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00:00An astonishing discovery is made in the depths of a cave in Israel.
00:05There was something else hidden in the shadows as well.
00:08Hidden in a crevasse that was almost out of reach were four large swords,
00:12all of them in good condition. This is totally unprecedented.
00:15But the microclimate of the inner cave has clearly protected them.
00:19Were these swords used in some bloody battle? Who put them here and why?
00:23An eerie cavern in Finland reveals a dark past.
00:26It's this long, narrow chasm that really gives you the impression
00:30that you're entering a massive open-air corridor.
00:33The sound of the clap is sharp and crisp.
00:36It reverberates an eerie, haunting frequency that rings out.
00:40What's causing this unusual sound phenomenon?
00:43A peculiar artifact is unearthed during an excavation in London.
00:48It's about 18 inches tall with a bulbous circular body,
00:51and it's heavy, almost 10 pounds.
00:53The well-preserved fluid from the bottle was most definitely not alcohol.
00:58It was human urine.
01:00What's going on here?
01:04Buried.
01:06Hidden.
01:08Cursed.
01:09From mystical artifacts and doomed treasures,
01:14to mysterious structures and ancient rituals.
01:19Myths and legends that have long been shrouded in the shadows of history
01:25are finally brought into the light.
01:29These are Secrets in the Dark.
01:3550 miles southeast of Jerusalem, on the western shore of the Dead Sea,
01:52Israel's En Gedi Nature Reserve rises to a steep escarpment
01:56and offers a stunning view of the sea below.
01:59Thousands of years of erosion have left this cliffside riddled with dark caves,
02:04which are filled with mineral deposits and stalactites.
02:08The larger caves run 30 feet into the cliff and can reach heights of over 10 feet.
02:14Historically, the Jordan Valley has seen an incredible amount of human activity over 10,000 years.
02:18For centuries, the caves have been used by people to take refuge from the elements,
02:24and in some cases, from enemy attack.
02:27They're remote, difficult to access, and many of the cave entrances are hidden from view below.
02:33In recent years, many of the caves have been explored by scientists and researchers,
02:37including sites that have been fully excavated by archaeologists hoping to unlock the cave's mysteries.
02:45And to save any valuable artifacts from the hands of looters.
02:49A small group from the Israeli Antiquities Authority is conducting a survey of one of the remote caves
02:54when they make a shocking discovery.
02:57There's an inscription on the cave wall, nine lines of text in Hebrew script.
03:02Part of the message reads,
03:03Cursed be he who will efface.
03:06And then a few lines further down, the words, Blessed be the king.
03:11There was something else hidden in the shadows as well.
03:14Hidden in a crevasse that was almost out of reach were four large swords,
03:18all of them in good condition.
03:20To find one sword is rare, but four? This is totally unprecedented.
03:25Each has double-edged blades, and three of them are sheathed inside a wooden scabbard.
03:31The scabbards are surrounded by strips of leather,
03:33which appear to have been used for binding or fastening the sword to its owner.
03:38The blades are roughly two feet long, with well-fashioned handles made from metal and wood.
03:45The fourth sword has a shorter blade, about 18 inches long,
03:48and its handle has a thick, movable ring through the bottom of it,
03:52what's known as a ring-pommel sword.
03:55The swords are exceptionally well-preserved,
03:58which is shocking because organic materials like wood and leather
04:01tend to break down when exposed to the elements.
04:04But the microclimate of the inner cave has clearly protected them.
04:08There are so many questions.
04:10Were these swords used in some bloody battle?
04:13Who put them here, and why?
04:15And just how old are they?
04:17It wouldn't be the first surprising discovery made in the caves of the Jordan Valley.
04:26The most famous example, of course, is the Dead Sea Scrolls,
04:29the series of ancient Jewish manuscripts from the Second Temple period.
04:33They were discovered in caves along the north shore of the Dead Sea between 1946 and 1956.
04:39The scrolls, which were written in Hebrew, include the oldest surviving manuscripts of entire books,
04:46later included in the biblical canons.
04:48So their significance to historians and religious scholars can't be overstated.
04:52They're one of the most important archaeological finds in modern history.
04:55The Dead Sea Scrolls were written over a period of 400 years,
05:01dating from the 3rd century BCE to the 1st century CE.
05:06Given that the cryptic text found inscribed in the Cave of Swords was also written in Hebrew,
05:11is it possible that the swords are somehow connected to the Dead Sea Scrolls?
