 00:19:37,375
science working
in a framework of magic.

365
00:19:37,875 --> 00:19:40,167
These are basically scientists
trying to figure out

366
00:19:40,583 --> 00:19:42,167
how to change
one thing into another.

367
00:19:42,625 --> 00:19:44,917
On the one hand, it's sort of
a scientific endeavor.

368
00:19:45,292 --> 00:19:47,167
On the other hand,
it's a mystical endeavor.

369
00:19:47,625 --> 00:19:49,958
KAKU:
Today, when we look back
at alchemists,

370
00:19:50,292 --> 00:19:51,833
we laugh, we realize

371
00:19:52,208 --> 00:19:53,958
there's so much black arts
involved with that.

372
00:19:54,458 --> 00:19:58,125
But realize that, for its time,
it was legitimate.

373
00:19:58,625 --> 00:20:01,333
You could do chemical reactions
and mix potions

374
00:20:01,708 --> 00:20:04,333
and sometimes come up
with interesting results.

375
00:20:04,708 --> 00:20:08,250
Isaac Newton was
fascinated by alchemy

376
00:20:08,625 --> 00:20:12,208
because alchemy, back then,
was fair game.

377
00:20:12,500 --> 00:20:14,167
It was a tremendous mystery.

378
00:20:16,000 --> 00:20:17,708
SHATNER:
Alchemists sought to unlock

379
00:20:18,125 --> 00:20:20,792
the mysteries of
the physical world.

380
00:20:21,125 --> 00:20:22,167
And by the seventh century,

381
00:20:22,583 --> 00:20:24,167
references to
a legendary substance

382
00:20:24,583 --> 00:20:28,833
began appearing
throughout alchemical texts.

383
00:20:29,250 --> 00:20:31,333
It was a concoction
so shrouded in secrecy,

384
00:20:31,708 --> 00:20:34,125
it was often
represented by symbols

385
00:20:34,500 --> 00:20:37,208
and in coded language.

386
00:20:37,708 --> 00:20:41,500
Every master alchemist,
including Sir Isaac Newton,

387
00:20:41,875 --> 00:20:45,833
yearned to crack the code
to creating what is called

388
00:20:46,208 --> 00:20:49,083
the philosopher's stone.

389
00:20:49,542 --> 00:20:52,333
The first use of the term
"philosopher's stone"

390
00:20:52,708 --> 00:20:55,042
stretches back
to Arabic alchemy.

391
00:20:55,458 --> 00:20:58,833
Really... Probably around
the seventh century

392
00:20:59,125 --> 00:21:00,500
of the Common Era.

393
00:21:01,958 --> 00:21:03,167
And then it becomes commonplace

394
00:21:03,583 --> 00:21:06,667
in both medieval alchemy
and early modern alchemy.

395
00:21:07,042 --> 00:21:08,417
The philosopher's stone
is really

396
00:21:08,917 --> 00:21:12,292
the most important substance
in alchemical literature.

397
00:21:12,750 --> 00:21:15,375
The philosopher's stone
was a substance

398
00:21:15,875 --> 00:21:18,167
that alchemists believe
would give you the ability

399
00:21:18,542 --> 00:21:19,792
to transmute base metals,

400
00:21:20,167 --> 00:21:22,875
like lead or tin,
into gold or silver.

401
00:21:23,958 --> 00:21:26,208
And Isaac Newton
was interested in the process

402
00:21:26,583 --> 00:21:28,375
of making
the philosopher's stone.

403
00:21:28,875 --> 00:21:31,542
SHATNER:
Sir Isaac Newton was trying
to create something capable

404
00:21:32,083 --> 00:21:35,167
of transforming a worthless
metal into gold or silver.

405
00:21:35,542 --> 00:21:37,458
And while
the philosopher's stone

406
00:21:37,875 --> 00:21:40,917
sounds like the name
of a magical rock,

407
00:21:41,333 --> 00:21:43,667
according to
most alchemical texts,

408
00:21:44,167 --> 00:21:48,917
this enigmatic substance has
more in common with fairy dust.

409
00:21:50,708 --> 00:21:52,083
Philosopher's stone
kind of evokes, like,

410
00:21:52,417 --> 00:21:53,875
a stone, a precious stone.

411
00:21:54,292 --> 00:21:57,250
But in actuality,
usually the philosopher's stone

412
00:21:57,708 --> 00:22:00,292
appears in writings
as types of powders

413
00:22:00,750 --> 00:22:04,042
or elixirs that can be added
in the course of the experiment.

