1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:07,500 Tonight, the conclusion of our epic quest to unlock the mysteries of Moses. 2 00:00:07,500 --> 00:00:09,000 There's a tomb here. 3 00:00:09,000 --> 00:00:10,000 Yeah. 4 00:00:10,000 --> 00:00:11,000 Of Moses. 5 00:00:11,000 --> 00:00:12,000 Yes. 6 00:00:12,000 --> 00:00:13,000 Can we see it? 7 00:00:13,000 --> 00:00:16,500 I venture over 3,000 years into the past, climbing to the peak of Mount Sinai. 8 00:00:16,500 --> 00:00:19,000 We are now above most of the other peaks. 9 00:00:19,000 --> 00:00:21,000 You can just see the outlines of the darkness. 10 00:00:21,000 --> 00:00:25,000 And search for evidence that Moses led his people into the desert. 11 00:00:25,000 --> 00:00:27,500 In the world of the Old Testament, this would be an Israelite. 12 00:00:27,500 --> 00:00:29,000 This is pretty extraordinary. 13 00:00:29,000 --> 00:00:34,000 And a relic from Exodus may be lost in the depths of the Sea of Galilee. 14 00:00:34,000 --> 00:00:35,500 It cannot be natural. 15 00:00:35,500 --> 00:00:37,000 It has to be man-made. 16 00:00:37,000 --> 00:00:38,000 Can you show me where it is? 17 00:00:38,000 --> 00:00:39,500 The water is warm though, right? 18 00:00:39,500 --> 00:00:40,500 No. 19 00:00:40,500 --> 00:00:41,500 Okay, great. 20 00:00:46,000 --> 00:00:49,000 Just a couple guys under a heavy cloth in the middle of the desert. 21 00:00:49,000 --> 00:00:50,500 Really breathes in here. 22 00:00:52,500 --> 00:00:53,500 Fire! 23 00:00:55,000 --> 00:00:56,000 Yes! 24 00:00:56,000 --> 00:00:58,000 I didn't know collecting data could be this much fun. 25 00:00:59,000 --> 00:01:00,000 Hang on. 26 00:01:00,000 --> 00:01:01,000 Oh boy! 27 00:01:01,000 --> 00:01:02,000 Yeah! 28 00:01:05,000 --> 00:01:08,000 It's an adventure with only one commandment. 29 00:01:08,000 --> 00:01:10,000 Thou shalt watch. 30 00:01:11,000 --> 00:01:13,000 I'd say that about sums it up. 31 00:01:17,000 --> 00:01:19,000 My name is Josh Gates. 32 00:01:19,000 --> 00:01:20,000 Hello! 33 00:01:20,000 --> 00:01:21,000 Explorer. 34 00:01:22,000 --> 00:01:23,000 Adventurer. 35 00:01:23,000 --> 00:01:24,000 Amazing. 36 00:01:25,000 --> 00:01:28,000 And a guy who ends up in some very strange situations. 37 00:01:28,000 --> 00:01:30,000 That was exciting. 38 00:01:30,000 --> 00:01:34,000 With a degree in archaeology and a passion for the unexplained, 39 00:01:34,000 --> 00:01:39,000 I travel to the ends of the earth investigating the greatest legends in history. 40 00:01:39,000 --> 00:01:40,000 Let's punch it! 41 00:01:40,000 --> 00:01:43,000 This is Expedition Unknown. 42 00:01:46,000 --> 00:01:48,000 Moses, man or myth. 43 00:01:48,000 --> 00:01:53,000 I'm on a hunt for answers using modern science and archaeology 44 00:01:53,000 --> 00:01:57,000 to unravel the history behind this biblical mystery. 45 00:01:57,000 --> 00:02:01,000 Moses is a prophet in Judaism, Christianity and Islam. 46 00:02:01,000 --> 00:02:04,000 A towering figure with humble beginnings. 47 00:02:04,000 --> 00:02:09,000 According to scripture, Moses was a Hebrew raised in the palace of the Pharaoh in Egypt. 48 00:02:09,000 --> 00:02:11,000 One brick down, do a hundred a go. 49 00:02:12,000 --> 00:02:17,000 I've opened the sealed tomb of a powerful vizier with a unique background. 50 00:02:17,000 --> 00:02:19,000 His name is Apar El. 51 00:02:19,000 --> 00:02:20,000 It's not an Egyptian name. 52 00:02:20,000 --> 00:02:21,000 So what is it? 53 00:02:21,000 --> 00:02:23,000 It's a Semitic name. 54 00:02:24,000 --> 00:02:29,000 With evidence that a person like Moses was able to reach the highest ranks of a Pharaoh's court, 55 00:02:30,000 --> 00:02:38,000 I crossed into the vast deserts of the Sinai Peninsula to a remote monastery at the base of the biblical Mount Sinai. 56 00:02:38,000 --> 00:02:41,000 Everything was built here because this is the place of the burning bush. 57 00:02:41,000 --> 00:02:44,000 Wait a minute. You mean THE burning bush? 58 00:02:46,000 --> 00:02:47,000 Come on. 59 00:02:48,000 --> 00:02:51,000 At the top of this most mystical mountain, 60 00:02:51,000 --> 00:02:55,000 God himself is said to have bestowed upon Moses the Ten Commandments. 61 00:02:55,000 --> 00:02:59,000 You can hear the wind just sailing through. 62 00:02:59,000 --> 00:03:01,000 It's getting colder and colder. 63 00:03:02,000 --> 00:03:04,000 After hours of hiking, the final test. 64 00:03:04,000 --> 00:03:08,000 More than 700 rock cut stairs to the peak. 65 00:03:09,000 --> 00:03:20,000 After regaining my footing, I push on, joined by hundreds of faithful pilgrims who are also making the ascent. 66 00:03:22,000 --> 00:03:26,000 Everyone is now racing to the top trying to catch the first light. 67 00:03:29,000 --> 00:03:35,000 And just as the rays of the sun pierce through the veil of darkness, all of us arrive at the top of the mountain. 68 00:03:39,000 --> 00:03:41,000 The summit. 69 00:03:56,000 --> 00:03:57,000 That is incredible. 70 00:03:59,000 --> 00:04:03,000 The view is quite simply, well, divine. 71 00:04:04,000 --> 00:04:07,000 And they saw the God of Israel. 72 00:04:07,000 --> 00:04:16,000 And there was under his feet, as it were, a paved work of a sapphire stone and the body of heaven in his clearness. 