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00:00A treasure so magnificent, it's been called the eighth wonder of the world, the Amber Room, stolen by the Nazis, and then it vanishes.
00:10Was it destroyed in the chaos of war, or is it still out there?
00:18Then, almost a billion dollars in Bitcoin lost on a missing hard drive.
00:24Can this massive digital fortune be recovered from a landfill?
00:30And finally, King Solomon's Mines, long dismissed as myth, until now.
00:36Shocking new discoveries reveal the truth behind what could be the greatest treasure hoard in history.
00:45In the corridors of time, are mysteries that defy explanation.
00:54Now, I'm traveling through history itself.
01:00On a search for the truth.
01:04New evidence.
01:07Shocking answers.
01:10I'm Josh Gates.
01:12And these...
01:15are my expedition files.
01:18When we talk about treasured objects, sometimes we use a healthy dose of poetic license.
01:28Were my garbage pail kids' trading cards really treasure back in the 1980s?
01:33Yeah, ma'am.
01:34Yeah, they were.
01:36But some objects really are bona fide solid gold treasures, often because they're made of, well, solid gold.
01:42And tonight, we examine the mysteries of three of history's most fascinating missing treasures, lost for years, decades, even millennia, and now, perhaps, found.
01:54And we begin here, in the gilded halls of Catherine Palace in St. Petersburg.
02:00This is the residence of the Russian Tsars, but, since this is June of 1941, it's currently overrun by Nazis.
02:08The palace is filled with countless treasures, but the Germans are hunting for the greatest of them all.
02:14A masterpiece so valuable, it's been called the eighth wonder of the world, but the Soviets have made it disappear, or at least they've tried to.
02:29It's here.
02:31I found it.
02:33It's here.
02:38Obscured behind wallpaper, the Nazis have discovered their gilded prize.
02:42The treasure isn't something hidden in the room.
02:46It is the room.
02:47A dazzling chamber made of six tons of hand-carved amber, gold leaf, and gemstones, worth hundreds of millions of dollars.
02:56They will now painstakingly dismantle the world-famous Amber Room, pack it all into crates, and remove it from the palace.
03:03But then, it will vanish.
03:05Some will claim it's destroyed, or perhaps hidden by the Nazis.
03:09But three-quarters of a century later, a new search will give hope that this colossal, lost masterpiece might finally be recovered.
03:18Its disappearance is mysterious, but its origins are well-known.
03:32In 1701, the first king of Prussia, Frederick I, sets out to create a room that will dazzle his guests and cement Prussia's place among Europe's great powers.
03:46He chooses a highly prized material, amber, fossilized tree resin millions of years old that can be worked into a glittering orange gemstone.
03:55At the time, high-quality amber was more valuable than gold.
04:01In the hands of Prussia's finest artisans, it is transformed into a masterpiece of craftsmanship and imperial power.
04:08In 1716, the room's 129 panels are gifted to Russia's Tsar, Peter the Great, solidifying a diplomatic alliance with Prussia.
04:24The panels arrive in St. Petersburg and are ultimately installed in the Catherine Palace.
04:30The final result is stunning, amber carvings gilded in gold, accented with mirrors, and inset with precious gems and beautiful Florentine mosaics.
04:42By day, the walls shift in hue from deep honey to fiery gold, and at night, the flicker of 550 candles makes the room glow from within, radiant and alive.
04:54Some believe the room is just as beautiful as Versailles' legendary Hall of Mirrors, the goals much the same, to proclaim prestige and sophistication through a theatrical aura of divine power.
05:10But to the Nazis 200 years later, the Amber Room is something else entirely.
05:17They arrogantly believe it's their birthright.
05:19Prussia would go on to become a part of Germany, and since the Amber Room was created by Prussian craftsmen, the Nazis believe they have a claim to the prized artifact.
05:31And now, they're stealing it.
05:34Within 36 hours of its discovery, the Nazis pack the room's contents into 27 crates and ship them by rail to Germany.
05:49The Amber Room is then reconstructed at Koenigsberg Castle in Nazi-occupied territory.
05:57We know it arrives there because the castle's museum lists it in their records as Item 200.
06:03It's even put on display for Nazi officials.
06:07But by August of 1944, the Nazis are on the defensive.
06:11British bombers hammer Koenigsberg, reducing much of the city, including the castle, to rubble.
06:20Then, in April 1945, Soviet troops surround the city.
06:25They fight block by block until Germany surrenders.
06:29But in the aftermath, no trace of the treasure-filled crates are discovered.
06:34Just a month later, a secret Soviet investigation is launched to locate the Amber Room.
06:42According to declassified documents from the Russian National Archives, this report concludes that the treasure has most likely been destroyed,
06:50consumed by fire during the bombing of Koenigsberg Castle.
06:53So, that's the end of the story, right?
06:55Not quite.
06:56No evidence of its destruction is found.
06:59But one man doesn't want to give up easily.
07:02Anatoly Kuchimov, a young Russian museum curator desperate to make amends.
