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00:00Four submarines, each from a different nation, vanished, killing a combined 318 sailors.
00:08The location of the tomb of one of history's most feared rulers remains a mystery.
00:15His burial was designed to be an act of erasure, ensuring that no one, not even his closest followers,
00:23could reveal the location of his final resting place.
00:27So where is it?
00:29The treasure of one of the world's most infamous pirates was lost to time.
00:34Blackbeard's fearsome image included his infamous Jolly Roger flag, a chilling symbol for an inevitable death.
00:43With this heavily armed ship, he unleashed terror on the high seas, amassing a fortune that, legend has it, remains hidden to this day.
00:51But if that's true, where did he hide the treasure?
00:54The chain of history has many missing links.
00:58Prominent people, priceless treasures, extraordinary artifacts, their locations still unknown, lost to the fog of time.
01:10What happens when stories of the past become vanished history?
01:16The great Genghis Khan, who ruled over millions and reshaped the course of history, left behind one of the world's greatest mysteries, the location of his tomb.
01:40Genghis Khan wasn't just a conqueror, he was a force of nature.
01:47Born as Temujin, around 1162, he unified the Mongol tribes and carved out an empire that spanned around 12 million square miles at its peak from the Pacific Ocean to Eastern Europe.
02:00Surprisingly, there were actually still debates about the exact cause of Khan's death.
02:08Some say he died from injuries after falling from his horse or from the plague, from an infection after being shot with an arrow.
02:15Some have even claimed a Tenguk princess from northwestern China, stabbed or even castrated him.
02:24Legend has it that his soldiers buried him and killed anyone in their path.
02:28Then they rode 1,000 horses over the ground to erase any sign of his grave, and the 2,000 slaves who took part in the burial were executed to keep the tomb's location a secret forever.
02:40His burial was designed to be an act of erasure, ensuring that no one, not even his closest followers, could reveal the location of his final resting place.
02:52So where is it?
02:53The search for the tomb of Genghis Khan has become as vast as the empire he once commanded, fueling speculation that his final resting place lies deep within the lands he once ruled.
03:07There are countless stories about Genghis Khan's death, but most agree that he died in August 1227 in modern-day Yinchuan, which is in northern China's Ningxiawei Autonomous Region.
03:18During his conquests in northwestern China, Khan spent considerable time on the Ordos Plateau, a huge windswept stretch of desert bordered by the Yellow River and the southern edge of the Great Wall.
03:34The theory that the Ordos Plateau was Genghis Khan's resting place, gained currency in the early 20th century, when European explorers publicized photographs of an ancient mausoleum 20 miles east of Yinchuan.
03:50The western Shia mausoleums cover almost 20 square miles, with nine beehive-shaped imperial mausoleums, more than 250 other tombs for tangled royals and officials.
04:06So, it's an obvious place to wonder about whether Genghis Khan could be buried somewhere in the vast complex, especially given the connection between the Mongols and western Shia.
04:17But no one seems to have found any evidence to support it.
04:20While the Ordos theory is intriguing, it's unlikely Mongolia's greatest leader would be buried in China.
04:29It's more likely that Genghis Khan's grave is closer to home, hidden in plain sight, concealed by the land, just as he intended.
04:38Mongolia is a land of vast, untamed wilderness, spanning over 600,000 square miles of mostly uncharted, undeveloped terrain, with few roads and a sparse population.
04:54In 1990, a Japanese-Mongolian project called the Three Rivers Expedition focused on Genghis Khan's birthplace in the Henti province, where the Onan, Ghalin, and Toul rivers flow.
05:05Using ultrasound technology, 1,380 ancient graves were discovered, spread across the landscape.
05:14Most historians believe that Genghis Khan was born and raised on the Onan River, so it makes sense that he might have chosen this area as his final resting place.
05:24The graves they discovered there likely belonged to Mongol nobles.
05:28The expedition was also very controversial.
05:31There were public protests by people who believed Khan's wishes should be respected, that people shouldn't go looking for his tomb.
05:40And in the end, they put a stop to it.
05:43While excavations were prohibited in the Kenti province, further west, the same researchers studied a 2,000-year-old cemetery of Xiongnu kings in the Arkhangai province of Mongolia.
05:55Historians believe the Xiongnu were the ancestors of the Mongols.
06:02If that's true, they might have had similar burial practices, and unearthing their graves would give us a better picture of what we're searching for.
06:12Those excavations tell us that at least some Xiongnu kings were buried more than 65 feet underground, in log chambers often marked by only a small square of stones.
06:25So if Khan was buried like that, the main chamber would be hidden deep underground, and incredibly hard to find in all of the sprawling Mongolian wilderness.
06:36In 2001, an amateur archaeologist who spent 40 years searching for Khan's tomb discovered a walled burial site in Bhaksharit, a town nestled in northern Kenti province, about 200 miles northeast of Ulaanbaatar.
06:54Perhaps his biggest breakthrough came at Chinggis' castle, or Red Rock, where he uncovered at least 20 unopened rectangular tombs atop a hill, each marked by standing stones.
07:11At the base of the hill, they found an additional 40 graves.
