1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:14,160 Welcome to medieval England, somewhere in the northeast part of the country. 2 00:00:14,160 --> 00:00:16,440 And these are not happy days. 3 00:00:16,440 --> 00:00:22,160 The kingdom is embroiled in turmoil, facing brutal fighting with the French and a civil 4 00:00:22,160 --> 00:00:23,920 war here at home. 5 00:00:23,920 --> 00:00:30,040 Healthy barons all over England are rising up against the reign of a greedy and tax-obsessed 6 00:00:30,040 --> 00:00:36,760 tyrant by the name of King John. 7 00:00:36,760 --> 00:00:41,280 John's reign has been nothing short of disastrous, and he's traveling the country with a large 8 00:00:41,280 --> 00:00:46,960 force, putting down revolts and collecting riches to fund his military campaigns. 9 00:00:46,960 --> 00:00:52,960 But little do his enemies suspect that King John is about to lose everything. 10 00:00:52,960 --> 00:00:57,920 The massive convoy is traveling with the king's most prized possessions, including 11 00:00:57,920 --> 00:01:00,960 his crown jewels. 12 00:01:00,960 --> 00:01:09,160 But right about now, John makes the decision to part ways with the carriages, sending them 13 00:01:09,160 --> 00:01:17,280 through a dangerous marsh known as the Wash, while he rides around the other side. 14 00:01:17,280 --> 00:01:22,640 The caravan and its drivers roll on into the muddy fields, unaware that in a few hours 15 00:01:23,320 --> 00:01:28,120 scores of people will be dead and the entire treasure will be swept away by a freak force 16 00:01:28,120 --> 00:01:29,120 of nature. 17 00:01:29,120 --> 00:01:35,000 A priceless fortune will be lost right here, buried deep in the pages of history and waiting 18 00:01:35,000 --> 00:01:50,880 patiently for the future. 19 00:01:51,120 --> 00:01:55,160 The treasure has no shortage of unpopular monarchs, but when it comes to being a rotten 20 00:01:55,160 --> 00:01:58,640 royal, one infamous Brit takes the crown. 21 00:01:58,640 --> 00:02:01,240 King John 22 00:02:01,240 --> 00:02:05,960 My mom being from England, I've been hearing about the bad king since I was a kid. 23 00:02:05,960 --> 00:02:11,160 After all, he was so notorious that writers cast him as the legendary villain in the Robinhood 24 00:02:11,160 --> 00:02:12,160 Tales. 25 00:02:12,160 --> 00:02:19,000 In the 13th century, King John's convoy was transporting a massive horde of royal treasure, 26 00:02:19,000 --> 00:02:22,160 worth an estimated $70 million. 27 00:02:22,160 --> 00:02:31,640 But somewhere along the journey, the caravan took a wrong turn and was never seen again. 28 00:02:31,640 --> 00:02:37,480 But this medieval cold case just got red hot thanks to some groundbreaking new discoveries. 29 00:02:37,480 --> 00:02:42,640 Deep in the British archives, dusty scrolls are revealing a roadmap to the last known 30 00:02:42,640 --> 00:02:45,960 location of King John's treasure. 31 00:02:45,960 --> 00:02:51,560 The state-of-the-art aerial scans are peeling back the modern landscape to take archaeologists 32 00:02:51,560 --> 00:02:56,040 and treasure hunters back in time to the scene of the accident. 33 00:02:56,040 --> 00:03:02,640 So get ready to hop across the pond on a quest for 800-year-old crown jewels so valuable 34 00:03:02,640 --> 00:03:12,520 that whoever finds them can live like a king. 35 00:03:12,520 --> 00:03:13,520 My name is Josh Gates. 36 00:03:14,080 --> 00:03:15,580 Look at that! 37 00:03:15,580 --> 00:03:21,400 With a degree in archaeology and a passion for exploration, I have a tendency to end 38 00:03:21,400 --> 00:03:24,360 up in some very strange situations. 39 00:03:24,360 --> 00:03:25,360 This is horrible. 40 00:03:25,360 --> 00:03:26,680 This is officially horrible. 41 00:03:26,680 --> 00:03:32,520 My travels have taken me to the ends of the earth as I investigate the greatest legends 42 00:03:32,520 --> 00:03:35,040 in history. 43 00:03:35,040 --> 00:03:36,880 This is Expedition Unknown. 44 00:03:44,520 --> 00:03:47,520 Hi there. 45 00:03:47,520 --> 00:03:54,000 Well, our journey begins here in the windswept marshlands of East Anglia. 46 00:03:54,000 --> 00:04:00,080 And everything around me, all of this is known as the Wash, which is, as best I can tell, 47 00:04:00,080 --> 00:04:07,120 a very muddy shallow bay that connects the eastern side of England with the churning 48 00:04:07,120 --> 00:04:09,840 waters of the North Sea. 49 00:04:09,840 --> 00:04:15,040 Situated on the eastern edge of England, the Wash is a more than 900 square mile wetland 50 00:04:15,040 --> 00:04:23,080 that in medieval times doubled as a kind of shortcut for those traveling along the coast. 51 00:04:23,080 --> 00:04:27,320 Somewhere around here, King John's caravan, which would have been made up of thousands 52 00:04:27,320 --> 00:04:31,840 of people, a countless number of carriages, met with a very violent disaster. 53 00:04:31,840 --> 00:04:33,440 The question is how? 54 00:04:33,440 --> 00:04:36,720 Well, it turns out that the Wash is a lot more dangerous than it looks. 55 00:04:40,840 --> 00:04:47,320 To understand what makes the Wash so deadly, I've enlisted the help of title expert, John 56 00:04:47,320 --> 00:04:48,320 Bacon. 57 00:04:48,320 --> 00:04:49,320 John. 58 00:04:49,320 --> 00:04:50,320 Josh. 59 00:04:50,320 --> 00:04:51,320 Pleasure to meet you. 60 00:04:51,320 --> 00:04:52,320 Yeah, nice to meet you as well. 61 00:04:52,320 --> 00:04:53,320 Thanks for taking the time. 62 00:04:53,320 --> 00:04:54,320 I appreciate it. 63 00:04:54,320 --> 00:04:55,320 Yeah, no, you're welcome. 64 00:04:55,320 --> 00:04:56,920 Let me make sure I understand this. 65 00:04:56,920 --> 00:04:59,840 All of this out here is part of what's called the Wash. 66 00:04:59,840 --> 00:05:00,840 Yep. 67 00:05:00,840 --> 00:05:05,960 The Wash forms a muddy estuary, very typical of the east coast of England. 68 00:05:05,960 --> 00:05:09,360 But I confess, I don't really understand fully what it is. 69 00:05:09,360 --> 00:05:11,680 I'm desperately hoping you can actually explain this to me. 70 00:05:11,680 --> 00:05:14,080 Yeah, well, I think we can probably do a bit better than that. 71 00:05:14,080 --> 00:05:16,240 We'll take a craft and get out there and show you what's going on. 72 00:05:16,240 --> 00:05:17,240 I love it. 73 00:05:17,240 --> 00:05:18,240 Let's do it. 74 00:05:18,240 --> 00:05:23,960 Navigating the Wash while staying dry requires a very unique and incredibly fun mode of transportation. 75 00:05:28,960 --> 00:05:29,960 This is great. 76 00:05:29,960 --> 00:05:31,960 I love this, man. 77 00:05:31,960 --> 00:05:33,960 Travel and style, John. 78 00:05:34,960 --> 00:05:38,960 Okay, so all of this out here, this is all part of the Wash. 79 00:05:38,960 --> 00:05:39,960 Yeah, this is the Wash. 80 00:05:39,960 --> 00:05:45,960 This is the edge of the muddy estuary where the three main rivers actually meet the southern 81 00:05:45,960 --> 00:05:46,960 North Sea. 82 00:05:46,960 --> 00:05:53,960 The mud is a layer that's formed by the mixing of the fresh water that's brought from the 83 00:05:53,960 --> 00:05:56,960 rivers, mixing with the salt water from the ocean. 84 00:05:56,960 --> 00:06:01,960 As the tide comes in, this whole area will be under water by six to eight feet. 85 00:06:01,960 --> 00:06:05,960 And so everything I see around here will all be under water at high tide. 86 00:06:14,960 --> 00:06:16,960 The water comes in very quickly. 