05:16The swords are sent to a lab for forensic analysis.
05:20While awaiting the results, a deeper exploration of the cave is launched.
05:25The site was excavated entirely, and when they dug into the floor of that cave,
05:29they found layers of ash, and in between those layers, shards of pottery,
05:35including a V-shaped bull dating back 6,000 years to the Chalcolithic period.
05:42Could the swords date back that far as well?
05:45The Chalcolithic era was a period of transition between the Neolithic and Bronze Ages.
05:50It was known mostly for the development of copper,
05:54the increase of longer trade routes, and societal development,
05:57such as new burial practices, and the emergence of the first state societies.
06:01It was also a period of change in terms of weaponry.
06:05Discoveries from the northern Galilee region down to the Sharon Plain
06:09have proven there were squirmishes and conflicts between tribes,
06:12although not much is known about any prolonged warfare.
06:15The weapons of the Chalcolithic period ranged from sling stones and mazes
06:20to crude spears and daggers made from copper.
06:23Nothing as sophisticated and detailed as the cave swords.
06:27So, while the discovery of 6,000-year-old pottery is fascinating,
06:31it tells us nothing about the swords.
06:34The forensic results from the lab provide more insight into the age and provenance of the swords.
06:41They were roughly 1,900 years old, so they were built and later hidden
06:45at some point during the second century.
06:48And when they were analyzed by weapons experts,
06:50they were determined to be Roman spatha swords.
06:53The spatha was a double-edged iron longsword used by the Roman army
07:00during a 500-year period of expansion of the Roman Empire.
07:05In the first century, they were used exclusively by the cavalry or mounted soldiers.
07:09But by the second century AD, most of the Roman infantry started to use the spatha as well.
07:14While the lab results helped narrow down the swords origins and timeline,
07:18they also led to some more baffling questions.
07:22First of all, this area of the Jordan Valley represents the outer edge of the Roman Empire.
07:27So, what are these weapons doing here in the middle of the desert?
07:32And then there's the strange hidden location,
07:35stashed behind stalactites at the top of a cliffside cave.
07:39Whoever placed them there was trying to conceal them.
07:43And whoever it was, they didn't come back to get them.
07:46Why would Roman soldiers hide their own weapons in a remote cave beside the Dead Sea?
07:53It makes no sense.
07:55A deeper dive into the area's history offers the researchers some possible clues.
08:01In the first and second century, while the Roman Empire was expanding,
08:04it was also going through this period of internal instability,
08:07including a 50-year period that saw more than 20 different emperors.
08:13At the same time, there were several revolts and rebellions taking place across the Empire,
08:20including a series of Jewish rebellions that extended into the desert.
08:23Roman soldiers were stationed in Judea to put an end to these uprisings,
08:27many of which were protracted, violent, and deadly.
08:30While it's impossible to connect the swords directly to any one battle,
08:35the researchers make a critical discovery at the cave site that could solve the mystery.
08:41At the entrance to the cave, they found a bronze coin
08:44and identified it as being a Bar Kokhba coin from the period between 132 and 135 AD.
08:50That period coincided with the dates of the final Jewish rebellion called the Bar Kokhba revolt,
08:56which was eventually unsuccessful.
09:00Given the specific dating of the coin,
09:02it's entirely possible that the four swords belonged to Roman soldiers
09:06who fought in the Bar Kokhba revolt.
09:08But how did the swords end up in the cave?
09:11There are a few different possibilities.
09:13Maybe a group of Roman soldiers went AWOL,
09:16deserting the army and taking their weapons with them.
09:19It's also possible that the cave was used by soldiers as a strategic outpost.
09:27But most people believe the most likely scenario
09:29is tied directly to that inscription on the cave wall.
09:33The writing in Hebrew was a Jewish prayer.
09:37So the picture that emerges is a group of Jewish rebels
09:40taking shelter from the Roman army.
09:42And after stealing their weapons from the battlefield
09:45or even taking them from Roman units themselves,
09:48it's possible that they hid those swords
09:50and plan to use them later as part of the revolt.
09:54While the full story of the swords remains elusive,
09:57researchers continue to investigate the area,
10:00hoping to unlock the many stories still hidden
10:03in the dark recesses of the Dead Sea Escarpment's caves.
10:18North Karelia lies directly along the Russian border
10:32in the heart of eastern Finland.
10:34The sparsely populated area is best known for the Koli National Park,
10:38celebrated for its untouched forests, dramatic cliffs, and tranquil lakes.
