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00:04a mysterious tunnel is revealed below the streets of Washington DC the corridor ran about 60 feet
00:11before ending at a concrete wall rusted hinges were the only trace of a wooden door that once
00:18led to something beyond someone had built a multi-level labyrinth beneath the ground the
00:24only question was why archaeologists make a startling discovery beneath an italian town an
00:31excavation unearthed the facade of a monumental chamber tomb it turned out to be an ancient
00:38sarcophagus what they found was stunning near a southwestern colombian town massive subterranean
00:45chambers are uncovered the entire region is heavily affected by tectonic activity earthquakes are
00:52relatively common could these chambers have been built as some form of protection or even shelter
00:57from some other threat below the busy streets of the world cities exists a hidden realm of wonder
01:06sprawling ancient complexes mysterious tombs top secret military bases strange structures
01:17and lost artifacts buried beneath our feet and long forgotten until now underground models are exposed to
01:30reveal what lies hidden beneath the cities
01:46set between maryland and virginia washington dc was defined from the start by a push and pull between
01:53federal authority local life and shifting visions of what the capital should be
02:00In 1790, George Washington chose the site for a new federal district on the Potomac and Anacostia Rivers on land
02:07ceded by Maryland and Virginia.
02:09He appointed Pierre L'Enfant to design a bold, modern city with grand boulevards, ceremonial spaces, and a central capital.
02:18It was all inspired by L'Enfant's native city, Paris.
02:23During the Civil War, Washington's population swelled from 75,000 to 200,000.
02:29Triggering sanitation crises and a wave of smallpox outbreaks.
02:32In the decades that followed, new streets, sewer lines, and public parks began to reshape the city.
02:38Around the turn of the century, talk of a new Washington reflected the city's rapid transformation.
02:44Gilded-age wealth brought mansions to the upland neighborhoods.
02:48Embassies and statues lent a cosmopolitan air.
02:51And in 1907, work began on the National Cathedral.
02:56Washington was becoming a place everyone wanted to be.
02:59From lobbyists and trade groups to anyone hoping to shape the nation's future.
03:05In September of 1924, a truck delivering construction supplies sinks into an alley behind a house in the city.
03:13When it's pulled free, it reveals an opening wide enough to climb inside.
03:19This clearly wasn't a sinkhole.
03:22A nearby resident grabbed a flashlight and, along with a janitor, went to take a look.
03:27They climbed down into the tunnel about four feet wide, its walls lined with white enameled brick,
03:35with an arched ornamental ceiling rising nearly eight feet overhead.
03:39The corridor ran about 60 feet before ending at a concrete wall.
03:45Rusted hinges on the surface of that wall were the only trace of a wooden door that once led to
03:52something beyond.
03:54But it didn't end there.
03:55A separate passage led down six brick steps to a second tunnel, which had a trap door in the floor.
04:01Beneath it, an iron ladder vanished deeper underground.
04:05Above ground, onlookers gathered as fresh cracks appeared, exposing new entrances to the hidden network.
04:12No one could explain it, and rumors spread fast.
04:15Brick by brick, someone had built a multi-level labyrinth beneath the ground.
04:21The only question was, why?
04:23As exploration continues, one detail stands out.
04:28Inside the tunnel, clues from a different era begin to surface.
04:33Pasted to the tunnel's ceiling were German newspapers from 1917 and 1918.
04:41According to early newspaper reports, many referenced stories about submarine activity
04:47and had cryptic markings that looked like ciphers.
04:51Were these remnants of a covert German intelligence network operating beneath Washington?
04:59It made sense for people to be worried about German espionage.
05:04Back in World War I, the Secret Service had seized the briefcase of Dr. Heinrich Albert.
05:09He was Germany's chief financial agent in America, and he controlled over $27 million for sabotage,
05:17from strikes and factory disruptions to poison gas, even plans for a naval landing near New York.
05:25Some neighbors recalled a German chemist who once lived nearby and speculated the tunnel had been used by spies to
05:31reach his home during the war.
05:32Neighborhood children said the passages ran to Rock Creek and even dropped into the sewers,
05:37a possible escape route for those who knew the way.
05:40As investigators pushed deeper, parts of the story seemed to line up.
05:44One tunnel did track toward Rock Creek.
05:48Others branched off in unexpected directions.
05:51One skirted the home of Washington Post owner Edward B. McLean.
05:55Another ended in a walled garden, and a third was blocked with a cement door.
06:00All of this was less than two miles from the National Mall, close enough to raise genuine alarm about spies
06:07operating underneath Washington.
06:09Over 4,000 miles away in Berlin, another tunnel reveals how intelligence operations can unfold entirely out of public view.
06:18Known as Operation Gold, the Berlin Tunnel was built between 1954 and 1955 by the CIA and Britain's MI6
06:29to tap Soviet military phone lines carrying traffic between Moscow, Warsaw, and Bucharest.
06:36Lined with 125 tons of steel, it ran nearly 1,500 feet deep across the border into East Berlin.
06:45The tunnel's entrance was hidden under a U.S. Air Force warehouse in West Berlin.
06:51And when it was complete, British technicians installed the taps,
06:55and over the next 11 months intercepted hundreds of thousands of calls and millions of hours of teletype traffic.
07:03Much of it was genuine intelligence, despite the fact that the Soviets knew about the tunnel for the start.
