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00:00On this episode of Expedition Files.
00:03In 1948, a man is found dead on an Australian beach with no ID and a cryptic message hidden in his clothing.
00:12For 75 years, his identity has remained a mystery.
00:18Until now.
00:23Then, the Trojan War is one of our most enduring legends.
00:27Greek soldiers hidden inside a wooden horse mount the world's most legendary surprise attack.
00:33For the first time, we'll reveal the truth behind the myth.
00:39And Shakespeare is considered the greatest writer in history.
00:43But does he deserve the credit?
00:46We reveal the remarkable theory that argues the true author has remained hidden.
00:51In the corridors of time
00:57Are mysteries that defy explanation.
01:03Now, I'm traveling through history itself
01:07On a search for the truth
01:12New evidence
01:15Shocking answers
01:18I'm Josh Gates
01:21And these
01:24Are my Expedition Files
01:28They say that patience is a virtue
01:35Something that's important to remember
01:37While waiting for the secrets of the past to be revealed
01:40And when you're updating your iPhone
01:42But tonight, we're diving into mysteries that refuse to be rushed
01:46Because sometimes cracking history's toughest cases
01:49Isn't about forcing the puzzle pieces together
01:52It's about letting time do the heavy lifting
01:54And staying patient
01:56Until the answers finally present themselves
01:59We begin by turning back the clock
02:01To December 1st, 1948
02:04Somerton Beach
02:06Near Adelaide, South Australia
02:08The time is 6.30 a.m.
02:11But despite the beautiful coastal view
02:13Several beachgoers are gathered near the seawall
02:15Looking down at something else
02:18The motionless body of a man
02:20Lying with his head propped up
02:22He almost looks asleep
02:23Almost
02:24Oh my god
02:25He's dead
02:27He's oddly well-dressed for the beach
02:28Nice suit
02:29And even dress shoes
02:30Polished to a high shine
02:32But he has no wallet
02:33Indeed, no identification of any kind
02:36Even more bizarre
02:37There's not a mark on him
02:39But soon, curious clues will surface
02:42A coded message
02:43A torn scrap of poetry
02:45And whispers of Cold War secrets
02:48Who is this?
02:50And how did he die?
02:51These questions will linger for more than seven decades
02:54That is, until a revolutionary DNA breakthrough
02:58Will reveal the long-lost identity of the stranger
03:02Known only as the Somerton Man
03:04Detectives Lionel Lean and Len Brown are baffled
03:19The few items in the dead man's pocket
03:24Seemingly offer no clues about who he was
03:26Or how he died
03:28The police find a half-empty packet of chewing gum
03:32An aluminum comb
03:34A bus and train ticket
03:36Matches
03:38And a pack of cigarettes
03:40During an initial examination of the body
03:43They find no evidence of violence
03:44They do, however, notice that the deceased
03:47Has extremely well-defined calves
03:49And wedge-shaped toes
03:51This leads some to theorize
03:54That perhaps the man was a ballet dancer
03:56Another detail that jumps out
03:59Every label on his clothing
04:01Has been meticulously removed
04:03And his shoes are so spotless
04:06They don't even show signs
04:08He'd been walking across the beach
04:09Something isn't right
04:12And the detectives can sense it
04:14The autopsy reveals no wounds of any kind
04:19The pathologist suspects poison
04:21But no trace is ever found
04:23The cause of death is ruled unknown
04:27January 14th, 1949
04:34Detectives have pounded the pavement
04:36For six weeks
04:37Since the Somerton man was first found
04:38And in that time
04:39They've searched every hotel
04:41Bus and train stop in the city
04:43Finally, at a local rail station
04:45They get a hit
04:46The discovery of an unclaimed suitcase
04:48In the coat check
04:49The case was placed there
04:52The day before
04:53The body was discovered on the beach
04:55But no one remembers
04:58Who put it there
04:58Inside, more clothes
05:01With tags removed
05:02But then they find
05:05One big clue
05:06The name T. Keene
05:08Is stitched on a necktie
05:10So, mystery solved, right?
05:13The body must be T. Keene
05:15Except there's a problem
05:18There isn't a single person
05:21Named Keene reported as missing
05:22Not in Adelaide
05:24Not in all of Australia
05:26Needing more time
05:28And desperate to preserve
05:29What remains of the mysterious man's body
05:31Authorities make a plaster cast
05:34Of his head and torso
05:35Capturing his features
05:36Before they're lost forever
05:38Then, just when the case is going cold
05:44A discovery
05:45Months after his death
05:48Detectives examine his clothing
05:50One last time
05:51And in a hidden pocket
05:53Sewn within his pants
05:54They find something fascinating
05:56A tiny scrap of paper
05:59With a mysterious message
06:01Tammam Shud
06:03Two words
06:04Neatly printed
06:05In Persian, it means
06:08It is finished
06:09The question is
06:11Was it left by the man himself
06:13Or by his killer?