73 00:04:16,000 --> 00:04:24,000 And the sight of the glory of the Lord was like devouring fire on the top of the mount in the eyes of the children of Israel. 74 00:04:28,000 --> 00:04:30,000 I'd say that about sums it up. 75 00:04:33,000 --> 00:04:35,000 The sky. 76 00:04:44,000 --> 00:04:51,000 With the sun rising in the sky, I enter into the shadows of a chapel, kept by the monks of St. Catharines. 77 00:04:52,000 --> 00:04:55,000 This part of my investigation hasn't been about proof. 78 00:04:55,000 --> 00:04:57,000 It's an exploration of faith. 79 00:04:57,000 --> 00:05:03,000 And no matter what you believe or don't believe, there is something to be deeply respected here. 80 00:05:03,000 --> 00:05:12,000 The establishment of the Ten Commandments, a pivotal moment when humanity tried to better itself through a set of fundamental moral laws. 81 00:05:15,000 --> 00:05:20,000 As Moses did after receiving the Ten Commandments, I begin to descend Mount Sinai. 82 00:05:21,000 --> 00:05:29,000 Unfortunately, when Moses returns, he finds the Israelites have abandoned their faith and are worshiping a golden calf. 83 00:05:29,000 --> 00:05:33,000 In an act of anger, Moses throws the tablets to the ground. 84 00:05:37,000 --> 00:05:46,000 As a punishment for their moment of weakness, the Israelites are condemned to wander the desert for 40 years before reaching the land promised to them by God. 85 00:05:47,000 --> 00:05:52,000 I'm hoping that such a migration would have left an archaeological footprint. 86 00:05:52,000 --> 00:05:59,000 And now I hear there's an imminent French archaeologist working at an isolated site that may have found compelling evidence. 87 00:06:01,000 --> 00:06:09,000 I drive from Mount Sinai deeper into the desert toward a place known as Seribid El-Khadim, where the term remote doesn't begin to cut it. 88 00:06:10,000 --> 00:06:13,000 Okay, I guess this is the back way. 89 00:06:14,000 --> 00:06:20,000 There are no roads here, just temporary tracks in the sand from 4x4s crossing the vast desert. 90 00:06:20,000 --> 00:06:23,000 Okay, it might be a little lost. 91 00:06:24,000 --> 00:06:28,000 Finding an archaeological site out here is going to require some help. 92 00:06:28,000 --> 00:06:33,000 Fortunately, my contact has arranged for a guide, that is, if I can find him. 93 00:06:35,000 --> 00:06:41,000 GPS says I should be about 15 miles away, but out here, well, that might take a while. 94 00:06:44,000 --> 00:06:47,000 Driving in the desert is not for the faint of heart. 95 00:06:48,000 --> 00:06:55,000 Thousands of these crisscross trails leading in every direction, not to mention blind corners, sudden drops. 96 00:06:58,000 --> 00:07:02,000 And of course, enough sand to swallow even the most rugged tires. 97 00:07:02,000 --> 00:07:08,000 The key is to just keep moving. After all, if you get stuck, there's nobody here to help dig you out. 98 00:07:09,000 --> 00:07:13,000 Also, though, it's extremely fun. Here we go. 99 00:07:20,000 --> 00:07:25,000 Be a left, and be a right. Left, right, and straight. 100 00:07:29,000 --> 00:07:33,000 Okay, we're running out of plateau here. 101 00:07:33,000 --> 00:07:37,000 Just trying to wave down. 102 00:07:40,000 --> 00:07:41,000 Maybe here? 103 00:07:43,000 --> 00:07:44,000 Sure, why not? 104 00:07:48,000 --> 00:07:50,000 Hang on. Oh boy! 105 00:07:58,000 --> 00:08:00,000 I think I threw my back out on that one. 106 00:08:04,000 --> 00:08:05,000 It's a rental. 107 00:08:08,000 --> 00:08:11,000 This guy should be somewhere around here. 108 00:08:13,000 --> 00:08:18,000 Oh, I see structure. Okay, here we go. This has got to be it. 109 00:08:18,000 --> 00:08:22,000 In a place that seems utterly inhospitable, I find signs of life. 110 00:08:22,000 --> 00:08:26,000 A small Bedouin camp and the guide I've traveled far to find. 111 00:08:27,000 --> 00:08:28,000 Assalamu alaikum. 112 00:08:28,000 --> 00:08:30,000 Yo marah, habbi, yo marah, habbi, yo marah. 113 00:08:30,000 --> 00:08:32,000 Are you Aliyah? Yes, my name is Alabi. 114 00:08:32,000 --> 00:08:36,000 Josh, I hear you're the man if I want to go to the site known as Ceribet. 115 00:08:36,000 --> 00:08:37,000 Yes. 116 00:08:37,000 --> 00:08:39,000 Okay, so we drive? 117 00:08:39,000 --> 00:08:40,000 No, no, no, we go walk. 118 00:08:40,000 --> 00:08:42,000 We walk? How far is it? 119 00:08:42,000 --> 00:08:43,000 It's far, yeah. 120 00:08:43,000 --> 00:08:46,000 Perfect. Okay, I'm right behind you. Come on, let's go. 121 00:08:49,000 --> 00:08:54,000 My new Bedouin friend leads us away from camp and into a steep walled ravine. 122 00:08:56,000 --> 00:08:58,000 The Bedouins are the masters of the desert. 123 00:08:58,000 --> 00:09:01,000 Without my guide here, I'd never find this hidden trail. 124 00:09:01,000 --> 00:09:04,000 As it is, I'm mostly focused on not falling off of it. 125 00:09:05,000 --> 00:09:07,000 A little bit of a drop off. 126 00:09:10,000 --> 00:09:13,000 We climb higher and higher toward a hidden site, 127 00:09:13,000 --> 00:09:18,000 a place that might reveal if the Semitic people from Exodus traveled through the Sinai. 128 00:09:19,000 --> 00:09:25,000 My guide is climbing in sandals, but the higher we get, the more I'm relying on the grip of my boots. 129 00:09:26,000 --> 00:09:30,000 Okay, room for error here. 130 00:09:31,000 --> 00:09:32,000 Very narrow. 131 00:09:35,000 --> 00:09:38,000 Finally, we emerge on a high desert plateau. 