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00:09Mysteries can be buried anywhere, under the earth, beneath the sea, or even right under
00:19our own feet.
00:21And when we stumble upon them, sometimes what we find can change history.
00:31Tonight, long-lost relics of war resurface, like a deadly weapon dredged from a river.
00:38And it looks an awful lot like a bomb.
00:41And it's sitting right next to two gas lines.
00:45To a World War I bunker, frozen in time.
00:49They start finding empty wine bottles, newspapers, and a rusty camp bit.
00:56As they continue digging, they find a much more sobering discovery.
01:0021 skeletons.
01:03To a legendary blade pulled from the depths.
01:07The archaeologist takes one look at the sword and gets goosebumps.
01:12Join us now, because nothing stays hidden forever.
01:26Construction crews are used to unexpected finds.
01:31Pipes, rubble, even the occasional time capsule.
01:34But on one side in England, they uncovered something much more explosive.
01:41It's February 7th, 2023, in Great Yarmouth, a seaside town on England's east coast.
01:48Crews are dredging the river Yair, prepping for a new bridge crossing.
01:53Suddenly, one worker freezes.
01:55The dredger has pulled something out of the mud.
02:00It's metallic, about three feet long, and it looks an awful lot like a bomb.
02:06What's worse, it's sitting right next to two gas lines.
02:11The site is evacuated immediately.
02:15Police pour in.
02:16In comes the bomb squad.
02:18It is all hands on deck.
02:21The bomb unit moves in carefully.
02:24They study the object, and based on the shape and known bombing patterns,
02:29they soon have a sense for what they're dealing with.
02:32It appears that this is a 550-pound German bomb from World War II.
02:39And it's still live, armed, and deadly.
02:42A blast from a bomb of this size in a crowded city would be catastrophic.
02:47It's a terrifying find, and a reminder of Great Yarmouth's role in World War II.
02:56Great Yarmouth was an important military port,
02:59not only to clear the English Channel from mines and the German threat,
03:02but it was also a launching point for much of the Allied shipping that was used.
03:07So it's a prime target for the Germans to bomb.
03:11The Germans dropped over 81,000 tons of bombs on Britain.
03:16Around 10% of those failed to detonate,
03:19which means thousands of hidden threats still lurk underground.
03:23That's why the moment this bomb is uncovered,
03:26the response is swift and extreme.
03:33The bomb squad works nonstop building a protective barrier
03:37with over 440 tons of sand.
03:39It's their only protection.
03:41Old bombs like this get more dangerous with the passage of time
03:45because simple things such as heat or pressure or friction
03:49can set them off in the present day.
03:52After three tense days, the site is finally secure,
03:56and Army specialists prepare to disarm the bomb.
03:59The plan is to cut the fuse
04:01and then haul it out of the city for a controlled detonation.
04:06As they use high-pressure water jets to cut the fuse,
04:09the sand barrier starts to collapse.
04:13The site becomes compromised, and the crew is in increasing danger.
04:18With the clock ticking, the workers try something else.
04:21They rebuild the sand barrier, and then they cut into the bomb casing
04:25in an attempt to burn off the bomb filler slowly
04:29so that it doesn't produce a high-order explosion,
04:33but rather a low-order release of energy that doesn't endanger lives.
04:37And then, without warning, boom!
04:42The bomb goes off, sending a shockwave through the site.
04:46Debris flies everywhere.
04:48Car windows shatter.
04:50A flood wall cracks.
04:51The shockwave is felt 15 miles away.
04:55Thanks to the barrier, the explosion is contained,
04:57and there are no injuries.
04:58But it came dangerously close.
05:03Decades earlier, another World War II find
05:06surfaces in a more surprising place, the African desert.
05:12It's November 1958, and a team of British geologists
05:17working for the Darcy Oil Company
05:19are flying high over the Libyan desert,
05:22scouting for drilling sites.
05:24From their vantage point, 10,000 feet in the air,
05:27they see something on the desert floor below them.
05:30It looks to be wreckage of an airplane.
05:36The company sends a team to the site,
05:38led by a surveyor named Gordon Bowerman.
05:42When Bowerman arrives,
05:44he finds a perfectly preserved military aircraft,
05:48complete with operable radios and machine guns.
05:52He sees no sign of crew,
05:54but he does find uniforms with names stitched inside.
05:57He also finds maintenance records
06:00that identify the plane as a B-24D liberator.
06:05Bowerman contacts the nearby U.S. Air Force base at Wheelis.
06:09Turns out, it's an American bomber of World War II,
06:13and it's been missing in action for 15 years,
06:17known as the Lady Be Good.
06:21But the discovery leaves one terrifying question.
06:25What happened to the airmen who vanished with it?
06:29Search teams scour the desert for months.
06:31Now, about 19 miles from the crash site,
06:34they do find a pair of flight boots,
06:35and this serves as the first sign of life.
06:38More clues follow.
06:40Parachutes held down with stones,
06:42likely left there to guide rescuers.