414
00:22:04,542 --> 00:22:07,667
Theoretically, if you can create
the philosopher's stone,

415
00:22:08,208 --> 00:22:10,833
if you can go through all
the steps and stages correctly,

416
00:22:11,375 --> 00:22:15,083
once you have the philosopher's
stone in your hand--

417
00:22:15,500 --> 00:22:16,875
and again, not a stone,
but a powder--

418
00:22:17,375 --> 00:22:19,667
you can actually change
a base metal into gold.

419
00:22:20,292 --> 00:22:25,083
THOMPSON:
The philosopher's stone is just
viewed as the ultimate element.

420
00:22:25,500 --> 00:22:27,375
So, to achieve the
philosopher's stone is sort of

421
00:22:27,875 --> 00:22:29,458
unlocking the secrets
of the universe

422
00:22:29,958 --> 00:22:33,333
and being able to control
the secrets of the universe.

423
00:22:33,875 --> 00:22:36,667
And so, we can look at concepts
like the philosopher's stone now

424
00:22:37,042 --> 00:22:39,458
and say, "Oh, this is just-just,
you know, a legendary thing."

425
00:22:39,833 --> 00:22:42,042
And yet,
we know Sir Isaac Newton

426
00:22:42,500 --> 00:22:43,958
was absolutely fascinated
in the quest

427
00:22:44,333 --> 00:22:45,708
for the philosopher's stone.

428
00:22:48,000 --> 00:22:50,042
DRAGO:
Newton was fascinated
by the idea that

429
00:22:50,542 --> 00:22:52,500
there could be transformative
substance out there

430
00:22:52,875 --> 00:22:54,542
that can change
one thing to another.

431
00:22:55,083 --> 00:22:58,333
We can see through Newton's
manuscripts that he devotes

432
00:22:58,708 --> 00:23:00,500
an enormous part of his life
and his research

433
00:23:00,958 --> 00:23:03,333
to the making
of the philosopher's stone.

434
00:23:04,458 --> 00:23:07,833
SHATNER:
On his quest to invent
the philosopher's stone,

435
00:23:08,167 --> 00:23:10,208
Sir Isaac Newton
studied the works

436
00:23:10,583 --> 00:23:13,000
of the great alchemists
in history

437
00:23:13,292 --> 00:23:15,917
and pored over strange texts

438
00:23:16,292 --> 00:23:19,000
said to reveal
its secret recipe.

439
00:23:19,458 --> 00:23:21,167
KLEIN:
One of Newton's
favorite individuals

440
00:23:21,542 --> 00:23:23,958
for studying alchemy
was an English alchemist

441
00:23:24,375 --> 00:23:27,208
in the late Middle Ages
named George Ripley.

442
00:23:27,667 --> 00:23:29,917
One of my favorite
alchemical documents

443
00:23:30,375 --> 00:23:32,833
at the Huntington
is our Ripley Scroll.

444
00:23:33,375 --> 00:23:36,500
It's a 16th century
ten-foot-long scroll,

445
00:23:36,958 --> 00:23:41,458
and it tells the story of how
to make the philosopher's stone.

446
00:23:41,917 --> 00:23:45,375
And it just has the most
wild imagery you've ever seen.

447
00:23:45,875 --> 00:23:48,625
There's this
bleeding serpent-like toad.

448
00:23:49,083 --> 00:23:52,333
There's a bird with the head
of a human being.

449
00:23:52,750 --> 00:23:54,833
Green lions
and things like that.

450
00:23:55,208 --> 00:23:58,583
So, this imagery
isn't just there

451
00:23:58,958 --> 00:24:00,417
in order to be interesting
to look at.

452
00:24:00,875 --> 00:24:04,500
It holds keys to what alchemists
were doing in the laboratory.

453
00:24:04,958 --> 00:24:08,708
SHATNER:
Was Isaac Newton
able to decode the secrets

454
00:24:08,958 --> 00:24:10,000
of the Ripley Scroll

455
00:24:10,375 --> 00:24:12,875
and ultimately create
the philosopher's stone?

456
00:24:13,208 --> 00:24:14,667
The answer's unclear.

457
00:24:15,167 --> 00:24:17,833
Many of the great thinker's
personal manuscripts

458
00:24:18,375 --> 00:24:22,083
were destroyed after a fire
broke out in his laboratory.

459
00:24:22,500 --> 00:24:25,542
But in 2016,
a rare Newton document

460
00:24:26,042 --> 00:24:28,333
on the philosopher's stone
was unearthed

461
00:24:28,792 --> 00:24:33,250
that may hold some clues
to how successful the genius was

462
00:24:33,583 --> 00:24:37,167
at changing metal to gold.