07:15The upper area was enclosed by an imposing stone wall standing 9 to 12 feet tall and stretching for 2 miles around.
07:24The sheer scale of the burial grounds and a roadway connecting the two suggests a site of tremendous importance, and it's only a few miles from Genghis Khan's probable birthplace, where he was also declared emperor of the Mongols in 1206.
07:41But there's no concrete proof that Khan might be buried there.
07:45In 2004, a Japanese Mongolian team uncovered Genghis Khan's palace, reigniting the search for his final resting place.
07:55The palace, a square tent-like structure supported by wooden columns, was uncovered alongside porcelain fragments dated to Khan's era.
08:05The most exciting part, though, is that ancient Chinese texts describe court officials making daily journeys from this palace to a nearby mausoleum, possibly where Khan was buried.
08:16But it seems unlikely that he would have chosen somewhere as obvious as his palace for his final resting place, especially if he was determined to keep the location a secret.
08:30Maybe the better place to look for Khan's tomb is where his epic journey first began.
08:36Birkenholden, nestled in the rugged peaks of Kenti province, is revered as Mongolia's most sacred mountain and deeply intertwined with the legacy of Genghis Khan.
08:50Birkenholden isn't just a mountain.
08:53It's the spiritual core of Genghis Khan's story and a turning point in his journey to power and a place he went for refuge.
09:01According to legend, the mountain saved his life as he escaped from the Merkid tribe.
09:07And in gratitude, he declared it the most sacred mountain in Mongolia and promised to offer daily prayers and sacrifices.
09:16Birkenholden became a symbol of Genghis Khan's survival and strength, and he had a deep spiritual bond with it.
09:25So lots of people think he might have chosen it for his final resting place.
09:29It became one of the most popular theories.
09:33High-status figures like Khan were buried in elevated places, far from the reach of ordinary people.
09:40In the 1200s, the first Mongol rulers of Persia were laid to rest on mountain peaks in off-limit areas.
09:48Khan likely received the same honor.
09:51After Genghis Khan's death, a great taboo known as Ihorig in Mongolian was pronounced over a 92-square-mile area around Birkenholden, sealing the region in secrecy.
10:05For centuries, the Ihorig was off-limits to outsiders, a sacred place.
10:14Only the Khan's family were allowed to enter.
10:17It was guarded by the Darhad, a group of elite warriors and their descendants who protected its secrecy for more than 700 years.
10:26So it's no surprise that many people think Genghis Khan's tomb is probably hidden there.
10:32According to legend, around 500 Darhad families were chosen to safeguard the secret location of Khan's tomb.
10:39To this day, they are considered the custodians not only of Birkenholden, but of Khan's eternal legacy.
10:46The mystery deepens at the summit where Tangerine Ovu, or Heavenly Hill, stands.
10:54While it may look like a simple pile of stones, some think this unassuming sight could hide Khan's tomb.
11:02But any attempt to explore or search the area is virtually impossible.
11:08Some historians believe the focus on Birkenholden might have been a masterful diversion, a way to lead us away from his true burial site.
11:20Perhaps this was his final act of control, disappearing from history just as he had commanded during his life.
11:28In the end, all signs point to the fact that Khan didn't want his final resting place to be known.
11:35So maybe we should respect his wishes and stop looking for it.
11:39But of course, it's not surprising that people do, since it's human nature to be curious and try to solve mysteries,
11:46especially when it comes to a larger-than-life historical figure like Genghis Khan.
11:53Khan's tomb remains one of history's greatest enigmas, hidden by time, tradition, and the vast expanse of Mongolia.
12:01Whether it's ever uncovered, his legacy lives on, etched into the land he once conquered.
12:18He was a terror on the seas, a name spoken in fear across the Atlantic.
12:23Edward Teach, better known as Blackbeard, was one of the most notorious pirates of his time.
12:30With a ship armed to the teeth and a crew was ruthless as the captain,
12:35Blackbeard carved a path of destruction from the Caribbean to the American coastline.
12:40Blackbeard was the most infamous pirate in the golden age of piracy, but his reputation wasn't built on violence alone.
12:49Intimidation was his greatest weapon.
12:51He rarely killed unless absolutely necessary, instead relying on his fearsome appearance to break his enemy's will.
12:56He wore black ribbons in his beard, carried six pistols, and lit fuses beneath his hat before battle,
13:06dangling some of them down the sides of his face to surround it with a halo of smoke and fire.
13:12He created a terrifying spectacle that often caused his opponents to surrender without a fight.
13:21Blackbeard's fearsome image included his infamous Jolly Roger flag.
13:26A skeleton holding an hourglass and a spear aimed at a bleeding heart.
13:32A chilling symbol threatening inevitable death.
13:36In 1717, Blackbeard captured the French slave ship La Concorde off Martinique and quickly transformed the vessel,
13:43adding 26 guns to its existing 14 and renaming it Queen Anne's Revenge.
13:49With this heavily armed ship, he unleashed terror on the high seas,
13:52amassing a fortune that, legend has it, remains hidden to this day.
13:57But if that's true, where did he hide the treasure?