132 00:09:39,000 --> 00:09:41,000 This is the top, yeah. 133 00:09:43,000 --> 00:09:49,000 Amidst all this natural desolation, I'm stunned to see ancient man-made construction in the distance. 134 00:09:50,000 --> 00:09:51,000 The temple here. 135 00:09:51,000 --> 00:09:52,000 Okay. 136 00:09:52,000 --> 00:09:53,000 Me, I go back. 137 00:09:53,000 --> 00:09:54,000 Okay, I leave you here. 138 00:09:54,000 --> 00:09:55,000 Okay, goodbye. 139 00:09:55,000 --> 00:09:56,000 Thank you so much. 140 00:09:56,000 --> 00:09:57,000 Welcome, welcome. 141 00:09:57,000 --> 00:09:58,000 Bye-bye. 142 00:09:58,000 --> 00:10:02,000 I walk toward the site, which feels like something from another world. 143 00:10:02,000 --> 00:10:07,000 To find out what it's doing out here, I'm meeting French Egyptologist Pierre Tellet. 144 00:10:08,000 --> 00:10:10,000 Here, I'm Josh, nice to meet you. 145 00:10:10,000 --> 00:10:11,000 Nice to meet you. 146 00:10:11,000 --> 00:10:13,000 I'm kind of in shock looking at this. 147 00:10:13,000 --> 00:10:15,000 This is not at all what I expected to be up here. 148 00:10:15,000 --> 00:10:19,000 Well, it is one of the most remote temples in Egypt. 149 00:10:19,000 --> 00:10:24,000 It has been built around 2000 BC by miners. 150 00:10:25,000 --> 00:10:28,000 While the Sinai might look empty, that's only on the surface. 151 00:10:28,000 --> 00:10:36,000 Ancient Egyptians sent expeditions vast distances from the Nile Delta to recover commodities like copper, or in this case, turquoise. 152 00:10:37,000 --> 00:10:40,000 A precious, beautiful stone, valuable to Egyptians. 153 00:10:40,000 --> 00:10:45,000 Yeah, and it has great symbolic importance for the Egyptian people. 154 00:10:45,000 --> 00:10:50,000 Atop this plateau are no fewer than 30 ancient turquoise mines. 155 00:10:50,000 --> 00:10:53,000 And in the center of the site, the Egyptians built this. 156 00:10:54,000 --> 00:11:01,000 A hilltop temple nearly 4,000 years old, carved by the miners who toiled here far from home. 157 00:11:02,000 --> 00:11:03,000 This is a steeler. 158 00:11:03,000 --> 00:11:05,000 Some of them are more than three meters high. 159 00:11:05,000 --> 00:11:12,000 Each expedition was making its own steeler to record what happened during the time they were in Sinai. 160 00:11:12,000 --> 00:11:13,000 I got it. 161 00:11:13,000 --> 00:11:17,000 So every year when an expedition would come here from Egypt, they would erect a monument. 162 00:11:17,000 --> 00:11:19,000 Yeah, basically recording everything. 163 00:11:19,000 --> 00:11:20,000 Everything. 164 00:11:20,000 --> 00:11:23,000 You can even find the record of the food and drinks. 165 00:11:23,000 --> 00:11:29,000 Steeler like this are some of the earliest forms of posting on social media, right down to the annoying pictures of food. 166 00:11:29,000 --> 00:11:31,000 Even the menus on here. 167 00:11:31,000 --> 00:11:33,000 Yeah, even the menus and feast are there. 168 00:11:33,000 --> 00:11:35,000 Okay, let's keep moving. 169 00:11:36,000 --> 00:11:41,000 But not everything in this lost temple is Egyptian. There's someone else here. 170 00:11:41,000 --> 00:11:45,000 Here's something very special. You see this guy here? 171 00:11:45,000 --> 00:11:46,000 Yes, he's on an animal? 172 00:11:46,000 --> 00:11:48,000 Yeah, he's riding donkey. 173 00:11:48,000 --> 00:11:49,000 Okay. 174 00:11:49,000 --> 00:11:54,000 And the Egyptians are never shown riding donkeys in the iconography. 175 00:11:54,000 --> 00:11:55,000 Ever. 176 00:11:55,000 --> 00:12:00,000 It's reserved for foreign people, especially spesemitic people when it occurs. 177 00:12:00,000 --> 00:12:01,000 This is a Semitic person. 178 00:12:01,000 --> 00:12:09,000 This is a Semitic person that came to help the Egyptians mining the turquoise around 1800 BC. 179 00:12:09,000 --> 00:12:12,000 In the world of the Old Testament, this would be an Israelite. 180 00:12:12,000 --> 00:12:14,000 This would be someone from the land of Canaanite. 181 00:12:14,000 --> 00:12:15,000 From the land of Canaanite. 182 00:12:15,000 --> 00:12:17,000 This is pretty extraordinary. 183 00:12:17,000 --> 00:12:19,000 Holy Moses. 184 00:12:19,000 --> 00:12:27,000 This is evidence, literally carved in stone, that Israelites were working in the Sinai desert around the time of the Exodus story. 185 00:12:27,000 --> 00:12:33,000 You look historically for connection points for things that may have inspired these stories. 186 00:12:33,000 --> 00:12:39,000 But the idea that there are Semitic people here, working here, in Egypt, in the Sinai, 187 00:12:39,000 --> 00:12:43,000 you start to see at least some linkage with the idea that you have this movement of people. 188 00:12:43,000 --> 00:12:46,000 Yeah, this is a meeting point of cultures. 189 00:12:46,000 --> 00:12:47,000 Wow. 190 00:12:47,000 --> 00:12:50,000 Now there is something very interesting I want you to see inside. 191 00:12:50,000 --> 00:12:51,000 Inside? 192 00:12:51,000 --> 00:12:52,000 Inside the cave. 193 00:12:52,000 --> 00:12:53,000 Sure. 194 00:12:53,000 --> 00:12:54,000 Yeah. 195 00:12:54,000 --> 00:12:55,000 What's more interesting than this? 196 00:12:55,000 --> 00:12:56,000 Yeah. 197 00:12:56,000 --> 00:12:57,000 Please. 198 00:12:57,000 --> 00:13:00,000 George, this is the most important part of the temple. 