87 00:06:16,960 --> 00:06:20,960 These areas will probably be covered in less than an hour. 88 00:06:20,960 --> 00:06:23,960 As you people get into trouble out here. 89 00:06:23,960 --> 00:06:25,960 People have lost their lives. 90 00:06:25,960 --> 00:06:27,960 The currents are very strong when that tide is flooding. 91 00:06:27,960 --> 00:06:33,960 I still don't fully get how it is coming tide could destroy higher care of them. 92 00:06:33,960 --> 00:06:37,960 I've got something back in the dark that I think might provide the answer. 93 00:06:48,960 --> 00:06:49,960 Perfect. 94 00:06:51,960 --> 00:06:52,960 I don't know. 95 00:06:53,960 --> 00:06:57,960 Once we're back on dry land, John shows me the fascinating data that he's been able to 96 00:06:57,960 --> 00:07:02,960 collect inside the Wash that reveals what may have happened to King John's caravan. 97 00:07:02,960 --> 00:07:05,960 So this is a digital model of the Wash. 98 00:07:05,960 --> 00:07:08,960 This, Josh, is a normal tide. 99 00:07:08,960 --> 00:07:12,960 This is the area where he would have crossed somewhere across this region. 100 00:07:14,960 --> 00:07:19,960 This model illustrates that during a normal high tide, even when the water rolls in, some 101 00:07:19,960 --> 00:07:25,960 of the Wash remains dry and navigable, which is where the King's caravan likely tried to cross. 102 00:07:25,960 --> 00:07:31,960 But John has discovered that under certain conditions, the Wash could become a much deadlier place. 103 00:07:31,960 --> 00:07:37,960 So one of the things that could have happened was a spring tide occurring, which occurs when there's a full moon 104 00:07:37,960 --> 00:07:41,960 and the high tide level is slightly higher than a normal tide. 105 00:07:41,960 --> 00:07:45,960 Another thing could have happened was a storm surge at that time. 106 00:07:45,960 --> 00:07:50,960 It's possible under a powerful storm, you may get waves up to 15 to 16 feet high. 107 00:07:50,960 --> 00:07:57,960 If all of those things occurred at the same time, then you could have a significantly bad flooding event. 108 00:07:58,960 --> 00:08:04,960 With just the right mix of environmental conditions, the storm surge blows past the normal high tide 109 00:08:04,960 --> 00:08:11,960 with a wall of water that could have swamped everything in its path and turned the Wash into a waterlogged hellscape. 110 00:08:12,960 --> 00:08:18,960 With this revelation of how the caravan got destroyed, the next step is finding out exactly where. 111 00:08:18,960 --> 00:08:24,960 For that, I need to get to London, and I'm traveling in a set of wheels with some serious mojo. 112 00:08:24,960 --> 00:08:26,960 Groovy, baby! 113 00:08:37,960 --> 00:08:44,960 Speaking of conspicuous modes of transportation, King John often traveled with a two-mile-long caravan of up to 3,000 people. 114 00:08:44,960 --> 00:08:48,960 An impressive posse, considering very few people actually liked him. 115 00:08:48,960 --> 00:08:56,960 It turns out that some historic documents, as well as 21st century technology, might be about to reveal the location of King John's lost treasure. 116 00:08:56,960 --> 00:09:01,960 And to join the search, I'm headed to England's capital and the home of today's modern monarchy. 117 00:09:04,960 --> 00:09:09,960 I steer my shagged-elic ride about 100 miles south to the storied streets of London. 118 00:09:19,960 --> 00:09:28,960 London, there really is no place like it. It is one of the coolest cities in the world, a centre of empire, a city of traditions. 119 00:09:28,960 --> 00:09:31,960 A very difficult place to drive a car. 120 00:09:34,960 --> 00:09:36,960 So much traffic. 121 00:09:37,960 --> 00:09:44,960 Since you could crawl through London faster than you can drive here, I decide to ditch my wheels and explore on foot. 122 00:09:45,960 --> 00:09:50,960 Is it too much if I wear this for the rest of the season? I'm gonna am solving mysteries. 123 00:09:57,960 --> 00:09:59,960 Thanks, guys. 124 00:10:05,960 --> 00:10:09,960 How many hat bits or too many hat bits for one scene? 125 00:10:09,960 --> 00:10:11,960 This many. 126 00:10:15,960 --> 00:10:18,960 What things a lot roomier on the inside? 127 00:10:19,960 --> 00:10:26,960 And even though I'm hunting the 800-year-old treasure of King John, I find myself on the doorstep of today's reigning monarch. 128 00:10:26,960 --> 00:10:30,960 This is the famous changing of the guard, one of the great traditions of the English monarchy. 129 00:10:30,960 --> 00:10:35,960 There are five different regiments of the British army, as well as the Queen's own personal guards. 130 00:10:35,960 --> 00:10:38,960 And every day, one group shows up and relieves the guards on duty. 131 00:10:38,960 --> 00:10:43,960 It's this incredible piece of pageantry that's been going on here for more than 350 years. 132 00:10:43,960 --> 00:10:47,960 Though in the time of King John, the mood in London wasn't quite so celebratory. 133 00:10:50,960 --> 00:10:55,960 John is born around Christmas in 1166, the youngest son of Henry II. 134 00:10:55,960 --> 00:10:59,960 But it's his brother Richard who becomes England's next king. 135 00:10:59,960 --> 00:11:03,960 John plots against his brother and eventually assumes the throne, 136 00:11:03,960 --> 00:11:06,960 heralding in one of the most tumultuous reigns in English history. 137 00:11:07,960 --> 00:11:17,960 To find out more about John's troubled rule, I make my way to the National Archives to meet with archaeologist Dr. Ben Robinson, 138 00:11:17,960 --> 00:11:22,960 who's been working to identify the exact route the King's caravan took through the wash. 139 00:11:22,960 --> 00:11:25,960 Ben. Hi there, Josh. Good to see you. 140 00:11:25,960 --> 00:11:26,960 Yeah, nice to meet you. How are you doing? 141 00:11:26,960 --> 00:11:27,960 Pretty good. 142 00:11:27,960 --> 00:11:31,960 Ben is getting me access into the highly restricted vaults of the National Archives, 143 00:11:31,960 --> 00:11:35,960 where we link up with the head of medieval collections, Dr. Jessica Nelson. 144 00:11:35,960 --> 00:11:41,960 This is where they keep the history, hundreds of years of it, meticulously conserved. 145 00:11:41,960 --> 00:11:46,960 And we're about to get a first-hand look at some incredible original documents. 146 00:11:46,960 --> 00:11:48,960 What are we looking at today? What are these? 147 00:11:48,960 --> 00:11:52,960 So these are documents which date from the reign of King John of England. 148 00:11:52,960 --> 00:11:57,960 So they're original medieval documents. So they're about 800 years old. 149 00:11:57,960 --> 00:11:59,960 Wow. And that's pretty unusual, isn't it? 150 00:11:59,960 --> 00:12:03,960 Because before this, British kings didn't document this kind of stuff in this detail. 151 00:12:03,960 --> 00:12:07,960 We certainly think that King John was the first king to really systematically 152 00:12:07,960 --> 00:12:12,960 enroll his documents and those documents survive, those enrollments survive until today. 153 00:12:12,960 --> 00:12:17,960 King John was obsessive about documenting every detail of his reign. 154 00:12:17,960 --> 00:12:23,960 In fact, his scrolls formed the backbone of what would become the British government's record-keeping system. 