06:20Detectives confirm
06:21The tiny scrap
06:22Has been torn
06:23From the final page
06:24Of the Rubiat
06:25By Omar Khayyam
06:26A collection of poetry
06:28Dating back to
06:2912th century Persia
06:30A public appeal follows
06:32And detectives soon recover
06:34The rest of the book
06:35Which had been tossed
06:36By someone
06:37Into the back seat
06:38Of a local man's car
06:39Parked near Somerton Beach
06:41The torn scrap of paper
06:43Fits perfectly
06:44Restoring a haunting message
06:46And when thyself
06:49With shining foot
06:50Shall pass
06:50Among the guests
06:52Star scattered on the grass
06:54And in thy joyous errand
06:55Reach the spot
06:56Where I made one
06:57Turn down an empty glass
07:00Tammam Shud
07:01It is finished
07:02It's a farewell
07:06The empty glass
07:07Symbolizes the end
07:09Of one's life
07:09As in
07:10I've finished my drink
07:11My time is up
07:12Detectives discover
07:15That the book provides
07:16Even more potential clues
07:17Faint impressions
07:19Pressed into the back
07:20Of the book
07:21Five lines of letters
07:22That appear to be
07:23Some kind of secret code
07:25Could it be
07:27An encrypted message?
07:28Why not?
07:29After all
07:30The Cold War
07:31Is just beginning
07:31To heat up
07:32With a uranium mine
07:34And a military research facility
07:36Close to where
07:36The Somerton man
07:37Was found
07:38The detectives wonder
07:39Was this man
07:41A Soviet spy?
07:43The Australian Navy's
07:44Cryptographic experts
07:45Examine the text
07:47Hoping to break the code
07:48But despite their efforts
07:50They're unable
07:50To crack it
07:51On the inside
07:53Back cover of the book
07:54Detectives find something
07:56More easily deciphered
07:57A phone number
07:59It connects them
08:00To a woman
08:01Named Jessica Thompson
08:02Living just a
08:03Five minute walk
08:04From where the body
08:05Was found
08:06Jessica Thompson
08:07Hi
08:07Yeah
08:08Adelaide Police Department
08:10Can we have a word?
08:12Okay
08:12Yes
08:13Come in
08:13Could she be the one
08:15To finally name
08:16The man
08:17Behind the face?
08:19At the station
08:20Police present Jessica
08:22With the man's
08:22Haunting death mask
08:24When Jessica sees the bust
08:26She looks shocked
08:27In fact
08:28She almost faints
08:29But then
08:30She regains
08:31Her composure
08:31And insists
08:32That she doesn't
08:33Recognize the man
08:34No
08:35But she does claim
08:37To recognize
08:38Something else
08:39The rubia
08:40She tells detectives
08:42She once owned
08:43A copy
08:43Of the same book
08:44During the war
08:47While working
08:48As a nurse
08:48In a military hospital
08:49Jessica gave the book
08:51As a gift
08:52To an Australian
08:52Army lieutenant
08:53Named Alf Boxall
08:55With whom she had
08:56A brief romance
08:57After the war
08:58She married
08:59And moved on
09:00Then
09:01One day
09:02A letter arrived
09:03From Boxall
09:03She wrote back
09:05Only once
09:06To tell him
09:06She was married now
09:07And they could
09:08Never meet again
09:09Police are convinced
09:12They've found their man
09:13It must be
09:14Alf Boxall
09:15They theorize
09:16He took his own life
09:18Drinking poison
09:18After being rejected
09:20By Jessica
09:20But a stunning twist
09:24Is about to change
09:25Everything police
09:26Thought they uncovered
09:27About the dead man
09:29It turns out
09:31That Alf Boxall
09:32Is alive and well
09:33Living quietly
09:34In Sydney
09:35And the kicker
09:36His copy of the rubia
09:38Is still in his possession
09:39The book was extremely
09:43Popular in Australia
09:44At this time
09:45But based on
09:47Jessica's reaction
09:48To the bust
09:48Some experts
09:50Have suggested
09:50That she did know
09:51The Somerton man
09:52That perhaps
09:53Shockingly
09:54He was even
09:55The estranged father
09:56Of her son
09:57Robin
09:57Photos of Robin
09:59Do bear a resemblance
10:00To the Somerton man
10:01Some going so far
10:03As to claim
10:03A 99% possibility
10:05That they're related
10:06Oh and remember
10:08The dead man's
10:08Pronounced calves
10:09Well maybe they run
10:10In the family
10:11Because Robin Thompson
10:12Grew up to be
10:13A ballet dancer
10:15But 99%
10:17Isn't a done deal
10:18And that 1%
10:20Chance
10:20Well 70 years
10:22After the mystery
10:23Began
10:23Shocking new evidence
10:25Appears to unmask
10:26The Somerton man's
10:27True identity
10:28For almost a century
10:36The Somerton man case
10:37Has sparked
10:38Extraordinary theories
10:39Of spies
10:41Heartbreak
10:42And secret codes
10:43But no solid answers
10:44Until professor
10:46Derek Abbott
10:46From the University
10:47Of Adelaide
10:48Comes up with
10:49An ingenious idea
10:50To crack the case
10:51I was looking
10:53At this plaster bus
10:55Of the Somerton man
10:56And I noticed
10:57There were hairs
10:59Stuck in the plaster
11:00Immediately in my mind
11:02The word DNA
11:03Popped up
11:04You've heard of
11:05Grasping at straws
11:06This was grasping
11:07At hairs
11:08Sealed for decades
11:10In the plaster cast
11:11The hairs were
11:12Badly deteriorated
11:13Extracting viable DNA
11:16Was going to be
11:17A long shot
11:17At best
11:18I got permission
11:20To extract hairs
11:22From the plaster bust
11:23And it was like
11:25A gold mine
11:26The lab pulled out
11:28A sequence of
11:292 million pieces
11:30Of DNA information
11:32We found distant cousins
11:35And they were all
11:37In Melbourne, Australia
11:39We found a live people
11:41Today whose DNA
11:42Triangulated to him
11:44And it was at that point
11:45We knew that we had
11:46Nailed it
11:47After 70 years of intrigue
11:50The team appears
11:51To have found their man
11:53The hair belonged
11:54To an individual
11:55Named Carl Charles Webb
11:57Born in 1905
11:59In Victoria, Australia
12:01Carl was an electrical engineer
12:03In 1941
12:04He married Dorothy Robinson
12:06But the marriage
12:07Quickly fell apart
12:08In divorce documents
12:10Dorothy described Carl
12:12As abusive
12:12Depressed
12:13And isolated
12:14And even potentially suicidal
12:17After discovering him
12:18Overdosed on ether
12:20Remarkably
12:22Carl had a deep love
12:23For poetry
12:24Writing his own verses
12:26Many of which
12:27Were focused on death
12:28Which his ex-wife claimed
12:30Was quote
12:30His greatest desire
12:32This seems to be
12:34A strong connection
12:35To the slip of poetry
12:36Found in the dead man's pants
12:37And the copy of the Rubaiot
12:39Discarded in the car
12:41But what about that strange
12:43Sequence of letters
12:44Inscribed inside?