10:43The park spans over 11 square miles of lush forests rich with pine, spruce, and birch trees.
10:55Situated in Finland's renowned lakeland,
10:57the region boasts a remarkable concentration of the country's 190,000 lakes,
11:02including one of Finland's largest, Lake Pjelenin.
11:08Koli National Park takes its name from Koli Mountain,
11:11whose multiple peaks each hold deep significance in Finnish mythology.
11:16These heights were once celebrated as sacred sites for pre-Christian rituals,
11:22honouring deities such as Ukko, the thunder god,
11:25and his consort Akka,
11:27with the summits Ukko Koli and Akka Koli named in their honour.
11:32Dating back 1.5 to 3 billion years,
11:37this region boasts some of the oldest bedrock in Europe.
11:40Surrounded by unspoiled landscapes and mist-shrouded peaks steeped in myth and legend,
11:47nature emerges seamlessly with hints of the mystical.
11:52A group of researchers interested in the supernatural
11:55are studying Koli National Park
11:57when they discover a dark and eerie cavern that feels otherworldly.
12:02The cave stretches about a hundred feet long
12:05and has this striking arched ceiling
12:07that ranges from about three feet high to about ten feet high.
12:11It's this long, narrow chasm that really gives you the impression
12:15that you're entering a massive open-air corridor.
12:18The cave's entrance is framed by two massive boulders,
12:23adorned with moss and small ferns,
12:25giving it a wild, untouched appearance.
12:27Though not a fully enclosed or pitch-dark cave,
12:31its narrow passage creates a sense of confinement,
12:34with soft, dim light seeping through the openings above.
12:38The team searches the caves for clues to see if it was ever inhabited or used before.
12:44As one of the researchers claps their hands together randomly,
12:48they discover something strange.
12:51The sound of the clap is sharp and crisp,
12:54amplified louder than normal.
12:56As it echoes throughout the cave, it creates a rare and distorted tone
13:00that reverberates an eerie, haunting frequency that rings out,
13:04lingering for an unnatural amount of time.
13:10What's causing this unusual sound phenomenon?
13:13The team is reminded of one of the most infamous caves in the world
13:18that has been the site of many unexplained mysteries over the years.
13:22The Devilis Cave is situated on the slopes of Mount Penteli near Athens.
13:27It was accidentally discovered in the fifth century BCE
13:31by Greek workers quarrying marble from the mountain for the construction of the Acropolis.
13:36Named after the 19th century bandit, Devilis, who is said to have used it as a hideout
13:43and a place to store his riches,
13:45the cave is renowned for its natural beauty,
13:48mysterious history, and ties to paranormal legends.
13:55The cave has always been the site of strange phenomena.
13:58Voices have been heard, electronic devices malfunction,
14:01water flows in different directions at different times, even uphill.
14:06And in general, there are many stories of unusual energy sensations.
14:13Modern explanations for the cave's unusual phenomena
14:16point to magnetic channels and disturbances in the local electromagnetic fields.
14:21Interestingly, devices like cameras and flashlights often malfunction within the cave,
14:26something consistent with specific types of electromagnetic interference.
14:30Could magnetic activity be responsible for the strange sound frequency
14:35at the cave in Kohli Park, Finland?
14:37I think that's unlikely.
14:40Electromagnetic energy and interference can be measured using devices,
14:44and there's no detectable interference that could be responsible for the weird sound phenomenon.
14:49There must be another explanation.
14:51Located in Calaveras County, California,
14:55the moaning caverns are renowned for their natural beauty,
14:59captivating legends, and the eerie moaning sounds that can be heard at the entrance.
15:06Evidence suggests that ancient humans may have inhabited the moaning caverns
15:10as bones fading back 12,000 years were discovered inside.
15:14According to Miwok native legend, the haunting noises are attributed to Yayali,
15:19a stone giant said to dwell within the cavern, luring unsuspecting victims to their doom.
15:27The sounds are actually caused by wind moving through narrow passages
15:30or by water dripping into the cave and getting amplified.
15:33The geological changes caused by erosion have made these strange shapes that act as natural amplifiers.
15:42They can turn small noises into these haunting, echoing sounds that really do sound like moans.
15:51So is it possible that erosion and strange cave shapes could explain the sounds in the cave at Kohli National Park?
15:58Probably not. Other than some dampness that you'd expect to find in a cave,
16:04there isn't much water movement to speak of.
16:06Also, there aren't any holes in the ceiling, so that dispels that theory altogether.