155 00:12:23,960 --> 00:12:26,960 Ben, why do you think he instituted this? 156 00:12:26,960 --> 00:12:30,960 He was kind of a paranoid, edgy character, you know. 157 00:12:30,960 --> 00:12:34,960 I think he wanted a document of what was being sent out so he could refer to it later to say, 158 00:12:34,960 --> 00:12:37,960 look, I told you, you've got the keys to that castle. 159 00:12:37,960 --> 00:12:39,960 Look, I've got the document here to prove it. 160 00:12:39,960 --> 00:12:41,960 Now, why haven't you got that castle? I think it was that kind of bloke. 161 00:12:41,960 --> 00:12:44,960 How are these potentially helpful in this search for his treasure? 162 00:12:44,960 --> 00:12:48,960 So you've almost got a day-by-day account of where the king was. 163 00:12:48,960 --> 00:12:52,960 And that's extraordinary because that gets us closer to those events, 164 00:12:52,960 --> 00:12:54,960 those crucial few days at the end of his life. 165 00:12:54,960 --> 00:12:57,960 Right. Is it possible to examine them closely? 166 00:12:57,960 --> 00:12:58,960 Certain years. 167 00:12:58,960 --> 00:12:59,960 Yeah? Wow. 168 00:12:59,960 --> 00:13:00,960 Look at that! 169 00:13:00,960 --> 00:13:06,960 With the unrolling of this priceless historic document, I'm about to enter the 13th century 170 00:13:06,960 --> 00:13:11,960 and see the clues that could lead to King John's missing crown jewels. 171 00:13:12,960 --> 00:13:17,960 I'm in the city of London, England, deep inside the British National Archives, 172 00:13:17,960 --> 00:13:21,960 pouring over medieval scrolls with historian Jessica Nelson. 173 00:13:21,960 --> 00:13:24,960 These documents were dictated by King John himself, 174 00:13:24,960 --> 00:13:30,960 not long before his entourage was lost in a coastal area of marsh and quicksand called the Wash. 175 00:13:30,960 --> 00:13:35,960 Archaeologist Ben Robinson is using these historic records to find the treasure. 176 00:13:35,960 --> 00:13:37,960 Look at that! 177 00:13:37,960 --> 00:13:39,960 This is extraordinary. 178 00:13:39,960 --> 00:13:41,960 And it's written in Latin? 179 00:13:41,960 --> 00:13:43,960 Yes, so it's written in medieval Latin. 180 00:13:43,960 --> 00:13:45,960 Medieval Latin? Which you can read? 181 00:13:45,960 --> 00:13:47,960 Yes! 182 00:13:47,960 --> 00:13:49,960 Good. Because I'm a little rusty. 183 00:13:49,960 --> 00:13:51,960 This roll is from when? 184 00:13:51,960 --> 00:13:53,960 The whole roll is from the last year of his reign. 185 00:13:53,960 --> 00:13:54,960 Okay. 186 00:13:54,960 --> 00:13:57,960 And the section we're looking at here is just the last year of his reign. 187 00:13:57,960 --> 00:14:00,960 And the section we're looking at here is just the last year of his reign. 188 00:14:00,960 --> 00:14:03,960 And the section we're looking at here is just the last year of his reign. 189 00:14:03,960 --> 00:14:06,960 And the section we're looking at here is just the last few days. 190 00:14:06,960 --> 00:14:11,960 And he's issuing an order to one of his officials here on the 12th day of October. 191 00:14:11,960 --> 00:14:15,960 But the crucial thing here is we actually know where he is, Josh. 192 00:14:15,960 --> 00:14:16,960 Right. 193 00:14:16,960 --> 00:14:17,960 That's the crucial thing. 194 00:14:17,960 --> 00:14:20,960 He's actually naming the places where he was. 195 00:14:20,960 --> 00:14:22,960 These places still exist. 196 00:14:23,960 --> 00:14:27,960 King John's insistence on recording the daily workings of his government 197 00:14:27,960 --> 00:14:29,960 provided an unprecedented look at his reign. 198 00:14:29,960 --> 00:14:34,960 His scribes are unwittingly providing clues for future historians to follow. 199 00:14:34,960 --> 00:14:38,960 In 800 years, the town names written down on this parchment 200 00:14:38,960 --> 00:14:40,960 will provide a treasure map of sorts 201 00:14:40,960 --> 00:14:45,960 that describe the king's caravan's route through the deadly waters of the wash. 202 00:14:48,960 --> 00:14:50,960 Okay. And so where does he go? 203 00:14:50,960 --> 00:14:52,960 We see him moving on. 204 00:14:52,960 --> 00:14:57,960 And then here, he's at Swine's Head on the 13th day of October. 205 00:14:58,960 --> 00:15:03,960 According to the scrolls, King John and his caravan travel from Swine's Head Abbey in Spalding 206 00:15:03,960 --> 00:15:07,960 to the town of Bishops Lynn, where he becomes ill with dysentery. 207 00:15:07,960 --> 00:15:12,960 John parts ways with his baggage train and takes a longer route back west 208 00:15:12,960 --> 00:15:14,960 through the town of Whiz Beach and onto Newark, 209 00:15:14,960 --> 00:15:18,960 while his entourage is told to take a shortcut through the wash. 210 00:15:18,960 --> 00:15:21,960 It's somewhere in this area that the caravan has lost. 211 00:15:22,960 --> 00:15:27,960 And as for King John, he succumbs to his illness and dies several days later. 212 00:15:27,960 --> 00:15:30,960 This is why you need to look at the archaeology 213 00:15:30,960 --> 00:15:32,960 and you need to look at the environment. 214 00:15:32,960 --> 00:15:34,960 You need to look at how the coast operates today, 215 00:15:34,960 --> 00:15:36,960 and then you'll start to understand. 216 00:15:36,960 --> 00:15:38,960 Put that together with the archaeology, 217 00:15:38,960 --> 00:15:40,960 with an understanding of the environment, 218 00:15:40,960 --> 00:15:42,960 and we're starting to get closer. 219 00:15:42,960 --> 00:15:44,960 And that's what's exciting. 220 00:15:45,960 --> 00:15:47,960 The scrolls reveal critical clues, 221 00:15:47,960 --> 00:15:51,960 but to find the exact spot where the caravan was lost, 222 00:15:51,960 --> 00:15:54,960 we have to study the terrain as it appeared 800 years ago. 223 00:15:54,960 --> 00:15:57,960 And to do so, we have to see it from above. 224 00:15:58,960 --> 00:16:01,960 Ben and I leave the archives and head to a small airfield. 225 00:16:02,960 --> 00:16:06,960 We load into a very snug Cessna 172 Skyhawk. 226 00:16:06,960 --> 00:16:10,960 We're going to use this footage, Ben, also, for my new series called Big Guy's Little Plains. 227 00:16:12,960 --> 00:16:16,960 From the air, Ben plans to show me exactly how technology 228 00:16:16,960 --> 00:16:19,960 is cracking open this royal cold case. 229 00:16:26,960 --> 00:16:28,960 This is great. The visibility is fantastic. 230 00:16:28,960 --> 00:16:31,960 You can see the whole expanse of the wash, 231 00:16:31,960 --> 00:16:35,960 and the thing to remember is that what we see as the wash coast today, 232 00:16:35,960 --> 00:16:38,960 it thought the wash coast in medieval times. 233 00:16:38,960 --> 00:16:41,960 And how would it have looked different back then, this area? 234 00:16:41,960 --> 00:16:43,960 Look at the shape of the fields. 235 00:16:43,960 --> 00:16:47,960 You've got wiggly line here as well, the wiggly drains and droves, 236 00:16:47,960 --> 00:16:52,960 and they mark previous water courses and the traces of sea banks. 237 00:16:52,960 --> 00:16:56,960 Piece by piece, the land has been reclaimed from the sea. 238 00:16:56,960 --> 00:17:02,960 The wash is almost 20 miles across, but it turns out it used to be even bigger. 239 00:17:02,960 --> 00:17:05,960 The fields beneath us were once part of the medieval mudflats, 240 00:17:05,960 --> 00:17:09,960 but have now been filled in and reclaimed as farms and roads. 