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00:00This week, join me on a massive treasure hunt.
00:04I'll be chasing clues across three continents
00:07to try to solve one of the Bible's biggest mysteries.
00:11What happened to three of the Old Testament's
00:14most precious treasures?
00:16The gold and silver artifacts that God told Moses
00:20to create for Jerusalem's great temple.
00:24For almost 2,000 years, most had believed they were lost,
00:29casualties of the Jewish revolt against the Roman Empire.
00:32But new evidence indicates they may have survived,
00:36even to the present day.
00:38We're digging for the truth and going to extremes to do it.
01:03Welcome to the Old City of Jerusalem.
01:05Almost 2,000 years ago, a sacred treasure
01:08vanished from one of the holiest sites in antiquity.
01:10The gold, silver, and other holy relics
01:13that were once housed inside that temple
01:14are estimated to be worth billions today.
01:17Hi, I'm Hunter Ellis, and I'm here in the Holy Land of Israel
01:20retracing the path of that lost treasure,
01:23written about in the new book, God's Gold.
01:26To understand the importance of these treasures,
01:29we have to go back to the time of Moses.
01:32According to the Bible, after Moses receives the Ten Commandments,
01:37God tells him to create holy objects of worship for the temple.
01:42The most famous is the Ark of the Covenant.
01:45Its mysterious history has been told and retold for centuries.
01:50But there were other equally sacred treasures
01:53at the heart of King Solomon's Temple.
01:56The Table of the Divine Presence,
01:59the Silver Trumpets of Truth,
02:02and the Golden Menorah.
02:05Archaeologist Dr. Sean Kingsley,
02:07the author of God's Gold,
02:08has spent 15 years researching the fate of these sacred relics.
02:13Fantastic places.
02:13Most believe the Ark of the Covenant was lost,
02:16but Sean thinks the three holy relics survive to this day.
02:20What makes the treasure of the temple so sacred?
02:23Well, these are the very umbilical cords of Judaism,
02:26the covenant between the Israelites and God.
02:30On Mount Sinai, after the deliverance from Egypt,
02:32Moses receives the Ten Commandments,
02:34but he specifically said the central part of worship
02:36will be the menorah,
02:38the Table of the Divine Presence,
02:39and the Trumpets of Truth.
02:40But weren't these items destroyed?
02:43Absolutely.
02:43They have a very sad tell.
02:46In 587 B.C.,
02:48the Babylonians invade Jerusalem.
02:52Thousands of Jews are killed or taken captive.
02:57Solomon's Temple and its treasures are destroyed.
03:02Then when the Jews come back from captivity in Babylon,
03:05they're made again,
03:06and it's those antiques that we find
03:08in the second Temple of Herod.
03:10So they actually remake these three holy relics
03:13and put them in the second Temple.
03:15Absolutely.
03:16The fate of these divine relics
03:19may be the greatest biblical mystery of all time.
03:23But with Sean's help, I'm taking it on.
03:26To begin our quest,
03:28we head toward the original home of God's gold.
03:33Welcome to the Wailing Wall.
03:37Now, don't most people believe
03:39that this is the last standing remains
03:41of the second Temple?
03:42Yes.
03:43This is the outside revetment wall,
03:45not the Temple itself.
03:46To Judaism,
03:47it's the most revered piece of real estate in the world,
03:51the center of the universe.
03:52In the first century A.D.,
03:55the second Temple is the crown jewel of Judaism.
03:59Inside its golden walls,
04:01its coffers overflow with riches,
04:04tithes and offerings from the Jewish people.
04:07But the most valuable treasures of all
04:09are the three sacred objects,
04:13tangible proof of the bond
04:15between the Jewish people and their God.
04:20But what happened to them?
04:22And even more important,
04:23what makes Sean think he can find them today?
04:26Now, before we go off chasing this treasure,
04:29I have to ask you,
04:30is there a curse attached to this?
04:32Because I know that all the leaders that had it
04:33found problems later on.
04:35Well, I don't know yet
04:36whether we can call it a curse.
04:38Treasure is trouble.
04:38So, uh,
04:40it could be a bumpy road then.
04:41It could be nasty.
04:43Sean and I head north to Beit Sherem,
04:45one of the world's most ancient Jewish cemeteries.
04:49The catacombs are one of the best preserved examples
04:52of early Jewish culture.
04:54Sean says that inside the tombs,
04:56we'll get a better sense of the Temple treasure
05:00and clues about its fate.
05:07So this is it.
05:08It looks Roman.
05:09Yeah, Beit Sherem,
05:10the, uh, Jewish city of the dead.
05:12You see the Roman columns up there?
05:13The facades are like triumphal arches.
05:15Ah, this is really cool.
05:17Feel it getting cold and icy?
05:18Ah, I can feel the cool air coming out.
05:20That's ghouls and spirits.
05:21So that would be the curse, huh?
05:23Well, you may laugh,
05:24but actually when they excavated this site,
05:26they found a sarcophagus
05:27and inscribed on it, it said,
05:29he who opens this lid
05:31will die an evil death.
05:33After you.
05:34Let's go meet the ancestors.
05:41Wow.
05:41Well, and it's been like this
05:43for thousands of years?
05:44Two thousand years.
05:45And so when was this discovered?
05:47It was actually found in the 1930s
05:50and excavated quite intensively then.
05:54This is the main Jewish burial place
05:56in the ancient Galilee.
05:57That's amazing.
05:59Back here on the walls,
06:00we have kind of carve-outs.
06:03And then out in the open area,
06:04we have the sarcophagot.
06:06Why is that?
06:07Well, these were intended
06:07to be the main burial places,
06:09but they ran out of rooms,
06:09so they just had to stack them
06:11wherever they could.
06:12Generations and generations of families.
06:14Yeah, he's gone.
06:16Yeah, over here,
06:16there's something
06:17that's a little bit more elaborate.
06:19Sean and I get prepped
06:20to explore deep into the catacombs.
06:25This looks like
06:25an undisturbed tomb here.
06:27Yeah, this is really wild.
06:30I'll tell you,
06:30this stuff is not the easiest
06:32to walk on here.
06:33Mind your footing,
06:34this is all completely hazardous.
06:36Yeah.