06:45But the trail leads to the Calancio Sand Sea,
06:48a vast expanse of dunes rising to 400 feet.
06:53Unfortunately, no bodies are found.
06:56Then a year later,
06:57the search team gets a little unexpected help
07:00from Mother Nature.
07:02The dunes are constantly shifting with the winds,
07:06and in February 1960,
07:08petroleum workers make a grim discovery.
07:13Five bodies on a plateau in the Sand Sea.
07:16One of them is Lieutenant Robert Toner.
07:19Among the remains is Toner's Journal,
07:22which chronicles the airmen's final mission.
07:26Back in April of 1943,
07:2925 of these B-24D liberators
07:32took off from Libya on a bombing mission.
07:36Their target, Naples, Italy.
07:39One of the last planes to lift off
07:41is the Lady B. Goode.
07:43It's its first combat mission.
07:45Inside are nine crew members,
07:47but they quickly run into bad weather,
07:50strong headwinds, and poor visibility.
07:53By 7.50 p.m., the mission is scrubbed,
07:56and the plane turns to head back toward its base.
08:00On the return flight,
08:01things go from bad to worse.
08:04At 12.12 a.m.,
08:06the plane's pilot, William Hatton,
08:09radios back to base.
08:10Navigation system is malfunctioning.
08:13They're flying blind.
08:15Running out of fuel,
08:17the men make a drastic decision.
08:19The men bailed out around 2 a.m. on April 5th.
08:23Now, one of the airmen
08:25wasn't with the rest of the group
08:27because his parachute didn't open.
08:31The remaining eight of the nine airmen
08:33end up traversing this incredibly vast,
08:37incredibly hot desert
08:38with only half a canteen of water between them.
08:41They traveled 85 miles
08:44in blistering 130-degree heat.
08:47Eventually, five couldn't go on,
08:50and they stopped.
08:51The remaining three continued forward,
08:53but they didn't make it either.
08:58Search teams continue to follow the trail
09:00the men left behind
09:02and eventually find two more bodies.
09:06In all, eight of the nine bodies
09:09of the airmen who were lost to the Lady B. Goode
09:11are recovered.
09:12After this tragic discovery,
09:15the book closes on one of the great mysteries
09:18of American Army Aviation.
09:21But the most important thing
09:23is the closure given to the families
09:26of the brave crewmen
09:28who lost their lives
09:29on the heroic mission of the Lady B. Goode.
09:38During the chaos of war,
09:40enemy secrets are usually uncovered
09:42by highly trained spies.
09:43But for one soldier,
09:46a stroke of luck leads
09:47to a critical piece of intel.
09:51It's September 1862
09:54near Frederick, Maryland.
09:57The Civil War is at a boiling point
09:59and could tilt either way.
10:01General Robert E. Lee
10:02has just led the Confederate Army
10:04across the Potomac into Maryland,
10:06striking distance of Washington, D.C.
10:10At this point, the stakes are very high.
10:13Every battle promises to be
10:16a decisive engagement.
10:18On the morning of September 13th,
10:21soldiers from the 27th Indiana Volunteer Infantry
10:25are on a skirmish line
10:26out ahead of the main Union Army.
10:29After hours of marching,
10:3127th Indiana eventually reaches a farm
10:34recently abandoned by Confederate forces.
10:37Two of the men,
10:39Corporal Barton Mitchell
10:40and Sergeant John Bloss,
10:42they sit down to cook some tea
10:44when Mitchell notices something in the grass.
10:48He spots a bulky envelope.
10:50He picks it up,
10:51and inside, there are three cigars
10:53bundled up in an official-looking sheet of paper.
10:57Mitchell unrolls the wrapper,
10:59glances at the heading,
11:00and then calls Bloss over.
11:02His voice is shaking.
11:03The document is dated September 9th, 1862.
11:06And it carries a heading that says,
11:09Headquarters, Army of Northern Virginia,
11:11Special Order 191.
11:16This isn't just routine correspondence.
11:18It looks like the Confederacy's strategic blueprint.
11:23And now it's in Union hands.
11:25The order outlines Lee's plan
11:27to divide his army into four groups
11:29to secure garrisons,
11:31seize supplies,
11:32and capture Federal forces at key locations.
11:35Then, they plan to reunite
11:37for a final march north.
11:39The discovered document
11:41has rushed up the Union chain of command,
11:43but it seems too good to be true.
11:45They decide it's a ruse.
11:47This is some kind of Confederate trick.
11:49They need some kind of confirmation.
11:52The document bears the signature
11:55of Colonel Robert Chilton,
11:57who is Robert E. Lee's adjutant.
11:59One Union officer
12:01who worked with Chilton
12:02in a bank in Detroit
12:04recognizes Chilton's handwriting.
12:09That seals it.
12:10This is authentic.
12:13Once confirmed,
12:14the plans are quickly sent
12:16to General George McClellan.
12:19He sends a wire
12:20to President Abraham Lincoln
12:21that says,
12:23I have all the rebel plans
12:24and will catch them
12:25in their own trap.