241 00:17:09,960 --> 00:17:11,960 So we know where he was coming from. 242 00:17:11,960 --> 00:17:15,960 We know where the treasure was going to. How do you narrow that down? 243 00:17:15,960 --> 00:17:17,960 We use something called LIDAR. 244 00:17:17,960 --> 00:17:21,960 A LIDAR, basically, it's like an airborne laser system 245 00:17:21,960 --> 00:17:24,960 that beams these lights very fast at the ground. 246 00:17:24,960 --> 00:17:29,960 It gives you this snapshot of the landscape underneath the landscape. 247 00:17:29,960 --> 00:17:31,960 And so what did the data reveal? 248 00:17:31,960 --> 00:17:36,960 Well, the first thing you could see is the height differences between areas of landscape, 249 00:17:36,960 --> 00:17:37,960 and that's really important. 250 00:17:37,960 --> 00:17:42,960 That green area marks perfectly the shape of the medieval estuaries. 251 00:17:42,960 --> 00:17:46,960 The crossing point is somewhere between that sea bank and that sea bank. 252 00:17:46,960 --> 00:17:52,960 Based on the LIDAR, how many promising areas do you think have emerged 253 00:17:52,960 --> 00:17:54,960 than maybe where the crossing happened? 254 00:17:54,960 --> 00:17:59,960 You see the high points, the places where there's stable land, 255 00:17:59,960 --> 00:18:03,960 where there's potential routes through the marsh, 256 00:18:03,960 --> 00:18:07,960 and I think there's three or four potential crossing points that make sense. 257 00:18:07,960 --> 00:18:10,960 One of those crossing points, you save the best part of a day. 258 00:18:10,960 --> 00:18:16,960 And at this time of year, when you're on a war footing, saving a day's travel is important. 259 00:18:16,960 --> 00:18:21,960 That crossing point is between here and there. 260 00:18:21,960 --> 00:18:23,960 That's about five miles. 261 00:18:23,960 --> 00:18:26,960 I think King John sent his baggage train across that route, 262 00:18:26,960 --> 00:18:29,960 but on that particular day, it didn't work out. 263 00:18:29,960 --> 00:18:31,960 Right. 264 00:18:31,960 --> 00:18:33,960 The plane returns to the airstrip. 265 00:18:33,960 --> 00:18:38,960 I say goodbye to Ben and continue my journey to see how his LIDAR scans are being used 266 00:18:38,960 --> 00:18:40,960 to find the missing treasure. 267 00:18:47,960 --> 00:18:49,960 Well, Ben's LIDAR discoveries have been big news, 268 00:18:49,960 --> 00:18:53,960 and now various groups of archaeologists and historians are on the ground 269 00:18:53,960 --> 00:18:57,960 attempting to use that data to pinpoint the location of the accident. 270 00:18:57,960 --> 00:19:01,960 And I'm going to join them, which means I'm headed back to the wash. 271 00:19:01,960 --> 00:19:04,960 I drive nearly 100 miles north to the edge of the wash 272 00:19:04,960 --> 00:19:09,960 and through the medieval gates of the historic city of King's Lim. 273 00:19:13,960 --> 00:19:17,960 Walking around King's Lim is like stepping through a portal into the past 274 00:19:17,960 --> 00:19:23,960 between the soaring cathedral, ancient streets, and time-worn bridges. 275 00:19:23,960 --> 00:19:26,960 It's easy to imagine King John himself rolling through here. 276 00:19:26,960 --> 00:19:29,960 King's Lim has been on the map since the Middle Ages. 277 00:19:29,960 --> 00:19:33,960 It used to be known as Bishop's Lim, and in King John's time, it was a thriving port city. 278 00:19:33,960 --> 00:19:36,960 It's also one of the few towns in England that doesn't hate King John, 279 00:19:36,960 --> 00:19:41,960 and that's because he actually granted the city a charter, which gave them certain rights. 280 00:19:41,960 --> 00:19:44,960 In fact, they're so sympathetic to King John here in King's Lim, 281 00:19:44,960 --> 00:19:48,960 they actually erected a statue of him, or of the Burger King. 282 00:19:48,960 --> 00:19:51,960 In fairness, it's very hard to tell the difference. 283 00:19:52,960 --> 00:19:56,960 I'm here to meet with one of the UK's most successful metal detectorists, 284 00:19:56,960 --> 00:20:00,960 named Gary Drayton, who's asked me to meet him at the place where all treasure hunts 285 00:20:00,960 --> 00:20:03,960 officially begin and end the local pub. 286 00:20:03,960 --> 00:20:05,960 Hey, Josh. Nice to meet you. How are you doing? 287 00:20:05,960 --> 00:20:06,960 How are you doing? Great. 288 00:20:06,960 --> 00:20:07,960 Yeah, pleasure. All the best. 289 00:20:07,960 --> 00:20:09,960 How are you, mate? Cheers. 290 00:20:12,960 --> 00:20:14,960 I've actually ordered some food if you're hungry. 291 00:20:14,960 --> 00:20:15,960 Gary, I'm always hungry. 292 00:20:15,960 --> 00:20:17,960 I'm local delicacy. 293 00:20:17,960 --> 00:20:19,960 Jelly Deals. 294 00:20:19,960 --> 00:20:21,960 I'm sorry, jellyed eels? 295 00:20:21,960 --> 00:20:22,960 Yeah. 296 00:20:24,960 --> 00:20:26,960 There's a strong smell coming off of him. 297 00:20:26,960 --> 00:20:28,960 Immediately, it's the first thing I notice. 298 00:20:28,960 --> 00:20:32,960 Just to be clear, these are eels that have been... 299 00:20:32,960 --> 00:20:33,960 Jellyed. 300 00:20:33,960 --> 00:20:34,960 Jellyed. 301 00:20:34,960 --> 00:20:37,960 King John was a big fan of this local delicacy, 302 00:20:37,960 --> 00:20:40,960 famously demanding it at his royal table. 303 00:20:40,960 --> 00:20:42,960 Then again, he died of dysentery. 304 00:20:44,960 --> 00:20:46,960 So hopefully we'll fare better. 305 00:20:50,960 --> 00:20:52,960 Oh, bones. 306 00:20:52,960 --> 00:20:53,960 Bones? 307 00:20:53,960 --> 00:20:55,960 I wasn't expecting bones. 308 00:20:58,960 --> 00:20:59,960 You can really taste the river. 309 00:20:59,960 --> 00:21:00,960 Yeah. 310 00:21:05,960 --> 00:21:07,960 English cooking at its finest. 311 00:21:07,960 --> 00:21:09,960 Okay, let's talk treasure. 312 00:21:09,960 --> 00:21:12,960 Do you have an idea where you think King John's treasure might be? 313 00:21:12,960 --> 00:21:16,960 Yeah, well, thanks to these new Lida redales, 314 00:21:16,960 --> 00:21:20,960 we've got a lot of new areas that have opened up to us. 315 00:21:20,960 --> 00:21:23,960 And have you investigated in these places before? 316 00:21:23,960 --> 00:21:27,960 No, I haven't, but we are going to be. 317 00:21:27,960 --> 00:21:29,960 Let's finish these eels and get out there. 318 00:21:32,960 --> 00:21:34,960 Mmm, I've got some bones now. 319 00:21:42,960 --> 00:21:44,960 With eel bones still stuck in my mouth, 320 00:21:44,960 --> 00:21:47,960 Gary and I make our way to meet up with fellow treasure hunter, 321 00:21:47,960 --> 00:21:48,960 Charlie Field. 322 00:21:48,960 --> 00:21:50,960 What are you guys getting into here? 323 00:21:50,960 --> 00:21:52,960 This is probably a crossing. 324 00:21:52,960 --> 00:21:55,960 What we should do is metal detect first, 325 00:21:55,960 --> 00:21:58,960 and then that way we can use the dredge in the areas 326 00:21:58,960 --> 00:22:00,960 that look the most promising. 327 00:22:00,960 --> 00:22:02,960 And the dredge basically is just suctioning up the muscle? 328 00:22:02,960 --> 00:22:03,960 Yeah. 329 00:22:03,960 --> 00:22:06,960 So you're going to find things and tiny things 330 00:22:06,960 --> 00:22:09,960 which you wouldn't find with a metal detector as well. 331 00:22:15,960 --> 00:22:18,960 Now you might think that after the waters recede, 332 00:22:18,960 --> 00:22:21,960 the king's men will just come back down to the wash 333 00:22:21,960 --> 00:22:24,960 and recover the treasure, but it's not quite that simple. 