06:37Oh.
06:38Everything here
06:38is totally unstable.
06:41Thanks, Joe.
06:44This whole area
06:45seems to be coming down.
06:49Whoa.
06:51A secret chamber.
06:52Okay, you're gonna have
06:53to make like a snake here.
06:56Yeah.
06:58Opens up into
06:59a whole other cavern in here, huh?
07:01So where are we?
07:03Well, this is another,
07:04another tomb for VIPs.
07:06You get your flashlight out,
07:08you'll see why we're here.
07:10A piece of art.
07:12All right.
07:12I want to show you.
07:14Oh, whoa.
07:15Look at that.
07:16Recognize that?
07:17I sure do.
07:21That's,
07:21that's over six feet tall.
07:23I mean, just,
07:23just thereabout.
07:24It's an authentic replica
07:25of the, uh,
07:27original gold cantalabra.
07:28This is God's gold.
07:29So this is one
07:30of the three holy relics.
07:32Yeah, the central icons
07:33along with the table
07:33of the divine presence
07:34and the silver trump is the truth.
07:35What does the menorah itself
07:37symbolize to people
07:38of the Jewish faith?
07:39The whole lamp
07:40represents the light
07:41of Judaism.
07:42As long as they lit
07:43the menorah,
07:44he would shine down light
07:46on the entire fields
07:48and spiritual life
07:49of Judaism.
07:51Sean says,
07:52this image gives us
07:53a good representation
07:54of the gold menorah
07:55that disappeared
07:56from the second temple.
07:58But there are some
07:59even more revealing clues
08:01down here
08:01to help us follow
08:02its trail.
08:06Here she is.
08:06This is the coffin
08:07I wanted to show you.
08:08Uh, this is,
08:09this is cool in here.
08:11This is an eagle
08:11right here, isn't it?
08:12Yeah.
08:13Isn't that a symbol
08:14of the Roman Empire?
08:15It is indeed.
08:16You see above it
08:17there's an ox.
08:19On this side
08:20we've got a couple
08:20of lions.
08:21You can see their tails
08:22and manes.
08:22The thing I find strange
08:23is seeing all
08:24of these pagan images
08:25on a traditional
08:26Jewish burial site.
08:27Yeah, you're
08:27absolutely right.
08:28Go back to the book
08:29of Deuteronomy.
08:30It says that
08:31thou shall not make
08:32graven images.
08:33And if you do
08:33I, God,
08:34will pursue you
08:35and your children
08:36down to the fourth generation
08:37because I'm a vengeful God.
08:39Differences by the
08:40first century AD
08:40Judea is now
08:42a full Roman province.
08:43Rome had swept
08:44across the Mediterranean
08:45like a plague of locusts.
08:47And this was an occupation
08:48now within Israel.
08:49And they'd imposed
08:50Roman culture
08:51on the Jews.
08:52So you find eagles
08:53in the temple
08:54of Jerusalem itself.
08:55And as we can see here
08:56they're embraced
08:57wholeheartedly
08:58in a Jewish religion
09:00and death.
09:01But what about
09:02Roman tells me
09:02that these pagan symbols
09:04used freely by the Jews
09:05during the Roman occupation
09:06will surface again
09:07as key evidence
09:09later in our treasure hunt.
09:12In the meantime
09:13he has something else
09:15he wants to show me.
09:17So we head over
09:18to the other side
09:18of the cemetery.
09:23Stone door.
09:24Look at that.
09:25Do you want to do the honors?
09:26Sure.
09:27Allow me.
09:29Put some muscle
09:30into it, Hunter.
09:31Yeah, look at this stone door.
09:32We've gotten special access
09:34to enter this
09:35ancient Jewish tomb.
09:36Follow me.
09:38Normally off limits
09:39to visitors.
09:44This is pretty much
09:46the most unusual
09:47piece of artwork
09:49from the ancient Jewish world
09:50which I wanted to show you.
09:50So it looks like
09:51we have someone
09:52either balancing
09:54or carrying a menorah
09:55on his head.
09:56You see his particular
09:57his belt here
09:58and his dress.
09:59This is the clothing
10:01of the Roman army.
10:02Why would a soldier
10:03be carrying a menorah?
10:04Well in a sense
10:05he had divided interests.
10:06Judea was divided
10:07and he was very happy
10:08to make his pay
10:09and keep his family
10:10by getting a salary
10:11from the Roman army.
10:12But on the other hand
10:14he still had his faith
10:15and he was still allowed
10:15to worship Judaism.
10:16So you have this merging
10:18of faith and culture
10:19but in fact
10:20the Romans are in control.
10:21Yeah the tension
10:22is starting to mount
10:23in this period.
10:24You've got people
10:24like our soldier here
10:26who's buying into
10:27the fruits of globalization
10:29but there are other
10:29right wing fanatical Jews
10:31who are starting
10:32to shake their sabers.
10:33They're not so happy
10:33about what's going on
10:34and they're going to fight it.
10:36The Jews always lived
10:38uneasily under Roman dominion
10:40but in 66 AD
10:42their festering resentment
10:44burst out
10:45into full-blown rebellion
10:48and God's goal
10:50is at the center
10:52of the conflict.
10:57I'm tracking one
10:59of the Bible's
10:59greatest mysteries
11:00what happened
11:02to three of the most
11:03sacred objects
11:04in antiquity
11:05the gold menorah
11:06the table
11:08of the divine presence
11:09and the silver trumpets
11:11of truth.
11:13In the first century AD
11:15these are the greatest
11:17treasures in Jerusalem's
11:18Jewish temple
11:20but in the year 66
11:21the occupying Romans
11:23begin stealing ties
11:25from the temple.
11:28Friction between the Jews
11:29and Romans
11:30erupts into conflict.
11:33It is the beginning
11:34of a bloody war
11:35known as the
11:36Great Jewish Revolt.
11:39Much of what we know
11:41about this war
11:41comes from a Jewish leader
11:43named Josephus.
11:45He began his career
11:46as a priest
11:47so he knows the power
11:49of the sacred objects.
11:52Sean has relied
11:53on his writings
11:54in following
11:55the trail of the treasures.