12:28But news of the discovery
12:30reaches Lee,
12:31so he scrambles
12:32to launch a counter move
12:34of his own.
12:35Lee quickly begins
12:37to mobilize all of his forces,
12:39heading for Antietam, Maryland.
12:43Then, at dawn on September 17th,
12:45more than 1,000 Union soldiers
12:47advance through a cornfield.
12:49When they emerge,
12:50Georgia troops rise and fire.
12:56Antietam becomes
12:57the single bloodiest day
12:59in American history
13:01with over 23,000 casualties.
13:06The battle was a stalemate
13:08with no clear victor,
13:09but the Union army
13:10under McClellan
13:11forced Lee
13:12to retreat to Virginia.
13:14This gave Abraham Lincoln
13:15the win he'd been looking for
13:17to issue
13:18the Emancipation Proclamation,
13:20which freed the enslaved
13:21in Confederate territory.
13:23The victory at Antietam,
13:25the Emancipation Proclamation,
13:27and ultimately,
13:28the Union victory
13:29in the Civil War
13:30all began
13:31with those two Union soldiers
13:33taking a break
13:34in that farm field
13:35where they found
13:36Order 191.
13:40Next,
13:41another Civil War discovery
13:43is made 150 years later
13:45near one of America's
13:47most famous battlefields.
13:52August 4, 2011.
13:54Maintenance crews
13:56at the Gettysburg
13:56National Military Park
13:58have a big job
13:59on their hands.
14:00A massive oak tree
14:01has fallen
14:02at Culp's Hill,
14:03and the crews
14:05have to clear it away.
14:06One of the workers
14:08fires up his chainsaw
14:09and begins
14:10cutting the tree
14:11into pieces.
14:12But
14:14the chain
14:15hits something hard,
14:16comes at it again
14:17from a different angle,
14:18and
14:20same result.
14:21They quickly realize
14:22what it is
14:23that's jamming the chain.
14:26Two bullets
14:27buried deep
14:28in the trunk
14:29of this tree.
14:30The maintenance crew
14:31calls in the experts,
14:32and they find
14:33a .54 caliber bullet
14:34and a .58 caliber.
14:37They're on the east side
14:38of Culp's Hill,
14:39and so it's clear
14:40where the bullets are from.
14:41The turning point
14:43of the American Civil War,
14:44the Battle of Gettysburg.
14:48Culp's Hill
14:49saw some of the most
14:50intense fighting
14:51of the Civil War.
14:53The Union Army
14:53was holding
14:54the higher ground
14:55of Culp's Hill,
14:56and were fighting off
14:57wave after wave
14:58of Confederate forces.
15:00You had
15:01over 20,000 soldiers
15:02that were fighting
15:03at Culp's Hill,
15:04each of them carrying
15:05about 60 rounds
15:06of ammunition,
15:07and every round
15:08was shot.
15:11When it was over,
15:12thousands of soldiers
15:14were killed,
15:15wounded, or missing.
15:16But the North
15:16held the hill
15:17and the momentum.
15:19After the discovery,
15:21the section of the tree
15:23containing the bullets
15:24is moved
15:25to the Gettysburg Museum
15:27and Visitor Center,
15:29where it joins
15:30other remnants
15:30that bear the scars
15:32of war.
15:33A hundred years ago,
15:34it wasn't all that unusual
15:35to find bullets lodged
15:37in trees in Gettysburg,
15:39but not so much today,
15:40because many of those trees
15:42didn't survive.
15:44Some of them would die off
15:45due to lead poisoning,
15:46others were lost
15:46due to either age
15:47or storms.
15:50These two bullets
15:51prove that this tree
15:53was there
15:53for some of the bloodiest
15:55fighting of the war.
16:02In the French countryside,
16:04a routine dig
16:05takes a dark turn
16:07when workers uncover
16:08something that hasn't seen
16:10daylight in nearly a century.
16:14It's October 2010.
16:16Road construction
16:18is underway
16:18in the small town
16:19of Carsebach
16:20in the Alsace region
16:21of France.
16:23As workers start grading
16:24and leveling a site
16:25known as
16:25Lerkenberg Hill,
16:26they hit something
16:27unexpected.
16:29Timber.
16:30Digging deeper,
16:32the crew finds
16:33what looks like
16:34the remains
16:35of a wooden tunnel.
16:39They then start
16:40finding artifacts,
16:42a cigarette tin,
16:43empty wine bottles,
16:45newspapers,
16:47and a rusty camp bed.
16:49Work grinds to a halt.
16:51They call in archaeologists
16:53to begin an excavation
16:55of the site,
16:56and as they do that,
16:59they discover
17:00a vast underground complex,
17:0420 feet underground,
17:05450 feet long.
17:07This structure
17:08is remarkably
17:10well-preserved.
17:11It's eerie.
17:13It's like a time capsule
17:14that was sealed yesterday.
17:16As they continue digging,
17:18they find a much more
17:19sobering discovery.