16:11The idea of a legend surrounding the moaning caverns leads the Finnish research team to look into local folklore,
16:18and they discover that the cave in Kohli National Park is fairly infamous.
16:23It's known as the Devil's Church, or Pir and Kirko.
16:27The name stems from the cave's naturally arched ceiling,
16:30which is reminiscent of a church's vaulted cathedral.
16:35It's been known by the locals for hundreds of years,
16:37as it was used as a hiding place during hostile invasions as far back as the 1700s.
16:43In folklore, it's believed that the devil himself constructed the cave as a sanctuary for his worshippers.
16:49In reality, the cave naturally formed along a fracture zone at the base of a cliff,
16:55composed of 1.6 billion-year-old Rappikivi granite.
17:01Over millennia, the movement of the continental ice sheets shaped the cave,
17:05carrying away loose rock and polishing the cliff's surface into its smooth form.
17:09The unique formation of the cave has led to it being seen as a sacred space,
17:15hosting diverse rituals and healing practices for hundreds of years.
17:20The cave was believed to be a portal where wise men would make contact with the spirit world,
17:25and has been used as a spiritual gathering place for shamans and local sages.
17:30One of the most renowned shamans who used this cave was Pohumati.
17:35He was this healer and naturopath from the 1800s,
17:38and he was drawn there by the cave's reputed magical properties.
17:42He'd prepare his remedies there,
17:44because he believed that the mystical energy there enhanced their potency.
17:48And he wasn't alone.
17:49His reputation was so widespread that people would travel from as far as St. Petersburg
17:53to come receive his healing touch.
17:55So this cave was an important place even hundreds of years ago.
18:00These ceremonies would utilize sounds like shouting, stomping, and rhythmic pounding
18:05to create sharp acoustic impulses that resonated within the cave.
18:11When the correct rhythmic sequence was achieved,
18:13the cave produced a continuous harmonious tone that lingered in the background,
18:18very similar to what the team heard when they clapped.
18:21The cave is still used by modern shaman,
18:25who describes sensing a unique energy within,
18:28one that fosters a strong connection to the surrounding nature and their ancestral roots.
18:33During percussive sessions at the back of the cave,
18:35they claimed to have experienced the opening of new horizons,
18:39unlocking transformative insights and heightened awareness.
18:42Could this heightened awareness be explained by science?
18:45The scientific exploration of sound in underground structures is something that has been studied throughout Europe for years.
18:53And one of the most famous might be the clue to unlocking the mystery of the Devil's Church.
18:59Located in Paola, Malta, the Hypogeum of Halsephlieni is an underground temple and necropolis,
19:05dating back over 5,000 years, making it one of the world's oldest known subterranean structures.
19:10It was constructed by Malta's Neolithic inhabitants,
19:13who carved its intricate chambers and levels from limestone using simple tools.
19:18The Hypogeum is composed of three distinct levels, each serving a unique purpose.
19:24The uppermost level features simple rock-cut tubes,
19:28while the middle level showcases intricately carved chambers, including the renowned Oracle Room.
19:35The deepest level, known as the Holy of Holies, contains storage chambers,
19:41and is thought to have held profound ritual significance.
19:45One of the most fascinating features of this structure is its acoustic properties,
19:49particularly in the Oracle Room.
19:51That chamber resonates really strongly at the frequencies of 70 hertz and 114 hertz.
19:57And when you play those notes together, it makes a tone that a lot of people find very soothing.
20:01So that chamber may have been purposefully designed to enhance that sound for rituals or spiritual experiences,
20:08or even to help alter states of consciousness.
20:13Feeling this seems much more in line with what they have experienced at the Devil's Church,
20:18the team then employs similar technology and attempts to solve this age-old puzzle.
20:24Analyzing the acoustics of the cave's corridor, which features smooth parallel walls,
20:29revealed a pronounced resonance phenomenon at 231 hertz.
20:34This resonance is caused by a standing wave forming between the walls.
20:39When sounds near the natural frequency of 231 hertz were produced,
20:44the cave's elongated structure amplified and sustained the tones.
20:49This rare natural resonance phenomenon may have played a significant role
20:54in shaping the beliefs and experiences historically associated with the Devil's Church.
20:59While resonance is common indoors, it's extremely rare in natural environments
21:04lacking smooth, solid, parallel surfaces.
21:07So, while modern science can explain resonance,
21:11people from the past may have sensed the Devil or a spirit.