12:46That was all very mysterious
12:47To people
12:48Ooh, you know
12:49That's a sign of a spy
12:51As it turned out
12:53It really isn't a serious code
12:55It doesn't have
12:56The structure of
12:58Serious World War II code
13:00But because it's
13:02Four lines
13:03And this is a book
13:04Of poetry
13:05With verses
13:06That all have
13:07Four lines in them
13:08It could be
13:09He's trying to pen
13:10A poem himself
13:12In a similar vein
13:14To the four line
13:15Poetry
13:16In the Rubaiyat
13:18Either way
13:19It seems the real
13:21Somerton man
13:21Was no international spy
13:23And there are even more
13:25Pieces of the puzzle
13:26Carl had a nephew
13:27Named John Keane
13:29Remember that tie
13:30The detectives found
13:31With the name tag
13:32T Keane
13:33Well it turns out
13:34They read it wrong
13:35The T was apparently
13:37A J
13:37So when he died
13:39On that beach
13:40Carl Webb
13:41Was simply carrying
13:41His nephew's clothes
13:43It's a stunning conclusion
13:47But not every puzzle piece
13:49Has been found
13:49What about the fact
13:51The discarded poetry book
13:52Inexplicably contained
13:53The phone number
13:54Of Jessica Thompson
13:55The young nurse
13:56Who reacted to the bust
13:58Of the Somerton man
13:59But then swore
14:00She didn't know him
14:01Why on earth
14:02Does he have her number
14:04It makes you wonder
14:05Whether they knew
14:06Each other from before
14:07But we have not
14:08Been able to find
14:09Any evidence
14:10To back that up
14:11So it could be
14:14Just a coincidence
14:15That he has her number
14:16For whatever reason
14:17Because you have to remember
14:19In those days
14:20People put classified ads
14:23In newspapers
14:24Advertising to sell things
14:26And she did have a bunch
14:28Of classified ads
14:29At the time
14:31There's still so much
14:33We don't know about Carl Webb
14:34Or how and why he died
14:36Some experts point to
14:38A possible heart attack
14:39Or a pharmaceutical overdose
14:41Some still suspect
14:42A rare poison
14:43But without hard forensic evidence
14:45We may never know for sure
14:47But we do know
14:48That Professor Abbott
14:50And his team
14:50Have done what for 70 years
14:52Was believed impossible
14:54Provide a definitive
14:55Scientific identification
14:57For the Somerton Man
14:59Tammam should
15:00It is finished indeed
15:02History has a way
15:07Of hiding secrets
15:08Whether the identity
15:09Of an unknown man
15:10Or the truth
15:11Behind a legendary war
15:13It's 1200 BC
15:14I'm standing outside
15:16One of the ancient world's
15:17Most notorious fortresses
15:19This is Troy
15:21A city known
15:22For its great wealth
15:23And status
15:23Oh and the massive
15:25Wooden horse behind me
15:26That's an offering
15:27To the goddess Athena
15:28Supposedly left behind
15:30By the retreating Greeks
15:31After 10 long years of war
15:33To the Trojans
15:35It's seen as a victory trophy
15:36But you know that old saying
15:38Beware of Greeks bearing gifts
15:40Yeah
15:40This is where that comes from
15:42Soon the Trojans
15:43Will wheel it inside
15:44And hidden Greek soldiers
15:46Will pour out
15:47And conquer the city
15:48That is
15:49If any of this
15:50Ever happened
15:51Was there actually
15:53A Trojan horse
15:53Or even
15:54A Trojan war
15:55For that matter
15:563,000 years from now
15:58Archaeology
15:58And cutting edge science
16:00Will reveal the truth
16:01Behind this epic myth
16:03Remember those two doorstops
16:19From high school
16:20You pretended to read
16:21The Iliad
16:21And the Odyssey
16:22Well they're the blockbuster
16:24Epics of the ancient world
16:25And the bedrock
16:26Of western lit
16:27While they may have
16:28Originated as an oral tradition
16:30They are credited
16:31To a Greek poet
16:32Named Homer
16:33In the 8th century BC
16:34The Iliad
16:38Covers the brutal war
16:39Sparked when Helen
16:40Queen of Sparta
16:41Is abducted to the rich
16:42And powerful city of Troy
16:44Greek king Agamemnon
16:47Then rallies the city states
16:48To help her husband
16:49Menelaus
16:50Get her back
16:51The Odyssey is kind of like the sequel
17:02Which follows a hero
17:03Named Odysseus
17:04On the worst road trip
17:05In history
17:06As he tries to get home
17:07After the war
17:08So what about the city
17:11At the center
17:12Of Homer's stories
17:13In the legends
17:16Troy is a rich
17:17Status-soaked port kingdom
17:19Near the sea
17:20And a gateway
17:21To major trade routes
17:22And it's a fortress
17:26High walls
17:27Strong gates
17:28So formidable
17:29The Greek armies
17:30Camp outside
17:31And supposedly
17:32Hammer at it
17:32For 10 years
17:33And that's where
17:35The legendary horse
17:36Comes in
17:37After the Greek soldiers
17:38Jump out
17:39They set the city ablaze
17:40Torching its temples
17:42And killing
17:43Or enslaving
17:44Its citizens
17:45It's certainly
17:46A vivid story
17:47Of the cunning
17:48And treachery
17:48Of war
17:49But what are the facts?