11:58So I'm meeting
12:00Dr. Allison Schofield
12:01at the Israel Museum
12:02to find out
12:03if the archaeological record
12:05supports Josephus' account.
12:07So I have some really
12:08interesting things
12:08to show you.
12:09Oh wow, yeah.
12:10We have a number
12:11of coins
12:12from the first revolt period.
12:13I guess I should put
12:14these on, huh?
12:14Uh-huh.
12:16These are some
12:16incredible coins.
12:17Now explain to me
12:18what we have here.
12:20Here we actually
12:20have tangible evidence
12:22of the first revolt
12:23of the Jews.
12:24So they were minted
12:25from the very first year
12:26of the revolt
12:26in 66 AD.
12:28Now do we see
12:28any symbols
12:29from the holy temple
12:30in any of these coins?
12:31In fact we do.
12:31They use those symbols
12:32quite frequently.
12:33Well here's one
12:34of the more important ones.
12:36This is one
12:36of the earliest
12:37depictions of the menorah.
12:38This was prior
12:39to the revolts
12:40but you can see
12:41on there
12:42that already
12:43they're using
12:43the menorah
12:44as a very significant symbol.
12:45Oh yeah.
12:46It's amazing
12:47that this small token
12:48in my hand
12:49marks the birth
12:50of the menorah
12:50as one of the best
12:52recognized symbols
12:53of Judaism.
12:54Here we see a coin.
12:56You can see on there
12:57two silver trumpets.
12:59Yeah, the silver
13:00trumpets of truth.
13:00Right.
13:01So we see an image
13:02of what they may have
13:03looked like in the temple.
13:04How about this one
13:05right here?
13:06This particular symbol
13:07is actually the chalice.
13:09Probably one that was used
13:10in the temple
13:11not your daily cup
13:12but um
13:13Allison tells me
13:15this chalice used to sit
13:16on the table
13:17of the divine presence
13:17in the temple.
13:20Now we have references
13:21to all three
13:22of the sacred objects
13:23on coins.
13:25It looks like
13:26they're taking on
13:27a new dimension.
13:29From religious icons
13:30to symbols
13:31of national pride
13:32at a time
13:33when the Jews
13:34need them the most.
13:36Now what does
13:37this inscription here say?
13:39Right here we have
13:40an inscription that says
13:41Shekel of Israel.
13:42And how about
13:43on this side?
13:43On this side
13:44it actually says
13:45Holy Jerusalem.
13:46Yerushalayim Kedosha
13:47which is part
13:48of their rebellion.
13:50They're using
13:50these phrases
13:51to inspire the people
13:53around Jerusalem.
13:54It seems like
13:54it would be
13:55a very dangerous thing
13:56to do in a Roman
13:56occupied territory.
13:58Right.
13:58It was a very bold move
13:59a very in-your-face move
14:01to the Romans
14:01to say now
14:02we're minting
14:03our own currency.
14:04So the strength
14:05of this message
14:05seems to mean
14:07that they were very
14:07confident in what
14:08they were doing.
14:09They were very optimistic
14:10that they would win.
14:11They were defending
14:12their temple.
14:13They were defending
14:13their nation.
14:14God was on their side.
14:18As symbols
14:19of Jewish nationalism
14:21the sacred treasures
14:22have become
14:22targets of Roman aggression.
14:28In 66 AD
14:29the Jewish revolt
14:30is underway.
14:31Now I want to see
14:32the front lines
14:33where the Roman
14:34Emperor Nero
14:34sent his generals
14:35to crush the rebellion.
14:37It's time to jump
14:38in the jeep
14:38pick up Sean
14:39and head out
14:40to the battlefield.
14:43Sean and I drive
14:44north to the ancient
14:45fortress city
14:46of Jodopana.
14:48This was the site
14:49of one of the
14:50first major battles
14:51between the Jews
14:52and the Romans.
14:54And Sean says
14:55the evidence
14:55is all around us.
15:00Wouldn't be easy
15:01to charge up this hill.
15:03Look at this though.
15:05Great vantage point
15:06from up here.
15:07Yeah.
15:07Natural hill force
15:08defended on three sides
15:10but something up here
15:11I want to show you.
15:12Sean takes me
15:12up to the very top.
15:14He says it was here
15:16that the Jewish
15:16General Josephus
15:18marshaled his forces.
15:207,000 Jews
15:21facing a Roman army
15:22of 60,000.
15:26These are the
15:26fortifications
15:27that we know
15:28that Josephus
15:29very hastily set up
15:31when he knew
15:31the Romans
15:31were coming
15:32to attack the Galilee.
15:33So this was
15:34sort of a barrier
15:34to protect
15:35all the Jews
15:36who were behind here.
15:37That's right, yeah.
15:38Now where were the Romans?
15:39The Romans parked themselves
15:40up on this mountainside.
15:42Right over there.
15:43Yeah, 60,000 troops
15:44scattered around
15:45and at the head
15:46of this
15:46was commander
15:47Vespasian himself
15:48who would later
15:49become the emperor
15:49of Rome.
15:50They chopped down
15:51all the trees
15:52on the mountainside
15:53and they slowly
15:54make a ramp
15:55to fill in
15:56the valley here
15:57and bring 160
15:58siege machines
15:59right up
16:00to the top
16:01of the mountain.
16:01So a ballista
16:02basically.
16:03Yeah, this is right.
16:04The ballista
16:05was a stone ball
16:06that was fired
16:06by a catapult.
16:07Like, something like
16:11something like this.
16:13Probably twice the size
16:14and completely round.
16:15This could definitely
16:16do some damage.
16:17So right through here
16:19is where this wall
16:19was breached
16:20and 60,000 Romans
16:21come pouring in.
16:23The battle
16:24becomes the first
16:25major defeat
16:26of the Jewish revolt.
16:29The ensuing massacre
16:30is recorded
16:31by the Jewish
16:32commanding officer
16:33Josephus.
16:34But how did he
16:36avoid the fate
16:37of his fellow Jews?
16:39There's a really
16:39curious twist
16:40to this tale.
16:41For that,
16:41we're going to have
16:41to burrow our way
16:42into the middle
16:43of this mountain.
16:44All right.
16:46Sean and I hiked
16:47to the mountain's
16:48other side.