199 00:13:00,000 --> 00:13:04,000 The shrine which is devoted to the main divinity. 200 00:13:04,000 --> 00:13:07,000 Right, this is the goddess here, and this is the king? 201 00:13:07,000 --> 00:13:11,000 Yeah, she is facing the king, and it is the goddess Hathor. 202 00:13:11,000 --> 00:13:14,000 Hathor is the cow goddess? 203 00:13:14,000 --> 00:13:20,000 Hathor, the Egyptian goddess of love, fertility, music and pleasure, was depicted as a woman, 204 00:13:20,000 --> 00:13:22,000 often with horns. 205 00:13:22,000 --> 00:13:24,000 She is shown in the human form here. 206 00:13:24,000 --> 00:13:32,000 The horns are there because she was also represented as a cow, which has a very intriguing parallel with Exodus. 207 00:13:32,000 --> 00:13:37,000 Remember that golden calf the Israelites were worshiping at Mount Sinai? 208 00:13:37,000 --> 00:13:40,000 This is a really tantalizing possibility. 209 00:13:40,000 --> 00:13:45,000 The idea that we have in Exodus this golden calf that these people start worshiping, 210 00:13:45,000 --> 00:13:50,000 and here we have Semitic people who are worshiping a cow goddess. 211 00:13:50,000 --> 00:13:51,000 Yeah. 212 00:13:51,000 --> 00:13:56,000 This place isn't just a turquoise mine, it's an archeological gold mine. 213 00:13:56,000 --> 00:14:03,000 And in one of the nearby chambers, Pierre shows me one more piece of history, one that applies to all of us. 214 00:14:03,000 --> 00:14:12,000 And we have here a new script that was probably invented here by the Semitic people that were involved in the Egyptian expeditions. 215 00:14:12,000 --> 00:14:18,000 These miners, these Semitic people that are here, they start scribbling this into the wall. 216 00:14:18,000 --> 00:14:19,000 Yeah. 217 00:14:19,000 --> 00:14:21,000 Why? What does it represent? 218 00:14:21,000 --> 00:14:29,000 Most probably they saw what the Egyptians were doing with hieroglyphs, and they wanted to write something themselves. 219 00:14:29,000 --> 00:14:32,000 For example, here, the name in Semitic is Aleph. 220 00:14:32,000 --> 00:14:37,000 Aleph is the Semitic word for an ox, hence the horns. 221 00:14:37,000 --> 00:14:42,000 But it's the first sound of Aleph that the Semitic people were trying to represent. 222 00:14:42,000 --> 00:14:46,000 What happens if you flip it upside down? 223 00:14:46,000 --> 00:14:47,000 It's an A. 224 00:14:47,000 --> 00:14:48,000 Exactly. 225 00:14:48,000 --> 00:14:55,000 So Aleph is an ox, you draw an ox, you flip it upside down, we have the letter A. 226 00:14:55,000 --> 00:14:58,000 Or this symbol for water pronounced mem. 227 00:14:58,000 --> 00:15:02,000 Or if you cover the edges, we would know it as an M. 228 00:15:02,000 --> 00:15:08,000 Even more amazing, you have an ox Aleph and a house bet. 229 00:15:08,000 --> 00:15:16,000 Aleph bet, alpha bet in this script, the two first letter, and in the right order. 230 00:15:16,000 --> 00:15:18,000 That's where we get the word alphabet? 231 00:15:18,000 --> 00:15:19,000 Yeah. 232 00:15:19,000 --> 00:15:22,000 I quit, I just, you just made my brain explode. 233 00:15:28,000 --> 00:15:33,000 Amazing, you have an ox Aleph and a house bet, alpha bet. 234 00:15:33,000 --> 00:15:35,000 This is crazy. 235 00:15:36,000 --> 00:15:41,000 What you are seeing here is perhaps the most important graffiti in the world. 236 00:15:41,000 --> 00:15:50,000 That ox and the other symbols would be used by the Phoenicians, then in Hebrew, Greek and Latin, and on and on, until you learned it as a kid. 237 00:15:50,000 --> 00:15:52,000 And it started here. 238 00:15:52,000 --> 00:15:57,000 When it comes to the Israelites, when it comes to the Semitic people, 239 00:15:57,000 --> 00:16:02,000 this is as personal a connection to these people as you can imagine. 240 00:16:02,000 --> 00:16:04,000 This is their fingerprints. 241 00:16:04,000 --> 00:16:10,000 Someone sat here, right here, and carved the very beginnings of our written language. 242 00:16:10,000 --> 00:16:14,000 This is really extraordinary. Everybody should see this. 243 00:16:14,000 --> 00:16:17,000 After all, we're writing it every day. 244 00:16:17,000 --> 00:16:19,000 Yeah, of course. 245 00:16:19,000 --> 00:16:24,000 I thank Pierre and leave the ruins of Serabit El-Hadim in a state of amazement. 246 00:16:24,000 --> 00:16:32,000 Having seen evidence of ancient Semites passing through here during the time of Moses, along with a lesson in my ABCs. 247 00:16:33,000 --> 00:16:39,000 I returned to the desert and my wanderings, following the Israelite story through history. 248 00:16:39,000 --> 00:16:46,000 After 40 years in the Sinai, God finally allowed his chosen people into the Promised Land. 249 00:16:46,000 --> 00:16:53,000 It only takes me another day, another country, and another rented truck to cross the 250 or so miles. 250 00:16:54,000 --> 00:17:02,000 We are approaching the spot where the Bible says the Hebrews entered the land of Canaan, at this point led by my namesake, Joshua. 251 00:17:02,000 --> 00:17:07,000 And just like him, I've got to cross the River Jordan. Cue the gospel music. 