17:51Here's what we know
17:53Around 1200 BC
17:55In the Bronze Age
17:56Civilizations
17:57Like the Greeks
17:57The Mycenaeans
17:59And the Hittites
18:00Duke it out
18:02All around the Mediterranean
18:03Cities are razed
18:06Alliances forged
18:07And broken
18:08War is everywhere
18:09It's clear
18:11That Homer's epic story
18:12Is set in a period
18:13Just as volatile
18:14As this real one
18:15But for centuries
18:17There was no evidence
18:18That a war
18:18Had ever occurred
18:19In the city of Troy
18:20And there's good reason
18:22For that
18:23No one knew
18:23If Troy
18:24Was even a real place
18:25Fast forward
18:29A few thousand years
18:30Because that's where
18:31This guy
18:31Heinrich Schliemann
18:32Comes in
18:33In the 1870s
18:35This self-taught
18:35Archaeologist
18:36Arrives in modern-day
18:37Turkey
18:38Determined to find Troy
18:39Fueled by a childhood
18:42Obsession with Homer's tales
18:43He's convinced
18:44The city lies buried
18:45Beneath Hisarlik
18:46A flat-topped mound
18:48In northern Turkey
18:49About four miles
18:50From the Aegean Sea
18:51Using references
18:54In Homer's text
18:55Like a map
18:55Schliemann starts to dig
18:57And wouldn't you know it
19:00He actually finds something
19:01Layer upon layer
19:05Of ruins
19:06In ancient times
19:09Different cities
19:10Would be built
19:11Destroyed
19:12And rebuilt
19:12In the exact same place
19:14Each time
19:15Piling new structures
19:16On top of the old
19:17Beneath the point
19:20Where Schliemann
19:21Began his excavation
19:22Lay nine distinct
19:23Archaeological layers
19:25Each reflecting
19:26A different era
19:27Of habitation
19:28Designated Troy
19:29One through nine
19:30These strata
19:31Span from the stone age
19:33To the roman era
19:34Revealing the site's
19:35Deep history
19:36Driven by his obsession
19:40Schliemann attacks
19:41The site
19:42With shovels
19:43Pickaxes
19:44And even dynamite
19:46In his single-minded
19:47Quest for Troy
19:48He blindly destroys
19:49Priceless archaeological evidence
19:51Leveling centuries
19:53Of history
19:53In his path
19:54Yet even in the chaos
19:56Schliemann strikes gold
19:58Literally
19:58He unearths a glittering cache
20:01Of ancient treasures
20:03Golden crowns
20:04Bracelets
20:05And a delicate chain
20:06He famously claims
20:07Belonged to Helen of Troy
20:09Herself
20:10In 1873
20:13Schliemann declares
20:14He's found Troy
20:15And news of his
20:17Incredible discovery
20:18Spreads around the world
20:19Schliemann has seemingly
20:21Done the impossible
20:22Finding the real-life foundation
20:24Of one of our greatest legends
20:26But a big problem
20:27Is about to be dug up
20:29In the rugged terrain
20:36Of what is now Turkey
20:37Archaeologist
20:39Heinrich Schliemann
20:39Believes he's uncovered
20:41The lost city of Troy
20:42There's no wooden horse
20:45In sight
20:46But shimmering gold goblets
20:48Crowns
20:49And dazzling jewels
20:50Do suggest a city
20:52Worthy of Homeric verse
20:54But a problem quickly emerges
20:58The allegedly Trojan treasure
21:00Schliemann unearthed
21:01Actually dates to around
21:032400 BC
21:04Over a thousand years
21:06Before the era
21:07Of Homer's Iliad
21:08So did Schliemann
21:10Get it all wrong?
21:11Well
21:12Maybe not entirely
21:13Decade after decade
21:16Archaeological teams
21:17Return to his sarlacc
21:18Leaving the dynamite
21:19At home
21:20They carefully excavate
21:22The layer cake structure
21:23Of the site
21:24They zero in
21:26On the layers
21:26Schliemann tore through
21:28Specifically Troy 6
21:29And 7
21:30What they uncover
21:32Is stunning
21:32These layers
21:34Date from the era
21:35Of the Trojan war
21:36As described by Homer
21:37And they reveal
21:38The remnants
21:39Of a grand city
21:40With towering
21:41Fortification walls
21:42All of which
21:44Suggests
21:44The Troy of legend
21:46Might in fact
21:47Be real
21:47And that Schliemann
21:48Had dug in the right place
21:50But dug too deep
21:51And ended up
21:52In the wrong time
21:53But is there any evidence
21:55That backs up
21:56Homer's narrative
21:56Of the Trojan war?