21:15Though this ancient mystery has been solved,
21:19one cannot discount there might be more about the Devil's Church
21:22than can ever be fully explained.
21:24On the south bank of London's River Thames, the borough of Greenwich takes up 18 square miles
21:52along the river's many twists and turns.
21:55Greenwich contains several smaller towns or subdivisions of Greater London,
21:59including Blackheath, Charlton and the town of Greenwich itself.
22:02It's got a busy population of over 200,000,
22:05but there's plenty of parkland and green space reserved for the public.
22:08This area of southeast London is mostly known for its military and naval history,
22:13and you can see the evidence today in the naval docks and museums along the Thames.
22:17And, of course, Greenwich is ground zero for the universal measurement of time,
22:23called Greenwich Mean Time at zero degrees longitude.
22:30Historically, Greenwich has also been ground zero for several notably contentious events.
22:36These range from multiple murders at the hands of Vikings,
22:42right through to the royal eras of the Stuarts and Tudors,
22:45who created palaces there to stake their claims and assert power.
22:49Evidence of Greenwich's rich past can be found in various churches, monuments,
22:55and historically preserved homes.
22:57But there's a dark history still lurking beneath the surface,
23:01from Bronze Age burial mounds in Greenwich Park
23:04to buried artifacts from the 16th and 17th century London,
23:08which at that time grew to a population of over half a million people.
23:13A group of archaeologists from the Greenwich Maritime Trust
23:17are excavating a historic sailing vessel when they make a surprising discovery.
23:22Just five or six feet underground, they came across what looked like a ceramic jar or vase.
23:27It was firmly lodged in the earth and upside down,
23:29as if someone had placed it deliberately that way.
23:32When they brushed away the surrounding debris,
23:34they discovered the object was actually a flask or a bottle.
23:39It's about 18 inches tall, with a bulbous circular body,
23:42and it's heavy, almost 10 pounds, as it's made from stoneware.
23:46When it was clean and polished, the durable exterior had a rough shine to it,
23:51the result of a fairly common process called salt glazing.
23:55But it was the mysterious design on the exterior of the flask
23:58that got everyone's attention.
24:00The image of a masked, bearded man was engraved right into the bottleneck,
24:05and below that, a geometric circular pattern.
24:09What is this strange bottle?
24:12Who buried it here, and why?
24:14Curious to learn the meaning of the peculiar design,
24:18researchers trace the bottle's origins to late 17th century Europe.
24:23It's an example of something called a Bellarmine jug,
24:26manufactured mostly in the Netherlands and the German town of Frecken,
24:30west of Cologne.
24:31They came in various sizes and shapes,
24:34jugs, pitchers, and bottles.
24:36And they were primarily used for storing and transporting food and drink,
24:40especially gin and wine.
24:42Like other German stoner of the period,
24:45Bellarmine jugs were known for their molded decoration techniques.
24:48The most distinct and well-known was a bearded face mask
24:51belonging to an unpopular Italian cardinal, Roberto Bellarmine,
24:55who was a fierce opponent of Protestantism in Germany.
24:57The reason for the jar's reference to Bellarmine isn't entirely clear,
25:01but is possibly connected to his anti-alcohol stance.
25:06In 2009, a team of archaeologists working in Stafford, England,
25:11discovered a six-inch Bellarmine jug that bore many of the same hallmarks
25:15as the Greenwich Discovery.
25:18They were excavating a car park when they found the jar
25:21underneath the foundation of a former tavern's hearth.
25:24When it was cleaned up, the stoneware revealed a particularly gruesome version
25:29of the bearded man's face, almost like a gargoyle.
25:32Over 200 Bellarmine jars have been found throughout Europe, including the British Isles.
25:39But those jars were all uncorked, with their contents either drained, eroded, or lost.
25:45The Greenwich jug was not only still corked and sealed tight,
25:48but when it was shaken it clearly had something, or some things, still inside it.
25:55Before it is uncorked, the bottle is x-rayed and given a medical-style CT scan.
26:00The results shock even the most experienced researchers.
26:06The x-ray image revealed what looked like several large bent nails,
26:10along with a handful of smaller bent pins gathered at the neck.
26:14They appeared to be lodged there, which supports the idea
26:17that the bottle had been deliberately placed upside down.
26:21The CT scan was even more intriguing.
26:24In addition to the bent nails and pins,
26:26there was a sizable volume of liquid still inside the jar.