07:10It was Kuchimov who made the fateful decision to conceal the Amber Room behind wallpaper in the Catherine Palace,
07:16instead of sending it to safety.
07:19Now, with colleagues already sent to the Gulag for failing to protect Soviet treasures,
07:23Kuchimov is determined to find the remains of the Amber Panels and save his own skin.
07:30Kuchimov's team heads straight to the charred ruins of Koenigsberg Castle.
07:36Sifting through the rubble, they make a startling discovery.
07:40The damaged remains of three Florentine mosaics that once adorned the Amber Room's glowing walls.
07:47They were added to the room by Empress Elizabeth of Russia in the 1750s
07:52to replace oil paintings that originally hung there.
07:56These colorful mosaics were made from natural minerals and semi-precious stones,
08:01carefully arranged to resemble detailed paintings.
08:05The frames are fashioned from carved and sliced pieces of amber of various shades.
08:10Though there were originally four mosaics,
08:13the remnants of only three are found among the ruins.
08:16But where is the rest of the Amber Room?
08:22During his investigation, Kuchimov also discovers a cache of partially burned German letters.
08:29They reveal a Nazi plan to evacuate the Amber Panels after the Allied bombings in 1944.
08:36One, dated January 12, 1945, just before the Soviets captured the city,
08:42states the Amber Room was being packed to be moved far from the front.
08:46This finding gives Kuchimov hope.
08:49There was no trace of the amber wall panels uncovered in the ashes,
08:53only the stone mosaics.
08:55And since the mosaics were designed as four removable artworks,
08:58they were likely packaged separately.
09:01If so, there's a chance the amber walls themselves
09:04were taken out before the flames engulfed the castle.
09:08Anatoly Kuchimov becomes convinced
09:10the Amber Room is still out there, waiting to be found.
09:14For the next decade, he leads excavation teams throughout the region.
09:19Officially, they're prospecting for oil.
09:22Secretly, they spend their days searching ruins, bunkers, and mines.
09:27But despite years of excavations across the region,
09:30Kuchimov and his team come up with nothing.
09:32In 1958, the Soviet government makes a desperate plea for new leads.
09:41And the International Appeal launches a tidal wave of tips, theories, and wild speculation,
09:48each one pointing to a different fate for the Amber Room.
09:51In 2015, I joined the hunt myself,
09:58heading to the former site of Kƶnigsberg Castle,
10:00where I followed a hot lead,
10:02a recently unearthed letter from a Nazi soldier dated 1945.
10:07It describes a secret shipment.
10:10Four trucks sent from Kƶnigsberg
10:12to a remote factory in a small town in Germany called Deutschnedorf.
10:16Hello, Peter, nice to meet you.
10:21Nice to meet you, too.
10:22What's going on up here?
10:23It seems like you guys have a full-scale operation going here.
10:26The first news was the Amber Room, the Bernstein Zimmer.
10:29It's also about documents and about gold.
10:32Regardless of what we find, we know that the ships are hidden.
10:36And the mountain's building is located under us,
10:38120 meters deep.
10:40Right under our feet, there's a huge network of mines.
10:43And we think it's in one of these mines underneath the ground.
10:47Beneath the factory is an old silver mine.
10:50Here we go.
10:52Miles of twisting tunnels
10:53where the Nazis could have easily stashed the Amber Room crates.
10:58Look at this.
11:00Look at this place.
11:02Are you kidding me?
11:03This is unbelievable.
11:05I mean, this is like Lord of the Rings down here.
11:09Oh, let's go.
11:11Back, back, back, back, back, back, back, back.
11:12Something's letting loose down there.
11:13Here, come on.
11:15Definitely not safe.
11:16Despite an exhaustive search of the old mine,
11:25the Amber Room's prized panels were nowhere to be found.
11:29But was this because I, like so many others,
11:32had been looking in the wrong place?
11:34Now, a stunning new theory suggests that instead of hunting on land,
11:38we should have been searching at sea.
11:46On the hunt for what happened to a priceless treasure,
11:54we find ourselves in April of 1945.
11:57With Soviet forces closing in,
12:01the Nazis, on the verge of defeat,
12:03initiate Operation Hannibal,
12:05one of the largest maritime retreats in history.
12:08They frantically evacuate people and possessions
12:11on every ship they can find.
12:13The SS Karlsruhe is departing Kƶnigsberg,
12:16packed with thousands fleeing in panic.
12:19But could it also be carrying the legendary Amber Room?
12:22If so, this treasure is headed straight for disaster.
12:29The following morning, Soviet planes strike.
12:33In just three minutes,
12:35the Karlsruhe vanishes beneath the waves off the coast of Poland,
12:39taking a thousand lives and all of its secrets with it.
12:42Could the wreck of the SS Karlsruhe
12:47have secretly carried the long-lost Amber Room?
12:50In 2020, the wreck was located in the Baltic Sea,
12:53and in the years since,
12:55divers have been searching the sunken vessel
12:57for any trace of the treasure.