16:49Past massive cisterns
16:51where the Jews
16:51stored water
16:52during the revolt.
16:59Whoa, what have we got here?
17:00We're on the side
17:01of a Jotapata hill
17:02and you're actually
17:03inside a 2,000-year-old
17:05Roman house.
17:06But I want to take you
17:07under the house
17:08into his basement
17:08to show you
17:09something rather special.
17:10This is a house?
17:10Yeah.
17:14Oh, my God.
17:16See you in a minute.
17:20Whoa.
17:22This is wild.
17:23This is all
17:24quarried by hand.
17:27Man's not supposed
17:28to be here.
17:28It wasn't supposed
17:29to be seen.
17:30This is a secret hideout.
17:31This is?
17:32Yeah.
17:32We need to get down.
17:33All right.
17:34We're not at our
17:34destination yet.
17:35Man.
17:37I can only imagine
17:38who hid out here.
17:39It's a grisly story,
17:40believe me.
17:45Welcome to the underworld.
17:47It's the 23rd of July,
17:4967 A.D.
17:50Jotapata has fallen.
17:52The Romans are above our head,
17:53scouring the entire town
17:55for Josephus.
17:56By some supernatural trick,
17:58he's disappeared
17:59in a puff of smoke.
18:00And so this was
18:00his puff of smoke, huh?
18:02This is where
18:02the genie ended up, yeah.
18:04He was sitting here
18:04with 40 other VIPs.
18:06And the last thing
18:07they're going to do
18:07is give themselves up
18:08without a fight
18:09to the Roman troops.
18:11So what happens?
18:12Because eventually
18:12your time's going to run out.
18:14Absolutely.
18:14And they get in a huddle
18:15and they discuss it.
18:17And they decide
18:18that there's no way
18:19they want to go over to Rome.
18:22And I'm going to show you
18:23how this tragedy unfolds.
18:24Okay.
18:26Pull the straw.
18:30Here.
18:31You get the long straw,
18:33take the knife.
18:34The way this story unfolds,
18:36you're going to have to kill me.
18:38Seriously.
18:3940 guys sat down here
18:40and drew straws
18:42to see who would kill the other.
18:47They hated the enemy
18:48with so much passion.
18:50They'd rather give up,
18:51they would commit mass suicide
18:52until there's only Josephus
18:54and his friend.
19:01In the end,
19:02Josephus decides,
19:03what is the point
19:04in killing myself?
19:05Well, I mean,
19:05that seems pretty convenient.
19:07Everybody else
19:07is dead at this point
19:09and then all of a sudden
19:10he seems to take
19:12the easy road out.
19:13This is what it seems.
19:16The two men surrender,
19:18leaving their fate
19:19in the hands of the Romans.
19:21So what happens to Josephus?
19:24Well, this fascinating character
19:26who's already had one life
19:27as a priest,
19:28another as a soldier,
19:30reinvents himself yet again,
19:32but this time
19:33as a spy for Rome.
19:36Josephus has saved his own life.
19:39But now God's gold
19:40is in the greatest jeopardy
19:42since the time
19:42of the Babylonians.
19:45By gaining Josephus,
19:46Rome has not only won
19:48a Jewish general,
19:49but also a former priest
19:51who knows the secrets
19:53of the temple.
19:59In 66 AD,
20:02the most sacred relics
20:03of Judaism
20:04are in jeopardy.
20:06The great Jewish revolt
20:07against the Romans
20:08is raging.
20:10In battle after battle,
20:12the Romans,
20:13led by General Vespasian,
20:15slaughtered Jewish forces,
20:17slowly smothering
20:19the great rebellion.
20:21Vespasian,
20:23bolstered by his victories
20:24over the Jews,
20:25returns in triumph to Rome
20:26to take his place
20:28as the new emperor.
20:31He leaves his son Titus
20:32the task of crushing Jerusalem.
20:37Dr. Allison Schofield
20:39and I have climbed
20:40to the top of a tower
20:41overlooking Old Jerusalem
20:44to get a better idea
20:45of what happened
20:46when the Jews
20:47made their final stand.
20:50So where would
20:51the second temple
20:52have stood?
20:52The second temple
20:54would have been
20:54on that temple mount
20:56just to the left
20:57of the Dome of the Rock.
20:58So just over there.
20:59There's a little plaza area.
21:01This area was relatively
21:02easy to defend,
21:03so it was the last holdout
21:05in Jerusalem
21:06of the rebels.
21:08Allison explains
21:09that three walls of defense
21:10stand between the Romans
21:12and the Jews.
21:13The Romans breach
21:14the two outer walls
21:15and begin building another wall
21:17around the inner city,
21:19trapping up to a million men,
21:21women, and children.
21:24After two years
21:25inside the barricaded city,
21:27the Jews run out of food
21:28and supplies.
21:31Jerusalem is desperate.
21:34Josephus writes
21:34that when the Romans
21:35finally enter the city,
21:37they massacre everyone
21:39in sight.
21:41Then they torch the city
21:43and make their way
21:44to the temple.
21:46What happens
21:47when the Romans
21:48finally make it
21:49to the second temple?
21:50According to Josephus,
21:52Titus didn't want
21:53to burn the temple
21:54because in antiquity
21:55there were rules of warfare.
21:57One of those rules was
21:58that you do not destroy
21:59the sacred temple
22:00of the people.
22:01The Jews were actually
22:02fighting from the temple mount.
22:04So was it a sacred space
22:05or was it fortress?
22:08For the Roman soldiers,
22:10there's no question.
22:11They remove the treasure
22:13and sacred artifacts
22:14from the temple
22:17and burn it to the ground.
22:20But the big question is,
22:22in all this chaos,
22:23were the holy relics destroyed?
22:27And what would Titus
22:28have to gain
22:29by keeping these
22:30three relics intact?
22:31The Romans,
22:32when they conquered
22:33a certain people,
22:34they would take
22:35the image of that god
22:36and they would take it
22:38and put it into their pantheon,
22:39which was a symbol
22:40that they had defeated
22:41those peoples.
22:43So what happened is,
22:44with the Jewish god,
22:45it was an invisible god.
22:46There was no representation.