21:58Professor Owen Dunan
21:59Is an archaeologist
22:00Who has spent 25 years
22:02Excavating in the region
22:03Archaeology is
22:06The most incredibly
22:08Dynamic field
22:09Like the question of Troy
22:11We are always going
22:13To be finding
22:14Shocking and exciting
22:16New things
22:17At the site of Troy
22:19There has been
22:20Evidence found
22:21Of burning
22:22Of destruction
22:23That we associate
22:25With the time horizon
22:27Around 1200 BC
22:29Weapons
22:31Burnt buildings
22:32Charcoal
22:33Burnt bones
22:35Testify to
22:36A fiery destruction
22:38Within the time
22:39Associated with the Trojan war
22:41So not only
22:43Was Troy a real place
22:45But there is also
22:46Clear evidence
22:47Of its catastrophic downfall
22:48But what brought about
22:50Its destruction?
22:51Was it the likes
22:52Of King Agamemnon
22:53And Menelaus
22:54In their epic quest
22:56To rescue Helen?
22:57And can we finally say
22:58Giddy up
22:59To a Trojan horse?
23:01Well, few historians
23:02Would argue
23:03That such a theatrical ploy
23:05Could have really happened
23:06As described
23:07But with so much
23:08Of the story of Troy
23:09Bearing out
23:10Some experts believe
23:11That Homer described
23:12A mythic distortion
23:14Of something very real
23:16Unfortunately
23:18There's never been
23:19Any trace found
23:20Of the so-called
23:22Trojan horse
23:23But there were
23:24Large wooden vessels
23:26That are known
23:27Around this time
23:29Called siege engines
23:30A siege engine
23:32Was sort of like
23:33An ancient tank
23:35Early Greek sources
23:36Use the word
23:37Hippos
23:38When referring
23:39To the Trojan horse
23:40But that term
23:41Is also used
23:42To describe
23:43Certain wheeled
23:44Weapons of war
23:44Some of which
23:45Were even animal shaped
23:47Hence the term
23:48Battering ram
23:49It's quite possible
23:51That something like
23:53A siege machine
23:54That resembled
23:56A form of a horse
23:57May have been
23:59Part of the conquest
24:01Of the city of Troy
24:03And what about
24:04The rest of Homer's caste
24:06Agamemnon
24:07Menelaus
24:07Helen
24:08And the rest of the gang
24:09Any truth there?
24:11Well amazingly
24:12The answer is also
24:13Yes
24:13Courtesy of discoveries
24:15From a neighboring civilization
24:17Archaeologists
24:19Have excavated
24:20Written tablets
24:21From the Hittite Empire
24:22A powerful kingdom
24:23That flourished
24:24In central Turkey
24:25Between 1600
24:26And 1200 BC
24:28And some of the tablets
24:30Contain references
24:31To specific names
24:33And places
24:33That closely mirror
24:35Those described
24:36In Homer's Iliad
24:37There has been a trickle
24:40Of new tablets
24:42Discovered
24:44And translated
24:45That mention
24:46Various characters
24:48That we are familiar with
24:50From the story
24:51Like the reference
24:53To Atarsia
24:54A king
24:56Of the Ahiyawa
24:58Is widely believed
25:00To connect
25:01With the name
25:02Atreus
25:03The father of
25:05Agamemnon
25:05And Manilaus
25:07In the Iliad
25:09These were the kings
25:11Who led
25:12The Greek expedition
25:14To Troy
25:15So after almost
25:173000 years
25:18We now have real evidence
25:20That Homer's epic narrative
25:22Has significant historical roots
25:24From the city
25:25To the players
25:26And maybe
25:27Just maybe
25:28The horse itself
25:29Is everything
25:30In Homer's epic factual
25:32No
25:32But it's kind of like
25:34Your favorite TV series today
25:36Lavish
25:36Dramatic
25:37And stamped
25:38With those five
25:39Irresistible words
25:40Based
25:41On a true story
25:43All the world's a stage
25:51And all the men and women
25:52Merely players
25:53It's 1601
25:55And I'm walking the boards
25:56Of London's Globe Theatre
25:58And this here
25:59Is none other than
26:00William Shakespeare
26:01He's been called
26:03The most influential writer
26:04Of all time
26:05Today
26:06The Bard of Avon
26:07Is running a rehearsal
26:08For a little play
26:09He's just penned
26:10Called Hamlet
26:11I wonder if it'll be a hit
26:12This above all
26:14To thine own self
26:16Be true
26:16Catchy line
26:17But how's this
26:18For a dramatic twist
26:19Did he really write it
26:21For the next
26:22Four centuries
26:23Some will suspect
26:24That there may be
26:25A different man
26:26Behind the name
26:27Shakespeare
26:27And one historian
26:29Will reveal
26:30That a secret code
26:31Could unlock
26:32His true identity
26:33So
26:34Is Shakespeare
26:35To be or not to be
26:37The world's greatest playwright
26:39That
26:40Is the question
26:41William Shakespeare
26:51Has captivated the world
26:52For centuries
26:53Author of 39 acclaimed plays
26:55Not to mention 154 sonnets
26:57And a reputation
26:58As the greatest writer
27:00Who ever lived
27:01But for a man
27:03Who gave us
27:04Such immortal words
27:05There's a shockingly
27:06Light paper trail
27:07Here's what we do know
27:11He was born in 1564
27:13To John Shakespeare
27:14A respected glove maker
27:16His parents
27:17Likely illiterate
27:18Young William grows up
27:22Humbly in the quiet market town
27:24Of Stratford-upon-Avon
27:25About 100 miles
27:26Northwest of London
27:27Then at the age of 18
27:30He weds Anne Hathaway