07:10In Washington, early reports mentioned electrical wiring in the tunnel walls,
07:14but its size and construction were nothing like the purpose-built espionage tunnels in Berlin.
07:19And unlike Operation Gold, no records or credible accounts ever linked it to intelligence work,
07:24meaning it might have been concealed for entirely different reasons.
07:27As the discovery dominates the headlines, some wonder if the tunnels serve a different kind of clandestine network.
07:34Early newspaper reports claim that an abundance of bottles was found in the tunnel.
07:39What you have to understand about that is that Washington enacted Prohibition in 1917,
07:45three years before Prohibition at the national level.
07:48So after that, the city's 267 licensed saloons multiplied into nearly 3,000 speakeasies.
07:56Hidden beneath candy shops and tucked into drugstore basements,
08:00they kept the capital supplied with alcohol.
08:02Could the tunnel have been part of the city's illicit trade in liquor?
08:08Bootlegging in Washington wasn't always discreet.
08:12In one case, a Prohibition Bureau agent found two men unloading liquor off Pennsylvania Avenue.
08:19Shots were fired and a stray round struck Senator Frank Green of Vermont,
08:25an injury he never recovered from.
08:27In a city where the trade was sometimes public,
08:31a tunnel would have offered bootleggers the benefit of cover and control.
08:37From 1920 to 1930, George Cassidy, or the man in the green hat as he was known,
08:43was the primary bootlegger for members of Congress.
08:46He kept a basement office in the Cannon House office building
08:49and later moved to the Senate and made up to 25 deliveries a day with near total freedom.
08:56Despite arrests in 1925 and 1930, he never named his clients,
09:00but claimed at least 80% of lawmakers drank during Prohibition.
09:04With demand that high inside the Capitol, a discreet route would have obvious value.
09:09Over 600 miles northwest of Washington,
09:12Milwaukee's residents found similar methods to bypass Prohibition restrictions.
09:17In 2021, renovations at the historic Turner Hall uncovered a cutout in the wall leading to a hidden room.
09:25Many members of this athletic, cultural, and political society
09:28were part of Milwaukee's German community, which staunchly opposed Prohibition.
09:33Locals say that the space was connected to a network of tunnels linking neighborhood bars,
09:39some stretching all the way to the Milwaukee River.
09:42During Prohibition, rum runners from Canada crossed Lake Michigan to bring liquor into Wisconsin.
09:49By 1928, the FBI had tallied more than 1,100 speakeasies operating in Milwaukee alone.
09:58At Turner Hall, traces of that era were found, including handwritten notes,
10:05recipes for hooch, and personal effects from drinking clubs.
10:10Milwaukee's tunnels show how hidden spaces might have been used to fuel a thriving underground economy.
10:16But in Washington, there's no sign that DuPont tunnels were built or used for profit.
10:23And certain details there point to a story that's way stranger than anything behind a speakeasy door.
10:31Eventually, the trail leads to one man with a life as elaborate as the tunnels themselves.
10:37When the tunnels were exposed in 1924, some longtime neighbors weren't surprised.
10:42They'd seen them seven years earlier when a steam shovel broke through the same property,
10:47which was once owned by Harrison Gray Dyer Jr.,
10:50who was one of America's most accomplished entomologists and one of its strangest scientific figures.
10:55But why would a man devoted to moths and mosquitoes spend years meticulously digging tunnels beneath his own home?
11:01Born to a wealthy New York family, Dyer studied chemistry at MIT and biology at Columbia.
11:07In 1897, he moved to Washington to oversee the Smithsonian's butterfly and moth collection
11:13while living on his inheritance along with his wife, Zella, and their children.
11:18In 1900, their marriage became strained.
11:22Zella was struggling with hearing loss, and she didn't want to have any more children, whereas Dyer did.
11:27That same year, Dyer began an affair with a kindergarten teacher named Waleska Pollack.
11:34A few years later, Waleska married another man.
11:37And around that time, Zella asked Dyer for a hollyhock garden at their home.
11:43He began digging and didn't stop until he left the property in 1914.
11:49But it wouldn't be his last time underground.
11:54By 1915, the marriage of the Dyers was collapsing.
11:57He sued Zella for desertion.
11:59She sued him for adultery.
12:02Then, Waleska tried to divorce her long-absent husband.
12:06This was a man no one had ever seen and whom many believed was actually Dyer.
12:11Rumors that he'd fathered her three sons turned out to be true.
12:15And in 1917, that scandal cost Dyer his job at the Department of Agriculture.
12:20Four years later, he married Waleska, and the digging began again.
12:27Beneath the side yard of their new home, Dyer built an impressive bunker.
12:31The tunnels and shafts dropped 24 feet, with arched ceilings and electric lights strung through the passageways.
12:37Sculpted human and animal heads stared from the walls.
12:40And over one arch, a Latin inscription read,
12:43The way down to hell is easy.
12:46Dyer's tunnels were definitely strange undertakings.
12:49But they weren't commercial and they weren't criminal.
12:51These were private environments seemingly shaped for control, comfort, and personal meaning.
12:56Though Dyer insisted that his digging was nothing more than exercise.
13:02Dyer died of a stroke in 1929.
13:06His tunnels were later used for mushroom cultivation and considered as World War II air raid shelters
13:13before being demolished for the Federal Aviation Administration's headquarters.