14:01Blackbeard's journey to piracy began as a privateer during Queen Anne's War,
14:06when Britain and other imperial powers fought for control of North America.
14:11Privateers like Blackbeard were authorized to plunder enemy ships and seize valuable cargo
14:18under what were called Letters of Marquis from the Crown.
14:22During that time, he honed skills that would later propel him to infamy as the scourge of the Atlantic Ocean.
14:30Queen Anne's War gave Blackbeard his first taste of raiding.
14:33But when the war ended, so did the opportunities for legal privateering.
14:37Like many former privateers, Blackbeard turned to piracy.
14:42As Blackbeard's legend grew, so did the legend surrounding his hidden fortune.
14:47One of the most enduring stories centers on the place where his reign of terror came to an abrupt halt.
14:53In May 1718, Blackbeard launched one of his boldest moves, blockading the port of Charleston, South Carolina.
15:02Over the course of a week, he captured at least eight ships, took hostages, and struck fear in the heart of the colony.
15:09But as he later sailed towards North Carolina, disaster struck.
15:14Queen Anne's Revenge ran aground on a sandbank near Beaufort, England.
15:19And while Blackbeard escaped, his ship was lost.
15:22Interestingly, some have suggested the wreck was no accident.
15:27Blackbeard wasn't just a pirate. He was a strategist.
15:30Evidence suggests that the grounding of the Queen Anne's Revenge was a non-violent wreck event,
15:36meaning it may have been a deliberate, calculated move to offload his treasure before abandoning the ship.
15:44Years of exploration have revealed fascinating artifacts from Blackbeard's pirate life,
15:50including many of the ship's 40 cannons.
15:52But there has been no sign of the vast wealth the legend suggests.
16:00Extensive excavations at the site of Queen Anne's Revenge have been covered thousands of artifacts,
16:05but only a sprinkling of gold dust.
16:07Nothing close to the immense treasure Blackbeard is said to have buried.
16:11It's possible that the real treasure may have been hidden long before the shipwreck,
16:17or he never stored valuables aboard the Queen Anne's Revenge at all.
16:22While Beaufort Inlet may have marked the end of Blackbeard's flagship,
16:27some believe the notorious pirate's treasure lies much closer to home.
16:31After the Queen Anne's Revenge ran aground, Blackbeard took command of a smaller vessel,
16:36allowing him to continue his piracy with a more agile crew.
16:39He soon sailed to North Carolina, where he promised to give up piracy
16:43in exchange for a pardon from Governor Charles Eden.
16:46He even attempted a respectable life there in the town of Bath,
16:50marrying a local woman, said by some to be his 14th life.
16:55Some people like to say that during that brief moment of peace,
16:58Blackbeard could have hidden his greatest treasure
17:01along the eastern shores of Bath Creek at Plum Point.
17:06Bath wasn't just a quiet colonial town for Blackbeard.
17:09It was his chance to reinvent himself.
17:12Under the protection of the governor, he saw an opportunity to go straight
17:15and distance himself from his life of crime.
17:18The royal pardon issued under King George I
17:21was designed to grant amnesty to pirates willing to give up their lawless ways.
17:26For Blackbeard, this was a chance to settle down
17:29and enjoy the wealth he had amassed over the years.
17:32But rumors persisted that his pirating days were far from over.
17:39One particular site of interest was a field where Blackbeard reportedly set up a tar pit,
17:45or kettle, which was used to make wood tar in the early 18th century
17:49to seal the hulls of ships.
17:51According to residents and researchers,
17:56the field once held a brick structure believed to have been used by Blackbeard
17:59to render wood tar for his ships.
18:01It's possible that while building it,
18:03he also dug a perfect hiding spot for his treasure.
18:07A frustrated farmer who owned the land
18:09eventually demolished the kettle to keep the treasure hunters away.
18:14The site has still continued to attract them.
18:16One of them claimed to have unearthed a brick vault
18:20buried eight feet beneath the sand
18:22containing a chest of Spanish gold.
18:25But with no authentication and the chest never found again,
18:29the mystery of Blackbeard's fortune remains as elusive as ever.
18:34The question is, if it's not in Bath,
18:37could it be hidden somewhere far more remote
18:39in a place only Blackbeard knew?
18:41It wasn't long before Blackbeard returned to the seas.
18:46His quest for power ultimately brought him to a new refuge,
18:50a remote island where he would make his last stand.
18:55By the end of August 1718, Blackbeard had resumed piracy,
18:59and after stealing several French ships,
19:00the governor of the province of Pennsylvania
19:02issued a warrant for his arrest.
19:03He eventually made his way to Ocracoke Island,
19:06a remote, windswept stretch of land
19:07off the coast of North Carolina.
19:09For Blackbeard and his men,
19:12Ocracoke was the ideal hideout.
19:15It was isolated, surrounded by treacherous waters,
19:18and far from prying eyes.
19:21Blackbeard regrouped there,
19:22knowing the British Royal Navy was closing in.
19:26So if you believed in the treasure,
19:28you might think he used this time to stash it
19:30somewhere on the island before his final battle.
19:34Ocracoke was a famous pirate haven,
19:38offering easy access to British shipping lanes
19:41coming to the New World,
19:42but remote enough that authorities did not have control over it
19:46during colonial times.