27:32No, not from
27:33The Devil Wears Prada
27:34And eventually
27:35Has three kids
27:36There's no historical record
27:39Of him attending university
27:41No record of anything
27:43Really for the next
27:44Several years
27:44Which is why
27:46They're often referred to
27:47As the lost years
27:48Then in 1592
27:52The now 28-year-old Shakespeare
27:54Suddenly reappears in London
27:56Where he's making a name
27:57For himself
27:58As a rising star
27:59Of the stage
28:00Shakespeare earns accolades
28:04As a valued member
28:05Of a prominent acting troupe
28:07He acts himself
28:08But that's not
28:09What makes him famous
28:10It will be his work
28:11Writing for this group
28:13That truly cements his legacy
28:14From 1600 on
28:17Shakespeare writes
28:18And stages
28:19Masterpiece after masterpiece
28:21Hamlet
28:22Othello
28:22King Lear
28:23The Tempest
28:24Not to mention Macbeth
28:25Sorry, the Scottish play
28:27Been around enough curses
28:29To know better
28:29The plays are hits
28:33At least two are even performed
28:35For Queen Elizabeth
28:36After writing more than
28:38Three dozen plays
28:39It is said that he retires
28:40From the London literary scene
28:42Around 1613
28:43At 49 he returns
28:48To Stratford-upon-Avon
28:49It's said that he lays down
28:51His prodigious pen
28:52To live the quiet life
28:54Of a country gentleman
28:55He'll die at age 52
28:57In 1616
28:59Strangely there's no record
29:00Of any notes
29:01Or unfinished manuscripts
29:03At the time of his death
29:04His will mentions
29:06No books in his personal collection
29:08It's as though
29:09The most literary man in history
29:11Has no connection
29:12To literature
29:12At all
29:13In 1623
29:1636 of Shakespeare's
29:18Most iconic plays
29:19Are published in
29:20The First Folio
29:21Turning Will
29:22Into a true household name
29:24So how did a poor
29:26English country boy
29:27Churn out
29:28Masterpiece after masterpiece
29:29Well not everyone
29:31Is convinced he did
29:32Skeptics point out
29:36That there's no record
29:37That William Shakespeare
29:38Went to university
29:38There's no record
29:40He ever left England
29:40Or had any ties
29:42To high society
29:43And if that's the case
29:45Then Shakespeare
29:46Had seemingly impossible insight
29:48With deep knowledge
29:49Of Italy
29:50France
29:50And the royal courts
29:52Of Europe
29:52Then there's the fact
29:55That several of Shakespeare's
29:56Early plays
29:57Including Romeo and Juliet
29:59And Richard III
30:00Are first published
30:02Anonymously
30:02Without any mention
30:04Of an author
30:04And when his name
30:06Does appear
30:06On the title pages
30:07Of his printed works
30:08It shows up
30:09With curious variations
30:11Of spellings
30:12Add to that
30:13The fact that
30:13His own signature
30:14Appears six different ways
30:17And a provocative
30:18Theory emerges
30:19What if Shakespeare
30:20Is just a pseudonym
30:21For someone else entirely
30:23For 400 years
30:34Literary sleuths
30:35Have questioned
30:36Whether William Shakespeare
30:37Truly penned
30:39The plays credited to him
30:40Some suspect
30:41Another author
30:42Could be behind
30:44These masterpieces
30:45Enter one of the most
30:50Intriguing suspects
30:51Sir Francis Bacon
30:54Bacon was a philosopher
30:56And statesman
30:56Who served as
30:57Lord Chancellor of England
30:58Under King James I
31:00In the 19th century
31:03The theory that Bacon
31:04Was the real author
31:05Of the Bard's works
31:06Gains traction
31:07Supporters argue
31:10He had all the education
31:11Eloquence
31:12And intellect
31:12That the unassuming actor
31:14From Stratford lacked
31:15Even Mark Twain
31:17Jumped on board
31:18Writing
31:18Is Shakespeare dead
31:19In support of the idea
31:21But opponents
31:24Of this theory
31:25Doth protest
31:26They argue
31:27That Francis Bacon
31:28Was never afraid
31:29Of the spotlight
31:29If he wrote
31:30All these great works
31:31He wouldn't have
31:32Concealed it
31:33He would have
31:34Taken the credit
31:34Plus he was pretty busy
31:36Inventing empirical philosophy
31:38Then there's
31:41Christopher Marlowe
31:42Born the same year
31:44As Shakespeare
31:44Marlowe
31:45Was a Cambridge University
31:46Graduate
31:47And a leading playwright
31:48Too
31:48Best known for
31:50Dr. Faustus
31:51And Tamburlaine the Great
31:52Marlowe was one of
31:53Shakespeare's most
31:54Formidable contemporaries
31:56But is it possible
31:57That he's more than
31:58Just a rival
31:59While Shakespeare
32:00Got the glory
32:01Did Marlowe
32:02Write the story
32:03The theory goes
32:05That Marlowe
32:06Facing persecution
32:07For his rumored
32:08Spy work
32:08For Queen Elizabeth's
32:09Secret service
32:10Fakes his own death
32:11In a bar fight
32:12In 1593
32:13Conveniently
32:16That's right before
32:17Shakespeare's
32:17Greatest works
32:18Began appearing
32:19Could Marlowe
32:23Have gone underground
32:24And continued writing
32:25Under the safer
32:25More anonymous name
32:27Of Shakespeare
32:27It sounds like a plot
32:29Straight out of
32:30Well Shakespeare
32:31Full of intrigue
32:32Deception
32:32And characters
32:33Who swap identities
32:34To get the upper hand
32:35Twelfth Night anyone?