17:2221 skeletons.
17:25The team doesn't need
17:26to conduct extensive
17:27identification research
17:28to understand
17:29who these bodies are.
17:31They're wearing
17:32tattered military uniforms
17:33that identify them
17:34as German soldiers.
17:36In the 6th Company,
17:3994th Reserve Infantry Regiment
17:41from World War I.
17:42That's when they realize
17:44this is a famous
17:45World War I
17:47megastructure
17:48known as
17:49the Killian Shelter.
17:51Built by the Germans
17:53in 1916,
17:55Killian Shelter
17:55was a massive barracks.
17:58The shelter could house
17:59as many as 500 men.
18:02With wartime luxuries
18:04like heat,
18:06electric light,
18:07a telephone,
18:08and, crucially,
18:1016 exits.
18:12So how did a place built
18:13to protect these soldiers
18:15become a sealed tomb?
18:19By early 1918,
18:21World War I
18:21had settled into
18:22a deadly stalemate
18:24across 475 miles
18:26of trench warfare.
18:27And to hold their lines
18:29on the Western Front,
18:29the Germans dug
18:31an extensive network
18:32of tunnels and bunkers.
18:33The Killian Shelter
18:34was among the largest.
18:36Then,
18:36on March 18, 1918,
18:38the Germans launched
18:41a brutal gas attack.
18:43The French retaliated
18:45with artillery,
18:45and most likely,
18:47one shell hit
18:49an ammunition dump
18:50in the Killian Trench,
18:55sealing it off for years.
18:58With the tunnel sealed
19:00by soil,
19:02air and moisture
19:03aren't able to get in.
19:05Archaeologists
19:05compared it to Pompeii,
19:08frozen in an instant,
19:10preserved for all time.
19:12For decades,
19:13the Killian Shelter
19:14and the remains
19:16of the trapped soldiers
19:17stays hidden.
19:19But in 2013,
19:21upon the construction
19:22crew's discovery,
19:23the bodies are finally
19:25laid to rest.
19:26The remains
19:27of all 21 soldiers
19:29are buried
19:29at the German
19:30military cemetery
19:31of Ilfurt.
19:32In a simple
19:33but dignified ceremony,
19:34the book on these
19:35missing soldiers
19:36is finally closed,
19:3895 years
19:39after their deaths.
19:42Relics of war
19:43aren't always unearthed
19:44by the professionals.
19:46Sometimes,
19:47all it takes
19:47is a little curiosity
19:49and a kid
19:50with muddy knees.
19:53On July 15, 2018,
19:56eight-year-old
19:57Saga Vanacek
19:58is savoring
19:59her summer vacation
20:00on the shores
20:02of Lake Wittestorin
20:03in southern Sweden.
20:04It has been
20:06an unusually hot summer
20:08and a drought
20:09has brought
20:10the lake level down
20:11lower than anyone
20:13can ever remember.
20:15She's in a shallow area,
20:17her hands and knees
20:18in the mud,
20:19and she's searching
20:20for smooth stones
20:22to skip.
20:23But then she bumps
20:24into something
20:25and it doesn't feel
20:27like a stone.
20:29She reaches down
20:30and starts to try
20:31to figure out
20:32what this thing is.
20:33She thinks at first
20:34that it's maybe a stick.
20:36It's long,
20:36so she starts pulling on it.
20:38And when she finally
20:39manages to pull it
20:40out of the muck,
20:41she realizes
20:42it's something
20:43much more important.
20:45It's heavy and solid
20:47and there's rust on it
20:48and the end
20:49is pointed.
20:50Saga pulls it
20:51out of the water,
20:52lifts it up,
20:53looks at it,
20:53and yells,
20:54Daddy,
20:54I found a sword!
20:58For confirmation
20:59on where it came from,
21:01Saga and her dad
21:02bring the object
21:04to a local archaeologist.
21:05The archaeologist
21:07takes one look
21:07at the sword
21:08and gets goosebumps.
21:11This artifact
21:12isn't just old,
21:14it's ancient.
21:15And more incredibly,
21:17it still appears
21:18to have pieces
21:19of its leather
21:20and wood scabbard
21:21affixed to the blade.
21:23These are things
21:24that would normally
21:25rot away over time
21:26on swords this old.
21:28So the archaeologist
21:29begins combing
21:30through reference material
21:31to try to date it
21:32more precisely.
21:33She notices a similarity
21:35between the sword's hilt
21:36and those of the Vikings
21:38between the 8th
21:39and the 9th century.
21:40Carbon dating
21:41of the scabbard
21:42and the hilt
21:43confirm the dates.
21:44This really is
21:46an ancient Viking sword.
21:50Hoping to find
21:51more Viking treasures,
21:53divers search
21:54the rest of the lake
21:55where Saga
21:56found the sword.
21:57They find a few
21:59other ancient Viking relics.
22:01One of them
22:02is a brooch
22:03that they believe
22:04to be about
22:051,500 years old.