19:49Ocracoke wasn't just a random hideout.
19:52Blackbeard knew these waters well.
19:54The shallow inlets made it impossible for larger ships to follow,
19:58giving him a strategic advantage.
20:00Its isolation allowed him to evade the growing threat of the Royal Navy
20:05while secretly continuing his operations.
20:09During this period of calm,
20:10it's likely he secured whatever treasure he had
20:13before the final confrontation.
20:17Blackbeard's prior unchecked presence in Bath
20:19had infuriated Virginia's Governor Alexander Spotswood,
20:22especially after the siege on Charleston.
20:26Spotswood suspected collusion
20:27between Blackbeard and North Carolina's Governor Eden,
20:31whose pardon of the pirate only fueled the tension.
20:34Governor Spotswood would not stand for piracy in his waters.
20:38He summoned captains of the British Royal Navy
20:40to discuss a strategy for bringing Blackbeard to justice.
20:43And as an additional incentive,
20:44Spotswood offered a bounty for the pirate's capture,
20:47100 pounds, dead or alive.
20:49Ocracoke Island became the stage
20:53for one of the most legendary confrontations in pirate history.
20:57In November 1718,
20:59British forces, led by Lieutenant Robert Maynard,
21:03ambushed Blackbeard in the treacherous waters off the coast.
21:07It was a fierce, bloody battle.
21:10Blackbeard was shot and slashed multiple times
21:12before he finally fell.
21:14In a brutal display, his head was severed
21:16and mounted on the bowsprit of Maynard's ship.
21:19A grim warning to anyone who dared follow
21:22in Blackbeard's notorious footsteps.
21:25After Blackbeard's death,
21:27Maynard's men scoured the island,
21:30searching through the difficult terrain,
21:32hidden coves,
21:33for any trace of the pirate fortune.
21:37But they found nothing of any unusually great value,
21:40just sugar, coca, indigo, and cotton.
21:44There's an enduring legend
21:46that when Blackbeard's crew was questioned after his death,
21:49they famously said,
21:51only he and the devil know where the treasure is.
21:54This cryptic remark has driven treasure hunters for centuries.
21:58The island's history and Blackbeard's reputation
22:01make it one of the most intriguing possible locations.
22:04But so far, nothing has been found.
22:08Another theory,
22:10one that's most likely closest to the truth,
22:12maintains that the idea of Blackbeard's hidden treasure
22:15is nothing more than legend.
22:18The myth of buried pirate treasure
22:20often overshadows the reality.
22:22In truth,
22:23pirates like Blackbeard
22:24likely spent their wealth quickly after plundering it.
22:27Another issue is that
22:28even a small sea chest filled with gold
22:30would weigh nearly 5,000 pounds.
22:33That's a lot of weight
22:34for pirates to lug around a sandy beach.
22:38At the time of Blackbeard's death,
22:39his possessions were valued at only 2,500 pounds sterling.
22:43It's hardly the grand fortune
22:44we associate with legendary pirates
22:46like Captain Kidd or Henry Every,
22:49whose plunder reached tens of thousands of pounds.
22:51This raises an intriguing question.
22:54Did Blackbeard use the myth of untold riches
22:57to fuel his power and influence?
22:59Perhaps there was never a vast treasure at all,
23:03just a clever illusion
23:04that kept his crew loyal
23:05and his enemies at bay.
23:08The legend of Blackbeard's hidden riches
23:10has captivated treasure hunters for centuries.
23:14Even without hard evidence,
23:16the search continues,
23:17fueled by the possibility
23:19that somewhere out there,
23:21the rumored fortune
23:22of the world's most feared pirate
23:24awaits discovery.
23:25In the mid-1st century BCE,
23:39the 9th Legion,
23:40more than 5,000 of Rome's fiercest fighters,
23:43stormed into Britain,
23:45establishing the region
23:46as its base for generations.
23:48They quashed rebellions
23:50and left their indelible mark
23:51everywhere they went.
23:53The 9th was one of Rome's oldest
23:56and most respected elite legions.
23:58Disciplined, loyal, experienced,
24:01they fought in just about
24:02every major Roman conflict.
24:03And it's all traceable.
24:07Evidence of the 9th Legion
24:08and its exploits
24:10are all over the historical
24:12and archaeological records,
24:14until suddenly,
24:16it's just not.
24:17The entire Legion
24:18seems to disappear
24:20from history.
24:22More than 5,000
24:23living,
24:25breathing men,
24:26their weapons,
24:27their armor,
24:28gone.
24:30The 9th's fate
24:32has been a point
24:33of intensive investigation
24:35and fierce debate
24:37among historians
24:38for centuries.
24:39But the one thing
24:41everyone agrees on
24:42is that something
24:43is not right.
24:45So what happened
24:46to Rome's legendary
24:489th Legion?
24:50The Legion began
24:51its storied career
24:52close to home,
24:53establishing itself
24:54as a force
24:55for putting down
24:56insurrections.