463
00:24:37,625 --> 00:24:39,333
The manuscript that we have
at the Science History Institute

464
00:24:39,875 --> 00:24:43,667
is, uh, an alchemical recipe for
the making of sophic mercury.

465
00:24:44,875 --> 00:24:47,583
It's part of the process for
making the philosopher's stone.

466
00:24:48,000 --> 00:24:50,167
Now, we don't have any record
of Isaac Newton

467
00:24:50,542 --> 00:24:52,625
actually transmuting
lead to gold,

468
00:24:53,000 --> 00:24:54,708
but did he make
the philosopher's stone?

469
00:24:55,042 --> 00:24:56,250
That's an open question.

470
00:24:56,708 --> 00:24:59,833
KLEIN:
We don't know exactly
if Newton thought he had

471
00:25:00,208 --> 00:25:01,708
discovered
the philosopher's stone.

472
00:25:02,250 --> 00:25:04,875
This manuscript helps us
understand that Newton believed

473
00:25:05,208 --> 00:25:06,375
it's entirely possible.

474
00:25:06,708 --> 00:25:09,250
But no, I think
it remains to be revealed.

475
00:25:11,125 --> 00:25:15,208
Did Sir Isaac Newton actually
create the philosopher's stone,

476
00:25:15,542 --> 00:25:16,542
a substance that could

477
00:25:16,917 --> 00:25:19,000
miraculously
turn lead into gold?

478
00:25:19,125 --> 00:25:20,250
(chuckles)

479
00:25:20,625 --> 00:25:22,917
It's a tantalizing thought

480
00:25:23,042 --> 00:25:25,833
and a possibility

481
00:25:26,208 --> 00:25:28,833
when you consider evidence
of what some believe

482
00:25:29,083 --> 00:25:31,083
is ancient alchemy

483
00:25:31,500 --> 00:25:34,167
that's standing
right in front of us.

484
00:25:42,708 --> 00:25:45,458
SHATNER:
Built in 1889 as an homage

485
00:25:45,875 --> 00:25:48,208
to the industrial strength
of France,

486
00:25:48,542 --> 00:25:51,333
this striking achievement
in metalworks

487
00:25:51,708 --> 00:25:53,083
has held its iconic stance

488
00:25:53,458 --> 00:25:56,167
in the City of Light
for nearly 150 years.

489
00:25:56,542 --> 00:25:58,667
Once the tallest structure
in the world,

490
00:25:59,042 --> 00:26:01,417
the Eiffel Tower
has endured, in part,

491
00:26:01,917 --> 00:26:04,833
due to a fresh coat of paint
that's applied every seven years

492
00:26:05,208 --> 00:26:08,792
to protect the structure
from rust and corrosion.

493
00:26:10,833 --> 00:26:13,167
And 4,000 miles away in India,

494
00:26:13,625 --> 00:26:15,417
on the southern fringe
of New Delhi,

495
00:26:15,750 --> 00:26:18,542
stands another
tall iron monument.

496
00:26:18,875 --> 00:26:21,625
But this soaring column

497
00:26:22,167 --> 00:26:26,042
presents one of the greatest
mysteries in ancient metallurgy.

498
00:26:27,083 --> 00:26:30,333
It's called
the iron pillar of Delhi.

499
00:26:32,458 --> 00:26:35,292
COLLINS:
The iron pillar of Delhi
is located

500
00:26:35,583 --> 00:26:38,875
within a religious complex

501
00:26:39,250 --> 00:26:41,333
that was originally constructed

502
00:26:41,792 --> 00:26:45,542
as a Hindu temple
to the god Vishnu.

503
00:26:46,583 --> 00:26:48,375
It's obviously made of iron,

504
00:26:48,750 --> 00:26:52,458
but it has not corroded
in any way,

505
00:26:52,875 --> 00:26:56,458
and yet it has stood
in its current position

506
00:26:56,833 --> 00:26:59,750
for at least 800 years,
and before that,

507
00:27:00,208 --> 00:27:03,000
elsewhere for another
several hundred years.

508
00:27:03,375 --> 00:27:05,458
Where it had originally stood

509
00:27:05,833 --> 00:27:09,000
in the Madre Pradesh
region of India,

510
00:27:09,417 --> 00:27:13,625
it would almost seem as if
a new technique was invented

511
00:27:14,125 --> 00:27:17,875
to preserve it from corrosion
for thousands of years.

512
00:27:18,292 --> 00:27:22,333
And so far, it has
quite literally done that job.

513
00:27:22,708 --> 00:27:24,667
So what is the secret?

514
00:27:25,042 --> 00:27:28,583
Why has this iron
not corroded in a way

515
00:27:28,917 --> 00:27:31,500
which iron normally does?