22:07They also find
22:09a fibula,
22:09which is a sort of
22:10clasp
22:10that they think
22:12is dated between
22:12300 and 400 AD.
22:15The more researchers
22:16learn,
22:17the clearer it becomes.
22:19Saga's sword
22:19is a remarkable piece
22:21of a much older story.
22:23And with that in mind,
22:25she decides
22:26the discovery belongs
22:28somewhere it can be
22:29shared with everyone.
22:30Saga decides
22:32to donate her sword
22:33to the Yonshoping
22:34County Museum.
22:35When the story
22:37finally comes out,
22:38Saga becomes
22:39a media sensation.
22:41She's called
22:42the Queen of Sweden,
22:43a kind of modern-day
22:45take on the King Arthur myth.
22:46King Arthur having
22:47also famously
22:49pulled a sword
22:50from the lake.
22:51And among the most
22:52impressed
22:52are Saga's classmates
22:54who celebrate
22:56her discovery
22:56with cake and balloons
22:57at school.
23:02It's just another workday
23:04in Savannah, Georgia
23:05until a team
23:06pulls up something
23:07lost a long time ago.
23:12It's February of 2021,
23:14and the U.S. Army
23:16Corps of Engineers
23:17is dredging
23:18the Savannah River
23:19in Georgia.
23:21This is part
23:22of a nearly
23:23$1 billion upgrade
23:25to deepen
23:26a key shipping channel
23:28to make it
23:29passable
23:30by modern supertankers.
23:33One day,
23:34they dredge up
23:35an object
23:36that's about
23:37five feet long.
23:38It's metallic.
23:39It's covered in rust,
23:40and it's covered in mussels.
23:41But despite that,
23:43they can still see
23:44the general outline
23:45of a cannon.
23:50Soon the team
23:51finds another.
23:53And then another.
23:55And then another.
23:56So the Army Corps
23:57stops the dredging,
23:58and they start
23:58calling in
23:59archaeologists,
24:00sonar techs,
24:01and divers.
24:03But in the murky river,
24:06finding answers
24:07isn't easy.
24:08Divers are working
24:10blind in pitch black water
24:12with strong current
24:13pulling at their gear.
24:14They only get
24:15brief windows
24:16during which
24:16they can conduct
24:17a search.
24:18Between the turning tides
24:19and the passing freighters,
24:21every dive
24:22becomes a sprint.
24:25The team keeps at it
24:27and eventually
24:28recovers
24:28more of these
24:29rusted cannons.
24:3019 in all.
24:34When Army Corps
24:35archaeologists
24:36study the cannons
24:38up close,
24:39the mystery deepens.
24:41At first,
24:42they think these cannons
24:42belong to
24:43CSS Georgia,
24:45a Confederate
24:45naval vessel
24:46that was active
24:47on the Savannah River
24:48during the Civil War.
24:49When Navy historians
24:51take a look
24:51at these cannons,
24:52they don't
24:54exactly match up
24:56with that particular
24:56time period.
24:57These cannons
24:58look a little bit older.
24:59They look more like
25:0018th century weapons,
25:02which means
25:02that it's possible
25:04that these cannons
25:04didn't come from
25:05the Civil War
25:06but from the
25:07American Revolutionary War.
25:11In 1778,
25:12the British
25:12captured the city
25:13of Savannah
25:14and then shifted
25:14their offensive
25:15to the south.
25:16They felt that
25:17the region
25:18was more loyal
25:19to the crown
25:19and that the people
25:20would rise up
25:21against the rebels.
25:22But the following year,
25:23in a daring move,
25:25George Washington
25:26moved to retake
25:27the city.
25:29In October 1779,
25:32American and French
25:33forces launch
25:34a bloody campaign,
25:36the Siege of Savannah.
25:38The French Navy
25:39pushes up
25:40the Savannah River
25:41with a force
25:41of 33 warships.
25:43In contrast,
25:44the Royal Navy
25:45has one-fifth
25:46that number.
25:48To prevent
25:49the French Navy's
25:50advance,
25:50the British
25:51sink their own ships
25:52to block the river.
25:54And by sinking
25:55these gunships,
25:56that means
25:57everything goes down
25:58under the water.
25:59That includes cannon,
26:01that includes ammunition,
26:02basically everything
26:03on the ship
26:03except for the crew.
26:05Well, the scuttling
26:06of the ships worked.
26:07The French fleet
26:08can't make it
26:09into Savannah.
26:10They turn around
26:11and with hurricane season
26:12coming,
26:13they have to get
26:13out of the way.
26:14As a result,
26:15Savannah stays
26:16under British control
26:17until the end
26:18of the war.
26:19Over time,
26:20most of the ships
26:21rotted away,
26:22but the cannons
26:23remain until
26:25the salvage operation
26:26unearths them
26:27over 200 years later.
26:30Finding a cannon
26:31from the Revolutionary
26:32War is rare.
26:33Finding 19 of them
26:35is a jackpot.
26:38Today,
26:39American,
26:40British,
26:41and Georgia
26:42officials are
26:43working together
26:43to properly
26:45restore these cannons.