12:59Historian Martin Morgan has been following their efforts.
13:03The Amber Room is a great piece of World War II mystery and mythology.
13:08Its complete loss is something that the world is still lamenting
13:14because we're still looking for it.
13:18Divers are sent down to the wreck.
13:20In the debris field, they find an intact military vehicle.
13:24They find porcelainware.
13:26And then also, they find in a cargo hold,
13:29a very large number of wooden crates.
13:32Those wooden crates stand out as suspicious
13:36because the question immediately arises,
13:38what are the crates carrying?
13:40But fully exploring a shipwreck at a depth of 290 feet isn't easy.
13:45Searching most of the ship takes over 100 dives
13:48with technical divers and the latest remote submersible technology.
13:53Then eventually, they discover a crate
13:56that appears much better built than all of the others,
14:00one that is a bit more ornate in its construction,
14:03and that immediately attracts attention
14:05because this could be it.
14:08This could be the moment of discovery of the Amber Room.
14:11When they open the crate,
14:12they're hoping to be greeted by something
14:14that glows with this amber hue, this warmth,
14:18because after all, even underwater,
14:20it will not be dulled by the passage of time.
14:23But they crack it open,
14:25expecting to be greeted by this amazing reveal,
14:28only to find that inside the crate is a coiled U-boat cable.
14:32This is a valuable artifact,
14:34and it's very interesting in and of itself,
14:36but it's no Amber Room.
14:38The team's search has been extensive,
14:40but is not complete.
14:41There are still parts of the ship to be explored,
14:44but for now, all diving on the wreck
14:46is tightly controlled by the Polish government.
14:50Exploration of this wreck site
14:51comes to an official stop
14:53when it is declared a war grave.
14:56With that declaration,
14:58no further dives can be conducted
15:00because the lives of almost 1,000 people
15:02ended when that ship was sunk.
15:06So far, no evidence has been found
15:09that Amber Room was packed aboard Karlsruhe,
15:12but not every last corner
15:15and every last cargo hold of the ship
15:17has yet been explored.
15:18If the Amber Room survived World War II,
15:21it might be aboard the ship after all.
15:23I certainly hope it's still out there,
15:25and I hope that we find it,
15:26because I'd love to live long enough
15:28to see it installed at the Catherine Palace again.
15:33Although the wreck has yet to produce the Amber Room,
15:36another small part of the treasure has been found.
15:39In 1997, the last of its four mosaics
15:42was discovered in Bremen, Germany,
15:44in the home of a Nazi soldier's son.
15:47As for the rest of the original,
15:49was it destroyed in the fires of war?
15:51Is it sealed inside a sunken ship?
15:54Or is it still hidden somewhere else in Europe?
15:57The hunt continues.
15:59In the last year alone,
16:01dozens of new leads have been reported,
16:03from a cave system in Dresden, Germany,
16:05to a former SS training ground in Poland.
16:08So stay tuned.
16:10One day, we might just be reunited
16:12with the eighth wonder of the world.
16:14We turn our attention now
16:21to a very different kind of treasure,
16:24a digital fortune that could be right under my feet.
16:27The year is 2017,
16:29and you'll have to excuse the smell.
16:31I'm just outside the city of Newport, Wales,
16:33and this is one of the largest waste sites in the country,
16:36the Doxway Landfill.
16:38The guy rummaging through the trash there?
16:40That's computer engineer James Howells.
16:43He's desperately hunting for one of his old hard drives.
16:46Why?
16:46Well, because it's worth a billion dollars.
16:49But James faces two big problems,
16:51five million square feet of garbage,
16:53and the fact that the city refuses
16:55to let him properly search it.
16:57So how does an old hard drive become worth so much,
17:00and why won't the authorities let him find it?
17:03In this maddening case of the lost Bitcoin billion,
17:06one man's trash really is that same man's treasure.
17:18To understand James' story,
17:20first we have to understand Bitcoin,
17:22and nobody really understands Bitcoin.
17:24But the basic idea is that Bitcoin is an electronic currency
17:27invented by a mysterious character
17:30with the pseudonym Satoshi Nakamoto.
17:32Instead of cold, hard cash,
17:34Bitcoin is a digital asset,
17:36basically a really, really long string of numbers
17:38traded over the internet.
17:40But here's where it gets really interesting.
17:44Unlike dollars, Bitcoin isn't printed.
17:46It's mined.
17:47Think of it like digital gold.
17:49Instead of picks and shovels,
17:51miners use high-powered computers
17:52to solve complex math puzzles
17:54that approve all Bitcoin transactions.
17:58To incentivize doing this,
18:00miners are rewarded in brand new Bitcoins.
18:03And since there'll only ever be 21 million of them,
18:08they're scarce,
18:09just like real gold,
18:10only online.
18:12Once Bitcoin is mined,
18:14it automatically gets put in that person's digital wallet.
18:17This wallet lives online,
18:19and they can access it from anywhere,
18:20or trade it to other buyers.
18:22But to keep the wallet secure,
18:24it's protected by an extremely complicated password.