334 00:22:24,960 --> 00:22:27,960 The thick mud here swallows anything and everything that touches it. 335 00:22:27,960 --> 00:22:30,960 So while some of the larger pieces of treasure might be recovered, 336 00:22:30,960 --> 00:22:33,960 without future technology, the rest of it will be impossible to find 337 00:22:33,960 --> 00:22:35,960 here in the 13th century. 338 00:22:35,960 --> 00:22:40,960 Thankfully, Gary and Charlie have brought all the modern-day treasure hunting essentials, 339 00:22:40,960 --> 00:22:43,960 including a dry suit that I'm assured will keep me toasty warm. 340 00:22:43,960 --> 00:22:46,960 Help me! Help me! 341 00:22:48,960 --> 00:22:51,960 Okay, snug as a bug, we're suited and booted. 342 00:22:51,960 --> 00:22:55,960 And don't open this zip underwater. Is that correct? 343 00:22:55,960 --> 00:22:56,960 Yeah. 344 00:22:56,960 --> 00:22:57,960 Okay, got it. 345 00:22:57,960 --> 00:22:58,960 Yeah. 346 00:22:58,960 --> 00:22:59,960 Perfect. 347 00:23:04,960 --> 00:23:07,960 We start our sweep of the area, 348 00:23:07,960 --> 00:23:11,960 and it seems that today, luck is on our side. 349 00:23:15,960 --> 00:23:17,960 You got something? 350 00:23:32,960 --> 00:23:35,960 I've joined treasure hunters Gary Drayton and Charlie Field 351 00:23:35,960 --> 00:23:38,960 in a freezing cold river in East Anglia, England. 352 00:23:38,960 --> 00:23:42,960 We're searching for signs of King John's lost crown jewels. 353 00:23:42,960 --> 00:23:43,960 You got something? 354 00:23:43,960 --> 00:23:46,960 When our metal detector signals a massive hit. 355 00:23:46,960 --> 00:23:47,960 What is that? 356 00:23:49,960 --> 00:23:52,960 It's iron, and it's reed in 11 inches. 357 00:23:52,960 --> 00:23:53,960 11 inches under the mud? 358 00:23:53,960 --> 00:23:55,960 Yeah, definitely we should mark this. 359 00:23:57,960 --> 00:23:59,960 All right, so that's one possible charlie. 360 00:23:59,960 --> 00:24:01,960 Okay, great. Moving on. 361 00:24:06,960 --> 00:24:08,960 We mark the spot and keep searching, 362 00:24:08,960 --> 00:24:11,960 planning to dredge wherever we've dropped our stakes. 363 00:24:13,960 --> 00:24:15,960 Get in the possible target here Josh. 364 00:24:15,960 --> 00:24:16,960 Got something? 365 00:24:16,960 --> 00:24:17,960 Yeah. 366 00:24:26,960 --> 00:24:28,960 Got another signal here Josh. 367 00:24:28,960 --> 00:24:30,960 Is mine turned on? 368 00:24:30,960 --> 00:24:33,960 Now Gary, any interest in switching metal detectors? 369 00:24:33,960 --> 00:24:35,960 Not at the moment Josh. 370 00:24:35,960 --> 00:24:37,960 This one's I think this is on a lucky streak. 371 00:24:37,960 --> 00:24:38,960 Yeah. 372 00:24:38,960 --> 00:24:40,960 I mean, I got nothing over here. 373 00:24:40,960 --> 00:24:42,960 Discouraged by my lack of success, 374 00:24:42,960 --> 00:24:44,960 I wade into deeper territory. 375 00:24:44,960 --> 00:24:47,960 But before long, I start to question that decision. 376 00:24:47,960 --> 00:24:48,960 There it is. 377 00:24:48,960 --> 00:24:49,960 Yeah. 378 00:24:49,960 --> 00:24:50,960 Oh boy. 379 00:24:51,960 --> 00:24:52,960 I don't know if the crown jewels, 380 00:24:52,960 --> 00:24:54,960 the family jewels are definitely gone now. 381 00:24:54,960 --> 00:24:55,960 Lost forever. 382 00:24:55,960 --> 00:24:56,960 Oh boy. 383 00:24:56,960 --> 00:24:57,960 That is chilly. 384 00:25:07,960 --> 00:25:08,960 Big hit here. 385 00:25:08,960 --> 00:25:09,960 Big hit. 386 00:25:11,960 --> 00:25:13,960 Can somebody get a snorkel for Gary please? 387 00:25:13,960 --> 00:25:15,960 This might be over your head Gary, I don't know. 388 00:25:16,960 --> 00:25:17,960 Too shiny. 389 00:25:17,960 --> 00:25:19,960 No, it's fine. 390 00:25:27,960 --> 00:25:28,960 Get a hit. 391 00:25:28,960 --> 00:25:30,960 I'm hoping that the concentration of stakes 392 00:25:30,960 --> 00:25:33,960 in this small area means we're on the right track 393 00:25:33,960 --> 00:25:36,960 and about to unearth some lost British bobbles. 394 00:25:36,960 --> 00:25:38,960 So I think we should fire up the dredge. 395 00:25:38,960 --> 00:25:39,960 Start doing some vacuuming. 396 00:25:39,960 --> 00:25:40,960 Yeah. 397 00:25:40,960 --> 00:25:41,960 Alright, yeah. 398 00:25:41,960 --> 00:25:42,960 We'll fire up the dredge Charlie. 399 00:25:42,960 --> 00:25:43,960 Let's see what's down here. 400 00:25:43,960 --> 00:25:44,960 Yeah. 401 00:25:44,960 --> 00:25:45,960 Charlie starts up the dredge 402 00:25:45,960 --> 00:25:47,960 and she purrs like a chain smoking kit. 403 00:25:56,960 --> 00:26:06,960 I'm relegated to hose duty, which basically means 404 00:26:06,960 --> 00:26:09,960 I suction up the riverbed in the places we've targeted. 405 00:26:09,960 --> 00:26:10,960 This is tough. 406 00:26:12,960 --> 00:26:17,960 I tried to vacuum before when your eyes closed. 407 00:26:18,960 --> 00:26:20,960 It's Antarctica. 408 00:26:21,960 --> 00:26:28,960 The dredge sucks up and spits out torrents of mud and water. 409 00:26:28,960 --> 00:26:32,960 Whatever's left over ends up trapped on the multi-layered strainer. 410 00:26:34,960 --> 00:26:36,960 Let's see if we got anything. 411 00:26:38,960 --> 00:26:41,960 So now the heavier stuff has all been kind of trapped in here. 412 00:26:47,960 --> 00:26:49,960 I think I got something here Gary. 413 00:26:49,960 --> 00:26:50,960 See that? 414 00:26:50,960 --> 00:26:51,960 Look at that. 415 00:26:51,960 --> 00:26:52,960 Look at that. 416 00:26:52,960 --> 00:26:54,960 It's like a hot cup of tea. 417 00:26:54,960 --> 00:26:57,960 Here in England, everything stops for tea time. 418 00:26:57,960 --> 00:26:58,960 Cheers. 419 00:26:58,960 --> 00:26:59,960 That is a treasure. 420 00:26:59,960 --> 00:27:01,960 Even a promising treasure hunt. 421 00:27:04,960 --> 00:27:07,960 But after a quick cuppa, we get right back to business 422 00:27:07,960 --> 00:27:09,960 looking for the jewel in the rock pile. 423 00:27:09,960 --> 00:27:11,960 Holy, hold it guys. 424 00:27:14,960 --> 00:27:15,960 It's going to hold me there. 425 00:27:16,960 --> 00:27:18,960 What is this? 426 00:27:20,960 --> 00:27:21,960 I don't know exactly what that is. 427 00:27:21,960 --> 00:27:22,960 What is it? 428 00:27:22,960 --> 00:27:24,960 That is the crest of England. 429 00:27:24,960 --> 00:27:26,960 That's the three lions for Sam. 430 00:27:27,960 --> 00:27:29,960 It's the official seal of England. 431 00:27:29,960 --> 00:27:30,960 It's the seal? 432 00:27:30,960 --> 00:27:32,960 Yeah, that's the seal, a wax seal. 433 00:27:33,960 --> 00:27:34,960 It would stamp on documents. 434 00:27:34,960 --> 00:27:35,960 Yeah, wax. 435 00:27:35,960 --> 00:27:36,960 Wax, put it onto the document. 436 00:27:36,960 --> 00:27:39,960 But not just any documents, royal documents. 437 00:27:40,960 --> 00:27:44,960 The stamp is made of lead and would have been used to seal official letters, 438 00:27:44,960 --> 00:27:48,960 possibly from someone in a position of great authority. 439 00:27:48,960 --> 00:27:49,960 How old is this? 440 00:27:49,960 --> 00:27:50,960 That is old. 441 00:27:50,960 --> 00:27:51,960 I mean, that is really old. 442 00:27:51,960 --> 00:27:52,960 How old is it? 443 00:27:52,960 --> 00:27:56,960 That's like 11, 12, that's in the time? 444 00:27:56,960 --> 00:27:59,960 This is 800 years old. 445 00:27:59,960 --> 00:28:00,960 Yeah. 446 00:28:00,960 --> 00:28:02,960 Look at that, right there. 