22:48Therefore, you had to take
22:49these symbolic objects
22:51to represent the fact
22:52that you had conquered
22:53these people.
22:54So his motivation
22:56would be to return to Rome
22:58with these three relics
22:59so he could be elevated
23:01to Supreme Emperor?
23:02Exactly.
23:03Most experts agree
23:04the three holy relics
23:06made it safely
23:06out of Jerusalem,
23:09along with a fortune
23:10in offerings
23:11from the temple.
23:13And the same fire
23:14that destroyed the temple
23:15may have created
23:17another treasure,
23:18the molten gold
23:20from the temple walls.
23:23Legend has it
23:24that in 70 AD
23:25when the Roman army
23:26burned Jerusalem's
23:27second temple,
23:28its gilded walls
23:29melted and flooded
23:30the city streets
23:31in gold.
23:32That's true.
23:33There's no way
23:33the Romans would have
23:34left all that behind.
23:35So what does it take
23:37to turn a river of gold
23:38into a treasure
23:39that can be taken
23:39back to Rome?
23:41I thought I'd have
23:41a little fun
23:42and find out.
23:44I've come to a small
23:45factory to try my hand
23:47at refining gold.
23:49It's a high-security
23:50business, so the
23:51refinery's location
23:52is top secret.
23:55We can't show
23:56any employee faces,
23:58and although the owner
23:59of the factory
23:59has agreed to go
24:00on camera,
24:01we can't mention
24:02his name.
24:03So how long
24:04have you been in business?
24:0530 years already.
24:0730 years of melting gold,
24:09huh?
24:09Melting and refining.
24:11Wow.
24:13Look at that.
24:14That is beautiful.
24:16Now, how much gold
24:18is here?
24:18What's the weight
24:19of this?
24:19It's not pure gold
24:20already.
24:21It's mixed
24:22with other metals,
24:23like copper, silver,
24:25and other stuff.
24:27And pure gold,
24:28there is about 12 kilos,
24:30which is 24 pounds.
24:32Okay, about 24 pounds
24:33of pure gold.
24:34Pure gold.
24:35And what would be
24:36the value of that?
24:37The value of it,
24:38it would be about
24:39$200,000.
24:40You're kidding.
24:41There's $200,000
24:42worth of gold right here?
24:43Yes.
24:44I think I might have
24:45to just wheel,
24:46no.
24:46Okay, you can try.
24:48Somebody will catch you.
24:49I'm sure they will,
24:50and I'm sure more than one.
24:51How do we start
24:52this process?
24:53First of all,
24:54take the gloves,
24:55put them on.
24:56This is exciting.
24:58Never been able
24:59to melt $200,000
25:00worth of gold before.
25:02Yeah, okay.
25:02So did I just put it in?
25:03I begin by packing
25:05the gold bars
25:05into a small furnace.
25:08One of the reasons
25:09pure gold
25:10is so valuable
25:10is that it doesn't
25:12corrode or tarnish
25:13over time,
25:14so it's easy
25:15to reuse.
25:17For thousands
25:18of years,
25:19people have recycled
25:20gold by heating it
25:21to separate out
25:23impurities.
25:27It takes 20 minutes
25:28for the metal bars
25:29to become liquid.
25:33Gold melts
25:33at about 2,000 degrees
25:35Fahrenheit.
25:37That's how hot
25:38the temple fire
25:38needed to be
25:40to turn its
25:41plated walls
25:42into a river of gold.
25:46So what's next
25:47in this process?
25:48Now we have to go
25:49to the mall,
25:50but first you have
25:50to wear all this
25:51equipment for your
25:52safety.
25:53Okay.
25:53It could be a messy
25:54job then?
25:54Yeah, it is.
25:55I'm thinking I wouldn't
25:56mind a little gold
25:57splattered on me.
25:58Yeah.
25:58The question is,
25:59in which temperature?
26:02That's a very good point.
26:03Off to the furnace room?
26:05Let's go.
26:10Woo, it's hot here.
26:13Now that's a fire.
26:14The ancient Romans
26:15had different tools,
26:17but they would have
26:18used this same method
26:19to turn a river
26:20of Jewish gold
26:21into Roman wealth.
26:24And the crazy thing
26:25is, you can see
26:26little gold droplets
26:28flying out of the bin.
26:29That's probably like
26:30a hundred bucks a shot.
26:31The black stuff
26:33bubbling on top
26:34is all the non-metal
26:35waste, called slag.
26:38That's $200,000
26:40of liquid gold.
26:43Once the slag is removed,
26:45we melt down
26:46the remaining metal again.
26:49So now the bars
26:50that we melted down
26:51earlier have been refined
26:53and we're pouring
26:54the pure gold
26:55into casts slowly, right?
26:57Fima, Fima!
26:58Woo, there goes
26:59$1,000 on the floor.
27:02This furnace is heated
27:03to 2,200 degrees.
27:06Stand near it
27:07and you're going
27:07to get hot.
27:10This is definitely
27:12a job worth getting
27:13sweaty for.
27:17So now we'll let this cool
27:19and then they'll take it
27:21out of the bowl,
27:22reheat it,
27:23and then recast it again
27:24so that it becomes
27:25pure gold.
27:35The 24-karat gold
27:37is turned into
27:38a fine brown powder
27:39that is melted down
27:40one last time.
27:43Finally,
27:44the glowing liquid metal
27:45is poured into water
27:47where it cools
27:48to form tiny gold pebbles.
27:51And at the end
27:52of this process
27:52that's been used
27:53for thousands of years,
27:55this is the final product.
27:58Over 20 pounds
27:59of pure gold
28:00that's worth $200,000.
28:03And if the Romans
28:04had stumbled upon
28:04God's gold,
28:05they could have used
28:06this very same process
28:07to turn the gold
28:09into anything they want.
28:13But the Romans
28:14have much more
28:15than 20 pounds
28:16of gold on their hands.
28:18They have thousands
28:19of pounds.
28:20And somehow,
28:21they have to get that
28:22and the holy relics
28:24safely back to Rome.
28:31Nearly 2,000 years ago,
28:33the Roman army
28:34stole three holy relics
28:36and a fortune in gold
28:38and silver
28:38from Jerusalem's
28:39second temple.
28:41Then they burned
28:42the temple to the ground.