13:18The tunnels were partially uncovered in 1958, but then sealed.
13:26In the science world, Dyer's a bit of a big deal.
13:29He named or co-named almost 3,000 species of moths and butterflies,
13:33along with 600 different kinds of mosquitoes.
13:36And he's been honored by having a whole bunch of different insects named after him, almost 70 of them.
13:41But in Washington, he's remembered differently.
13:44He's the human mole.
13:45This brilliant, defiant scientist living a double life above and below ground.
13:53The bizarre tale of Harrison Dyer and his tunnels reminds us that in some subterranean spaces,
13:59the mystery runs deeper than the complexes themselves.
14:03And his story leaves a broader question.
14:06How many other hidden worlds might still lie beneath Washington, waiting to be uncovered?
14:25Just over 100 miles from Rome, in the northwestern part of Italy's Campania region,
14:31is the city of Giuliano.
14:33Giuliano is situated on a fertile coastal plain with a population of over 120,000 people.
14:39It's part of a string of agricultural communities in Campania that have been active for centuries in this area.
14:46The city is also part of a region called the Campania Volcanic Arc,
14:51because there's a lot of geological activity here.
14:55Earthquakes regularly rock the region, and residents sometimes experience daily tremors.
15:00In 2025, Giuliano and its surrounding area were hit by their largest earthquake in 40 years.
15:08It's only a short drive to Pompeii, the town famous for being buried by a devastating volcanic eruption from nearby
15:17Mount Vesuvius.
15:19Giuliano is also an area designated for potential evacuation in case of another devastating blast from this dreaded volcano.
15:28Just outside of town, in a cluster of volcanic craters, known as the flagrant fields,
15:34an archaeological survey is being conducted in advance of a planned update to Giuliano's water system.
15:40And the results are incredible.
15:42An excavation under the facade of a monumental chamber tomb, with a large piece of volcanic rock covering its entrance.
15:52Inside, the tomb was a revelation.
15:55The funerary chamber itself was approximately 10 feet underground, and measured around 10 by 13 feet.
16:02That tightly sealed entryway had helped keep the burial site in a remarkable state of preservation.
16:09Two coffins were laid on funeral beds, and towering over them were a number of frescoes,
16:15including paintings which depicted monsters from classical mythology.
16:20One fresco showed the Greco-Roman god Hercules,
16:23and fellow deity Mercury facing off against the three-headed dog Cerberus,
16:28considered to be the guardian of the underworld.
16:30The other featured two creatures called ichthyocentaurs,
16:35half men, half horses, with green-coiled fishtails,
16:39who were accompanied by two winged, cupid-like babies.
16:43The colors of both paintings remained incredibly vibrant.
16:46And there were other discoveries, including three altars called plinai,
16:51that held ceramic vessels which would have been used for libations.
16:54There was also evidence of cremated remains beside the coffins.
16:58To say this was an important archaeological find is an understatement.
17:03The question is, who was buried here?
17:06Archaeologists notice another mysterious object in the tomb.
17:10It appears to be a table of some kind,
17:12but they soon discover it is much more than that.
17:16It turned out to be an ancient sarcophagus.
17:20Before it was opened, a miniature camera was threaded inside
17:24so that the contents could be seen without being disturbed.
17:28What they found was stunning.
17:32An exceptionally well-preserved human skeleton
17:35laying on its back, covered by a shroud.
17:40Beside the remains were grave goods like glass jars for ointment and perfume,
17:46as well as an instrument called astrigal,
17:49which ancient Greeks and Romans used to scrape their skin clean.
17:54The perfectly sealed tomb created a microclimate
17:58that allowed for an incredible level of preservation.
18:02Interestingly, the artifacts found inside the sarcophagus
18:05were slightly older than the artifacts found throughout the rest of the tomb.
18:09This suggests the individual in the sarcophagus
18:13was the first burial here, and likely the elder of the family.
18:17The site is dubbed the Tomb of Cerberus,
18:20and an inscription marking its final internment to the year 27 CE
18:25places its age at roughly 2,000 years old.
18:28The tomb was not far from the Roman colony of Laeternum,
18:32where over 300 veteran soldiers retired during the 2nd century BCE.
18:37The Roman Empire was often plagued by epidemics,
18:40and traveling soldiers in particular
18:42could easily contract and spread virulent diseases.
18:46The infamous Antonine Plague that exploded in 165 CE
18:50was reportedly killing 2,000 people a day at its height.
18:54So maybe the body in the sarcophagus
18:57belongs to a high-ranking Roman soldier
18:59who contracted some kind of sickness while away fighting
19:03and then was buried here.
19:05The elder skeleton was analyzed,
19:08and herbs found on the body
19:09were determined to be wormwood
19:11and something called goosefoot,
19:13both of which have purifying and antiseptic qualities.
19:16These ointments are believed to have been used
19:19to preserve the body,
19:20but could they also have been employed to treat disease?
19:23And could the rock that sealed the entrance to the tomb
19:26have been put in place out of fear
19:28that the contagions inside might escape the burial site?
19:32It's certainly possible that the individual in the sarcophagus
19:36was a soldier who succumbed to an epidemic.
19:40But the thing is,
19:41the Romans would sometimes resort to placing the dead from a plague
19:45into mass graves or hurried burials
19:48as the most efficient form of internment.
19:52And given the meticulous burial in the tomb of Cerberus,
19:56this scenario seems improbable.