24:58The first historical mention
25:00of the 9th Legion
25:01is regarding
25:02their participation
25:03in what's known
25:04as the Social War,
25:05a rebellion
25:06in the south of Italy
25:07that they crushed
25:08in 90 BCE.
25:10Within a couple
25:11of generations,
25:12the 9th Legion
25:13fought in the Gallic Wars
25:14under Julius Caesar
25:15and were so trusted
25:16by him that they
25:17became known
25:18as Caesar's Legion.
25:20A few years later,
25:21in 55 BCE,
25:22Caesar used them
25:23for Rome's
25:23first invasion
25:24of Britain.
25:26But then,
25:27something odd
25:28happened in 45 BCE.
25:31After they were sent
25:32to fight
25:32in a civil war
25:33back home
25:34and then put down
25:34a rebellion
25:35in Africa,
25:37Caesar retired
25:38the Legion.
25:39He disbanded it
25:40and pensioned off
25:41all its veterans.
25:43The very next year,
25:45Caesar was assassinated
25:47and his heir,
25:48Octavian,
25:49reformed
25:50the 9th Legion.
25:52They proved themselves
25:53to be so effective
25:55in the conquest
25:56of part of Spain
25:57that from that point forward,
25:59Hispana was added
26:00to their name,
26:01becoming
26:02Legio IX Hispana.
26:04Ultimately,
26:05they returned to Britain,
26:06one of four Roman legions
26:08needed to quell
26:09a resistance
26:10by Celtic tribes.
26:12By 71 CE,
26:14the 9th Legion
26:15was stationed
26:16in Eberrachum
26:17and it was their
26:18responsibility
26:19to oversee
26:20and secure
26:21Britain's
26:21northern territories,
26:23including Caledonia,
26:25ancient Scotland.
26:27Caledonia was considered
26:29dangerous,
26:30volatile,
26:30and unpredictable.
26:32Most of Rome's legions
26:33were based
26:34in the southern part
26:35of Britain
26:35and made forays
26:36into Caledonia
26:38only when necessary.
26:40The 9th was the go-to legion
26:42for that hazardous work
26:43for at least
26:44the next two generations.
26:47We know that the 9th
26:48was still present
26:49in northern Britain
26:50in 108 CE
26:51because in the mid-19th century,
26:53workers digging a drain
26:54near what's now York
26:55in northern England
26:55found a square stone slab
26:57over three feet across
26:59with an inscription.
27:00It reads,
27:01the 9th Hispana legion
27:02rebuilt the fort
27:03for the emperor.
27:04It's dated to 108 CE,
27:06so we know the 9th legion
27:07was there at that time.
27:10By 122 CE,
27:12things were going poorly enough
27:13for the Romans
27:14in Caledonia
27:15that reigning emperor
27:17Hadrian
27:18traveled to Britain
27:19in person,
27:21taking another legion,
27:22the 6th Vitrix,
27:24with him.
27:24He was building
27:25a wall,
27:26and not just any wall.
27:29Hadrian's wall
27:30was going to divide
27:31the island of Britain
27:32in two,
27:33separating the Romans
27:35and the so-called
27:36barbarians to the north.
27:39All military units
27:41were needed
27:41to build the wall,
27:43thousands of soldiers
27:44working for at least
27:46six years.
27:47Each legion
27:48signed the wall
27:49with engraved plaques
27:51and stamped bricks.
27:53the 2nd legion,
27:55the 6th Victrix,
27:56and the 20th.
27:58Yet no part of the wall
28:00bears the mark
28:01of the 9th legion.
28:02So we know the 9th
28:04was there
28:04in 108 CE,
28:06but by 122 CE,
28:09they were gone.
28:10What happened to them?
28:11Marcus Cornelius Fronto,
28:15the historian of the day,
28:17wrote that during
28:17Emperor Hadrian's reign,
28:19the Britons could not
28:20be kept under Roman control
28:22and that large numbers
28:23of Roman soldiers
28:24had been killed by them.
28:27Given that Hadrian
28:28and the 6th legion
28:30took up residence
28:31at Ibarakum
28:32as soon as they arrived
28:33in 122 CE,
28:35when Fronto wrote
28:36about large numbers
28:37of casualties,
28:38could he have been
28:39talking about
28:40the 9th legion?
28:41Had the 9th legion
28:42been wiped out
28:43before Hadrian
28:44and the 6th got there?
28:46If the 9th legion
28:47had been attacked
28:48and decimated,
28:48it would have been
28:49a pretty compelling reason
28:50for Hadrian
28:51to want to build a wall
28:52to prevent a devastating
28:53attack from happening again.
28:55The 9th had a reputation
28:56for being unbeatable.
28:58However,
28:58there is evidence
28:59that they weren't
29:00entirely invincible.
29:02In 61 CE,
29:04there was a revolt
29:05in the Esseni tribe
29:06in Eastern Britain
29:08and a large number
29:09of Roman soldiers
29:10died
29:11and the bloody conflict.
29:12Roughly half
29:13the 9th legion
29:14was wiped out,
29:15which earned the battle
29:16the name
29:17The Massacre of the Knife.
29:21They could also
29:21have been sent somewhere else
29:23and been wiped out there.