28:44With the temple treasure
28:46in hand,
28:47the Roman army
28:47must have journeyed west
28:49towards the Mediterranean.
28:52Israel's coastline
28:53is straight
28:53with few natural ports.
28:562,000 years ago,
28:58there was only one place
29:00where a treasure
29:01the size of God's gold
29:02could have departed,
29:04the man-made port of Caesarea.
29:07It was from this 2,000-year-old port
29:09that the Roman general Titus
29:11launched his final attack
29:12on Jerusalem
29:13to crush the rebellion.
29:14And according to Sean Kingsley,
29:16Titus returned here
29:17with the treasures
29:18from the second temple.
29:21Caesarea was created
29:22by Herod,
29:23a Jewish king
29:24who served the Romans.
29:26He built this port
29:27in honor of the empire
29:29and its magnificence
29:30rivaled anything
29:31in the Roman world.
29:35It was the very first
29:36artificial harbor
29:37and the center
29:38of Roman power
29:39during the occupation.
29:42Herod even built
29:43a pagan temple
29:44dedicated to the emperor.
29:50It's a pretty big site
29:51right here.
29:52What was this?
29:53The Temple
29:53of Roman Augustus.
29:55You've got a church here
29:56that was put over the temple
29:58and you've got
29:58early Islamic shops
29:59and houses.
30:00It's a real maze
30:01of archaeology.
30:02There's a lot of pottery here.
30:03Like, what is that?
30:03Yeah, well, that's actually
30:05basically the same period
30:06as the church here.
30:07Would have held wine
30:08from Cyprus.
30:09It's a great thing
30:09about hanging out
30:10with archaeologists.
30:11I can always ask you
30:11lots of questions.
30:14Exploring ancient ruins
30:16is second nature
30:16for Sean.
30:18He earned his Ph.D.
30:19in archaeology
30:20at Oxford
30:20and for 19 years
30:22he's worked on digs
30:24all over the world.
30:25Including many in Israel.
30:27This is the Roman temple's
30:29holy of holies,
30:29the cellar.
30:30Should we get down there
30:31and see how it feels?
30:32Let's head on down.
30:38Looks like we have
30:39lots of pottery down here,
30:41all different levels.
30:43Yeah, you can see here
30:44the top part of the temple
30:45where they made the sacrifices
30:46and the offerings.
30:47Right where you're standing
30:49is bedrock.
30:50This is where the spirit
30:51of the Roman god lived.
30:53So you think
30:54the Romans removed
30:56the three holy relics
30:57from the second temple
30:58only to move them here
30:59to this temple?
31:01Yeah, I'm convinced
31:01that Titus marched up
31:02to the Acropolis
31:03and deposited right here
31:05the table of the divine presence,
31:07the golden menorah,
31:08and the silver trumpets of truth.
31:09Now they're being watched over
31:11by a pagan god,
31:12not a Jewish god.
31:13If the holy relics
31:14were kept here
31:15at the heart
31:16of this Roman temple,
31:18where was the rest
31:19of the treasure?
31:21To find out,
31:23we'll have to get suited up
31:24for a dive.
31:25All right,
31:26got my comms all set up,
31:28ready to go.
31:30Yeah, I think we're going
31:30to need these comms
31:31in these big waves.
31:32It's a bit wild out there.
31:34Sean says that
31:35when Titus arrived in Caesarea
31:36with God's gold,
31:37it was too late in the year
31:39for ships to leave the port.
31:42The water is too rough
31:43to sail long distances
31:44in the winter,
31:45so Titus likely stored
31:47the treasure
31:47along the harbor itself.
31:50Looks like the curse
31:51of the treasure is upon us, huh?
31:52Well, you asked
31:52about the curse in Jerusalem,
31:54and right here
31:55is where it first starts.
31:56Within 30 years
31:57of God's gold being here,
31:59this poor Herod's dream
32:01just falls 30 feet
32:02under the waves.
32:03Anyway, I'm excited
32:04to show you
32:04the breakwater
32:05and the warehouses
32:06where all the gold was kept.
32:08It took Herod 12 years
32:10to construct
32:11this magnificent harbor,
32:13but his dream
32:14soon became his folly.
32:17Herod's engineering marvel
32:18was built
32:19near two fault lines.
32:21The port was doomed
32:23from the beginning,
32:25so now our evidence
32:27is underwater.
32:29Sean and I head out
32:30to search the ancient site.
32:52We swim over to a spot
32:54littered with anchors
32:55from ancient shipwrecks.
32:57Look at this.
32:59It's an ancient anchor.
33:00A parent built this place
33:02in 9 BC,
33:04but within 30 years,
33:08the curse
33:08of the treasure
33:09had struck.
33:11Breakwaters
33:12were tidied
33:12by some 26 feet.
33:15And right here,
33:16you can see the anchors
33:18from the ancient ships
33:20which have crashed
33:21onto the top
33:22of the breakwaters.
33:23Sean explains
33:24that when the breakwater
33:25slipped beneath the waves,
33:27boats coming into port
33:28couldn't see
33:29the dangerous rubble.
33:32Ship after ship
33:33crashed into the
33:34submerged concrete
33:35and sank.
33:39Oh, this is why
33:40they called it
33:41Ferris Wally, huh?
33:44Absolutely.
33:45This ship hit the sea band
33:47with high amounts of velocity
33:48and the anchor
33:49bent in half.
33:51Sean's specialty
33:52is marine archaeology.
33:54He's spent much
33:55of his career
33:56exploring underwater sites
33:58like this one.
34:00Okay, now that we've seen
34:01evidence of shipwrecked
34:03trying to head up
34:04to another part
34:04of the tangent harbor
34:05and see what it looks
34:07like.
34:11Not far from
34:12the shipwrecked anchors,
34:13we discover
34:14a giant cement block.
34:16Come here, let's go.
34:21Sean explains
34:22that this was one
34:23of the foundations
34:24of Harrods Port.
34:26The concrete
34:28block side right here
34:29is absolutely incredible.
34:32This is a megaforce.
34:34It's an absolute monster.
34:38Well, here's the
34:39side of the harbor.
34:40It was absolutely enormous.