19:59It's still a possibility that they were a high-ranking soldier,
20:03but maybe not one who died from an epidemic.
20:05The imagery found within the tomb
20:07and its location may point to a belief in the occult.
20:11The ancient Greeks called this volcanic landscape
20:15the fiery fields.
20:16And within Greco-Roman traditions,
20:18it was considered to be a physical gateway to the afterlife.
20:22The choice to place the tomb here
20:24suggests a deep understanding
20:26of the spiritual importance of this location.
20:29The frescoes of Cerberus and the ichthyocentours
20:32are also potential signifiers
20:35that the family who controlled this tomb
20:37knew the roles these mythological creatures
20:40played in the afterlife.
20:41While Cerberus was the guardian of the underworld Hades,
20:45the ichthyocentours had been interpreted
20:48to be spiritual guides
20:50who could escort the deceased
20:51to the paradise of the so-called Blessed Isles.
20:54During this era, the Roman Empire
20:56certainly had its share of mysterious cults
20:59that possessed secret theories about the afterlife.
21:02So was the deceased a high-ranking member
21:05of one of these groups?
21:06It's highly plausible that these cults,
21:09known as mysteries,
21:10had a presence in this region.
21:12Not far from the burial site
21:14is the necropolis of the town of Kumai.
21:17Deep below the ground is an ornate complex
21:20where, according to legend,
21:22an oracle would commune with the Greco-Roman god Apollo.
21:27Similarly, when the tomb of Cerberus was built,
21:30you can imagine that the intention
21:32was to provide the deceased
21:34with direct communion with the gods.
21:37Ultimately, though,
21:38there's no evidence that the individuals in the tomb
21:40had any kind of membership
21:42in one of the mystery cults of the day.
21:45Far from being representative
21:47of a belief in magic and the occult,
21:50the frescoes in the Cerberus tomb
21:52may simply be indicative
21:53of an elite and educated family
21:56that was well-versed
21:57in the fashionable cultural signifiers of the day.
22:00The status of the family
22:02endured here may ultimately be the key
22:04to understanding the origins
22:06of this enigmatic burial site.
22:08This idea of a highly honored senior member
22:11of a wealthy clan
22:12is supported by the incredible care
22:15that was lavished on the body
22:17found in the sarcophagus.
22:18It's very possible
22:19that they were a wealthy member
22:21of the nearby Latournum settlement.
22:24The shroud, the preservative ointments
22:27and instruments laid around the remains
22:29are all evidence of the respect
22:32this person commanded
22:33within their community.
22:35Ultimately,
22:35much about the tomb of Cerberus
22:37remains unclear.
22:39A thorough scientific analysis
22:41of the skeleton
22:42may one day give us a better idea
22:44of who this person was.
22:46Until then,
22:47it seems the three-headed monster
22:49on the vibrant fresco
22:51who stands guard
22:52at the gates of the underworld
22:53is also protecting
22:55the centuries-old secrets
22:57locked inside this mysterious tomb.
23:13Tucked into the remote reaches
23:14of southwestern Columbia,
23:16the Tiradentro National Park
23:18spans several square kilometers
23:21along the highest ridges
23:22of the Colombian Andes.
23:24The park is made up
23:25of four distinct areas
23:26that stretch along
23:27the Andes range.
23:28The terrain is incredibly variable,
23:30ranging from 4,000
23:31to more than 8,000 feet
23:32above sea level.
23:34These steep elevation changes,
23:36coupled with a tropical climate,
23:37create sudden and dramatic shifts
23:39in weather and temperature,
23:41often within just a few kilometers.
23:43The Andes are marked by two principal rainy seasons,
23:47one in the spring and one in the fall.
23:50Together, they bring nearly 60 inches
23:52of rainfall every year.
23:54The rain helps sustain the forests
23:55that cover the mountains themselves
23:57and eventually drains down to the valleys below,
24:00enriching the soil with sediment.
24:03Teradentro also happens to be
24:05one of the most important
24:06archaeological sites in Columbia,
24:08but it's incredibly remote.
24:10There are no flights close to the area,
24:12and the nearest city
24:13is about a five-hour drive away.
24:16The roads are rough,
24:17cell phone service is patchy,
24:19and the area is prone to landslides,
24:21which can make getting to the site
24:23nearly impossible.
24:25Nearly impossible,
24:26but not totally impossible,
24:28because the site has been the subject
24:30of archaeological study.
24:32When archaeologists begin
24:33to systematically investigate
24:35the Teradentro Park,
24:37they uncover a remarkable site
24:39concealed beneath the forest canopy.
24:42Several meters below the surface,
24:44explorers uncovered enormous chambers
24:47carved right into the rock.
24:49These ranged from small structures
24:52with a single small room
24:53two massive 40-foot-wide chambers
24:56with support columns.
25:00These underground chambers
25:01are a testament
25:02to the engineering skill
25:03of the people who built them,
25:04especially given that they were
25:05likely excavated entirely by hand.
25:07This was largely possible
25:09because of the local geology.
25:10The volcanic landscape of the Andes
25:12left behind thick layers
25:13of hardened ash,
25:14which formed a relatively soft
25:16and workable stone.
25:18Radiocarbon dating tells us
25:20that these underground chambers
25:21were likely carved out and used
25:23from about 600 to 900 CE,
25:26long before the Spanish
25:28colonized Colombia.