516
00:27:31,875 --> 00:27:34,208
So, this would seem
to be a technology

517
00:27:34,708 --> 00:27:39,083
that was completely lost,
because if it wasn't lost,

518
00:27:39,458 --> 00:27:41,208
we'd have been using it today.

519
00:27:42,667 --> 00:27:46,542
SHATNER:
So how did ancient people
invent iron that doesn't rust?

520
00:27:46,958 --> 00:27:49,667
India's humid climate
is supposed to accelerate

521
00:27:50,042 --> 00:27:51,333
the process of corrosion.

522
00:27:51,750 --> 00:27:55,292
And the iron pillar's
cryptic ancient origins

523
00:27:55,625 --> 00:27:58,208
only make
this miraculous invention

524
00:27:58,500 --> 00:28:00,792
even more confounding.

525
00:28:01,125 --> 00:28:03,667
What we have here is a pillar

526
00:28:04,083 --> 00:28:08,792
that was originally created
to be special.

527
00:28:09,833 --> 00:28:12,625
It was put there
in pride of place,

528
00:28:13,042 --> 00:28:17,667
very close to this
huge minaret tower.

529
00:28:18,000 --> 00:28:23,292
The minaret tower
is 238 feet tall,

530
00:28:23,583 --> 00:28:25,958
and the iron pillar

531
00:28:26,292 --> 00:28:29,625
is 23 feet, eight inches,

532
00:28:30,042 --> 00:28:34,167
which is exactly one-tenth
of the tower,

533
00:28:34,625 --> 00:28:40,125
showing that there is some kind
of relationship between the two.

534
00:28:40,500 --> 00:28:44,167
But what it is
remains a true mystery.

535
00:28:46,000 --> 00:28:48,250
We really do not know who this

536
00:28:48,708 --> 00:28:51,292
iron pillar belongs to
or who built it.

537
00:28:51,792 --> 00:28:56,750
There are inscriptions
on the pillar itself.

538
00:28:57,125 --> 00:29:01,667
It is attributed
to King Chandragupta,

539
00:29:02,167 --> 00:29:06,542
and he ruled around
fourth to fifth century CE,

540
00:29:06,958 --> 00:29:09,833
but there is also controversy
about that name

541
00:29:10,375 --> 00:29:13,667
because there is only a name
"Chandra" on the pillar.

542
00:29:14,083 --> 00:29:16,333
It does not say "Chandragupta."

543
00:29:16,667 --> 00:29:19,542
So, it could also mean
another king

544
00:29:20,042 --> 00:29:24,625
called Rama-chandra,
which is a legendary king.

545
00:29:25,042 --> 00:29:27,333
And if it is true,
then that goes back

546
00:29:27,667 --> 00:29:30,125
to some 12,000 BCE.

547
00:29:31,500 --> 00:29:34,875
SHATNER:
The true age of the iron pillar
is a matter of debate.

548
00:29:35,333 --> 00:29:38,000
But if it really does
date back to 12,000 BC,

549
00:29:38,458 --> 00:29:41,667
that would mean
it was forged 10,000 years

550
00:29:42,000 --> 00:29:44,667
before iron was even discovered.

551
00:29:45,083 --> 00:29:47,583
And while many believe
the structure's more likely

552
00:29:47,667 --> 00:29:49,000
1,600 years old,

553
00:29:49,417 --> 00:29:52,500
what can explain the lack
of corrosion and rust?

554
00:29:52,708 --> 00:29:55,375
How was this achieved?

555
00:29:56,458 --> 00:29:57,667
In 2003,

556
00:29:58,083 --> 00:29:59,833
scientists from the
Indian Institute of Technology

557
00:30:00,208 --> 00:30:03,542
performed an analysis
on the iron pillar

558
00:30:04,042 --> 00:30:07,333
in an attempt
to find some answers.

559
00:30:07,833 --> 00:30:11,292
SHIMKHADA:
Scientists have analyzed
all the elements

560
00:30:11,708 --> 00:30:13,958
that went into building
this iron pillar.

561
00:30:14,417 --> 00:30:19,500
They found it is 98% iron
and one part is phosphorus.

562
00:30:19,958 --> 00:30:24,792
That has produced
what they call "misawite."

563
00:30:25,708 --> 00:30:27,667
And the misawite
is a kind of film

564
00:30:27,958 --> 00:30:30,000
that is coated the pillar,

565
00:30:30,417 --> 00:30:34,333
that is what protects
from corrosion

566
00:30:34,500 --> 00:30:36,042
and rust.

567
00:30:36,375 --> 00:30:38,292
The Delhi iron pillar

568
00:30:38,667 --> 00:30:41,000
is the evidence
of lost technology.