252 00:17:08,000 --> 00:17:13,000 Welcome to the Holy Land. 253 00:17:13,000 --> 00:17:20,000 Today, this is Israel and the Palestinian territories, and civilization is everywhere you look. 254 00:17:20,000 --> 00:17:23,000 But when did it arrive here, and who brought it? 255 00:17:23,000 --> 00:17:28,000 To find out, I drive into the West Bank and a place known as Al-Mustara, 256 00:17:28,000 --> 00:17:36,000 where an international team is using cutting-edge science to learn about who was living in this area during the potential time of Exodus. 257 00:17:37,000 --> 00:17:45,000 I park and hike up to meet archaeologist David Ben-Schlomo. 258 00:17:45,000 --> 00:17:46,000 Hey! 259 00:17:46,000 --> 00:17:47,000 Oh, hi. 260 00:17:47,000 --> 00:17:48,000 David. 261 00:17:48,000 --> 00:17:49,000 Hi, Josh. 262 00:17:49,000 --> 00:17:50,000 Nice office. 263 00:17:50,000 --> 00:17:51,000 Oh, yeah. 264 00:17:51,000 --> 00:17:52,000 Not the easiest place to find. 265 00:17:52,000 --> 00:17:53,000 Yeah, it's a good location. 266 00:17:53,000 --> 00:17:54,000 Especially if you don't want to be bothered. 267 00:17:54,000 --> 00:17:55,000 Yeah. 268 00:17:55,000 --> 00:17:59,000 So, okay, I've come to talk to you about the Bible, specifically Moses, Exodus. 269 00:17:59,000 --> 00:18:05,000 So, in the story, we have the Israelites coming here into the land of Canaan, right? 270 00:18:05,000 --> 00:18:08,000 And they are effectively nomads at this point. 271 00:18:08,000 --> 00:18:11,000 So, do we have any evidence for this part of the story? 272 00:18:11,000 --> 00:18:14,000 Are there nomadic people moving through this land? 273 00:18:14,000 --> 00:18:17,000 Well, we might have. Right here. 274 00:18:17,000 --> 00:18:18,000 Like right here, right here? 275 00:18:21,000 --> 00:18:22,000 Well, this is a circle. 276 00:18:22,000 --> 00:18:23,000 Yeah, have a look. 277 00:18:23,000 --> 00:18:24,000 These are all structures. 278 00:18:24,000 --> 00:18:26,000 So, what do we think these were used for? 279 00:18:26,000 --> 00:18:30,000 I think they were used as animal pens for nomads, maybe. 280 00:18:30,000 --> 00:18:32,000 Do we have evidence that people were living in here? 281 00:18:32,000 --> 00:18:35,000 Some shards, pottery shards, were found on the surface. 282 00:18:35,000 --> 00:18:37,000 But we wanted to examine it, so we excavated here. 283 00:18:37,000 --> 00:18:39,000 But we didn't find anything. 284 00:18:39,000 --> 00:18:43,000 But nearby, there's a site which we can get much more evidence. 285 00:18:43,000 --> 00:18:44,000 I like evidence. 286 00:18:44,000 --> 00:18:45,000 Do you want to see that? 287 00:18:45,000 --> 00:18:46,000 Please. 288 00:18:46,000 --> 00:18:47,000 So, follow me. 289 00:18:47,000 --> 00:18:52,000 We climb up a rocky hill, which leads to an incredible view and some serious ruins. 290 00:18:52,000 --> 00:18:54,000 Okay. 291 00:18:54,000 --> 00:18:56,000 So, this is our main site. 292 00:18:56,000 --> 00:18:58,000 So, we have a lot more than just stone circles here. 293 00:18:58,000 --> 00:18:59,000 I can see a medium. 294 00:18:59,000 --> 00:19:00,000 Yeah. 295 00:19:00,000 --> 00:19:02,000 And so, walk me through the architecture here. 296 00:19:02,000 --> 00:19:04,000 I see what looks like a wall over there. 297 00:19:04,000 --> 00:19:09,000 Yeah, you can see the basic thing is the whole settlement is surrounded by fortification wall. 298 00:19:09,000 --> 00:19:10,000 We call it the casemate wall. 299 00:19:10,000 --> 00:19:12,000 It's made out of two lines of stones. 300 00:19:12,000 --> 00:19:16,000 It's very typical of the Iron Age or the First Temple Period. 301 00:19:16,000 --> 00:19:21,000 The Iron Age in this part of the world stretched from about 1200 to 600 BCE, 302 00:19:21,000 --> 00:19:25,000 just after the time of the events described in Exodus. 303 00:19:25,000 --> 00:19:27,000 So, we kind of put this in the world of Moses. 304 00:19:27,000 --> 00:19:31,000 He would have lived in what we call the end of the Bronze Age. 305 00:19:31,000 --> 00:19:35,000 And so, the Iron Ages or the First Temple Period, this is what comes after that. 306 00:19:35,000 --> 00:19:38,000 At the end of this Bronze Age period, going into the Iron Age, 307 00:19:38,000 --> 00:19:40,000 like a huge shift does happen, right? 308 00:19:40,000 --> 00:19:41,000 Yeah. 309 00:19:41,000 --> 00:19:48,000 A transition towards a more complex state society with kings and priests and taxes and writing. 310 00:19:48,000 --> 00:19:50,000 And that's coming from somewhere. 311 00:19:50,000 --> 00:19:52,000 Yeah, it has to come from somewhere. 312 00:19:52,000 --> 00:19:53,000 It kind of pop up from nothing. 313 00:19:53,000 --> 00:19:55,000 Where are the seeds of this? 314 00:19:55,000 --> 00:19:58,000 As we can see by these elaborate ruins, 315 00:19:58,000 --> 00:20:02,000 by the time the Iron Age arrives, a complex society is taking root. 316 00:20:02,000 --> 00:20:06,000 So, did it arrive here with the children of the Exodus in the Bronze Age? 317 00:20:06,000 --> 00:20:09,000 It's really a problem not yet solved, I think, 318 00:20:09,000 --> 00:20:12,000 because so far from that period, we don't have any evidence, 319 00:20:12,000 --> 00:20:13,000 but we are looking for it. 320 00:20:13,000 --> 00:20:16,000 Maybe there is signs of earlier habitation here. 321 00:20:16,000 --> 00:20:17,000 Underneath the Iron Age? 322 00:20:17,000 --> 00:20:18,000 Underneath, yeah. 323 00:20:18,000 --> 00:20:21,000 In order to find earlier, we have to dig deeper. 