18:27So people usually save this key digitally,
18:30like on a hard drive.
18:32The only problem is,
18:33if you lose the hard drive,
18:34or, say, throw it in the garbage,
18:36you lose access to your Bitcoin forever,
18:38which is exactly what happens to James Howells.
18:41Born and raised in Newport, Wales,
18:47James has been tinkering with computers his whole life.
18:51In 2009,
18:52he's working as a successful IT professional
18:54and living with his girlfriend,
18:56Havina Eddie Evans.
19:00One morning,
19:01he reads an online forum
19:02about a new thing called Bitcoin.
19:05At the time,
19:06it's a novelty currency,
19:08perhaps fewer than 100 people even knew of it.
19:11James finds it intriguing
19:12and decides to give mining a shot.
19:15Over the next few nights,
19:16his computer produces roughly 8,000 Bitcoin.
19:20He adds them to a digital wallet
19:22and stores the password on his laptop's hard drive.
19:26The following year,
19:27in 2010,
19:28James spills lemonade on the laptop.
19:31Whoops.
19:32So he takes the hard drive out to preserve it
19:35and throws it in a drawer of broken tech.
19:38It's a seemingly inconsequential moment,
19:41after all,
19:41at this time,
19:42Bitcoin is nearly worthless,
19:44so the drive is hardly a precious object.
19:48But it's this choice
19:49that will forever alter James's destiny.
19:54Fast forward three years later
19:56to January 2013.
19:58Bitcoin,
19:59once the plaything of coders and crypto nerds,
20:02starts climbing in value.
20:03By the end of January,
20:05it's worth about 13 bucks a coin.
20:07But it keeps going.
20:09And by April,
20:10a single Bitcoin is worth $200.
20:13Why is the value rising?
20:15Because Bitcoin is traded like stocks.
20:18And by 2013,
20:19people are buying it,
20:20including big players like hedge funds
20:22and financial institutions.
20:24In short,
20:25the world has officially taken notice.
20:27James has two.
20:31He remembers the hard drive
20:32from years earlier
20:33that holds the password
20:34to his forgotten stash
20:35of 8,000 Bitcoin,
20:37a drive that he realizes
20:39is now worth
20:40over $1.5 million.
20:42That is,
20:43if he can find it.
20:45He frantically searches his home office,
20:47looking high and low.
20:49And then,
20:49a sickening reality sinks in.
20:52Remember that drive
20:53pulled from his laptop
20:54that got thrown into a drawer of junk?
20:56Well, at some point,
20:58James' girlfriend
20:58was cleaning up the house,
21:00gathered a big pile
21:01of what she thought was junk,
21:03including the drive,
21:04and threw it in the trash.
21:06The trash then made its way
21:07to the local landfill,
21:09mixed in with thousands of tons
21:11of household waste.
21:13The simple act of taking out the trash
21:15has become a million-dollar mistake.
21:19James will embark
21:20on a relentless quest
21:22in a desperate attempt
21:23to reclaim his thrown-away fortune.
21:25But can the missing Bitcoin
21:27be found?
21:34Computer engineer James Howells
21:36loses a hard drive
21:37loaded with a fortune in Bitcoin,
21:40and it ends up buried
21:41deep in a mountain of waste.
21:43This bizarre twist
21:44of digital fortune
21:45quickly becomes a media sensation
21:48around the world.
21:50James, I'm sure there's
21:51an awful lot of people
21:51feeling for you right now.
21:53So, how do you feel stood here?
21:55Well, absolutely devastated,
21:56as you can imagine.
21:58When I went up
21:59to the landfill site yesterday,
22:00there's a potential
22:01to find the drive.
22:02Is it still working?
22:04Can the data be recovered?
22:06I have no idea.
22:07I just wish I could go back in time
22:08and not throw that drive away.
22:11For years, author
22:12and crypto expert
22:13Tony Edward
22:14has followed the saga.
22:15When I first heard
22:17about James' story,
22:19I was blown away
22:20because the amount
22:21of Bitcoin
22:21that he had mined,
22:23even certain institutions
22:25don't have that amount
22:26of Bitcoin.
22:27But one individual
22:28had that,
22:29and it's life-changing money.
22:32I really feel for James.
22:34This whole situation
22:35could have been avoided
22:36if James wrote down
22:37his private keys
22:39on a piece of paper
22:40and put it in a safe
22:42or a safety deposit box.
22:45But he put it on a hard drive,
22:47and that hard drive
22:48is unfortunately lost.
22:51In November of 2013,
22:53he approaches
22:54the Newport City Council
22:55with a plan
22:56to excavate the landfill.
22:58By this point,
23:00his Bitcoin value
23:00has jumped to $6 million.
23:03But the council
23:04rejects his plan,
23:05even when he offers
23:06to cover the cost himself,
23:08because excavating a landfill
23:10is a serious
23:11environmental risk.
23:12Hazardous waste,
23:13methane gas,
23:15possible contamination,
23:16you name it.