34:43I mean, they're on the
34:44southern bridge
34:45on the road,
34:46which is 1,640 feet
34:49of size
34:49and 2,340 feet high.
34:55Harrods Port was built
34:56using hydraulic concrete,
34:58a Roman invention
34:59that can harden in water.
35:01It's made of volcanic ash,
35:03and it took 13,000 tons of ash
35:06shipped from Italy
35:07to build the port.
35:09Storage warehouses
35:10once lined the harbor wall,
35:12and Sean believes
35:14that Temple Gold
35:15was kept inside.
35:17These are the foundations
35:19of the Keys,
35:21and these certain warehouses
35:23like John's gold.
35:25It's hard to believe
35:28that we're looking
35:29through an ancient Roman harbor
35:31for God's gold.
35:35Now it's time
35:36to head back to the cup side
35:37and pick up the trail
35:39once again.
35:40After a winter
35:41and cold storage
35:42at Caesarea,
35:44God's gold is finally
35:45on its way to Rome.
35:47When it arrives,
35:48it will change the face
35:49of the eternal city
35:50forever.
35:55I'm on a treasure hunt
35:56to find out
35:57what happened
35:58to three of the most
35:59significant biblical artifacts
36:00in history.
36:02In the first century A.D.,
36:04the menorah,
36:05the table of the divine presence,
36:07and the silver trumpets
36:08of truth were taken
36:10from the second temple
36:11of Jerusalem.
36:14Along with these divine relics,
36:16the Roman army also stole
36:18tons of Jewish gold and silver.
36:21So far,
36:23I've tracked the treasure
36:24from Jerusalem
36:24to the port of Caesarea,
36:26and finally to Rome.
36:29The table,
36:31trumpets,
36:32and menorah
36:33that once brought
36:34the power of heaven
36:35to the Israelites
36:36now gives Vespasian
36:37and his heirs
36:38the power to rule an empire.
36:42Josephus writes
36:43that when the temple treasure
36:44arrives in Rome,
36:45it's paraded through the streets
36:47to celebrate the victory.
36:50But what proof do we have
36:52that the three holy artifacts
36:53were part of that parade?
36:55And if they did arrive in Rome,
36:58how do we know
36:59they weren't destroyed
37:00as a symbolic gesture
37:01of victory,
37:02or at least melted down
37:04for their gold?
37:06Sean has an answer
37:07for that too,
37:08and we find it
37:09in the Roman Forum
37:10at the Arch of Titus.
37:12So this is where
37:13there would have been
37:13a huge procession
37:14right here, huh?
37:14You're walking
37:15on the exact cobblestones
37:16where the triumph
37:17of 71 AD passed.
37:18So this is the Arch of Titus,
37:20huh?
37:20Yeah, this is the ultimate
37:21piece of Flavian spin
37:23and propaganda.
37:24What's the significance
37:25of this monument?
37:26And this actually
37:26is certain evidence
37:28the temple treasure
37:29of Jerusalem
37:29made it here to Rome.
37:31You can see
37:31he's even built
37:32his own triumph in it.
37:33So we basically
37:35have a graphical depiction
37:37here
37:37of the three
37:38holy relics.
37:40This is definitive
37:41evidence that
37:42Josephus was right
37:43and God's gold
37:43came to Rome.
37:44And from left to right
37:45here we have
37:46the candelarum,
37:47the gold candelarum
37:48being carried
37:49on the shoulders
37:50of Roman soldiers.
37:51And on the other side
37:52you can see
37:53the table of the
37:53divine presence
37:54with the two silver
37:55trumpets of truth
37:56strapped to the top
37:57of it.
37:58But I can't help
37:59wondering,
37:59since the holy artifacts
38:01were icons
38:02of the Jewish faith,
38:03couldn't this just
38:04be a symbolic
38:05representation
38:05of Rome's victory
38:06over the Jews.
38:08They certainly look
38:09like the same items
38:10from here
38:11but it's hard
38:11to see any detail.
38:12Do we in fact
38:13know that these
38:13are the same three
38:14taken from Israel?
38:16Oh, you're right.
38:16These have really
38:17suffered from the
38:17ravages of time.
38:18Actually, I've got
38:19some close-up photographs
38:20that we'll be able
38:21to compare with material
38:21from Israel
38:22that will really
38:22prove the point.
38:23All right.
38:24Sean takes me
38:25to a spot near the arch
38:26to review evidence
38:27from our journey.
38:28Okay, here we go.
38:30Let's get up close
38:31and personal
38:31with the arch of Titus.
38:33So this is a detailed
38:33picture of that relief
38:34right up there, huh?
38:35Yep, this is a close
38:36detail of the relief
38:38on the arch of Titus.
38:39And everything's
38:40very clear here.
38:41You've got the Roman
38:41soldiers parading
38:42through.
38:43You've got the great
38:44gold candelabrum,
38:46the table with an
38:46incense bowl on top
38:48of it, the silver
38:49trumpets of truth.
38:50Do we know in fact
38:51that this is the
38:52exact same menorah?
38:54That's a fair question.
38:55But do you remember
38:56from the Jewish
38:56catacombs at Beit
38:58Cherim?
38:59Yep.
38:59And this is our old
39:00friend the soldier
39:01with a menorah
39:02on his head.
39:03It's absolutely
39:03identical with the
39:04menorah on the arch
39:05of Titus.
39:06Now how about
39:06the symbols down
39:07here in the base?
39:08Is that something
39:08that we would expect
39:09to see on this
39:10menorah?
39:10If you look in
39:11detail at a close
39:12up of the menorah
39:13itself, this is,
39:14you know, a
39:15potentially strange
39:15subject to have
39:16sea monsters and
39:18indeed other figures
39:19on the base of a
39:20Jewish menorah,
39:21a Jewish piece of
39:22art, because of
39:22course from the
39:23book of Deuteronomy
39:23God says thou
39:24shall not make
39:25pagan idols.
39:26Which those would
39:26be.
39:27Yep.
39:27So what does
39:28that mean then?
39:29Well it means
39:30that around 1200
39:31BC you weren't
39:32allowed to take
39:32pagan idols, but
39:33the Jews changed
39:34with their times.