25:30But what exactly
25:31were these structures for?
25:33The underground chamber's
25:34unique geography and architecture
25:36point to a possible explanation.
25:39The name Tierra Dentro
25:41was first used by the Spanish
25:42conquistadors back in the 1500s,
25:45and it translates roughly
25:46to the interior land,
25:48or inland, which fits,
25:50because this region
25:51is way off the beaten path.
25:54It is tucked deep
25:55into the mountains and forests
25:56far from the coast.
25:58Now, why here?
26:00Well, maybe that remoteness
26:01was the whole point.
26:03Maybe the ancient people
26:04built these underground chambers
26:06way out here
26:06and hid them below ground
26:08for protection
26:09or an edge
26:10against potential invaders.
26:12Looking back,
26:13we can see several examples
26:14of incredibly impressive
26:15military fortifications
26:17in the Andes Mountains.
26:18One of the most famous examples
26:20is Sacsayhuaman,
26:21a massive Inca fortress
26:22that sits above the city
26:23of Cusco in Peru.
26:25It was built during
26:26the 15th century
26:27using huge stone blocks,
26:29some of which reach
26:30nearly 30 feet tall
26:31and weigh several tons.
26:33The fortress is so strong
26:34that it survived earthquakes
26:36that easily take down
26:37more modern buildings
26:38in the area.
26:39Because it was so
26:40strategically important,
26:42Sacsayhuaman played
26:43a huge role
26:44in the Incas' last stand
26:45against the Spanish conquistadors.
26:47Some of the most intense
26:49and bloody battles
26:50happened right here
26:51as the Incas tried to
26:52hold on to their fortress.
26:54In the end,
26:56the Spanish managed
26:57to take control
26:58of Sacsayhuaman
26:58after months
26:59of fierce fighting.
27:00But there's another
27:02legendary Andean site
27:03that was so well hidden
27:05the conquistadors
27:06never even found it.
27:09Machu Picchu stands
27:11about 50 miles
27:12northwest of Cusco,
27:13roughly 8,000 feet
27:15above sea level.
27:16It's a massive site,
27:18spread over 80,000 acres
27:20of steep mountain peaks
27:21and slopes.
27:22Although it was probably
27:24built in the 15th century,
27:26Machu Picchu was essentially
27:27unknown to the rest
27:28of the world
27:29until a local
27:30took a professor
27:31who was visiting
27:32from Yale University
27:33to see it
27:34in the early 1900s.
27:36Machu Picchu
27:37was actually made up
27:37of hundreds of structures
27:38including enormous
27:39fortifying walls
27:41and terraces
27:42and ramps
27:43that all blend
27:43into the landscape.
27:45It was most likely
27:46first built
27:47as a royal residence
27:48and a retreat
27:49for the Inca elite,
27:51but over the years
27:52it may also have served
27:53a bunch of other
27:54religious
27:54and spiritual functions.
27:58Looking at the
27:59Terradentro chambers,
28:00it becomes clear
28:01that they were also
28:01intended for the elite.
28:03Carving up these
28:04huge underground spaces
28:05required a significant
28:06amount of organization
28:07and labor
28:08and wouldn't have been
28:09done for just anyone.
28:10But what was it for?
28:12Was it, like Machu Picchu,
28:13a retreat for the
28:14ancient upper class?
28:15Or did it serve
28:16another more
28:17ritualistic function?
28:18Nearly a thousand
28:19miles away,
28:20concealed deep
28:21in the Peruvian highlands,
28:23another set of
28:23extraordinary
28:24underground chambers
28:25raises intriguing
28:27possibilities.
28:29Chavin de Huantar
28:30is the largest
28:31and most important
28:32ruin left
28:33by the Chavin people,
28:35an ancient culture
28:35that predates
28:36the Inca
28:37by more than
28:382,000 years.
28:39The site stands
28:40more than 10,000 feet
28:42above sea level
28:42and features
28:43a massive
28:44stone temple complex
28:45built out of
28:46huge rectangular blocks.
28:49The earliest part
28:50of the complex
28:51is known as
28:52the Old Temple
28:53and it was built
28:54in a distinct
28:54U-shape
28:55around 900 BCE.
28:57Several centuries
28:58later,
28:59around 500 BCE,
29:00the new temple
29:01was added,
29:02expanding the
29:03existing structure
29:04and adding
29:04a massive
29:05sunken plaza.
29:06These plazas
29:07were central
29:08to ancient
29:08Andean spiritual
29:09and political power
29:10and would have
29:11been the site
29:12of major religious
29:13and ceremonial practices.
29:16The site's
29:17most unusual feature
29:19sits beneath
29:20the temples themselves
29:21where there's
29:22this network
29:22of tunnels
29:23and maze-like
29:25galleries underground.
29:26Some of them
29:27intersect,
29:28some of them
29:28stand alone,
29:29but these chambers
29:30are in near-total
29:31darkness
29:32with small tunnels,
29:34maybe for ventilation,
29:36but no windows
29:37that let any daylight in.
29:38Using computational
29:40acoustics modeling
29:41and careful reenactments,
29:43a team of experts
29:44makes an astonishing
29:45discovery.
29:46These chambers
29:47were likely built
29:48with one thing in mind,
29:49sound.