23:17And you can imagine
23:19the people in the community
23:20are probably not fans
23:21of this either,
23:22because they could be affected
23:24by any type
23:25of environmental risk.
23:27And while I appreciate
23:29what James is trying to do,
23:30because if I were in his shoes,
23:31I would be doing the same thing,
23:33but it's not just about James.
23:35It's about the community,
23:36and the folks on the council
23:38at the landfill
23:38are definitely thinking
23:40about that.
23:40But James isn't ready
23:42to throw in the towel.
23:43He is dead set
23:44on convincing the council
23:45to grant him access
23:47to the site.
23:49He rallies support
23:50from hedge fund backers,
23:52offering them a percentage
23:53of the fortune
23:54if he ever recovers
23:55the lost Bitcoin.
23:57Now, armed with ever more
23:58high-tech proposals,
24:00he returns to the council
24:01with a new search approach
24:03featuring drone mapping,
24:04AI-powered waste analysis,
24:07methane containment systems,
24:09and even robotic dogs,
24:11all in the name
24:13of digital treasure.
24:15Then he sweetens the deal,
24:17offering the council
24:18and the town
24:19a generous cut of the profits
24:21potentially worth millions.
24:23The council deliberates,
24:24but again,
24:25their answer is no.
24:27By 2023,
24:28the value of James' lost Bitcoin
24:31has skyrocketed
24:32to over half a billion dollars.
24:35With polite proposals
24:36getting him nowhere,
24:37he changes tactics,
24:39going full throttle
24:40and filing a lawsuit
24:41against the city
24:42to the tune
24:43of $647 million
24:45in U.S. currency.
24:48The gloves are off.
24:49Over the next two years,
24:51the courtroom drama
24:52drags on like a download
24:54over a dial-up connection.
24:56All the while,
24:57the value of James' Bitcoin
24:58goes higher and higher,
25:00from hundreds of millions
25:01to approaching
25:02a billion dollars.
25:04But in January of 2025,
25:06a judge pulls the plug,
25:08ruling that James has
25:09no realistic prospect
25:11of succeeding.
25:12James appeals
25:13to the highest court
25:14in the U.K.,
25:15but in March of 2025,
25:17they also say no.
25:18Game over.
25:20Or is it?
25:22So James, over the years,
25:24has been very persistent.
25:25He's trying everything
25:27and anything
25:27to gain access
25:28to this landfill.
25:30But up till now,
25:31the council has denied
25:32all of his proposals.
25:34He's lost in the courts.
25:36It's an arduous process.
25:38And so his last-ditch effort
25:41is to try to buy the landfill.
25:44And that way,
25:45he can dig it all up
25:47without any red tape
25:48or roadblocks
25:50from the local government.
25:51The city ignores James' attempts
25:53to buy the landfill.
25:55And after his legal actions failed,
25:58now insists James owes
25:59$150,000 in legal fees.
26:03The big question remains,
26:05even if James were
26:06to get permission,
26:07could he actually find the drive
26:08in all that trash?
26:10On its face,
26:11this is a crazy idea.
26:13To try to go unearth tons of garbage
26:17and to go through that
26:19and all types of nasty stuff.
26:22This is the biggest needle
26:24in the haystack problem.
26:26One UK waste management company
26:28says the odds of finding
26:29this hard drive
26:30is one in 902 million.
26:33But with the slim chance
26:36of finding that hard drive
26:38and getting access
26:40to what could be billions of dollars
26:42as Bitcoin continues to grow in value,
26:45it's worth it.
26:46But by August of 2025,
26:49with the city council
26:50continuing to ignore his proposal,
26:52James finally gives up
26:54on his bid to buy the landfill.
26:56But he isn't done
26:57with his quest to make a fortune.
26:59His new plan?
27:00Forget diving through
27:01millions of pounds of garbage.
27:03Instead, he's going to create
27:04a cryptocurrency of his own.
27:07Best of luck, James.
27:08Oh, and if your new currency
27:09does take off,
27:11one word of advice.
27:12Hold on to your hard drive.
27:16It's 940 B.C.,
27:22and as far as traveling
27:23through time and space goes,
27:25I've hit the jackpot.
27:26I'm currently standing inside
27:28what is perhaps
27:29the richest treasure vault
27:30in human history.
27:32And it all belongs to this guy,
27:34the biblical King Solomon.
27:36We're standing in his palace,
27:38but you might be more familiar
27:40with where all this bling came from,
27:42King Solomon's mines,
27:44which overflow with gold
27:46and diamonds.
27:47But what's the reality
27:48behind his immense wealth?
27:50Well, for millennia,
27:51no one has found solid evidence
27:53of the legendary mines.
27:55That is, until now.
28:06According to the Old Testament,
28:08Solomon, the son of King David,
28:10ascends to the throne of Israel
28:12in the 10th century B.C.
28:20The Bible tells us
28:21that God appears to him
28:23in a dream
28:23and offers him
28:24anything he desires.
28:27Solomon asks for wisdom
28:29to govern justly.