26:30It was assumed to be some kind of alcohol,
26:32extremely well-preserved since it hadn't evaporated.
26:36But what were all those pins and nails doing in there?
26:39One or two? Sure, perhaps it was an accident,
26:42but 10 or 12 sharp objects? It makes no sense.
26:48Under laboratory conditions, the cork to the flask is gently removed,
26:52revealing more surprises.
26:54First of all, the exact number of nails and pins was verified.
26:57In total, there were eight pins and 11 nails, the largest being 9 inches long.
27:03In addition, there was a fairly thick clump of human hair and the clippings from 10 fingernails.
27:10But the biggest surprise was yet to come.
27:12The well-preserved fluid from the bottle was most definitely not alcohol.
27:16It was human urine. Fingernails, hair, and urine in a bottle? What's going on here?
27:24A deeper dive into historical documents related to the use of Berlin jars reveals a dark possible explanation.
27:32By 17th century England, these stoneware containers weren't just vessels for storing and transporting wine.
27:40They also played a key role in the growing belief and fear of witchcraft.
27:45Specifically, they were used by everyday citizens who suspected they were being tormented by a witch to ward off the witches' spells.
27:58From 1450 to the 17th century, the prosecution of witchcraft had reached its peak,
28:04as thousands of people accused fellow citizens of being witches and blamed them for every misfortune from illness and death to bad weather and natural disasters.
28:13Fear and frenzy around witchcraft culminated in a series of witch trials across Europe and into the New World.
28:22Women or girls who were suspected of casting spells were judged and frequently sentenced to death by a self-appointed judge and jury of the community.
28:32At their peak, witch trials resulted in over 100,000 innocent people being tried, and over half of those were executed.
28:40The most notorious case took place in Salem, Massachusetts, as Puritan colonists from England brought their beliefs with them to North America.
28:52It started in 1692 when two girls from the village of Salem started to exhibit strange behaviors like convulsing and screaming as if they were being pinched by an unseen force.
29:03The doctors who examined them had no medical explanation, so it was believed they were possessed by a devil.
29:10In other words, they were bewitched.
29:12It didn't take long for Salem residents to decide the devil was amongst them, infecting other members of the community.
29:19Any time someone fell ill or died of anything but natural causes, one more young woman was accused of being a witch.
29:25It culminated in a massive trial that lasted nine months.
29:29And by its conclusion, over 100 people were imprisoned and 20 were executed.
29:33The Salem witch trial is considered one of the darkest chapters in American history.
29:40But not every case of suspected witchcraft was met with such extreme measures.
29:45Individuals frequently turned to smaller, homemade remedies and rituals, reputed to break or even reverse a witch's spell.
29:51And that's where the Bellarmine jar comes in.
29:54According to the folklore, a witch's spirit would naturally be drawn to a small sample of the victim's personal items, such as hair or nail clippings, collected in a Bellarmine jar and referred to as a witch bottle.
30:11The personal items represented the targeted individual, and so they would lure the witch away from the actual person.
30:18Once inside the witch bottle, the evil spirit of the witch would be trapped and punished, for example, by the excruciating pain of sharp nails and pins.
30:27If a person suspected they were being tormented, they would take the jar of personal items and place it upside down under a hearth or fire pit, as the fire would escalate the level of harm.
30:39It was believed that whatever happened to the witch bottle also happened to the witch.
30:45So if the jar was smashed, the curse or spell would be broken, or even reversed back onto the witch.
30:52The combination of urine and sharp objects together was in keeping with the bottle transferring its power on the witch.
30:59So the nails and the pins would cause them to have excruciatingly painful urination.
31:04The torment would be so bad, it was believed, that the witch would then take back the spell.
31:08Interestingly, the nail clippings found in the bottle were trim and well manicured, which suggested they belonged to someone of a higher social class, showing that belief in witchcraft wasn't limited to the impoverished or poorly educated.
31:24As odd as it may sound to us, people from every stratum of English society were susceptible to a genuine fear of the black arts.
31:34While many Londoners became increasingly skeptical of witchcraft by the 18th century, the discovery of the witch bottle proves just how deep their beliefs ran and suggests there are more buried treasures of witchcraft and sorcery waiting to be found.
31:50Deep in the heart of Belgium's Walloon-Brabant province, just nine miles south of Brussels, lies the farmland estate of Monsanto.
32:19The area is mostly comprised of lush green fields, sloping escarpments, and low-lying plateaus.