29:25In the Roman-Parthian war
29:27near Armenia,
29:28fought a bit later.
29:29Between 161
29:30and 165 CE,
29:32there were records
29:33of a Roman legion
29:34being annihilated.
29:35Their commander
29:36even chose to die
29:38by suicide,
29:39which they sometimes did
29:40after humiliating defeat.
29:43And while the event
29:44was documented,
29:45the legion itself
29:46wasn't named.
29:48At that time,
29:49there was a seldom-used sanction
29:51called demnatio memoriae,
29:53where anyone perceived
29:55to be a traitor to Rome
29:57or an enemy of the state
29:59might have their memory
30:00officially condemned.
30:02Their name would be erased
30:04from public record,
30:06so an event they took part in,
30:07such as a battle,
30:09would still be recorded,
30:10of course,
30:11but they would be unnamed
30:13in that record.
30:15So could the 9th
30:16have done something
30:17worthy of demnatio memoriae?
30:21There is one little-known chapter
30:23in the 9th legion's
30:24otherwise spotless history
30:26as loyal soldiers
30:27of the empire
30:28that could have resulted
30:29in demnatio memoriae.
30:31Back when Julius Caesar
30:34was leading them
30:35in northern Italy,
30:37the 9th threatened mutiny
30:38over not getting enough pay
30:40or a cut of the spoils of war.
30:43Caesar could have decimated
30:44the 9th for that,
30:45meaning that he executed
30:47every 10th soldier
30:48as a lesson to all.
30:50But he ended up
30:50allowing a plea deal
30:51where the 9th abandoned
30:52its mutiny
30:53and just an even dozen
30:54of the ringleaders
30:55were executed.
30:56Amazingly,
30:56the 9th went back
30:57to being one of Caesar's
30:58favorite legions after that.
31:00But the incident proved
31:01if they were willing
31:01to defy orders
31:02or worse.
31:04One possible hole
31:06in the demnatio memoriae theory
31:08is that many of the records
31:10back then
31:10were literally chiseled
31:12in stone.
31:14And while there's evidence
31:14of senators
31:15and even disgraced emperors
31:17having their names
31:18chiseled away
31:19and erased,
31:21there doesn't seem
31:21to be any sign
31:22of that happening
31:23to the 9th legion's name.
31:25So it's an interesting theory,
31:26but with no hard evidence
31:28to back it up.
31:29After centuries
31:31of searching
31:31all over Britain
31:32for any trace
31:33of Rome's 9th legion,
31:35a surprise discovery
31:36led some researchers
31:38to believe
31:39that they would
31:40never be found there.
31:42An archaeological dig
31:44hundreds of miles away
31:46across the sea
31:47in what is now
31:48the Netherlands
31:49turned up
31:50three building tiles
31:52stamped with
31:54the 9th's unit number.
31:56And more than that,
31:58a bronze pendant
31:59from a harness
32:00that would have been worn
32:01by one of the 9th's
32:03warhorses
32:04was also found.
32:05So how could these
32:06have ended up here?
32:10In 132 CE,
32:12the Bar Kokhba revolt
32:13broke out in Judea,
32:15part of modern Israel
32:16and the West Bank.
32:17The Romans put the rebellion
32:18down ruthlessly,
32:20but it took about
32:21three years to do it.
32:22Some believe
32:23that the artifacts
32:24discovered in the Netherlands
32:25are proof
32:26that Rome's 9th legion
32:28was sent to fight
32:29in Judea
32:30and stopped
32:31in the Netherlands
32:32en route.
32:34This would prove
32:35that the 9th legion
32:35was still in existence
32:37in 132 CE,
32:38much later
32:39than what previous evidence
32:40had suggested.
32:41And it also opens up
32:43a possibility.
32:44Is that when and where
32:45the 9th finally met its end
32:46during the bloody
32:47three-year battle
32:48in Judea?
32:49But if the entire
32:519th legion
32:52was wiped out
32:53in Judea,
32:54you might expect
32:54to find physical evidence
32:56of it.
32:56Maybe there's skeletal remains,
32:58damaged armor,
33:00shields, helmets,
33:01none of which seems
33:02to have been found
33:03so far.
33:05We do know
33:06that lots of Roman soldiers
33:07died putting down
33:09the revolt,
33:10but we don't have
33:10any concrete evidence
33:11to convince historians
33:12that any of them
33:14belonged to the 9th legion.
33:15Rome's 9th legion
33:17had a long history
33:18and a mysterious end,
33:20but left
33:21a lasting legacy.
33:23Hadrian's wall
33:24stood for over
33:25300 years,
33:27and during that time,
33:28the cultures
33:29of the people
33:30to the north
33:31and south of it
33:32had time to develop
33:33quite differently
33:34into England
33:36and Scotland.
33:38Some say
33:39the wall
33:39never would have
33:40been built
33:41if the 9th legion
33:42hadn't allowed itself
33:44to be beaten
33:44by the Caledonian tribes
33:46and that it is responsible
33:49for Britain being divided.
33:51As it stands,
33:53the last irrefutable,
33:55concrete evidence
33:55we have
33:56that the 9th legion
33:57was still in existence
33:58is the fort building
34:00inscription from 108 CE
34:02in what was then
34:03Ibarakim.