26:46And once restoration
26:47is complete,
26:48these cannons
26:48will go on display
26:49at the Savannah
26:50History Museum.
26:52Next up,
26:53an even older form
26:55of ammunition
26:55is uncovered
26:57in England.
26:59In June 2024,
27:02Kenilworth Castle
27:02near Birmingham,
27:03England
27:04is undergoing
27:05a major renovation.
27:06Workers are expanding
27:08some of the walkways
27:09around this 900-year-old fortress,
27:12making them
27:13more accessible.
27:15It's routine work,
27:16but one day,
27:18the crew digs
27:18into the lawn
27:19and hits something solid.
27:21It seems like a big rock,
27:23nothing unusual,
27:25until they try to move it.
27:27It's round,
27:28smooth,
27:29and way too heavy
27:30for its size.
27:31This isn't a typical
27:32garden stone.
27:33It's more like
27:34an ancient bowling ball.
27:35For more insight,
27:38the team calls in
27:39the castle's archaeologists.
27:42The archaeologist
27:43begins an excavation.
27:45One stone becomes two,
27:46and then three.
27:48Eventually,
27:48eight of them
27:49are found,
27:49all perfectly spherical
27:51and well-preserved.
27:53That's when it clicks.
27:54These aren't rocks.
27:56They're weapons.
27:57They're catapult shot
27:59left over
27:59from the Middle Ages.
28:02Their discovery
28:03ties directly
28:05to one of
28:06Kenilworth Castle's
28:07darkest moments,
28:08when a violent rebellion
28:10nearly topples
28:11England's very young king.
28:14King Henry III
28:15rose to the throne
28:16at only nine years old.
28:19His father had died
28:20during a feud
28:21with his barons.
28:23The official cause
28:24was listed as dysentery,
28:25but many suspected
28:26that he had actually
28:27been poisoned.
28:29The early years
28:30of the young king's reign
28:31are defined by rebellion.
28:34The barons are fed up
28:35with taxes,
28:37endless wars,
28:38with the crown itself,
28:39and so they rise up
28:41and rebel.
28:42The rebels were led
28:43by Simon de Montfort,
28:45the king's own
28:46brother-in-law,
28:47and his base of operations
28:48was Kenilworth Castle.
28:50The rebellion
28:51carries on for decades
28:52and culminates
28:54in 1266,
28:56when the king's troops
28:58tried to take back
28:59the castle
29:00in a decisive last stand.
29:02For 172 days,
29:05King Henry's forces
29:06surround the fortress.
29:08Nine siege engines,
29:09which are basically
29:10massive catapults,
29:12hurl stone after stone
29:14at the walls.
29:15The rebels fired back.
29:18Hundreds of pounds
29:19of massive rocks
29:20flew both ways.
29:21But the rebels
29:22in the castle
29:23don't fall to firepower.
29:25They are brought down
29:27by something else.
29:31Eventually,
29:32starvation and disease
29:34weaken the rebels
29:35inside Kenilworth.
29:37Six months later,
29:38they surrender
29:39and the king
29:40takes the castle.
29:41Today,
29:42Henry III
29:43is best remembered
29:44for rebuilding
29:45Westminster Abbey
29:46and founding
29:47the first three colleges
29:48of Oxford.
29:49But the siege
29:50at Kenilworth
29:51remains one of his
29:52most dramatic accomplishments.
30:00Imagine taking a walk
30:01with a friend.
30:02It's the perfect time
30:03to catch up
30:04and enjoy the scenery.
30:06But for one pair,
30:07it connects them
30:08to a lost tale
30:09of war and conquest.
30:14It's 2016
30:15in the remote village
30:17of Kukorya
30:18in Siberia.
30:19Two friends
30:20are walking
30:21through the woods
30:21when they notice
30:23something strange.
30:25In the face
30:26of a nearby cliff,
30:28they notice this crack.
30:31And luckily enough,
30:33it's wide enough
30:33to step into,
30:35so they figured
30:36they're going to go
30:36and investigate.
30:38They pop their heads
30:39in and look around
30:40and they see
30:41arrowheads
30:42on the ground.
30:43Lots of them.
30:45So naturally,
30:45they go in
30:46to investigate further.
30:48They see
30:49a large rectangular
30:51wooden box.
30:52They manage
30:53to pry off the lid.
30:55And as they peek inside,
30:57they are shocked.
31:00Inside is a pouch
31:02of some kind,
31:03a couple of engraved
31:04plaques and human bones.
31:08This box is a coffin.
31:12Realizing they've stumbled
31:14on something extraordinary,
31:16the friends notify
31:17the authorities.
31:18Officials from the Museum
31:20of the Gorno-Altesk
31:21State University arrive
31:22and they confirm
31:23this is a major
31:24archaeological discovery.
31:26They catalog
31:27iron arrowheads,
31:29arrow shafts,
31:30silt ribbons,
31:32and a birch bark quiver.