32:26It's very pastoral, very idyllic, and it's not difficult to imagine how it looked a century ago, or even three or four centuries ago.
32:34For all its beauty, this region of Belgium has a rich history of turbulent and bloody power grabs, starting with the Romans when Caesar conquered Gaul in 57 BCE.
32:46Since then, this low country of Europe has been under the rule of several political dynasties, from the Germanic Franks to the Habsburgs of Spain.
32:55Then the French Republic took over in 1795 as a result of the wars of the French Revolution.
33:01So buried beneath all this tranquil landscape, there are countless untold stories and ghosts from some of the deadliest battles in European history.
33:13The most famous of these is the Battle of Waterloo in 1815, which led to the defeat of Napoleon Bonaparte and France.
33:22And even though it's one of the most documented military campaigns in history, very little archaeology has been conducted across this battlefield.
33:32An international team of archaeologists is excavating an area by the far perimeter of the original battle site when they make a chilling discovery.
33:43The dig was focused on a sunken pit at the western edge of the field, when a metal detector signaled a piece of iron, sitting on top of three leg bones.
33:53The tibia and fibula were fully intact, but the femur had a clean break across, just above the knee.
34:00The limbs for 15 more bodies were uncovered, clustered in close proximity and not in any natural anatomical state or pose.
34:09It looked as though they'd been randomly dumped there, which was strange.
34:14But the biggest shock was yet to come.
34:17The pit also contained the skeletal remains of several horses and at least one cow, all mixed together with the human bones.
34:25How did such a concentrated collection of animal and human remains end up here?
34:31Is it possible the French or British Allied Army used this spot as a mass grave to dispose of their fallen soldiers and cavalry?
34:39Or are these remains even connected to the Battle of Waterloo?
34:43Further exploration of the entire pit reveals strong evidence of the bones' origins.
34:49There were more iron objects found between and beneath the cluster of bones.
34:54They had blended and hardened to a concrete deposit.
34:58When the objects were isolated and analyzed, they turned out to be artifacts from the war effort,
35:03which included buttons from a soldier's tunic, sections of a bayonet scabbard,
35:08and even shards of musket artillery embedded in a leg bone.
35:12There were also long, thin, rectangular shapes that appeared to be straps for some kind of large box or container,
35:18as if the bones had been somehow collected and deposited here for a specific purpose.
35:22But what could that be?
35:25The recovered buttons and artillery confirmed the bones were those of soldiers from the Anglo-Allied Army
35:31under the command of the Duke of Wellington who had fallen during the Battle of Waterloo.
35:36The Anglo-Allied Army was a British-led force with soldiers from the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, and various German states.
35:44But unfortunately, those artifacts, along with the bones themselves, were the only surviving evidence from the gruesome pit of animal and human remains.
35:53Any other organic matter had decomposed or disintegrated.
35:57The effects of 200 years of natural wear and tear is just one of the challenges facing archaeologists hoping to uncover stories from the Napoleonic Wars.
36:08There's a long history of looters and grave robbers hungry for any artifact they can get their hands on.
36:13And the looting here starts as soon as the battle is over and continues right up to the modern day,
36:19with thieves using advanced metal-detecting technology.
36:24Some of the other challenges include modern agriculture, which disturbs the soil of former battlefields.
36:30Plus visitors, tourists, even actors role-playing historical reenactments.
36:34They all bring items with them, and occasionally they drop them right on top of potential dig sites.
36:39But the biggest challenge at Mount St. John was the surprising lack of other human remains to study.
36:47Only two fully intact skeletons have ever been recovered from the Battle of Waterloo.
36:52Hoping to solve the mystery of the animal and human remains,
36:57the researchers shift the focus of the investigation to the battle itself.
37:02By the spring of 1815, Napoleon and his army had already defeated the Prussians and the British
37:08in several separate battles.
37:10But the Duke of Wellington wasn't finished, and he announced his intention to engage with Napoleon
37:15between the villages of Waterloo and Mont Saint-Jean.
37:19Only this time, he'd be joined by the Prussian forces.
37:25On the morning of Sunday, June 18, the British allies held the line of battle at the top of an escarpment,
37:30which gave them an advantage as the French were forced to approach from below.
37:35However, the French outnumbered the allies, and soon the British were losing ground and losing men.
37:42The arrival of about 45,000 Prussian soldiers was a much-needed boost,
37:47and it definitely changed the course of action.
37:49The Prussians attacked the French from the side flank and inflicted heavy casualties.