447 00:28:02,960 --> 00:28:03,960 That is history. 448 00:28:03,960 --> 00:28:04,960 That's extraordinary. 449 00:28:04,960 --> 00:28:09,960 And for you guys to give that to me is, I mean, the generosity. 450 00:28:09,960 --> 00:28:10,960 I'll just keep this in here. 451 00:28:10,960 --> 00:28:11,960 You'll be King Josh. 452 00:28:11,960 --> 00:28:12,960 There we go. 453 00:28:12,960 --> 00:28:13,960 King Josh. 454 00:28:13,960 --> 00:28:15,960 That does have a certain ring to it. 455 00:28:16,960 --> 00:28:18,960 The seal is a significant find, 456 00:28:18,960 --> 00:28:21,960 significant enough for us to keep sifting through the freezing muck. 457 00:28:21,960 --> 00:28:23,960 And it's a good thing we do, 458 00:28:23,960 --> 00:28:28,960 because it's not long before I spot something that appears metallic stuck under the grate. 459 00:28:28,960 --> 00:28:29,960 What is that? 460 00:28:29,960 --> 00:28:30,960 Is that? 461 00:28:30,960 --> 00:28:31,960 There. 462 00:28:31,960 --> 00:28:32,960 It's a carrot? 463 00:28:32,960 --> 00:28:33,960 It looks a metal. 464 00:28:39,960 --> 00:28:40,960 What is that? 465 00:28:40,960 --> 00:28:41,960 Look at that! 466 00:28:41,960 --> 00:28:42,960 Look at that! 467 00:28:46,960 --> 00:28:51,960 I'm with treasure hunters Gary Drayton and Charlie Field 468 00:28:51,960 --> 00:28:55,960 in a region of eastern England historically referred to as the wash. 469 00:28:55,960 --> 00:28:58,960 We're sifting through what our dredge pulled out of this river 470 00:28:58,960 --> 00:29:01,960 when a piece of metal catches my eye. 471 00:29:01,960 --> 00:29:02,960 Look at that! 472 00:29:02,960 --> 00:29:03,960 A little face! 473 00:29:03,960 --> 00:29:04,960 Look at that! 474 00:29:04,960 --> 00:29:05,960 Look at it! 475 00:29:07,960 --> 00:29:09,960 It's got like a little face on it, isn't it? 476 00:29:09,960 --> 00:29:10,960 Yeah. 477 00:29:10,960 --> 00:29:13,960 I've got it for that could be way older even than what we're looking for. 478 00:29:13,960 --> 00:29:18,960 Sort of, you know, maybe 300 years earlier than what we'd be looking at. 479 00:29:18,960 --> 00:29:20,960 Wow, I mean look at that face! 480 00:29:20,960 --> 00:29:21,960 That's crazy! 481 00:29:21,960 --> 00:29:22,960 What is it? 482 00:29:22,960 --> 00:29:25,960 That would have been the metal strip when you open a purse. 483 00:29:25,960 --> 00:29:26,960 Right. 484 00:29:26,960 --> 00:29:28,960 You know, just like a little money purse. 485 00:29:28,960 --> 00:29:29,960 Right. 486 00:29:29,960 --> 00:29:31,960 And it's the same design through the centuries. 487 00:29:31,960 --> 00:29:33,960 It's a little mini piece of that. 488 00:29:33,960 --> 00:29:35,960 I mean, look at the decoration, I know. 489 00:29:35,960 --> 00:29:36,960 It's really something. 490 00:29:36,960 --> 00:29:38,960 To me, the thing that's really mind-blowing about this 491 00:29:38,960 --> 00:29:40,960 is that we found all this in one day. 492 00:29:40,960 --> 00:29:42,960 In one little area as well. 493 00:29:42,960 --> 00:29:44,960 This is just in this little area. 494 00:29:44,960 --> 00:29:50,960 So you think that we could be on top of part of the treasure from the carriage accident? 495 00:29:50,960 --> 00:29:51,960 I really do, yeah. 496 00:29:51,960 --> 00:29:54,960 I find these are serious clues. 497 00:29:54,960 --> 00:29:55,960 It's incredible. 498 00:29:55,960 --> 00:30:01,960 The artifacts we found in the river certainly suggest that this may have been a crossing point in medieval times. 499 00:30:01,960 --> 00:30:06,960 That means that King John's caravan could have become swamped right here. 500 00:30:06,960 --> 00:30:07,960 Time will tell. 501 00:30:07,960 --> 00:30:12,960 And Gary and Charlie plan to keep hunting to see what else they can dredge up. 502 00:30:14,960 --> 00:30:19,960 While they do that, I'm doing my due diligence and following another hot lead. 503 00:30:19,960 --> 00:30:22,960 I'm off to join a team that's investigating a different spot 504 00:30:22,960 --> 00:30:25,960 identified by Ben Robinson's LIDAR scans. 505 00:30:27,960 --> 00:30:32,960 The LIDAR data indicates several places where King John's caravan could have crossed the wash. 506 00:30:32,960 --> 00:30:36,960 And a group of researchers led by an archaeologist named Clive Bond 507 00:30:36,960 --> 00:30:38,960 believes they've located the right one. 508 00:30:40,960 --> 00:30:45,960 Clive's group of researchers has banded together to find out what lies beneath. 509 00:30:45,960 --> 00:30:48,960 And they're using everything from high-tech metal detectors 510 00:30:48,960 --> 00:30:51,960 to good old-fashioned shovels and sifters. 511 00:30:51,960 --> 00:30:52,960 Clive. 512 00:30:52,960 --> 00:30:53,960 Hi. 513 00:30:53,960 --> 00:30:54,960 How are you? Nice to meet you. 514 00:30:54,960 --> 00:30:55,960 Nice to meet you as well. 515 00:30:55,960 --> 00:30:56,960 Yeah, pleasure. Thanks for having me. 516 00:30:56,960 --> 00:30:57,960 Okay. 517 00:30:57,960 --> 00:30:59,960 Quite an operation you got going out here? 518 00:30:59,960 --> 00:31:00,960 It's quite busy today, yes. 519 00:31:00,960 --> 00:31:03,960 The LIDAR data gives you a high point here. 520 00:31:03,960 --> 00:31:06,960 And you can visually see this, this rise of at least a meter. 521 00:31:06,960 --> 00:31:08,960 Yeah, yeah, this kind of bump here. 522 00:31:08,960 --> 00:31:12,960 At the time of King John, this certainly would have been a route where people are going back and forth. 523 00:31:12,960 --> 00:31:16,960 So today we're investigating whether there's any activity on that rise 524 00:31:16,960 --> 00:31:20,960 which could be of that date, of that period, sort of 1216 or so, 525 00:31:20,960 --> 00:31:23,960 when potentially this caravan went past. 526 00:31:23,960 --> 00:31:26,960 To find proof that this is where the baggage train went down, 527 00:31:26,960 --> 00:31:30,960 scientists must first establish that this field was once a section of coast 528 00:31:30,960 --> 00:31:34,960 with terrain that could have engulfed such a large procession. 529 00:31:34,960 --> 00:31:38,960 That job belongs to Clive's colleagues, Martin Bates and Aaron Kavanaugh. 530 00:31:38,960 --> 00:31:39,960 Nice to meet you. 531 00:31:39,960 --> 00:31:40,960 Aaron. 532 00:31:40,960 --> 00:31:41,960 Aaron, how are you? Nice to meet you. 533 00:31:41,960 --> 00:31:43,960 And they're using some unusual-looking equipment. 534 00:31:43,960 --> 00:31:46,960 So what we're actually trying to use a geophysics for 535 00:31:46,960 --> 00:31:50,960 is to help us reconstruct the landscape that's buried beneath our feet. 536 00:31:50,960 --> 00:31:51,960 Got it. 537 00:31:51,960 --> 00:31:55,960 And it works because different sediments conduct electricity in different ways, 538 00:31:55,960 --> 00:32:00,960 so a clay will conduct electricity differently to a sand which might be more resistant. 539 00:32:00,960 --> 00:32:01,960 Got it. 540 00:32:01,960 --> 00:32:03,960 Behind you is what you're going to be doing. 541 00:32:03,960 --> 00:32:04,960 Okay. 542 00:32:04,960 --> 00:32:07,960 And this is called an electromagnetic pole. 543 00:32:07,960 --> 00:32:09,960 And it creates an electrical field around you, 544 00:32:09,960 --> 00:32:12,960 and as you move across the ground surface, 545 00:32:12,960 --> 00:32:17,960 it records the changing conductivities of the sediments beneath your feet. 546 00:32:17,960 --> 00:32:19,960 Is it going to electrocute me to death? 