29:51Analyses have found
29:52that sound waves
29:52travel extremely quickly
29:54down the narrow passages,
29:55bouncing off the walls
29:56to fill the adjoining
29:57alcoves and galleries.
29:58The effect would have
29:59been quite dramatic.
30:01Music or human voices
30:02would effortlessly
30:03fill the space
30:04with little to no echo,
30:05meaning that even
30:06if you were standing
30:06far from the source,
30:08you could hear
30:08incredibly clearly.
30:10The architecture
30:11of the tunnels
30:12would have allowed
30:13the Chavin
30:13to project this sound
30:14out of the building
30:15itself to pilgrims
30:17in the plaza outside.
30:19In effect,
30:20the entire building
30:21would have seemed alive.
30:23We can't be sure
30:24exactly what these
30:25Chavin ceremonies sounded like,
30:27but excavations have uncovered
30:29several ancient trumpets
30:31made out of conch shells
30:32that we've actually
30:33been able to reproduce
30:34and record.
30:37The intense soundscapes
30:39from the galleries
30:40weren't the only way
30:41the Chavin enhanced
30:42their ritual experiences.
30:44Bone tubes that were
30:45once used to inhale
30:47psychoactive plants
30:48have also been found
30:50in these galleries.
30:50The combination
30:52of ritual drug use
30:53and elaborate soundscapes
30:55would have made
30:56for a truly
30:57otherworldly experience.
30:59So,
31:00could the chambers
31:00at Tierra Dentro
31:01have served
31:02a similar ritual purpose?
31:04Based on the existing evidence,
31:06the chambers
31:06at Tierra Dentro
31:07don't appear
31:08to have been carved
31:09with acoustics in mind.
31:11There are no plazas
31:12to host crowds
31:13of pilgrims,
31:14and to date,
31:15there's no evidence
31:16of ritual drug use either.
31:18But,
31:19there are signs
31:20that these were places
31:21of profound
31:22spiritual importance.
31:24A closer look
31:25at the architecture
31:26of the Tierra Dentro chambers
31:28reveals their true function.
31:30Most of the Tierra Dentro structures
31:31have a central staircase
31:33or shaft
31:33that leads down
31:34into a main chamber,
31:35which is surrounded
31:36by a series of side alcoves
31:38or niches.
31:39These impressive
31:40underground burial spaces
31:41are known today
31:42as hypogea.
31:43These were grand,
31:45collective tombs.
31:46So, instead of just
31:47one person,
31:48entire elite families
31:50or clans
31:50could be buried together
31:51in the same space.
31:53Grave offerings
31:54were left with the bodies,
31:55including gold ornaments,
31:57ceramic pottery,
31:58and stone statues,
32:00underscoring just how important
32:02these people were.
32:05Sadly,
32:06over the centuries,
32:07many of these tombs
32:09were looted,
32:09and most of the original objects
32:11are now gone.
32:12But some artwork remains.
32:15Bold black,
32:16red,
32:17and white lines
32:17zigzag and spiral
32:19their way across the walls
32:21in intricate geometric designs.
32:24Some of the murals
32:25appear to depict
32:26animal and human forms.
32:28It's possible
32:29that these represented gods
32:30or guardians of some sort,
32:32but their true symbolic meaning
32:34remains a mystery.
32:36Work is still underway
32:37at Tiradentro,
32:39where archaeologists
32:40continue to piece together
32:41the story of a civilization
32:43that left behind
32:44only its extraordinary,
32:46ornate tombs.
33:01180 miles northwest of London,
33:04Liverpool stands
33:05as one of Britain's
33:06most historically
33:07significant seaports.
33:09Liverpool was founded
33:10in 1207
33:11when King John
33:12granted a charter
33:13for a new town
33:14on the River Mersey.
33:15Now,
33:16early trade with Ireland
33:17helped it grow,
33:18but by the 18th century,
33:20it had become a hub
33:21of transatlantic commerce,
33:22and there's a dark side to that.
33:24There was this trade system
33:25called the Liverpool Triangle
33:27in which manufactured goods
33:28from Liverpool
33:29were sent to West Africa
33:31to be traded
33:31for enslaved people,
33:33and those enslaved people
33:34went across the Atlantic
33:36to the West Indies
33:37where they were traded
33:38for sugar and other crops.
33:40The 19th century
33:41brought explosive growth.
33:43The Liverpool and Manchester Railway
33:44opened in 1830,
33:45the world's first commercial
33:47passenger line.
33:48The Albert Dock
33:49followed in 1846
33:50with fireproof warehouses
33:51and hydraulic cranes
33:53that cut ship turnaround time
33:54in half.
33:55During the Irish famine,
33:56thousands arrived by ship,
33:57and by mid-century,
33:59Liverpool was known
33:59as the New York of Europe.
34:02In the 20th century,
34:04Liverpool faced disruption
34:05and decline.
34:06Its port made it a target
34:08during both world wars,
34:10and the city was hit hard
34:12during the Blitz.
34:13Post-war,
34:14the city faced economic depression,
34:16but Liverpool remained culturally vital,
34:19from the Three Graces,
34:21iconic buildings located
34:22at the waterfront,
34:23to the global explosion
34:25of music and identity
34:26that came with the Beatles.
34:28In 2001,
34:30a small team cuts through the roof
34:32of a buried cellar
34:33in the Paddington district
34:34of Liverpool.