32:37In 2016
32:40Cutting-edge textual analysis
32:42Revealed Marlowe's
32:43Stylistic fingerprints
32:44Present in the
32:45Shakespeare play
32:46Henry VI
32:47As a result
32:50Some experts
32:51Credit both men
32:52As co-authors
32:53Though it remains
32:54Controversial
32:55But could Marlowe
32:58Really have been
32:59Responsible for
32:59All of Shakespeare's
33:01Works?
33:03Most experts say
33:04Not likely
33:05There's no surviving
33:07Manuscripts
33:08Letters
33:08Or confessions
33:09That directly tie
33:10Marlowe
33:11To the creation
33:12Of Shakespeare's
33:12Works
33:13The trail is
33:14Tantalizing
33:14But ultimately
33:15Circumstantial
33:16So it's likely
33:19Not Bacon
33:20Or Marlowe
33:20But they're just
33:21Two of the
33:22Almost 80 identities
33:24Proposed as
33:25The real Shakespeare
33:26With all these
33:27Possible candidates
33:28How in the name
33:29Of Falstaff
33:30Are Shakespeare
33:30Skeptics
33:31Supposed to figure out
33:32Who really wrote
33:33The plays?
33:34Well, if you're
33:35Dr. Roger Strittmatter
33:36You take a decades
33:37Long deep dive
33:38And narrow it down
33:40To just one man
33:41If you ask
33:43A typical Shakespeare
33:44Professor
33:45Where does Shakespeare's
33:47Life
33:47Connect
33:48With these plays?
33:50They don't really
33:51Have a very good
33:52Answer to that
33:53Shakespeare has
33:55Essentially
33:55Almost nothing
33:57That would be
33:59A legitimate
34:00Preparation
34:02For writing
34:03These plays
34:04He may have
34:05Gone to grammar
34:06School
34:06He didn't go
34:08To college
34:08He never
34:09Traveled out
34:10Of the country
34:10Nothing about
34:12Shakespeare
34:13Supports the idea
34:14That he is a
34:15Credible author
34:16Of these plays
34:17At every point
34:18You are fighting
34:20The evidence
34:20The exact opposite
34:22Is true
34:23Of Edward de Vere
34:24You are probably
34:26Asking yourself
34:27Who the hell
34:27Is Edward de Vere
34:28Well, he is also
34:29Known as the Earl
34:30Of Oxford
34:31Born in 1550
34:33De Vere was a
34:34Wealthy nobleman
34:35And an accomplished
34:36Poet and playwright
34:37His position
34:39Within the court
34:40Of England
34:40Gave him an
34:41Insider's perspective
34:42On the politics
34:43And intrigue
34:44Of royal life
34:45He was also
34:46A seasoned traveler
34:47Having spent
34:48A good deal
34:48Of time
34:49In Venice
34:49Verona
34:50And Florence
34:51The settings
34:52Of some of
34:53Shakespeare's
34:53Most famous plays
34:54And it gets
34:56Even more interesting
34:57De Vere's
34:58Personal Bible
34:59Contains numerous
35:00Underlines
35:00And notes
35:01Several of which
35:02Show up as themes
35:03And quotations
35:04In the work
35:05Of Shakespeare
35:05Could it be
35:08A coincidence
35:09Some scholars
35:10Use these details
35:11To argue
35:11That the Earl
35:12Of Oxford
35:13Makes a better
35:13Shakespeare
35:14Than, well,
35:15Shakespeare
35:15The theory
35:16That Edward de Vere
35:17Was the man
35:18Behind William Shakespeare
35:19Isn't original
35:20To Dr. Strittmatter
35:21Though
35:21It was first
35:22Proposed in 1920
35:23By J. Thomas Looney
35:25Looney was looking
35:27For a person
35:29Who was sort of
35:30Placed in society
35:32To learn about
35:34All of the
35:35Domains of knowledge
35:36That are embodied
35:37In the Shakespeare plays
35:39So, after doing
35:40A lot of research
35:42Looney discovered
35:43Edward de Vere
35:44The 17th Earl of Oxford
35:45He had traveled
35:47Extensively in Italy
35:48He had a first class
35:49Education
35:50He was a lyric poet
35:53Before Shakespeare
35:55Appears on the scene
35:56And interestingly enough
35:58He is recorded
35:59As early as 1589
36:01As being a writer
36:04Of comedies
36:05He was also
36:07A patron
36:08Of the theater
36:09Looney also realized
36:12As soon as you think
36:14Of De Vere
36:14As the author
36:15Suddenly it's like
36:16The life
36:19And the plays
36:20Are deeply intertwined
36:23For a hundred years
36:26Though there was
36:27No proof
36:27To this theory
36:28As Shakespeare
36:29Once wrote
36:30There's the rub
36:31But now
36:32For the first time
36:33Strittmatter believes
36:34He's found it
36:35And he says
36:36It's all thanks
36:37To a shocking
36:38Hidden code
36:39The ruthless
36:44Bloody reign
36:45Of King Richard III
36:46Inspired one of
36:48Shakespeare's
36:48Most infamous plays
36:50Called
36:50You guessed it
36:51Richard III
36:52It's the story
36:53Of the villainous
36:54Hunchback
36:54Who murdered his way
36:55To the English throne
36:56It also inspired
36:58A long running mystery