31:33And they date it to
31:35between the 13th
31:36and the 15th century.
31:38Based on these arrowheads,
31:40archaeologists surmise
31:41that this person
31:42was probably a hunter.
31:43But as the archaeologists
31:45examine the size
31:46of the arrowheads,
31:47they realize
31:48they might not be
31:50for hunting prey.
31:51The person in the sarcophagus
31:52isn't a hunter.
31:53It was a warrior.
31:56The discovery makes headlines
31:58around the world
31:59and the warrior is dubbed
32:01the Siberian Robin Hood.
32:02But when the researchers
32:04investigate further,
32:05they figure out
32:06that this warrior's quiver
32:07doesn't match
32:08those typically found
32:09in Siberia.
32:10As they compare the quiver
32:12to samples from other regions,
32:13they determine
32:14that it much more closely
32:16resembles quivers found
32:17in the Altai region
32:19across the border
32:20in Mongolia.
32:22Archaeologists then wonder
32:24whether the man
32:24buried here
32:25might have been part
32:26of the Mongol Empire
32:27believed by some
32:28to have conquered
32:29this part of Siberia
32:31in the medieval era.
32:32During the 13th century,
32:34Genghis Khan's ascendants
32:35swept through Central Asia,
32:38absorbing vast swaths
32:39of land,
32:40including this part
32:41of Siberia.
32:43By 1240,
32:44this entire area
32:45is under the occupation
32:47of General Batu Khan.
32:49He's actually
32:50the grandson
32:51of the great Genghis Khan.
32:53Artifacts from this era
32:55are exceedingly rare
32:56and the careful placement
32:59of them around the body
33:00suggests that he was
33:01a high-ranking officer
33:02or even a general.
33:05Today,
33:07that 13th century warrior's
33:08bow, quiver,
33:10arrows, and arrow shafts
33:11are still being studied
33:12by researchers
33:13at Gorno-Altaisk State University.
33:16Finds that are
33:17as complete as that one
33:19are incredibly rare
33:20and we're going to be learning
33:21about that warrior
33:22for years to come.
33:26Next up,
33:27another arrowhead
33:28points to a different
33:29kind of battlefield mystery
33:31on a small Polish farm.
33:35In the fall of 2023,
33:38a Polish farmer
33:39named Jaroslaw Lipiec
33:40is finishing up
33:41a long day
33:42of plowing the field
33:44on his commune.
33:45He hops off his tractor
33:47and pauses
33:48to admire the neat
33:50rows of dark
33:51overturned soil.
33:53As he looks over
33:54his handiwork,
33:55something catches his eye.
33:56It's the glint
33:57of a small, sharp object
33:59sticking out of the dirt.
34:01Curious, he walks over,
34:03picks it up out of the ground
34:04and realizes
34:05it's a small arrowhead.
34:08He thinks it's
34:08a nice keepsake,
34:09so he decides
34:10to put it in his pocket
34:11and then he just
34:12keeps walking.
34:13A few steps later,
34:14something else
34:15catches his eye.
34:17It's also protruding
34:19from the dirt,
34:19but this is a little different.
34:20It's gray-brown,
34:22chunky,
34:22and has some flecks
34:23of white.
34:25Unsure what he's found,
34:27he brings both items
34:29to the local conservator
34:31of monuments
34:32for more information.
34:34He takes a look
34:35at the arrowhead first
34:37and determines
34:38that it's not actually
34:39an arrowhead.
34:40It's the flint tip
34:42of a spear
34:43or a javelin
34:44and it is ancient.
34:48Analysis dates the weapon
34:50to the Bronze Age
34:51between 1900
34:53and 1500 B.C.
34:55The farmer's second find
34:58is even more interesting.
35:00It's part of the blade
35:01of a multifaceted axe
35:04crafted for power
35:07and precision.
35:08Thousands of years ago,
35:09these had many purposes.
35:13Clearing land,
35:14butchering animals,
35:15and settling arguments
35:17the hard way.
35:20Further analysis reveals
35:22that the axe
35:23was crafted by members
35:25of the funnel beaker culture,
35:27a Neolithic people
35:28who were known
35:29for their distinctive pottery,
35:31especially their funnel-shaped beakers.
35:33The funnel beakers
35:36were the first farming society
35:38across Northern Europe,
35:40thriving from 4,000
35:42to 2,800 B.C.
35:44But until now,
35:46no trace of them
35:47had ever been found
35:48in this part of Poland.
35:51Up until this point,
35:53experts thought
35:54that no one lived
35:56in that area of Poland
35:57during the Neolithic period.
35:59And now,
36:00as it turns out,
36:01there was a proper
36:03civilization hunting
36:04and farming
36:06and probably fighting
36:07in this area
36:08thousands of years
36:11before anyone
36:11thought possible.
36:13The discoveries
36:14are currently
36:15being prepared
36:16for exhibition
36:18at the local museum
36:19in Bilgaraj.
36:21But the search
36:22for more isn't over.