34:36Lowered in by harness,
34:37they find themselves
34:39in a rubble-choked chamber,
34:40an upper level
34:42of a long-lost passage.
34:44Over the next two decades,
34:46volunteers cleared
34:47tons of soil,
34:49ash,
34:49and debris,
34:50revealing a hidden network
34:52of at least 15 chambers
34:54carved in sandstone.
34:56Some are narrow crawl spaces
34:59just four feet wide
35:00and six feet high.
35:02Others are far more dramatic,
35:04like the vaulted banqueting hall,
35:06measuring roughly 64 feet long,
35:0914 feet wide,
35:11and 27 feet high.
35:14It reportedly connects
35:16to more than two dozen other tunnels.
35:21Paddington is one of the deepest parts
35:23of the network.
35:24It's this stacked complex
35:25of at least three levels
35:27dropping 56 feet below ground.
35:30Brick pillars sit on sandstone supports,
35:32and according to one old account,
35:34the layout runs deeper
35:36than the four-story building
35:37that once stood above.
35:40For decades,
35:41the tunnels were mostly rumor,
35:43until a rediscovered 1925 newspaper article
35:46described a man walking underground
35:48for over a mile beneath the streets,
35:50reigniting public interest.
35:52Earlier maps and surveys
35:53had recorded parts of the system,
35:55but later construction buried much of it.
35:57It wasn't until the mid-'90s
35:59that official archaeological investigation began.
36:02Computer scans now show
36:04over 460,000 square feet
36:07of map excavations
36:08spreading underground
36:10in a spider-like pattern.
36:12But the full extent of the tunnels
36:14is still unknown.
36:15So what kind of purpose
36:17or obsession
36:18could justify
36:19building a hidden world
36:20beneath the city?
36:22Inside the tunnels,
36:23scattered artifacts
36:24raised questions
36:25about their possible use
36:27and who was moving through them.
36:29These tunnels
36:31don't look like spaces
36:32that were simply quarried
36:34and left behind.
36:35Excavations have uncovered
36:37hundreds of artifacts,
36:39like glass whiskey bottles
36:41and stoneware jars.
36:43Given the volume and variety,
36:45is it possible
36:46these tunnels
36:47supported contraband movement
36:49or some form
36:50of underground trade?
36:53In the late 1700s
36:55and early 1800s,
36:56smuggling was rampant
36:58across Britain.
36:59And it was fueled
37:00by high taxes
37:02on things like tea,
37:03tobacco,
37:04and booze.
37:05What began
37:06as a small-scale evasion
37:08grew into a full-blown
37:10underground industry.
37:12Smuggled spirits
37:13may have at times
37:15outnumbered
37:16the legal shipments
37:17coming through London's docks.
37:19Whole communities
37:20even came up
37:20that relied entirely
37:22on the economic benefits
37:23of smuggling.
37:25Beneath Liverpool,
37:26some of the tunnels
37:27are blocked or collapsed.
37:28But they may have once
37:29linked to larger features
37:30like the Great Tunnel,
37:32a vast chamber
37:32documented in the 19th century.
37:34In the 2000s,
37:36researchers drilled
37:36into the site
37:37in an attempt to relocate it,
37:39but found nothing conclusive.
37:40If the tunnel still exists,
37:42it could suggest
37:43the network
37:43was once organized
37:44around a central hub
37:45built to move discreetly
37:47between different areas.
37:49Just northwest of Liverpool,
37:52in New Brighton,
37:53a different underground network
37:55reveals how tunnels
37:56could support
37:57large-scale secretive operations.
38:00During World War II,
38:01New Brighton's
38:02Seaside Arcade
38:03concealed a full-scale
38:05munitions factory
38:06below ground.
38:07The tunnels,
38:08said to be around
38:09a hundred years old
38:10at the time,
38:11were cleared and converted
38:12to house up to 200 women,
38:14producing more than
38:16250,000 bullets
38:18and shell casings
38:19a week.
38:20All while the arcade above
38:21kept up appearances.
38:23The operation
38:24was such a secret
38:26that even Nazi bombing maps
38:28failed to pick up
38:29the factory beneath the arcade.
38:31By 1943,
38:33the site also served
38:35as a U.S.
38:36ordnance base
38:37assembling vehicles
38:38and repairing equipment
38:39from the Normandy front.
38:41It was a vast
38:43covert network
38:44right under
38:45the public's feet.
38:49So, the new Brighton tunnels
38:50show that older spaces
38:52could be adapted
38:53for covert use,
38:54but there's no evidence
38:55that the Liverpool tunnels
38:56were built for this
38:57or repurposed for this.
38:59After 1815,
39:00the economics
39:01of smuggling collapsed.
39:02As coastal blockades
39:04strengthened
39:04and free trade policies
39:05took hold,
39:06it just didn't make
39:07economic sense anymore.
39:08And by the time
39:09excavation began
39:10in Liverpool,
39:11smuggling was already
39:12in decline.
39:13So, these tunnels
39:15were built
39:16for a different purpose.
39:18Other artifacts
39:19suggest the tunnels
39:20may have been designed
39:21to sustain
39:22a long-term vision.
39:24In ways,
39:25these spaces seem designed
39:26with daily life in mind.
39:28Excavations have uncovered
39:29bed warmers,
39:30chamber pots,
39:30infant feeding bottles,
39:32toothbrushes,
39:33children's toys,
39:34and chillingly,
39:35bottles of poison.