547 00:32:20,960 --> 00:32:21,960 Probably not. 548 00:32:21,960 --> 00:32:22,960 Okay. 549 00:32:23,960 --> 00:32:28,960 Who could possibly pass up an opportunity to have a massive electromagnetic field around them? 550 00:32:28,960 --> 00:32:33,960 So I strap on what would be best described as circus bondage gear and get to work. 551 00:32:33,960 --> 00:32:35,960 How is this a real thing? 552 00:32:35,960 --> 00:32:36,960 So we're going to turn it on. 553 00:32:36,960 --> 00:32:37,960 Okay. 554 00:32:37,960 --> 00:32:40,960 There's a lot of equipment right around this area. 555 00:32:40,960 --> 00:32:41,960 Yeah. 556 00:32:41,960 --> 00:32:42,960 Off you go. 557 00:32:42,960 --> 00:32:44,960 Why are you running away from me? 558 00:32:46,960 --> 00:32:50,960 With little direction and everyone keeping their distance for some reason, 559 00:32:50,960 --> 00:32:51,960 I'm often running. 560 00:32:52,960 --> 00:32:53,960 Science is weird. 561 00:32:55,960 --> 00:32:58,960 Can you see that you're making a little snail trail on the screen? 562 00:32:58,960 --> 00:32:59,960 Yes, I can. 563 00:33:00,960 --> 00:33:01,960 That means it's working. 564 00:33:01,960 --> 00:33:02,960 That means it's working. 565 00:33:02,960 --> 00:33:03,960 Okay. 566 00:33:03,960 --> 00:33:06,960 And each one of those points is a data point. 567 00:33:06,960 --> 00:33:08,960 I feel a little bit like a tightrope walker. 568 00:33:09,960 --> 00:33:14,960 This electromagnetic pole can look at sediments up to nearly 20 feet underground. 569 00:33:14,960 --> 00:33:16,960 Once the data is sorted and mapped, 570 00:33:16,960 --> 00:33:20,960 we can determine if this field was once part of the deadly mudflats of the wash. 571 00:33:20,960 --> 00:33:24,960 What's really amazing is that back in the 1970s, 572 00:33:24,960 --> 00:33:27,960 somebody was looking for King John's treasure in the wash, 573 00:33:27,960 --> 00:33:30,960 and they did a very early version of this sort of survey. 574 00:33:30,960 --> 00:33:31,960 Really? 575 00:33:31,960 --> 00:33:32,960 And they did it all by hand, 576 00:33:32,960 --> 00:33:34,960 because of course it didn't have any GPS. 577 00:33:34,960 --> 00:33:35,960 Right. 578 00:33:35,960 --> 00:33:37,960 It would have taken weeks and weeks. 579 00:33:37,960 --> 00:33:38,960 Wow. 580 00:33:38,960 --> 00:33:41,960 Yeah, I feel that this size we can now do in 45 minutes. 581 00:33:41,960 --> 00:33:42,960 Incredible. 582 00:33:43,960 --> 00:33:46,960 Once I walk across the entire field, 583 00:33:46,960 --> 00:33:48,960 the data points are reviewed, 584 00:33:48,960 --> 00:33:50,960 and there's promising results. 585 00:33:50,960 --> 00:33:54,960 The scan indicates what appear to be softer layers beneath the field. 586 00:33:54,960 --> 00:33:56,960 But to prove it's part of the wash, 587 00:33:56,960 --> 00:33:59,960 the team will have to actually see beneath the surface. 588 00:33:59,960 --> 00:34:03,960 To do that, we'll be employing a simple device and a lot of muscle. 589 00:34:04,960 --> 00:34:06,960 Okay, so, how does this work? 590 00:34:06,960 --> 00:34:08,960 Well, what we've got here is what's called a gouge auger. 591 00:34:08,960 --> 00:34:09,960 A gouge auger. 592 00:34:09,960 --> 00:34:10,960 A gouge auger, yeah. 593 00:34:10,960 --> 00:34:11,960 Okay. 594 00:34:11,960 --> 00:34:14,960 And so we essentially just use brute force. 595 00:34:14,960 --> 00:34:15,960 And gouge the ground. 596 00:34:15,960 --> 00:34:19,960 To drive it into the ground, we turn it, and then we pull it out. 597 00:34:19,960 --> 00:34:20,960 Got it. 598 00:34:20,960 --> 00:34:23,960 So we have to drive this entire thing down to the bottom? 599 00:34:23,960 --> 00:34:24,960 Yeah, we're going to give it a go. 600 00:34:24,960 --> 00:34:25,960 Ready? 601 00:34:25,960 --> 00:34:26,960 Yep. 602 00:34:31,960 --> 00:34:32,960 We'll push this down. 603 00:34:32,960 --> 00:34:33,960 Okay. 604 00:34:39,960 --> 00:34:40,960 Okay. 605 00:34:40,960 --> 00:34:41,960 Got it down. 606 00:34:42,960 --> 00:34:43,960 So we twist it now. 607 00:34:43,960 --> 00:34:46,960 This process isn't flashy, but it is effective. 608 00:34:46,960 --> 00:34:52,960 And it could help reveal if this is indeed the spot where King John's caravan met its tragic end. 609 00:34:52,960 --> 00:34:54,960 So we'll pull it out and we'll see what we've got. 610 00:34:54,960 --> 00:34:55,960 Okay, got it. 611 00:34:55,960 --> 00:34:56,960 Okay, so... 612 00:34:56,960 --> 00:34:58,960 This is where you throw your back at. 613 00:34:58,960 --> 00:34:59,960 Yeah, okay. 614 00:34:59,960 --> 00:35:00,960 Okay. 615 00:35:09,960 --> 00:35:15,960 Modern technology has renewed the search for the 800-year-old missing crown jewels of England's King John. 616 00:35:15,960 --> 00:35:20,960 And I'm digging deep for soil samples with the scientists on the front lines of the hunt. 617 00:35:20,960 --> 00:35:21,960 Okay. 618 00:35:30,960 --> 00:35:34,960 Oh, actually, we got here quite soft. 619 00:35:34,960 --> 00:35:36,960 Yeah, different layers here, yeah? 620 00:35:36,960 --> 00:35:40,960 Yeah, so we've got sand and selt, sand and selt. 621 00:35:40,960 --> 00:35:41,960 Yeah. 622 00:35:41,960 --> 00:35:47,960 And this is exactly the sort of conditions you might find in mud flats associated with the tidal channel. 623 00:35:47,960 --> 00:35:50,960 So we're getting into the sort of things that we're actually looking for. 624 00:35:50,960 --> 00:35:54,960 The primary sources talk about quicksand. 625 00:35:54,960 --> 00:35:57,960 They talk about a tidal channel that opens up. 626 00:35:57,960 --> 00:35:58,960 Yeah. 627 00:35:58,960 --> 00:36:00,960 And they're sucked in by the quicksand. 628 00:36:00,960 --> 00:36:05,960 This sort of soft sand that we're seeing here, I assume, would be pretty nasty stuff to get caught in. 629 00:36:05,960 --> 00:36:08,960 It would look like solid ground. 630 00:36:08,960 --> 00:36:09,960 Right. 631 00:36:09,960 --> 00:36:11,960 But underneath it would be liquefied. 632 00:36:11,960 --> 00:36:23,960 What we're seeing here are the right sort of conditions for wetlands that would appear dry and tidal channels that you could disappear into. 633 00:36:24,960 --> 00:36:31,960 The scans and soil sampling have confirmed that this field was once part of the dangerous tidal channels of the wash. 634 00:36:31,960 --> 00:36:34,960 Now, we just need to know what's trapped in all that mud. 635 00:36:34,960 --> 00:36:39,960 To find out, Clive and his team begin metal detecting and digging test pits. 636 00:36:44,960 --> 00:36:45,960 Got something. 637 00:36:49,960 --> 00:36:50,960 This is it. 638 00:36:50,960 --> 00:36:51,960 King John's treasure, right? 639 00:36:51,960 --> 00:36:52,960 This is it. 640 00:36:52,960 --> 00:36:54,960 King John's treasure right here. 641 00:36:54,960 --> 00:36:55,960 This is the moment. 642 00:36:59,960 --> 00:37:00,960 Looks like a nail, yeah? 643 00:37:00,960 --> 00:37:01,960 Yeah. 644 00:37:03,960 --> 00:37:09,960 The nail is certainly old and could have easily been from part of a traveling baggage train. 645 00:37:09,960 --> 00:37:14,960 As for what else is lying beneath my feet, it's too tempting for me to not dig in myself. 