569
00:30:41,458 --> 00:30:45,667
No one has been able to
replicate the same iron pillar.

570
00:30:46,083 --> 00:30:49,667
MOHAN: Rust slowly starts
eating into iron,

571
00:30:50,000 --> 00:30:51,958
and it can destroy anything.

572
00:30:53,125 --> 00:30:57,875
This is how iron and moisture
are normally supposed to behave,

573
00:30:58,167 --> 00:30:59,833
but the iron pillar of India

574
00:31:00,208 --> 00:31:02,667
does something
very, very different.

575
00:31:03,042 --> 00:31:07,958
When moisture comes into contact
with the iron pillar,

576
00:31:08,417 --> 00:31:11,125
it basically converts
that moisture

577
00:31:11,625 --> 00:31:16,833
into a very unique compound,
forming a protective coating,

578
00:31:17,292 --> 00:31:20,792
making it even more resistant
to rusting.

579
00:31:21,208 --> 00:31:22,583
SHATNER:
The remarkable theory

580
00:31:23,083 --> 00:31:25,875
that the ancient column
creates its own protective layer

581
00:31:26,333 --> 00:31:28,667
to shield it from the elements
begs the question:

582
00:31:29,125 --> 00:31:33,125
How did
the ancient inventors do it?

583
00:31:34,708 --> 00:31:35,875
SHIMKHADA:
Iron is a major

584
00:31:36,208 --> 00:31:39,625
element for bridges
and buildings.

585
00:31:40,042 --> 00:31:42,917
And eventually, you know,
they catch a corrosion,

586
00:31:43,375 --> 00:31:46,333
and they rust,
and eventually they collapse.

587
00:31:46,792 --> 00:31:48,458
And we have seen
a lot of examples,

588
00:31:48,792 --> 00:31:49,958
you know, around the world.

589
00:31:50,375 --> 00:31:53,375
The builders
who built the iron pillar

590
00:31:53,750 --> 00:31:55,208
did not leave
the knowledge behind,

591
00:31:55,583 --> 00:31:58,917
other than the example,
which is still standing,

592
00:31:59,417 --> 00:32:03,333
but it has not been replicated
by anyone else.

593
00:32:03,708 --> 00:32:07,208
The builder knew
the secret formula

594
00:32:07,542 --> 00:32:09,000
to make it corrosion-free,

595
00:32:09,333 --> 00:32:12,167
but the knowledge is
lost forever.

596
00:32:13,833 --> 00:32:15,958
It's fascinating to think about

597
00:32:16,333 --> 00:32:19,333
where modern metallurgy
might be today

598
00:32:19,792 --> 00:32:21,625
if the true secrets
of the iron pillar

599
00:32:22,000 --> 00:32:23,833
had not disappeared
from history.

600
00:32:24,208 --> 00:32:28,833
And the same can be said
for another ancient invention

601
00:32:29,167 --> 00:32:31,792
created by a man so powerful,

602
00:32:32,167 --> 00:32:35,917
he was called
"The King of Poison."

603
00:32:41,042 --> 00:32:42,625
SHATNER:
For over 6,500 years,

604
00:32:43,042 --> 00:32:45,750
humans have used
a combination of minerals,

605
00:32:46,083 --> 00:32:47,917
vegetables and herbs

606
00:32:48,292 --> 00:32:53,458
to concoct toxic potions
we know as poison.

607
00:32:56,417 --> 00:33:00,667
History is filled with stories
of how poison was used

608
00:33:01,000 --> 00:33:02,167
to change the course of events

609
00:33:02,708 --> 00:33:07,083
for the likes of emperors,
queens and philosophers.

610
00:33:08,083 --> 00:33:10,833
But perhaps most intriguing

611
00:33:11,250 --> 00:33:15,500
is a remarkable invention
created in the first century BC

612
00:33:15,875 --> 00:33:19,667
by a ruler named
Mithridates the Great,

613
00:33:20,042 --> 00:33:23,708
also known as "The Poison King."

614
00:33:25,500 --> 00:33:27,500
Mithridates was the king
of poison in numerous ways.

615
00:33:27,833 --> 00:33:28,875
And one of them being,

616
00:33:29,292 --> 00:33:31,000
he was truly using poison
as-as a tool of war.

617
00:33:31,500 --> 00:33:34,875
But he was said to have come up
with either a powder or a pill

618
00:33:35,208 --> 00:33:36,958
that he took every day

619
00:33:37,250 --> 00:33:38,750
that would make you immune
to poison,

620
00:33:39,042 --> 00:33:40,333
the universal antidote

621
00:33:40,875 --> 00:33:43,667
that would keep you so that
you couldn't die from poison.