39:36More than 100 years
39:38of rubbish
39:38was found in the tunnels,
39:40some dating to a period
39:41shaped by religious upheaval
39:42and apocalyptic belief.
39:44Is it possible
39:44these spaces were meant
39:45for life to continue
39:46underground
39:47after everything
39:48above it ended?
39:49The early 19th century
39:51was steeped
39:52in apocalyptic belief.
39:54Movements like
39:54Millerism took hold,
39:56convincing tens of thousands
39:58of followers across the U.S.,
40:00Canada,
40:00and Britain
40:01that Christ would return
40:02by 1844
40:04to cleanse the world.
40:06In that kind of climate,
40:07digging a refuge underground
40:09wouldn't have seemed
40:10irrational at all.
40:11It might have felt urgent.
40:13Roughly 2,000 miles
40:14from Liverpool,
40:15in the village of Nikolska,
40:17in western Russia,
40:18another underground structure
40:20was built to outlast
40:21what its creators believed
40:23was coming above.
40:25In 2007,
40:26a Russian doomsday sect
40:28vanished,
40:29only to be found
40:30living in a bunker
40:31excavated more than
40:3330 feet deep
40:34into the snow-covered
40:36clay and rock
40:37of Nikolska.
40:38The group had threatened
40:39to blow themselves up
40:40with gas canisters
40:41and forced above ground.
40:43But when the roof
40:43eventually gave way,
40:45some took it as a sign
40:45from God
40:46and climbed out.
40:48The scene inside
40:49was haunting.
40:50Sleeping spaces
40:50padded with cardboard,
40:51a kitchen carved into the rock,
40:54and walls etched
40:55with drawings
40:55of flowers and trees.
40:57Even a chess set
40:57and children's books
40:58were left behind.
41:01While Liverpool's tunnels
41:02and Nikolska
41:03contain interesting artifacts
41:05and do share
41:06certain architectural traits,
41:08the underlying context
41:10is entirely different.
41:11Nikolska's underground network
41:13was built with a clear
41:14apocalyptic religious mindset.
41:16But there's no evidence
41:17of that kind of belief system
41:19in Liverpool.
41:20The motive here
41:21seems rooted
41:21in a different kind
41:23of long-term goal.
41:24In the heart
41:24of Liverpool's
41:2519th century
41:26industrial boom,
41:28a strange pattern
41:29of construction
41:30points back
41:31to a single figure.
41:32In the early 1800s,
41:35Joseph Williamson,
41:36a wealthy,
41:37eccentric tobacco merchant,
41:39began developing land
41:41in the area.
41:42He modified houses
41:43with bricked-up windows,
41:45but the work
41:46didn't stop there.
41:47His crews kept digging
41:49deeper and farther,
41:50creating a vast tunnel network
41:52with no clear purpose.
41:55Williamson's name
41:56soon became inseparable
41:58from the tunnels.
42:00But what compelled him
42:01to keep going?
42:03By 1815,
42:04the Napoleonic Wars
42:05had ended,
42:06and Liverpool
42:06was flooded
42:07with all these soldiers
42:08coming back
42:09with limited job options.
42:11Now, by then,
42:13Williamson had sold
42:14his tobacco business,
42:15so he started hiring
42:16all these soldiers
42:17to dig.
42:18And for a lot of them,
42:20that digging
42:21was the only
42:22steady source of income
42:23in a time
42:24when there was
42:24just no other work.
42:26As time went on,
42:27the tunnels grew deeper,
42:29more complex,
42:29and more aimless.
42:31Some twist,
42:32stack,
42:33or lead nowhere at all.
42:34Men worked by candlelight
42:35with picks,
42:36shovels,
42:36and barrows,
42:37while carpenters
42:38used axes and saws.
42:39It's possible
42:40that the project
42:41was less about utility
42:42and architecture
42:43than it was hands-on training
42:44in trades like masonry
42:45and bricklaying.
42:46If so,
42:47the tunnels' true value
42:48wasn't in their purpose,
42:49but in the livelihoods
42:50they built.
42:51There are all kinds
42:52of theories
42:53about Williamson's tunnels,
42:54but he left
42:55no blueprints
42:56or explanation.
42:58After his wife died
42:58in 1822,
43:00he added domestic-style chambers,
43:02even a grand banquet hall.
43:04For a man
43:04with no financial need
43:06and no defined purpose,
43:07the tunnels
43:08may have become
43:09both his obsession
43:10and his escape.
43:14Some argue
43:16the so-called passages
43:17likely began
43:19as open sandstone quarries,
43:21then covered
43:22and built over.
43:23So in that view,
43:25Williamson
43:26wasn't digging aimlessly.
43:28He was reclaiming
43:30scarred land
43:31and turning it
43:32into something profitable.
43:34But that still
43:35doesn't explain
43:36the scale,
43:37the chambers,
43:38and the banquet hall.
43:39If it started
43:40as a quarry restoration,
43:42it became something else,
43:44and something
43:45much harder to define.
43:47Hidden beneath Liverpool,
43:49Williamson's tunnels
43:50remain a puzzle
43:51of purpose
43:52and persistence,
43:53a testament
43:54to relentless effort
43:55and to the blurred line
43:57between visionary intent
43:59and personal obsession.
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