39:35And if you
39:35remember from
39:35Batesharaim, we
39:36saw eagles on
39:38many of the
39:39sarcophaguses, and
39:40that is...
39:40Sean reminds me
39:42that when the
39:42temple menorah was
39:43recreated, pagan
39:45symbols were a
39:46common part of
39:46Jewish society and
39:47religion.
39:49That means the
39:50stone parade on
39:51the arch could well
39:52be a true depiction
39:53of the temple
39:53treasures.
39:55But if the holy
39:56artifacts were
39:57brought to Rome
39:58along with a
39:59fortune in Jewish
39:59treasures, where
40:01did it all go?
40:03To find our next
40:04clue, we visit the
40:05most famous ruin
40:07in all of Rome.
40:09The Colosseum.
40:10It's enormous.
40:11Can you just
40:12imagine 50,000
40:13Romans screaming
40:14at the top of
40:15their lungs, wild
40:16beasts on the
40:17floor?
40:17I can, yeah.
40:18The greatest
40:19theater of death
40:19that the ancient
40:20world ever saw.
40:21All right, so
40:21where's this clue
40:22you're telling me
40:22about?
40:22Oh, we've got to
40:23go upstairs, second
40:24floor.
40:24Similar way.
40:25Okay, let's go.
40:28We walk around
40:29the giant arena,
40:30the scene of
40:31thousands of
40:32deadly battles.
40:34It's easy to
40:35imagine the roar of
40:36the crowds as they
40:37cheer the carnage
40:38below.
40:40But what does this
40:41place have to do
40:42with the temple
40:42treasure?
40:44On the second
40:45floor, we find a
40:46new piece to the
40:47puzzle.
40:48Well, this is a
40:49definitive piece of
40:50evidence that God's
40:51gold made it here to
40:52Rome.
40:52I don't get it.
40:53I mean, how can
40:53this be?
40:54Because there's no
40:54plaque, there's
40:55nothing that signifies
40:56that this thing is
40:57anything special.
40:58I mean, it looks
40:59like a lump of
40:59stone, and indeed
41:00for hundreds of
41:01years it was just
41:01left outside to rot
41:02kicking around.
41:04But in reality, it
41:05was part of a
41:05doorway put above the
41:07Colosseum by Titus
41:08in AD 79, which
41:10tells an incredible
41:11story.
41:11So what's it say?
41:12Well, there's two
41:13things going on here.
41:14What you can see here,
41:15this Latin text, but
41:17you see underneath it,
41:18there are these
41:19enigmatic holes.
41:20If you join the dots
41:21here, you get a story.
41:23It's a game of
41:23connect the dots, huh?
41:24Connect the dots.
41:25Sean points out that
41:26the holes mark spots
41:28where bronze letters
41:29were once drilled
41:30into the architrave.
41:32The marks identify
41:33specific letters, and
41:35the patterns reveal
41:35words hidden in the
41:37stone.
41:38Scientists have now
41:39discerned the ghost
41:40message.
41:41It would have told us
41:43that the Imperator
41:44Titus Caesar Vespasianus
41:46Augustus, amphitheatrum
41:48novum, ex manubis
41:50fieri iuses, which...
41:52And that means?
41:53We need a translation
41:54on that, which tells
41:55that Titus, son of
41:56Vespasian, made this
41:59amphitheater, the
42:00Colosseum, ex manubis.
42:03And this is the
42:03crucial point, out of the
42:05spoils.
42:05So Titus made the
42:08amphitheater out of the
42:09spoils.
42:10How do we know that it
42:11specifically said this?
42:14Is it because we want it
42:15to say this, or is it
42:17because mathematically it's
42:19the highest probability
42:21of what it said?
42:22It's a mathematical
42:23slam dunk.
42:24This has been studied by
42:25computer generation, and
42:27there are no other
42:28permutations.
42:30This Colosseum right
42:31here was built basically
42:34at the expense of the
42:35600,000 to 1.1 million
42:37Jews.
42:38Yeah, the Colosseum
42:39was built from blood
42:40money.
42:40You want to know what
42:41happened to 50 tons of
42:42gold and silver?
42:43It got melted down.
42:44And the Romans needed
42:46every cent.
42:47Just two years before the
42:48Jewish revolt, a massive
42:50fire destroyed Rome,
42:52leaving the city in ashes.
42:54When Vespasian came to
42:55power five years later,
42:57Rome was in ruins.
42:59So with his newly
43:00acquired treasure and
43:01enslaved workforce of
43:02thousands, Vespasian went
43:05about rebuilding his
43:06capital, including the
43:08structure that would
43:09become his legacy, the
43:11Colosseum.
43:13The grandest, bloodiest
43:15amphitheater of all time
43:16was built using money
43:18stolen from the great
43:19Jewish temple.
43:22Vespasian and Titus had
43:23made their mark on history,
43:26and the fortune of the
43:27Jews was gone forever.
43:31Would they have used only the
43:34gold coins to melt down, or
43:35could they have also used the
43:36holy relics?
43:37I think this is the end of
43:39the road for one part of the
43:40treasure, but the actual main
43:42icons, that was a different
43:44story.
43:45We leave the Colosseum and
43:47walk through the streets of
43:48Rome in search of the holy
43:49relics' next home.
43:51Sean takes me to one of the
43:53highest points in the city for a
43:54bird's-eye view.
44:00Welcome to the Eternal City.
44:01Look at that.
44:02Best seat in the house, huh?
44:04Speaking of houses, there's a
44:05place where the Pope lives.
44:07It was the Vatican that first
44:09sparked Sean's interest in the
44:11temple treasure 15 years ago.
44:14He'd read in a newspaper that
44:16the Israeli government wanted the
44:18Vatican to return their holy
44:19relics from its vaults.
44:22Is it possible that the
44:24trumpets, table, and menorah are
44:26still here in Rome, hidden away
44:28after all these years?
44:31My journey to find God's gold
44:33isn't over yet.
44:35In part two of our story, I
44:37follow God's gold on its
44:39dangerous and bloody path through
44:40history, tracking the holy relics
44:43across the Mediterranean to some of
44:46the most exotic, remote, and
44:47dangerous places on the planet.
44:50And one of our stories, we're
45:11at Knicks Kingdom.
45:11You
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