324 00:20:21,000 --> 00:20:24,000 And so, your team primarily is working down here? 325 00:20:24,000 --> 00:20:27,000 Yes, we are working down there in the northern part of the side. 326 00:20:28,000 --> 00:20:32,000 To pinpoint how deep we need to dig for Bronze Age relics, 327 00:20:32,000 --> 00:20:37,000 I head down the hill, passing excavators hard at work uncovering the past, 328 00:20:37,000 --> 00:20:41,000 until I find geoarcheologist Orrin Ackerman. 329 00:20:42,000 --> 00:20:43,000 Hi, how are you? I'm Josh. 330 00:20:43,000 --> 00:20:45,000 Hi, Josh. Nice meeting you. 331 00:20:45,000 --> 00:20:47,000 Nice meeting you too. And what are you working on here? 332 00:20:47,000 --> 00:20:49,000 Have I seen it? And I'll show you. 333 00:20:49,000 --> 00:20:50,000 Sure. 334 00:20:50,000 --> 00:20:52,000 So, what have we got here? 335 00:20:52,000 --> 00:20:56,000 So, Josh, we are geoarcheologists, and we deal with layers. 336 00:20:56,000 --> 00:20:57,000 History is all about layers. 337 00:20:57,000 --> 00:20:59,000 So, I'm using a new technique. 338 00:20:59,000 --> 00:21:00,000 Okay. 339 00:21:00,000 --> 00:21:01,000 Portable OSL. 340 00:21:01,000 --> 00:21:03,000 Portable OSL. What is OSL? 341 00:21:03,000 --> 00:21:06,000 OSL is Optically Stimulated Luminescence. 342 00:21:06,000 --> 00:21:09,000 So, in the sediment, there is quartz. 343 00:21:09,000 --> 00:21:10,000 There's quartz, right? 344 00:21:10,000 --> 00:21:13,000 So, there's bits of quartz crystals that are trapped in the dirt here? 345 00:21:13,000 --> 00:21:14,000 Yes. 346 00:21:14,000 --> 00:21:15,000 Okay. 347 00:21:15,000 --> 00:21:18,000 When the particles of quartz become trapped in the earth, 348 00:21:18,000 --> 00:21:21,000 they begin to accumulate radiation from the surrounding soil. 349 00:21:21,000 --> 00:21:25,000 The longer the quartz is there, the more radiation it absorbs, 350 00:21:25,000 --> 00:21:27,000 which is where Orrin's machine comes in. 351 00:21:27,000 --> 00:21:32,000 What we do, we stimulated this radiation in the lab 352 00:21:32,000 --> 00:21:34,000 or in the portable equipment that we have here. 353 00:21:34,000 --> 00:21:36,000 How are you stim- what do you mean? 354 00:21:36,000 --> 00:21:38,000 Like, what? You put on some Marvin Gaye? 355 00:21:38,000 --> 00:21:39,000 What do you mean? You stimulate it. 356 00:21:39,000 --> 00:21:41,000 What are you talking about? 357 00:21:41,000 --> 00:21:44,000 The OSL releases the radiation in the quartz crystals 358 00:21:44,000 --> 00:21:47,000 and counts the number of photons that are discharged. 359 00:21:47,000 --> 00:21:51,000 The higher the number of photons, the older the sample. 360 00:21:51,000 --> 00:21:55,000 So, if we want to see if there are Bronze Age people here, 361 00:21:55,000 --> 00:21:58,000 if we want to think about this biblical story of the time of Moses, 362 00:21:58,000 --> 00:22:00,000 we have to maybe look deeper. 363 00:22:00,000 --> 00:22:01,000 Yes. But there's one problem. 364 00:22:01,000 --> 00:22:02,000 Okay. 365 00:22:02,000 --> 00:22:06,000 Because when I sample it, it might be exposed again to the sun. 366 00:22:06,000 --> 00:22:07,000 So, we need to make it dark. 367 00:22:07,000 --> 00:22:09,000 So, I have this cover. 368 00:22:09,000 --> 00:22:12,000 So, I put above the section. 369 00:22:12,000 --> 00:22:14,000 And then I go inside. 370 00:22:14,000 --> 00:22:16,000 Who would like to join me? 371 00:22:16,000 --> 00:22:18,000 Jesus, you never ask. 372 00:22:18,000 --> 00:22:19,000 Here we go. 373 00:22:19,000 --> 00:22:21,000 In order for the machine to get an accurate reading, 374 00:22:21,000 --> 00:22:24,000 the samples must be totally shielded from the sun. 375 00:22:24,000 --> 00:22:27,000 And unfortunately, it's about noon here in the Middle East. 376 00:22:27,000 --> 00:22:29,000 This is weird. Here we go. 377 00:22:29,000 --> 00:22:30,000 Okay. 378 00:22:30,000 --> 00:22:31,000 Hi. 379 00:22:31,000 --> 00:22:32,000 Hi. 380 00:22:32,000 --> 00:22:33,000 How are you? 381 00:22:33,000 --> 00:22:34,000 Okay, how are you? 382 00:22:34,000 --> 00:22:36,000 I'm good. I'm good. 383 00:22:36,000 --> 00:22:37,000 Well, here we are. 384 00:22:37,000 --> 00:22:41,000 Just a couple of guys under a heavy cloth in the middle of the desert. 385 00:22:41,000 --> 00:22:43,000 Really briefs in here. 386 00:22:43,000 --> 00:22:45,000 Why are you taking your pants off? 387 00:22:45,000 --> 00:22:46,000 I'm just kidding. 388 00:22:46,000 --> 00:22:50,000 Okay. So, okay. What's our plan? 389 00:22:50,000 --> 00:22:51,000 We're going to scrape some soil here? 390 00:22:51,000 --> 00:22:52,000 Yes. 391 00:22:52,000 --> 00:22:54,000 So, do we just start on the wall here? What do we do? 392 00:22:54,000 --> 00:22:56,000 No. First, I have to make a clean cut. 393 00:22:56,000 --> 00:22:59,000 To soil that has not been exposed to the air. 394 00:23:01,000 --> 00:23:05,000 For comparison, Orin collects samples from near the surface layer, 395 00:23:05,000 --> 00:23:08,000 then the Iron Age, and finally deeper in the Earth, 396 00:23:08,000 --> 00:23:11,000 and what we hope is the Bronze Age. 397 00:23:11,000 --> 00:23:13,000 All right, we've got our samples. 398 00:23:13,000 --> 00:23:16,000 Tell you one thing. Pretty warm in here. 399 00:23:16,000 --> 00:23:17,000 Yes. 400 00:23:17,000 --> 00:23:18,000 Time to go into the light? 401 00:23:18,000 --> 00:23:19,000 Time to go into the light. 