622
00:33:44,125 --> 00:33:46,667
COLLINS:
The story goes
that when he was young,

623
00:33:47,042 --> 00:33:49,833
Mithridates found out
or realized

624
00:33:50,208 --> 00:33:53,750
that his mother
had killed his own father

625
00:33:54,000 --> 00:33:56,583
by poisoning him.

626
00:33:57,000 --> 00:34:01,417
And knowing that he was
in line for the throne,

627
00:34:01,708 --> 00:34:03,542
he started to realize

628
00:34:03,958 --> 00:34:08,000
that his mother was also
trying to poison him.

629
00:34:08,417 --> 00:34:11,500
He realized this because,
as he was having his meals,

630
00:34:11,958 --> 00:34:14,292
he would feel
incredibly sick afterwards.

631
00:34:14,792 --> 00:34:18,042
And he thought,
almost certainly correctly,

632
00:34:18,500 --> 00:34:22,167
that she was putting small
amounts of poison in his food.

633
00:34:23,083 --> 00:34:24,542
So, he went into hiding,

634
00:34:25,000 --> 00:34:30,000
and he started working
with poisons and toxins.

635
00:34:30,417 --> 00:34:33,750
And Mithridates,
over a period of years,

636
00:34:34,083 --> 00:34:38,917
was able to create
this antidote,

637
00:34:39,292 --> 00:34:40,875
a cure-all for everything.

638
00:34:41,375 --> 00:34:45,208
And this is something
that Mithridates is famous for,

639
00:34:45,625 --> 00:34:48,625
even referred to as "The
Poison King" for this reason.

640
00:34:49,833 --> 00:34:52,500
SHATNER:
Mithridates' invention
of a universal antidote

641
00:34:52,917 --> 00:34:55,583
to all poisons--
known as "mithridate"--

642
00:34:56,083 --> 00:34:59,458
made him a legend
of the ancient world.

643
00:34:59,750 --> 00:35:01,167
But is it possible

644
00:35:01,542 --> 00:35:04,167
that such a miraculous invention
really worked?

645
00:35:04,708 --> 00:35:07,875
Some say the most compelling
evidence can be found

646
00:35:08,250 --> 00:35:12,208
by examining
this great king's own death.

647
00:35:14,167 --> 00:35:15,667
TOTELIN:
King Mithridates was vanquished

648
00:35:16,042 --> 00:35:20,958
by the Romans at the end
of three bloody wars.

649
00:35:21,458 --> 00:35:24,750
And he did what most kings
who had been vanquished did,

650
00:35:25,208 --> 00:35:29,208
and that was to kill himself,
to die by suicide.

651
00:35:30,375 --> 00:35:33,583
So, he decided to kill himself
by taking a poison.

652
00:35:34,875 --> 00:35:37,792
But he couldn't die
because he had become immune.

653
00:35:38,208 --> 00:35:41,000
And the idea is
that he was immune

654
00:35:41,333 --> 00:35:43,667
to the most poisonous of poisons

655
00:35:44,208 --> 00:35:48,792
because he had taken an antidote
for a very long time.

656
00:35:49,208 --> 00:35:52,833
So instead, he asked
to be killed by the sword.

657
00:35:54,208 --> 00:35:56,833
So, the story of the death
is actually the best proof

658
00:35:57,125 --> 00:35:59,500
that his antidote worked.

659
00:35:59,875 --> 00:36:01,083
SHATNER:
Is it possible

660
00:36:01,583 --> 00:36:04,958
that King Mithridates invented
a universal antidote

661
00:36:05,375 --> 00:36:08,958
capable of
counteracting any poison?

662
00:36:09,333 --> 00:36:11,292
And if so, why hasn't anyone

663
00:36:11,583 --> 00:36:15,042
been able
to duplicate his formula?

664
00:36:15,417 --> 00:36:18,000
King Mithridates' formula
was sought after,

665
00:36:18,375 --> 00:36:21,000
and the Romans went
to great length

666
00:36:21,250 --> 00:36:23,750
to get the formula

667
00:36:24,125 --> 00:36:27,417
and then translate it
into Latin.

668
00:36:28,542 --> 00:36:30,833
And then they developed
all sorts of formulas

669
00:36:31,208 --> 00:36:34,792
that were based on
the formula of Mithridates.

670
00:36:35,042 --> 00:36:37,500
One recipe is very short.

671
00:36:37,833 --> 00:36:39,417
It's four ingredients.

672
00:36:39,833 --> 00:36:45,000
And then we have another recipe
has around 50 ingredients.