36:59Where was King Richard
37:01Buried
37:01Following his death
37:03At the Battle of Bosworth
37:05In 1485
37:06The location of his grave
37:07Was lost to history
37:08In 2012
37:10Researchers used
37:11Historical accounts
37:12To pinpoint the location
37:14Of a long lost monastery
37:16In the English city
37:17Of Leicester
37:18That's now
37:18A modern parking lot
37:20Excavation beneath
37:22This office car park
37:23Uncovered a skeleton
37:25Bearing battle wounds
37:26And a twisted spine
37:27DNA testing
37:29With living descendants
37:31Confirmed the identity
37:32Richard III
37:33History
37:35It's the ultimate
37:36Long term parking
37:37Did William Shakespeare
37:41Really write
37:42All of his
37:43Immortal plays
37:44Academic Roger Strittmatter
37:46Believes he's confirmed
37:47That nobleman
37:48And poet
37:49Edward de Vere
37:50Was the true
37:51Voice of the Bard
37:52He says he can prove it
37:54Thanks to a secret code
37:55Hidden in a book
37:56From 1598
37:58The book in question
38:00Is Pallidus Tamia
38:01A collection of quotes
38:02Moral sayings
38:03And literary criticism
38:05Written by Francis Mears
38:07The book is notable
38:09For being the first
38:09To include commentary
38:10On Shakespeare's plays
38:12In the book
38:14Mears includes
38:15Several lists
38:15Comparing famous authors
38:17One links great English writers
38:19With classical counterparts
38:21From Greece and Rome
38:22Mears is a believer
38:25In divine mathematics
38:27And he arranges these lists
38:30So that the norm is
38:33They are symmetrical
38:34You have the same number of names
38:36On both sides
38:37And then he varies that
38:39And whenever he varies it
38:40There's a reason
38:42He wants you to dig deeper
38:44And figure out
38:46Why symmetry doesn't exist
38:48In other words
38:51Move over da Vinci
38:52This is the Shakespeare code
38:54Strittmatter noticed
38:57That the two lists
38:58Are unbalanced
38:5917 English names
39:0116 classical ones
39:02He claims this imbalance
39:05Indicates that
39:06Two of the English names
39:07Refer to the same person
39:09Your goal is to figure out
39:12Which two names
39:13Refer to the same person
39:15And you've got a clue over here
39:18The name that corresponds
39:20To Shakespeare in the list
39:22On the Greek side
39:23Is Aristonimus
39:25Why did he put Aristonimus
39:27Next to Shakespeare?
39:28Well it turns out
39:30That the name Aristonimus
39:33Really means
39:34The aristocratic name
39:38Well guess what
39:39There's only one aristocratic name
39:41On the English side
39:43In this paragraph
39:44And that's the very first name
39:46Edward Earl of Oxford
39:47So it's pretty obvious
39:50Which names are duplicated
39:52And that would be
39:53De Vere and Shakespeare
39:55Edward De Vere
39:5617th Earl of Oxford
39:58Is Shakespeare
39:58Okay but if De Vere
40:01And Shakespeare
40:02Really were one and the same
40:03Why hide it?
40:05Strittmatter thinks
40:06It's because writing
40:06Anything but poetry
40:08Was looked down upon
40:09As an unworthy pursuit
40:10For nobles in that era
40:12Aristocrats like De Vere
40:13Were known to publish
40:15Other work anonymously
40:16For De Vere
40:18Having a commoner front for him
40:20Meant he could indulge
40:21His passion for the stage
40:22Without losing face at court
40:24For Shakespeare
40:25An actor by trade
40:27It meant money in his pocket
40:28A continued presence
40:31In London's theatre scene
40:32And the ability to retire
40:34A country gentleman
40:35Back in his hometown
40:36It was the ultimate win-win
40:39One man kept his reputation
40:41The other made one
40:43Dr. Strittmatter is confident
40:48That he's cracked
40:49The Shakespeare code
40:50But it will take much more
40:51Than two imbalanced lists
40:53To convince other scholars
40:55Today most still believe
40:57Shakespeare was exactly
40:58Who he was known to be
41:00A man from Stratford
41:01Who rose from humble beginnings
41:03To become the greatest
41:04English writer in history
41:06Arguments over his identity
41:08Will continue
41:09But what you can't argue about
41:11Is the genius of his work
41:12And maybe that's the most
41:14Important thing after all
41:15To quote the bard
41:17Whoever he may be
41:18What's in a name
41:20That which we call a rose
41:21By any other name
41:22Would smell as sweet
41:24I'm Josh Gates
41:25And I'll see you
41:26On the next expedition
41:28I'll see you
41:31On the next expedition
41:31I'll see you
41:32On the next expedition
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