37:53After eight hours of exchanging cannon shots, gunfire, saber strikes and cavalry charges,
37:58the smoke finally cleared, and the war was over.
38:03With this defeat, the fields of Waterloo became the last of many battlefields of the Napoleonic Wars.
38:10Other battle sites have been excavated and have yielded large pits containing the remains of dead soldiers.
38:17The Battle of Vilnius in 1812 was part of Napoleon's campaign to invade Russia.
38:24It was marked by logistical and environmental challenges,
38:27which ultimately led to a disastrous retreat from Moscow by the French Grande Armée.
38:33Archaeologists excavating the battle site at Vilnius in what's now Lithuania
38:38discovered the skeletal remains of over 3,000 soldiers in a mass grave.
38:43They had just been tossed into the pit along with some of their belongings.
38:48As with the site at Waterloo, they were personal items such as tunic buttons, shoes, and pieces of artillery and weaponry.
38:56The physical evidence allowed researchers to identify at least 40 different regiments from Napoleon's Grande Armée,
39:04all in one battle.
39:06Chemical analysis of the bones showed that by the time Napoleon's army was retreating from Moscow,
39:11they were practically starving and suffering from hypothermia and typhus.
39:15Further bone data was used to identify such things as a soldier's homeland and even their diet.
39:20As useful as these data were, the Vilnius site offered insight into the fallen French only.
39:27The bones recovered at Waterloo were from the Anglo-Allied army,
39:31and there's still the question of why they were gathered, along with animal bones, in such a concentrated area.
39:39The results of the Vilnius dig reveal how much can be learned from bone analysis.
39:44Researchers at the Mont Saint-Jean site decide to take a closer look at the skeletal remains
39:49from the Battle of Waterloo.
39:52Circling back to the first three leg bones they found, the tibia and fibula were intact,
39:57but the femur had this unusually clean-looking break right above the knee,
40:03and it wasn't the only bone specimen with that particular attribute.
40:07Several other leg and arm bones displayed the exact same break pattern.
40:12When the bones were cleaned and the residue removed,
40:15it became clear the breaks weren't the result of any sustained injury or wound.
40:20They were, in fact, clean surgical cuts across the bone.
40:25In other words, they were amputated.
40:28So, given the concentration of severed arms and legs and a relatively small landmass at Mont Saint-Jean,
40:33is it possible the pit wasn't a mass grave, but rather a dump site for soldiers' amputated limbs?
40:40A map of the original battlefield at Waterloo reveals a farmhouse and barn just a few yards from where the bone pit was first discovered.
40:48The Duke of Wellington had ordered the creation of a temporary military hospital in advance of the battle.
40:55The farmhouse and adjoining barn were chosen as the ideal location.
40:59It was protected and was at least two miles from the front lines where most of the fighting took place.
41:06According to multiple documented accounts, over 6,000 British soldiers were treated in that makeshift hospital
41:13during or immediately after the eight-hour battle.
41:16That means countless lives were saved thanks to the proximity of that hospital to the battlefield.
41:22Amputations were generally performed to prevent the spread of infection or gangrene
41:27from more serious wounds inflicted on the lower arm, lower leg, or feet.
41:32And on June 18th, the doctors at the Mount Saint-Jean Field Hospital performed the procedure
41:37on at least 500 British soldiers whose limbs had all been smashed by musket fire or cannonballs.
41:44If you look at witness accounts, they say that there were amputated limbs
41:48piled up in the four corners of that farm's courtyard.
41:53So that explains the human remains. But what about all those animal bones?
41:57Throughout the Napoleonic Wars, cavalry horses were just as likely to sustain injury as the soldiers.
42:03Unfortunately, the survival of a wounded war horse wasn't as high as that of an injured soldier.
42:08If horses were injured to the point of unlikely healing, they were typically euthanized as quickly as possible.
42:15The horses were likely piled up in the farmer's field along with the severed limbs
42:20and then swept into nearby ditches and buried quickly to prevent the spread of disease around the hospital.
42:24Connecting the gruesome bone pit to what were likely hundreds if not thousands of life-saving amputations,
42:31that clears up the mystery of the animal and human remains.
42:35Other questions still exist, such as the larger question about the stunning lack of other soldiers' bodies
42:42from the site of the Battle of Waterloo.
42:45The site of the battlefield at Waterloo contains many more stories waiting to be revealed,
42:51with much left to learn about the lives of those who fought and paid the ultimate price.
42:56the ultimate price.
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