34:05There are so many theories
34:06as to what became
34:07of them after that,
34:08but what every one
34:09of them lacks
34:10is evidence
34:11to back it up.
34:12It's still very possible
34:14that one day soon
34:16Rome's lost 9th legion
34:18will march back
34:18into the history books
34:20and the mystery
34:21of their disappearance
34:22can finally
34:23be put to rest.
34:341968,
34:35a year when the world
34:36teetered between peace
34:38and nuclear catastrophe.
34:40As tensions rose on land,
34:43something darker
34:44unfolded beneath
34:45the ocean's surface.
34:49In January of 1968,
34:51the INS Dakar,
34:52a newly acquired
34:53Israeli submarine,
34:55disappeared without
34:55a distress signal.
34:57Only two days prior,
34:58the French Minerv
34:59vanished during
34:59a routine patrol.
35:00In March,
35:04the Soviet K-129,
35:06a nuclear-armed sub,
35:07sunk in the Pacific,
35:09and in May,
35:09the USS Scorpion
35:10went missing.
35:14Four submarines,
35:15each from a different
35:16nation,
35:17vanished without a trace,
35:19killing a combined
35:20318 sailors.
35:24The odds of four subs
35:26going missing
35:27within less than
35:28six months
35:29of each other
35:30must be astronomical.
35:32In that geopolitical climate,
35:34any explanation
35:35seemed possible.
35:37Covert attacks,
35:38technical sabotage,
35:40Cold War cover-ups.
35:42So what happened
35:43to these subs?
35:44And why were authorities
35:45so desperate
35:47to keep it under wraps?
35:50In early 1968,
35:52the Soviet K-129
35:54left the naval base
35:56at Petropavlovsk, Russia
35:58for a routine patrol
35:59in the Pacific Ocean,
36:01northeast of Hawaii.
36:02For weeks,
36:03it traveled in silent mode,
36:05running on battery power
36:06to avoid detection.
36:10The K-129
36:11wasn't the most modern sub,
36:13a fairly old model,
36:15but it was 330 feet long
36:18and thought to have been
36:19armed with three
36:20one-megaton nuclear missiles,
36:22each with more than 65 times
36:25the explosive power
36:26of the bomb
36:28that leveled Nagasaki.
36:32On March 8, 1968,
36:35the K-129
36:35failed to transmit
36:36a scheduled radio signal.
36:38The sub and its crew
36:39of 98 men
36:40had suddenly vanished.
36:42The Soviet admiralty
36:43quickly launched
36:44a massive search,
36:45covering over 800,000 square miles.
36:47But after two months
36:48of unsuccessful efforts,
36:49they ultimately had to
36:50abandon the operation.
36:53In the 1960s,
36:55Israel agreed to buy
36:56three World War II
36:57era T-class submarines
36:59from Great Britain,
37:01including the Dakar,
37:02which would be refurbished
37:03and modernized
37:04before joining their fleet.
37:06Throughout 1967,
37:08the Dakar underwent
37:09extensive sea trials
37:10and the sub set out
37:12for its maiden voyage
37:13from the UK,
37:14bound for Haifa, Israel,
37:16with a crew of 69
37:17on January 9, 1968.
37:21The last time anyone heard
37:23from the Dakar
37:24was just after midnight
37:26on January 25, 1968,
37:30as it traveled through the waters
37:31of the eastern Mediterranean,
37:33between Crete and Cyprus.
37:35Some people immediately
37:37suspected it had been attacked.
37:40The Six-Day War
37:41had ended just months earlier,
37:43and relations between Israel
37:44and Egypt
37:45were still on a knife's edge.
37:49Search efforts by sea and air
37:51began immediately
37:52after Dakar's transmissions
37:54went silent,
37:55but nothing was found.
37:59On January 27, 1968,
38:02just days after the disappearance
38:04of the INS Dakar,
38:07France's Minerva
38:08suffered the same fate.
38:10The Daphne-class
38:11diesel-electric-powered submarine
38:13and its 52 crew members
38:15disappeared
38:15during a routine training mission
38:18near the port of Toulon
38:19on the south coast of France.
38:22Once the alarm was raised,
38:25the French Admiralty
38:26threw everything into the search,
38:28around 20 boats,
38:30helicopters, aircraft,
38:31and even a diving vessel
38:33from Jacques Cousteau's team.
38:35But despite all that,
38:38they found nothing.
38:40There was speculation
38:41over what caused the disaster.
38:44They ranged from
38:45a problem with the sub's rudder,
38:47a collision with another boat,
38:49the explosion of a missile or torpedo,
38:52or a fault
38:53with its oxygen supply systems.
38:55We know it went down
38:56in less than four minutes,
38:58but there's just no evidence
38:59to explain exactly why.
39:01Spring 1968,
39:06the USS Scorpion,
39:07a nuclear-powered attack submarine,
39:09slipped quietly into the Mediterranean
39:11on a classified mission.