673
00:36:45,500 --> 00:36:49,750
But we have many different
mithridatic antidotes

674
00:36:50,042 --> 00:36:51,917
in our sources.

675
00:36:52,375 --> 00:36:54,875
They're always different,
the ingredients,

676
00:36:55,250 --> 00:36:57,333
but they have things in common.

677
00:36:57,792 --> 00:37:01,333
Which one is the real antidote?
We don't know.

678
00:37:01,708 --> 00:37:04,083
I like to call it
"a pharmacological ghost,"

679
00:37:04,458 --> 00:37:06,167
because it's always--
you know, it's around.

680
00:37:06,708 --> 00:37:09,667
We know it's there,
but we can't quite capture it.

681
00:37:10,708 --> 00:37:12,333
THOMPSON:
These legends about Mithridates

682
00:37:12,875 --> 00:37:16,458
and his universal antidote
traveled through history.

683
00:37:16,833 --> 00:37:18,583
Poisonings continued
to be very popular

684
00:37:19,042 --> 00:37:22,958
throughout the Roman Empire,
throughout medieval Europe,

685
00:37:23,292 --> 00:37:25,458
even throughout the Renaissance.

686
00:37:25,875 --> 00:37:29,500
So, people were always looking
for that universal antidote.

687
00:37:29,917 --> 00:37:32,708
Uh, we don't know
if anyone has ever found it.

688
00:37:34,375 --> 00:37:36,542
SHATNER:
The Poison King's
miraculous invention

689
00:37:36,833 --> 00:37:38,375
is lost to history,

690
00:37:38,750 --> 00:37:41,250
but if we ever do
unlock this secret recipe

691
00:37:41,542 --> 00:37:43,667
to neutralize any poison,

692
00:37:44,167 --> 00:37:46,917
it would not only
save countless lives,

693
00:37:47,333 --> 00:37:52,042
it could also change
modern medicine as we know it.

694
00:37:52,417 --> 00:37:54,000
I think an antidote
is certainly an area

695
00:37:54,375 --> 00:37:58,167
where mystery and medicine
certainly collide.

696
00:37:58,667 --> 00:38:02,333
This quest for an antidote
or a universal medicine,

697
00:38:02,792 --> 00:38:06,000
it certainly says something
interesting about humanity

698
00:38:06,458 --> 00:38:09,458
and our desire
to find, uh, cure-alls

699
00:38:09,792 --> 00:38:11,125
and things
that will improve life

700
00:38:11,500 --> 00:38:13,792
and make our existence better.

701
00:38:22,042 --> 00:38:23,833
SHATNER:
The year 2000.

702
00:38:24,250 --> 00:38:27,292
Archaeologists unearth
the mummified remains

703
00:38:27,750 --> 00:38:31,292
of a Roman noblewoman
and her 18-year-old son.

704
00:38:31,750 --> 00:38:36,208
There on the woman's hand
is a 2,000-year-old ring

705
00:38:36,625 --> 00:38:38,917
with a remarkably
lifelike portrait

706
00:38:39,167 --> 00:38:41,000
of her beloved son.

707
00:38:42,667 --> 00:38:44,000
GEIGER:
This very unique ring,
it's set in gold,

708
00:38:44,375 --> 00:38:45,458
and it's got a crystal.

709
00:38:45,792 --> 00:38:47,083
It's a cabochon crystal,
which means that

710
00:38:47,542 --> 00:38:48,917
instead of being faceted
like you might see

711
00:38:49,375 --> 00:38:50,833
with a gemstone,
it's been polished smooth.

712
00:38:51,250 --> 00:38:54,458
And it has inside
a likeness of her son

713
00:38:54,875 --> 00:38:57,333
that is remarkably like
a modern hologram.

714
00:38:57,750 --> 00:39:01,417
And it really gives that feeling
that this ring is-is magic.

715
00:39:02,583 --> 00:39:04,000
SHATNER:
Modern holograms are advanced

716
00:39:04,417 --> 00:39:07,208
three-dimensional images
created by projecting light,

717
00:39:07,542 --> 00:39:09,542
often by laser beams.

718
00:39:10,042 --> 00:39:13,458
Rudimentary hologram technology
wasn't invented

719
00:39:13,958 --> 00:39:18,542
until 1948 by the Hungarian
physicist Dennis Gabor.

720
00:39:18,917 --> 00:39:22,833
So how was
this holographic ring created

721
00:39:23,167 --> 00:39:26,000
almost 2,000 years ago?

722
00:39:27,667 --> 00:39:29,125
THOMPSON:
It's often called
a "hologram ring."

723
00:39:29,625 --> 00:39:32,458
It's not a hologram, of course,
but it follows the same idea

724
00:39:32,833 --> 00:39:34,042
that you're actually seeing
a 3D image.