402 00:23:19,000 --> 00:23:21,000 Go into the light. 403 00:23:21,000 --> 00:23:22,000 No. 404 00:23:22,000 --> 00:23:23,000 Okay. 405 00:23:23,000 --> 00:23:24,000 Woo. 406 00:23:24,000 --> 00:23:26,000 Samples safely in hand. 407 00:23:26,000 --> 00:23:28,000 We bring them to a light-shielded tent 408 00:23:28,000 --> 00:23:31,000 where the machine can count their photons. 409 00:23:31,000 --> 00:23:33,000 Open the drawer. 410 00:23:33,000 --> 00:23:36,000 And put the sample into the sock here. 411 00:23:36,000 --> 00:23:37,000 Uh-huh. 412 00:23:37,000 --> 00:23:38,000 Close it. 413 00:23:38,000 --> 00:23:40,000 First, top layer. 414 00:23:40,000 --> 00:23:41,000 Okay. 415 00:23:41,000 --> 00:23:43,000 And we run the first sample. 416 00:23:43,000 --> 00:23:44,000 Here we go. 417 00:23:45,000 --> 00:23:48,000 In short order, we process every sample we collected. 418 00:23:48,000 --> 00:23:51,000 Thankfully, the computer doesn't need to work for long. 419 00:23:53,000 --> 00:23:54,000 Okay, we have results. 420 00:23:54,000 --> 00:23:56,000 Okay. So, what are we looking at here? 421 00:23:56,000 --> 00:23:58,000 For each layer, we have a photon count. 422 00:23:58,000 --> 00:24:00,000 So, for the top layer, close to the surface, 423 00:24:00,000 --> 00:24:03,000 the photon count is 3,902. 424 00:24:03,000 --> 00:24:04,000 The transition. 425 00:24:04,000 --> 00:24:07,000 And then we jump way down to the Iron Age, 426 00:24:07,000 --> 00:24:09,000 where the number is way higher. 427 00:24:09,000 --> 00:24:11,000 We have 30,036. 428 00:24:11,000 --> 00:24:13,000 Yes, way above. 429 00:24:13,000 --> 00:24:14,000 And if you go deeper... 430 00:24:14,000 --> 00:24:15,000 Bronze Age. 431 00:24:15,000 --> 00:24:16,000 Yes. 432 00:24:16,000 --> 00:24:17,000 We have a signal. 433 00:24:17,000 --> 00:24:20,000 All the way up to 83,205 photons. 434 00:24:20,000 --> 00:24:22,000 So, we have middle Bronze Age. 435 00:24:22,000 --> 00:24:24,000 We have middle Bronze Age in this site. 436 00:24:24,000 --> 00:24:27,000 And soil that emits over 80,000 photons 437 00:24:27,000 --> 00:24:29,000 should be from the Bronze Age. 438 00:24:29,000 --> 00:24:30,000 Absolutely. 439 00:24:30,000 --> 00:24:32,000 If we find material with this signal, 440 00:24:32,000 --> 00:24:33,000 we are in the money. 441 00:24:33,000 --> 00:24:34,000 We're in the money. 442 00:24:34,000 --> 00:24:35,000 Okay. 443 00:24:35,000 --> 00:24:36,000 Bronze Age. 444 00:24:36,000 --> 00:24:37,000 Let's look. 445 00:24:38,000 --> 00:24:41,000 Now that we know exactly in which layer to dig, 446 00:24:41,000 --> 00:24:43,000 I link back up with David and his team. 447 00:24:45,000 --> 00:24:48,000 We begin excavating below the Iron Age structures 448 00:24:48,000 --> 00:24:50,000 in the soil that has now been identified 449 00:24:50,000 --> 00:24:52,000 as coming from the Bronze Age. 450 00:24:52,000 --> 00:24:54,000 It's meticulous, dusty work, 451 00:24:54,000 --> 00:24:56,000 but at least I'm not doing it under a black tarp. 452 00:24:56,000 --> 00:24:59,000 And it doesn't take long for David to uncover something. 453 00:25:00,000 --> 00:25:01,000 Hey, Josh. 454 00:25:01,000 --> 00:25:02,000 Did you find something? 455 00:25:02,000 --> 00:25:03,000 Yeah. 456 00:25:03,000 --> 00:25:04,000 What did you find? 457 00:25:04,000 --> 00:25:05,000 Look at this. 458 00:25:05,000 --> 00:25:07,000 Oh, my word. 459 00:25:13,000 --> 00:25:14,000 Hey, Josh. 460 00:25:14,000 --> 00:25:15,000 Look at this. 461 00:25:17,000 --> 00:25:18,000 Oh, it's a vessel. 462 00:25:18,000 --> 00:25:19,000 Yeah, it's a vessel lying on the floor. 463 00:25:19,000 --> 00:25:20,000 Big piece here. 464 00:25:20,000 --> 00:25:21,000 Yeah, big pieces. 465 00:25:21,000 --> 00:25:22,000 And here, and then a couple of shirts. 466 00:25:22,000 --> 00:25:23,000 Look at this. 467 00:25:23,000 --> 00:25:25,000 In the hills of the Palestinian territories, 468 00:25:25,000 --> 00:25:29,000 I'm working with a team to see if we can find Bronze Age relics 469 00:25:29,000 --> 00:25:33,000 that might coincide with the era of Moses and the Exodus. 470 00:25:33,000 --> 00:25:35,000 Look at this. 471 00:25:35,000 --> 00:25:36,000 So we've got the rim here. 472 00:25:36,000 --> 00:25:38,000 It's a rim of a little jar. 473 00:25:38,000 --> 00:25:42,000 The shape of this rim is typical of the middle Bronze Age. 474 00:25:42,000 --> 00:25:43,000 This is middle Bronze Age? 475 00:25:43,000 --> 00:25:45,000 Yeah, it's not Iron Age. 476 00:25:45,000 --> 00:25:46,000 Really? 477 00:25:46,000 --> 00:25:47,000 Yes. 478 00:25:47,000 --> 00:25:50,000 The design of this pottery and the soil we found it in 479 00:25:50,000 --> 00:25:52,000 puts this squarely in the Bronze Age. 480 00:25:52,000 --> 00:25:56,000 Within a few hundred years of the purported timeline of Moses. 481 00:25:56,000 --> 00:26:00,000 This is the first Bronze Age item of its kind found here at Al-Mustara, 482 00:26:00,000 --> 00:26:05,000 and perhaps a sign that a settlement existed here before the Iron Age. 483 00:26:05,000 --> 00:26:09,000 If more evidence can be found that nomadic people came into this land 484 00:26:09,000 --> 00:26:13,000 and settled here, it would add credence to the events of Exodus. 485 00:26:13,000 --> 00:26:15,000 So let me know what you find next, all right? 