28:33Pleased with this humble request,
28:35God grants him
28:36exceptional wisdom,
28:37along with great wealth
28:40and honor.
28:41And in 1 Kings 3,
28:44we find the most famous demonstration
28:45of that wisdom.
28:49Two women come before him,
28:51each claiming to be the mother
28:52of the same child.
28:54To reveal the truth,
28:55Solomon proposes
28:56an unthinkable solution,
28:58cutting the baby in two
29:00and giving each woman half.
29:06The real mother
29:07immediately offers
29:08to surrender the child
29:09rather than see him harmed,
29:11revealing her
29:12as the true parent.
29:16But according to the Bible,
29:17King Solomon's greatest legacy
29:19isn't just his legendary wisdom,
29:21but the vast wealth
29:23he amasses,
29:24which he uses
29:26to construct
29:27the first temple
29:28in Jerusalem,
29:29an architectural
29:31and spiritual marvel.
29:32The Bible offers
29:33detailed descriptions
29:34of the lavish materials
29:36used in its construction.
29:39Monumental bronze columns
29:41flank the entrance.
29:42A massive ceremonial basin
29:44known as the Sea of Cast Metal
29:46adorns the courtyard.
29:49And inside,
29:50a sanctuary
29:50with gold-lined walls
29:52is said to have held
29:53the Ark of the Covenant,
29:55the sacred chest
29:56containing the Ten Commandments.
29:59And the temple
30:00isn't his only
30:01grand construction.
30:02Solomon reigns
30:03from his royal palace
30:05in Jerusalem,
30:06a treasure-filled sanctum
30:07with cedar pillars
30:09which takes 13 years
30:10to build.
30:11And this brings us back
30:12to the incredible source
30:14of his wealth,
30:15King Solomon's mines.
30:17There's just one hiccup.
30:18The Bible makes
30:19no mention of them.
30:21It does make reference
30:23to copper quarrying
30:24in the Holy Land
30:25and describes
30:26a mysterious kingdom
30:27called Ophir
30:28as a source
30:29of Solomon's wealth.
30:31But the text
30:32gives no hint
30:32of Ophir's location
30:34or the legendary
30:35gold and diamond mines
30:36we associate
30:37with Solomon today.
30:39In fact,
30:40the first time
30:40we hear about
30:41actual mines
30:42is almost
30:433,000 years later
30:44in the 1885 novel
30:46King Solomon's Mines
30:48by H. Ryder Haggard.
30:50The story follows
30:51the fictional exploits
30:52of Alan Quartermain,
30:54a hunter hired
30:54to lead a search
30:55for Solomon's legendary
30:57source of wealth
30:58in Africa.
31:00So,
31:00is it all just
31:01a literary invention?
31:03Well,
31:03not so fast.
31:05In the 19th century,
31:07European explorers
31:08venture deep
31:09into southern Africa
31:10in search
31:10of the site
31:11of the mines
31:12and stumble
31:13upon something
31:14extraordinary.
31:15The massive stone ruins
31:17of Great Zimbabwe.
31:19A mysterious ancient city
31:22surrounded by
31:23abandoned gold mines.
31:25One structure,
31:26the Great Enclosure,
31:27they say,
31:28bears similarities
31:29to biblical descriptions
31:30of Solomon's temple
31:32in Jerusalem.
31:33Suddenly,
31:34the world is buzzing
31:35with a thrilling possibility.
31:39Had they found
31:40the lost kingdom
31:41of Ophir,
31:42the source
31:43of King Solomon's
31:44legendary wealth?
31:45A stunning
31:57archaeological find
31:59in Africa,
32:00ornate stone ruins
32:01unlike anything
32:02seen before,
32:03leads many to believe
32:04they've uncovered
32:05the lost city
32:06of Ophir,
32:08the legendary source
32:09of King Solomon's mines.
32:11But in time,
32:12the site known
32:13as Great Zimbabwe
32:14is revealed
32:15to not be a relic
32:17of Solomon's empire
32:18at all,
32:19but the legacy
32:20of the Shona people,
32:22an advanced African
32:23civilization
32:23that flourished
32:24around the 11th century,
32:27nearly 2,000 years
32:28after Solomon's reign.
32:31Even so,
32:31the myth refused
32:33to fade.
32:34The dream
32:34of discovering
32:35the source
32:36of Solomon's
32:36hidden riches
32:37continued to fuel
32:38imaginations
32:39around the world,
32:41which brings us back
32:42to H. Ryder Haggard's
32:431885 novel
32:45King Solomon's Mines.
32:48The book
32:49is an international
32:50mega-hit,
32:51eventually spawning
32:52more than a dozen novels
32:54and at least
32:55seven films,
32:56not to mention
32:57serving as a template
32:57for Indiana Jones.
32:59It also inspires
33:00a generation
33:01of explorers,
33:03many of whom
33:03continue to search
33:04for Solomon's treasure.