36:24Researchers are planning
36:25excavations
36:26to explore the area further
36:27because once the Earth
36:28gives up one secret,
36:30you never know
36:30how much more
36:31it's hiding
36:32beneath the soil.
36:39The spoils of war
36:40are often forgotten,
36:42but when one family
36:43takes a closer look
36:44at a World War II trophy,
36:46it ignites a remarkable
36:47and emotional journey.
36:51It's September 1945,
36:53and the war is over,
36:55but Joseph Kasser,
36:57who's known to his friends
36:57as Benny is waiting
36:59for his transfer
37:01from his base
37:02at Okinawa.
37:03And in order
37:04to clear his head,
37:05he takes a walk
37:06along the beach.
37:08As he's taking his walk,
37:10he sees something strange
37:11in the sand.
37:12As he gets closer,
37:13he realizes
37:14that half-buried
37:16is this ornate
37:17Japanese sword.
37:21So he does the natural thing.
37:23He digs it up
37:24and decides
37:25to take it home with him.
37:27The sword ends up
37:28in Benny's basement
37:30in Chicago,
37:32where it remains
37:33for decades.
37:35Benny's grandsons
37:36love hearing
37:38their grandfather's
37:39war stories,
37:40and he'll often
37:41bring down the sword
37:42as an exciting prop
37:43to augment storytelling.
37:45But after the stories
37:46are over,
37:47the sword always
37:48is carefully returned
37:50to its place
37:50in the basement.
37:52In 2021,
37:53one of his grandsons
37:54named Kevin
37:55is visiting.
37:56He's now in his 30s,
37:57and during this visit,
37:58he takes a closer look
37:59at the sword.
38:00Now an adult,
38:02Kevin takes an interest
38:03not just in the sword,
38:05but also in the wooden tag
38:07attached to its hilt.
38:09Written in English,
38:10it reads,
38:11I am very glad
38:12to have the honor
38:13to ask your favor
38:15to send my sword
38:16to my home.
38:17It has been handed down
38:18from generation
38:19to generation
38:20to keep my family
38:21safe and comfortable.
38:22On the other side
38:23of the tag
38:24is a name,
38:25Colonel Tumesuke Umeki,
38:27as well as the name
38:28of a town in Japan.
38:30Recognizing the sword's
38:31importance,
38:33Kevin anxiously
38:34approaches his grandfather.
38:36Kevin has an idea.
38:37What if they try
38:39to return the sword
38:40to its owner?
38:41When he proposes
38:42this idea
38:43to his grandfather,
38:44Benny,
38:45he doesn't hesitate.
38:47He's all in.
38:48Kevin digs in,
38:50determined to track down
38:51Colonel Umeki.
38:53A Japanese family friend
38:55suggests to Kevin
38:56that maybe they can
38:57contact the local government,
38:58and they might know.
39:00To his surprise,
39:02the town of Takaharu
39:03replies quickly,
39:04but disappointingly,
39:05Colonel Umeki
39:06is no longer alive.
39:09However,
39:10his son,
39:11Takamitsu,
39:12is still alive.
39:14Benny and Kevin
39:15send letters
39:16to Takamitsu
39:17in both English
39:18and Japanese,
39:19along with photos
39:20of the sword.
39:21Eventually,
39:22Takamitsu responds,
39:24tells them that he is
39:25now 96 years old.
39:27He writes
39:28that he still remembers
39:30his father's sword
39:31and is incredibly grateful
39:33at the idea
39:34that the sword
39:35might be returned home.
39:38In July of 2022,
39:40Kevin travels
39:41the 6,000 miles
39:42to Japan.
39:43Benny,
39:44now 99,
39:45unfortunately can't
39:46make the trip,
39:47but he sends
39:48his love and blessing.
39:50When Kevin
39:51finally gets to Japan,
39:53he meets Takamitsu,
39:54and he sees
39:55that Takamitsu
39:56has actually created
39:57a little bit of a shrine.
39:58There's a picture
39:59of his father,
40:00there's flowers,
40:01and there's a display case
40:02for the sword.
40:04Takamitsu has invited
40:05his family and friends,
40:07and there's journalists
40:08there to document
40:09this really historic occasion.
40:12Back in Illinois,
40:13Benny watches
40:14a live stream
40:15of the ceremony,
40:16and he reflects
40:18that really,
40:19there probably
40:20wasn't very much difference
40:21between Colonel Umeki
40:23and himself,
40:24only they happen
40:25to be born
40:26on opposite sides
40:27of the world.
40:30Cannons buried
40:31in a river,
40:32a forgotten
40:33World War II bomb,
40:34and medieval weapons
40:36built to crush
40:37a castle.
40:38These relics,
40:39lost in battle,
40:40tell the real stories
40:41of the fights
40:42that forged our past.
40:44I'm Danny Trejo.
40:46Thanks for watching
40:47Mysteries UnEarth.
40:49and the,
40:50More episodes
40:50were here
40:50in the wind Nobel
40:50with his whores
40:50of the story.
40:51It's all over
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