39:13On May 21st,
39:14during the return voyage
39:16to Norfolk, Virginia,
39:18the Scorpion's radio man
39:19reported that she was
39:20250 miles southwest
39:22of the Azores Islands
39:23and would arrive at her home port
39:26on May 27th as scheduled.
39:32Six days later,
39:34families gathered
39:35at Pier 22 in Norfolk
39:37waiting for the return
39:39of the sub
39:40and the 99 men aboard.
39:43They never arrived.
39:45The Navy had secretly
39:46been searching
39:46for the USS Scorpion
39:48since May 24th
39:49after calls to the sub
39:51went unanswered.
39:52There was a Soviet flotilla
39:54in the area
39:54near the Canary Islands
39:56at that time,
39:57and the Scorpion
39:58had been rerouted
39:59from her original mission
40:00to keep an eye on them.
40:01Some people think
40:02the Soviets discovered
40:03the Scorpion
40:04and sank it
40:05in retaliation for spying,
40:06which is a tantalizing theory,
40:08but the Soviets
40:09didn't have the capability
40:10to hunt down the Scorpion.
40:12At that time,
40:13the Soviets were still relying
40:15on their slow,
40:16outdated, diesel-powered
40:18submarines,
40:19the Whiskey Class.
40:20The Scorpion,
40:22with its advanced technology,
40:24would have easily
40:25outpaced them.
40:27Plus, no Soviet
40:28or Warsaw Pact vessels
40:30were known to be
40:31even within 1,000 miles
40:33of the Scorpion's
40:34last known location.
40:36There doesn't seem
40:36to be any direct evidence
40:38of a Soviet ambush,
40:39and if the Soviets
40:40had sunk the Scorpion,
40:42it could have escalated
40:43into something
40:43neither side wanted,
40:45nuclear war.
40:48In October 1968,
40:50a U.S. Navy research ship
40:52made a shocking discovery.
40:54400 miles off the Azores,
40:56nearly 11,000 feet down,
40:59the shattered hull
41:00of the USS Scorpion
41:01lay twisted
41:02on the ocean floor,
41:04almost torn in half.
41:06One of the earliest possibilities
41:09explored by the U.S. Navy
41:11was the idea
41:12that a hot-run torpedo
41:13had destroyed the Scorpion.
41:16A hot-run is when
41:18a torpedo's engine
41:19activates
41:19while it's still
41:20inside the submarine.
41:22And six months earlier,
41:24the Scorpion
41:24had a near disaster
41:26with a Mark 37 torpedo
41:27that accidentally
41:29armed itself.
41:30In its eight years
41:31of service,
41:32the Scorpion
41:33had been plagued
41:34by so many technical issues
41:36that it had earned
41:37the nickname
41:38the Scrap Iron.
41:39There were a staggering
41:40109 unfulfilled
41:43work orders
41:44on the sub
41:44during its last deployment,
41:46and crew members
41:47reported that the sub
41:48was already showing
41:49significant signs
41:51of wear and tear.
41:52It's not a stretch
41:54to think that this
41:55could have created
41:55huge problems
41:57like a hot-run.
41:59But when investigators
42:01examined the photos
42:02of the wreckage,
42:03they couldn't find
42:04any torpedo damage
42:05to the hull,
42:06no sign of a kind
42:07of cataclysmic explosion
42:09it would have sparked,
42:10and no fragments
42:11of the torpedo room
42:13in the debris field.
42:16When the Scorpion
42:17disappeared,
42:18it produced acoustic
42:19signals detected
42:21by underwater sensors
42:22on both sides
42:23of the Atlantic.
42:24A reanalysis
42:25of this data
42:26in recent years,
42:27combined with the conclusions
42:28drawn in a 1970
42:30government inquiry,
42:32points to an
42:32onboard catastrophe.
42:36It's possible
42:37the Scorpion
42:38experienced
42:39a hydrogen explosion
42:40while charging
42:41its lead-acid batteries,
42:43which were prone
42:44to leaks.
42:45At the time
42:45the sub went down,
42:46it was at periscope depth
42:48with watertight
42:49hatches closed.
42:51This could have trapped
42:52explosive hydrogen
42:53in the battery area.
42:55A spark could have
42:56ignited the gas,
42:57causing an explosion
42:58that led to a second
42:59battery explosion.
43:01This matches
43:01two small blasts
43:02that were detected
43:03by hydrophones
43:04half a second apart.
43:05And really,
43:06this is the only
43:07concrete evidence
43:07that we have
43:08that might explain
43:09how the Scorpion
43:09was lost.
43:10But we may never know
43:11what happened to her.
43:13In 2012,
43:15the U.S.
43:15Submarine Veterans
43:16Organization requested
43:17a new investigation
43:19into the Scorpion
43:20sinking,
43:21but it was denied.
43:22The wreckages
43:23of the other
43:23three submarines
43:24were ultimately located
43:26after varying lengths
43:27of time.
43:28Francis Minerva
43:29lay undiscovered
43:30on the ocean floor
43:31for a full 51 years.
43:34No connection
43:35has been made
43:35between the disasters,
43:37and authorities
43:38have offered
43:38no official explanation
43:40as to what caused
43:41the destruction
43:42of any of the four subs
43:43in 1968.
43:45in 1968.
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