33:07Enter Timnah Valley,
33:10a rugged,
33:11sun-scorched
33:12stretch of desert
33:13in southern Israel
33:14just 200 miles
33:15from Jerusalem,
33:17the seat
33:17of Solomon's
33:18biblical kingdom.
33:19On the surface,
33:20it looks like
33:21little more
33:21than rock and sand,
33:23but beneath it,
33:24a very different story.
33:28In the 1930s,
33:30archaeologist
33:30Nelson Gluck
33:31discovers massive,
33:33ancient copper quarries
33:34in the valley.
33:36While the Bible
33:36doesn't name Timnah,
33:38it does mention
33:39Solomon's extensive
33:40use of copper,
33:41which was alloyed
33:42with tin
33:43to produce the bronze
33:44used in his temple
33:45and palace.
33:47Copper might not
33:48sound glamorous today,
33:49but in the ancient world,
33:51it's a big deal.
33:52Copper is essential
33:53to making tools
33:54and weapons.
33:55It is a cornerstone
33:56of trade
33:57and the backbone
33:58of empires.
34:00Suddenly,
34:00Timnah isn't just
34:01a pit in the sand,
34:02it's a possible engine
34:04of Solomon's
34:05immense wealth.
34:08Nelson Gluck
34:09boldly dubs the site
34:10the real
34:11King Solomon's Mines,
34:13but many dismiss
34:14his claims
34:15since he can't produce
34:16definitive evidence
34:17to tie the site
34:18to the famed
34:19biblical king.
34:20But here's where
34:21things get interesting.
34:23For years,
34:24most scholars believed
34:25the copper mines
34:26at Timnah
34:26were controlled
34:27by the Egyptians.
34:29After all,
34:29they found
34:30Egyptian-style shrines,
34:32hieroglyphs,
34:33even a temple
34:34to the goddess Hathor.
34:36But new radiocarbon dating
34:38flipped that idea
34:39on its head.
34:40Turns out,
34:41the real copper boom
34:42at Timnah
34:42happened after
34:43the Egyptians left,
34:45right around
34:46the 10th century BC,
34:48the exact window
34:49when Solomon
34:50is said to have ruled.
34:52And the head
34:52of the new
34:53Timnah excavation effort
34:54declares,
34:55quote,
34:55if King Solomon
34:56had mines,
34:57they were of copper
34:58and they were here.
35:00The fact that
35:01over 10,000
35:02ancient mineshafts
35:04have been currently
35:04identified
35:05makes this
35:06a compelling theory.
35:08But can it be proven
35:09that they were
35:10Solomons?
35:12Now,
35:13a recent discovery
35:14may settle the question
35:15once and for all.
35:22When it comes
35:23to vanished treasures,
35:24the 12-panel
35:25masterpiece
35:26known as
35:26the Ghent Altarpiece
35:27holds the honor
35:28of being the most
35:29stolen artwork
35:30in history.
35:34Completed in 1432
35:35for St. Bavo's Cathedral
35:37in Belgium,
35:38it was first snatched
35:40by Napoleon
35:40in 1794.
35:42By 1815,
35:44six panels
35:45were secretly sold
35:46and smuggled
35:47into Berlin.
35:48Yet in both cases,
35:49the artwork
35:49was recovered.
35:51Then,
35:51in 1934,
35:53thieves stole
35:54a single panel,
35:55which vanished
35:55without a trace.
35:57in World War II,
36:00Hitler's forces
36:01hid the remaining
36:02panels
36:02in a salt mine.
36:05But the Allied
36:06art saviors,
36:07known as the
36:08Monuments Men,
36:09rescued it
36:09from destruction.
36:12Today,
36:13the 11 recovered
36:14sections
36:14once again
36:15grace the cathedral
36:16in Ghent.
36:17As for the 12th,
36:18it's still out there,
36:19just waiting
36:20to be found.
36:21A new archaeological discovery
36:28in Israel's
36:29copper-rich
36:30Timna Valley
36:31may finally confirm
36:33King Solomon's
36:34true source
36:35of wealth,
36:35and they're not
36:36the mythical
36:37African diamond mines
36:38from the popular novel.
36:40Archaeologist
36:41and Professor
36:41Kent Bramlett
36:42has been tracking
36:43the latest finds
36:44from the dig site.
36:45Finding proof
36:47of King Solomon's
36:48mines would be
36:49dramatic,
36:50it would be
36:50sensational,
36:51it would be
36:51fantastic.
36:52I think any
36:52archaeologist
36:53working in the
36:54field would be
36:54delighted with
36:55confirming,
36:57finding things
36:58associated with
37:00a famous king
37:00like Solomon.
37:02In 2021,
37:03the team excavating
37:04at Timna
37:04surprised the world.
37:07Archaeologists
37:08found artifacts
37:09like tools
37:10and architectural
37:11remains
37:12and foodstuffs
37:13as well,
37:14and this is
37:15due to the
37:15extremely dry
37:16climate there
37:17that preserves
37:18organic remains
37:19that you wouldn't
37:19expect to find
37:20in many other
37:21locations.