646 00:37:14,960 --> 00:37:17,960 I grab a trowel and get to work. 647 00:37:17,960 --> 00:37:21,960 So the method to the madness here is just dig down, you know? 648 00:37:21,960 --> 00:37:23,960 Dig down, yeah, evenly, relatively. 649 00:37:23,960 --> 00:37:28,960 It's kind of difficult material because it's kind of easy to miss things and all kind of clumps up. 650 00:37:28,960 --> 00:37:31,960 The soil is dense and could be hiding anything. 651 00:37:31,960 --> 00:37:34,960 So we bring in a metal detector to expedite the search. 652 00:37:34,960 --> 00:37:36,960 Something here, something, yeah? 653 00:37:42,960 --> 00:37:44,960 Oh, oh, right there. 654 00:37:44,960 --> 00:37:45,960 See it? 655 00:37:45,960 --> 00:37:46,960 Yeah. 656 00:37:47,960 --> 00:37:48,960 What are you? 657 00:37:48,960 --> 00:37:49,960 What is that? 658 00:37:51,960 --> 00:37:54,960 Oh, look at that! 659 00:37:54,960 --> 00:38:00,960 Clive calls his team member Kevin over to examine the item and hopefully confirm its origin. 660 00:38:00,960 --> 00:38:01,960 What do you got? 661 00:38:01,960 --> 00:38:02,960 He's writing on it for sure. 662 00:38:02,960 --> 00:38:03,960 He's writing on it. 663 00:38:03,960 --> 00:38:04,960 What is it, Kevin? 664 00:38:04,960 --> 00:38:05,960 What is it? 665 00:38:05,960 --> 00:38:06,960 It's actually a lead seal, a metric seal. 666 00:38:06,960 --> 00:38:12,960 It's the sort of thing they would have used to impress in things like wax to leave their seal on their mark, on their documents and things like that. 667 00:38:12,960 --> 00:38:13,960 What does it say? 668 00:38:13,960 --> 00:38:14,960 It's in Latin. 669 00:38:15,960 --> 00:38:17,960 I don't know if you believe that might be John. 670 00:38:17,960 --> 00:38:19,960 Does it? Does it say John? 671 00:38:19,960 --> 00:38:22,960 It does look definitely like John to me. 672 00:38:22,960 --> 00:38:23,960 Look at that! 673 00:38:23,960 --> 00:38:24,960 Made evil Latin. 674 00:38:24,960 --> 00:38:28,960 Yeah, and then there's John, the son of Richard. 675 00:38:28,960 --> 00:38:30,960 No! No! 676 00:38:30,960 --> 00:38:33,960 John, brother of Richard, I would take. 677 00:38:33,960 --> 00:38:36,960 But John was, our John was son of Henry. 678 00:38:36,960 --> 00:38:38,960 Son of Henry would be much better, yeah. 679 00:38:38,960 --> 00:38:39,960 Right. 680 00:38:39,960 --> 00:38:40,960 Anyway, wow. 681 00:38:40,960 --> 00:38:41,960 No! 682 00:38:41,960 --> 00:38:42,960 John? 683 00:38:42,960 --> 00:38:44,960 What sort of date do you think that is, though? 684 00:38:44,960 --> 00:38:45,960 The 13th century. 685 00:38:45,960 --> 00:38:46,960 Yeah. 686 00:38:46,960 --> 00:38:47,960 It's right on the back, back on the mark, yeah. 687 00:38:47,960 --> 00:38:48,960 So right, right time period? 688 00:38:48,960 --> 00:38:49,960 Right time period. 689 00:38:50,960 --> 00:38:57,960 To find electrifies the dig, there's a sense that we're on the verge of a major discovery. 690 00:38:57,960 --> 00:39:01,960 Kevin goes to search in the fields while I keep looking in the pit where we found the seal. 691 00:39:01,960 --> 00:39:06,960 And that's where we stay until Kevin finds something incredible. 692 00:39:06,960 --> 00:39:07,960 Son! 693 00:39:07,960 --> 00:39:08,960 You got something really good here, mate. 694 00:39:08,960 --> 00:39:09,960 You got something really good here, mate. 695 00:39:09,960 --> 00:39:10,960 You got something really good here, mate. 696 00:39:10,960 --> 00:39:11,960 You got something really good here, mate. 697 00:39:11,960 --> 00:39:12,960 You got something! 698 00:39:12,960 --> 00:39:13,960 Yeah, great! 699 00:39:13,960 --> 00:39:14,960 This is... 700 00:39:16,960 --> 00:39:20,960 We've got to find some fantastic stuff, though, but this is really quite amazing. 701 00:39:22,960 --> 00:39:23,960 How cool is that? 702 00:39:31,960 --> 00:39:37,960 I'm on the east coast of England surrounded by archaeologists, geophysicists and historians. 703 00:39:37,960 --> 00:39:40,960 All on the hunt for King John's long lost treasure. 704 00:39:40,960 --> 00:39:43,960 And we may have finally uncovered the missing link. 705 00:39:44,960 --> 00:39:45,960 What do you got? 706 00:39:45,960 --> 00:39:46,960 Well, look at this. 707 00:39:46,960 --> 00:39:47,960 That's amazing. 708 00:39:47,960 --> 00:39:48,960 It's actually a strap end. 709 00:39:48,960 --> 00:39:50,960 And I can't be certain, but it looks like medieval. 710 00:39:50,960 --> 00:39:53,960 But the amazing thing is it's got a king's head on the top with a crown on it. 711 00:39:54,960 --> 00:39:56,960 It's like it's off the end of a belt, you know, like a strap. 712 00:39:58,960 --> 00:40:00,960 Just amazing it's got a king's head on it. 713 00:40:00,960 --> 00:40:01,960 Wow. 714 00:40:01,960 --> 00:40:02,960 How cool is that? 715 00:40:02,960 --> 00:40:04,960 Doesn't get much more high society than that, the head of the king. 716 00:40:04,960 --> 00:40:05,960 No, no. 717 00:40:06,960 --> 00:40:09,960 We may be looking at a representation of King John himself. 718 00:40:10,960 --> 00:40:16,960 The depiction of a king's head from the end of a strap would certainly be a luxury item in the 13th century, 719 00:40:16,960 --> 00:40:18,960 possibly even royal in origin. 720 00:40:19,960 --> 00:40:25,960 Together with the seal we found earlier, this area is turning out to be a trove of high-end medieval relics. 721 00:40:25,960 --> 00:40:28,960 There is, of course, one important question left to ask. 722 00:40:29,960 --> 00:40:32,960 Do you think that this area could be the crossing in question? 723 00:40:32,960 --> 00:40:36,960 You can't doubt it for one second that the fact that this is some sort of causeway. 724 00:40:36,960 --> 00:40:38,960 It's just got all the right answers for us. 725 00:40:38,960 --> 00:40:44,960 And it's got these roads leading to different locations, which somebody like John and his caravan would have to use. 726 00:40:44,960 --> 00:40:45,960 Right. 727 00:40:45,960 --> 00:40:47,960 And we also have rich finds like that. 728 00:40:47,960 --> 00:40:48,960 So yeah, absolutely. 729 00:40:48,960 --> 00:40:52,960 We have a location which fits, I think, the story. 730 00:40:52,960 --> 00:40:54,960 And so a lot more work to be done here. 731 00:40:54,960 --> 00:40:55,960 Absolutely. This is just the beginning. 732 00:40:55,960 --> 00:40:56,960 Yeah. 733 00:40:56,960 --> 00:40:59,960 It'll go on, it'll go on for many seasons to come, I think. 734 00:40:59,960 --> 00:41:01,960 So, watch this space. More to come. 735 00:41:02,960 --> 00:41:03,960 Awesome work, guys. 736 00:41:05,960 --> 00:41:11,960 With the sun disappearing over the horizon, my quest for King John's lost caravan comes to an end. 737 00:41:11,960 --> 00:41:18,960 I've explored the deep end in search of the treasure, and perhaps even hover on the brink of an epic discovery. 738 00:41:18,960 --> 00:41:26,960 Because of the sheer size of the king's baggage train, it's possible that both places we explored were in their ill-fated path across the wash. 739 00:41:26,960 --> 00:41:31,960 And so the hunt for a missing piece of British history continues. 740 00:41:31,960 --> 00:41:37,960 But with dedicated archaeologists, historians, and treasure hunters on the case, and dramatic new finds, 741 00:41:37,960 --> 00:41:45,960 it might just be a matter of time before these 800-year-old jewels emerge from the mud to shine once more.