725
00:39:34,542 --> 00:39:36,500
Crystals refract light
in interesting ways,

726
00:39:37,042 --> 00:39:39,292
and the artisanship behind this
was really fabulous,

727
00:39:39,667 --> 00:39:42,458
to be able to put
a reflective face in the back.

728
00:39:43,667 --> 00:39:45,667
This is what gives it
its kind of eerie 3D effect.

729
00:39:46,208 --> 00:39:50,875
And this is the only example
of this that we currently have.

730
00:39:52,042 --> 00:39:54,167
GEIGER:
The ring certainly
leads you to wonder:

731
00:39:54,542 --> 00:39:56,750
Was this just
one technology, one person,

732
00:39:57,042 --> 00:39:58,167
and then it was lost?

733
00:39:58,625 --> 00:40:00,792
Someone could probably try
to duplicate it today.

734
00:40:01,250 --> 00:40:03,875
But maybe this was this piece
of technology from someone

735
00:40:04,208 --> 00:40:06,000
who was very special
in their art

736
00:40:06,292 --> 00:40:07,625
and who-who's gone.

737
00:40:08,042 --> 00:40:11,208
SHATNER:
We may never know
who created the holographic ring

738
00:40:11,708 --> 00:40:15,083
or how exactly they created
this intricate relic,

739
00:40:15,458 --> 00:40:17,917
but its mere existence is proof

740
00:40:18,375 --> 00:40:20,208
that the inventors
of the ancient world

741
00:40:20,625 --> 00:40:25,167
were capable of far more than
we give them credit for.

742
00:40:25,542 --> 00:40:26,833
THOMPSON:
It's always a fascinating moment

743
00:40:27,208 --> 00:40:29,167
in archeology when we realize

744
00:40:29,500 --> 00:40:31,375
how advanced
some of the techniques

745
00:40:31,917 --> 00:40:34,958
and the knowledge were from some
of these ancient civilizations.

746
00:40:35,333 --> 00:40:37,667
I think a big part
of the puzzle is,

747
00:40:38,042 --> 00:40:40,333
we understand
where we get our knowledge from,

748
00:40:40,875 --> 00:40:42,958
but we look back at some of
these amazing inventions,

749
00:40:43,250 --> 00:40:44,333
these displays of knowledge,

750
00:40:44,750 --> 00:40:46,208
and we have
a hard time imagining,

751
00:40:46,667 --> 00:40:48,708
before science,
before universities:

752
00:40:49,208 --> 00:40:53,250
How did these societies build
all of this body of knowledge?

753
00:40:54,375 --> 00:40:56,458
KAKU:
When you think of modern
technology, we say to ourselves,

754
00:40:56,708 --> 00:40:58,500
"Yeah, we invented that.

755
00:40:58,875 --> 00:41:00,167
"Yeah, we're the ones
who pioneered

756
00:41:00,458 --> 00:41:02,667
this breakthrough
in technology."

757
00:41:03,125 --> 00:41:06,708
And then we realized
there were antecedents.

758
00:41:07,333 --> 00:41:10,167
There were other versions
of this very same technology

759
00:41:10,500 --> 00:41:12,708
that the ancients
were toying with.

760
00:41:13,208 --> 00:41:16,250
When you begin to understand
the technology of the ancients,

761
00:41:16,792 --> 00:41:19,917
begin to realize the ancients
had their own wisdom,

762
00:41:20,292 --> 00:41:23,792
a wisdom that is parallel
to the wisdom of today.

763
00:41:26,292 --> 00:41:28,917
Whether it's something
as monumental

764
00:41:29,250 --> 00:41:31,583
as a death ray
or an atomic bomb,

765
00:41:32,000 --> 00:41:36,000
or as mystical as an elixir
or secret antidote,

766
00:41:36,500 --> 00:41:38,917
history is filled
with fascinating stories

767
00:41:39,292 --> 00:41:40,583
of ancient inventions

768
00:41:41,000 --> 00:41:44,583
that challenge our notion
of human innovation.

769
00:41:45,667 --> 00:41:47,208
Could these
incredible technologies

770
00:41:47,542 --> 00:41:49,000
really have been
achieved hundreds

771
00:41:49,292 --> 00:41:52,000
or even thousands of years ago?

772
00:41:52,375 --> 00:41:55,292
It's an intriguing possibility

773
00:41:55,625 --> 00:41:58,833
that, for now, will remain...

774
00:41:59,125 --> 00:42:00,375
unexplained.

775
00:42:00,833 --> 00:42:03,250
CAPTIONING PROVIDED BY
A+E NETWORKS