37:22Among the
37:23articles they
37:24recover are
37:24charcoal and
37:25clay pieces
37:26of ancient
37:27smelting furnaces,
37:28proving a massive
37:29industrial operation
37:31was underway here.
37:33The archaeologists
37:34also find
37:34ancient food waste,
37:36olives,
37:37dates,
37:38and fish bones.
37:39As anyone
37:40who's ever
37:41cleaned out
37:41their fridge
37:42can relate to,
37:43discovering old
37:44food is not
37:45normally a jackpot
37:46moment,
37:47but in archaeology,
37:48it can be as
37:49good as gold.
37:51Because olives
37:52grow and are
37:53eaten within
37:53a single season,
37:54their tiny pits
37:55can be radiocarbon
37:57dated with
37:57incredible precision.
38:00The pits that
38:00were found
38:01were dated
38:01with carbon-14
38:02sampling,
38:04and the dates
38:05that resulted
38:06fell squarely
38:07in the early
38:08part of the
38:0810th century,
38:09the time that
38:10according to
38:10biblical chronology,
38:11King Solomon
38:12reigned in
38:12Jerusalem.
38:14Confirming that
38:15the mines were
38:15active during
38:16King Solomon's
38:17reign is an
38:18intriguing discovery,
38:19but then comes
38:20a find that
38:21ups the ante
38:22even more.
38:24Near the lower
38:26levels of the
38:27excavation,
38:28a number of
38:29textiles,
38:29I believe hundreds
38:30of fragments of
38:31textiles were found,
38:32and this is very rare.
38:33Textiles usually
38:34don't survive.
38:36Among all of the
38:37fragments of textiles
38:38found in Timna,
38:39there was a real
38:39surprise.
38:41A few had
38:42evidence of
38:43royal purple dye.
38:46This was extremely
38:48exciting and
38:49unexpected.
38:52In the ancient world,
38:54purple is the
38:55color of kings,
38:56emperors,
38:56and high priests.
38:58So rare it becomes
38:59a symbol of power
39:00and divinity.
39:02Before modern
39:03dyeing techniques,
39:04it is made from
39:05Mediterranean sea snails
39:06and it takes
39:07thousands of them
39:08and a painstaking
39:09process to produce
39:11even a gram of
39:12this precious color.
39:14By weight,
39:15it was once worth
39:16more than gold.
39:18Finding purple
39:19cloth at Timna
39:20certainly indicates
39:21that this isn't
39:23an isolated
39:24and primitive
39:25mining operation.
39:27It's connected
39:27with kingship,
39:29with royalty,
39:30most probably.
39:31Royal purple
39:32would not be
39:33something that
39:33was worn by
39:34local administrators.
39:36So what was it
39:36doing there?
39:37Was it the evidence
39:38of a royal visitation?
39:40Was it evidence
39:41that we are
39:41connected with
39:42kingship somewhere
39:43that is organizing
39:44this mining operation?
39:46Possibly so.
39:47Probably so.
39:48And the scrap
39:49of this fabric
39:50found in Timna?
39:51It's the oldest
39:52purple wool
39:53discovered in the region,
39:55dating all the way
39:56back to the
39:5610th century B.C.,
39:59King Solomon's time.
40:02Some say
40:03it's even possible
40:04that this could
40:05have been worn
40:05by Solomon himself.
40:07King Solomon
40:08would undoubtedly
40:09have worn
40:10garments dyed
40:11in purple.
40:12And Solomon
40:13was possibly involved
40:14with the mining
40:15at the location
40:16of Timna.
40:17But one of the
40:19challenges in
40:19archaeology
40:20is linking
40:21specific remains
40:23or finds
40:24with specific people
40:26like King Solomon.
40:27If you wanted
40:28to connect it
40:29with a figure,
40:30you need DNA
40:30from that person
40:31to start with.
40:32but King Solomon,
40:33unfortunately,
40:34we don't have
40:34even his tomb.
40:36But the evidence
40:38is circumstantial,
40:40so it remains
40:41a challenge
40:42to connect
40:43King Solomon
40:44with an artifact.
40:46Considering that
40:47at Timna,
40:48we've already found
40:48surprising artifacts
40:50like purple cloth,
40:51we can only guess
40:52what will be found
40:53in the future.
40:54We hope that
40:55as excavation
40:56and research continues,
40:58that more exciting finds
40:59will be found
40:59at Timna.
41:02King Solomon's mines
41:04may be more
41:04than just a fable
41:05ginned up
41:06by a Victorian-era novelist.
41:09Many experts
41:09now believe
41:10the Timna copper mines
41:11may well have belonged
41:13to Solomon,
41:14and perhaps he even
41:14rocked his royal purple
41:16during a visit.
41:17So it turns out
41:18the old adage,
41:19all that glitters
41:20isn't gold,
41:21is true,
41:22especially when it comes
41:23to King Solomon's mines
41:24of copper.
41:25I'm Josh Gates
41:27and I'll see you
41:28on the next expedition.
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