486 00:26:15,000 --> 00:26:16,000 We'll do. 487 00:26:16,000 --> 00:26:17,000 Thank you so much. 488 00:26:17,000 --> 00:26:21,000 I thank David and his team before moving on to a location in Israel 489 00:26:21,000 --> 00:26:25,000 that might produce evidence to support another part of Moses' story. 490 00:26:25,000 --> 00:26:28,000 And for once, I won't be digging through sand. 491 00:26:28,000 --> 00:26:30,000 Welcome to the Sea of Galilee. 492 00:26:30,000 --> 00:26:33,000 This is Israel's largest source of fresh water, 493 00:26:33,000 --> 00:26:35,000 and at 686 feet below sea level, 494 00:26:35,000 --> 00:26:38,000 it's actually the lowest freshwater lake on earth. 495 00:26:38,000 --> 00:26:42,000 It's also where the Christian Gospels say that Jesus preached to the multitudes, 496 00:26:42,000 --> 00:26:46,000 fed the 5,000, and, you know, walked on water. 497 00:26:46,000 --> 00:26:48,000 But that's a different testament. 498 00:26:48,000 --> 00:26:51,000 We are here looking for evidence that is much, much older. 499 00:26:51,000 --> 00:26:55,000 And there are two scientists nearby who believe they may have found it. 500 00:26:59,000 --> 00:27:02,000 Investigating a mysterious formation in this legendary lake 501 00:27:02,000 --> 00:27:07,000 are Geosciences Professor Dr. Michael Freikman and Dr. Shmulik Marko, 502 00:27:07,000 --> 00:27:10,000 an archaeologist and geophysicist. 503 00:27:10,000 --> 00:27:12,000 Welcome to the Sea of Galilee. 504 00:27:12,000 --> 00:27:13,000 A beautiful place to be, yeah? 505 00:27:13,000 --> 00:27:14,000 Absolutely. 506 00:27:14,000 --> 00:27:15,000 A very historic place. 507 00:27:15,000 --> 00:27:19,000 Have you ever heard of an object called the Well of Miriam? 508 00:27:19,000 --> 00:27:22,000 Yes, I've heard of the Well of Miriam, although I'm not totally sure I understand it. 509 00:27:22,000 --> 00:27:26,000 It's supposed to be like a stone of some kind, right? 510 00:27:26,000 --> 00:27:29,000 That provides water to Moses and the Israelites. 511 00:27:29,000 --> 00:27:30,000 It's like a mobile spring. 512 00:27:30,000 --> 00:27:34,000 It's following the people of Israel, or it just emerges everywhere. 513 00:27:34,000 --> 00:27:38,000 They stop, but it's always there, and it's always providing them with water. 514 00:27:39,000 --> 00:27:41,000 As the Israelites first enter the desert, 515 00:27:41,000 --> 00:27:45,000 God tells Moses to strike a particular rock with his staff. 516 00:27:47,000 --> 00:27:51,000 And one miracle later, fresh water pours from the stone. 517 00:27:51,000 --> 00:27:56,000 It is later referred to as Miriam's Well, named after Moses' sister. 518 00:27:58,000 --> 00:28:00,000 As the Israelites wander the desert, 519 00:28:00,000 --> 00:28:03,000 Miriam's Well appears whenever they need it, 520 00:28:03,000 --> 00:28:08,000 sustaining the faithful and ensuring that they will make it to the promised land. 521 00:28:08,000 --> 00:28:09,000 And what happens to it? 522 00:28:09,000 --> 00:28:13,000 The later sources say once the Israelites come into the promised land, 523 00:28:13,000 --> 00:28:15,000 the Well sank in the water. 524 00:28:15,000 --> 00:28:19,000 The question is, where did this miraculous stone submerge? 525 00:28:19,000 --> 00:28:23,000 The sacred Jewish writings of the Talmud provide a tantalizing clue. 526 00:28:24,000 --> 00:28:28,000 A certain Rabbi Haya says that every person who climbs the Yishemun mountain, 527 00:28:28,000 --> 00:28:32,000 which we don't know where it's located, would see a small bump in the Tiberias Sea. 528 00:28:32,000 --> 00:28:36,000 And it specifically says, this small bump, this is the Well of Miriam. 529 00:28:37,000 --> 00:28:41,000 And the Sea of Tiberias is the old name for the Sea of Galilee, correct? 530 00:28:41,000 --> 00:28:42,000 That's correct. 531 00:28:42,000 --> 00:28:48,000 The rabbinical writings also describe a sick man who was healed by the Well of Miriam in the Sea of Galilee. 532 00:28:48,000 --> 00:28:54,000 Another source places this round object not far from the shore, about midway up the sea's coast. 533 00:28:55,000 --> 00:28:59,000 Okay, so we have a connection between this story from Exodus and this location. 534 00:28:59,000 --> 00:29:03,000 And I should tell you that when we did geophysical survey here, 535 00:29:03,000 --> 00:29:07,000 and on the back top of the very featureless bottom of the lake, 536 00:29:07,000 --> 00:29:11,000 we found something rising up from the bottom. 537 00:29:11,000 --> 00:29:14,000 It's very strange, it's very unusual. 538 00:29:14,000 --> 00:29:15,000 Does it happen to be round? 539 00:29:16,000 --> 00:29:17,000 It's perfectly round. 540 00:29:17,000 --> 00:29:20,000 As a geologist, I can say it cannot be natural. 541 00:29:20,000 --> 00:29:21,000 It has to be man-made. 542 00:29:21,000 --> 00:29:22,000 Can you show me where it is? 543 00:29:22,000 --> 00:29:23,000 Yeah, sure. Let's go. 544 00:29:23,000 --> 00:29:24,000 Please. 545 00:29:29,000 --> 00:29:32,000 We set off in a research vessel and support boat, 546 00:29:32,000 --> 00:29:39,000 and steam out into the Sea of Galilee using GPS coordinates and onboard sonar to locate the unknown structure. 547 00:29:46,000 --> 00:29:48,000 Come on, Josh. We're approaching the site. 548 00:29:48,000 --> 00:29:50,000 In a second, we're going to be able to see it on the sonar. 549 00:29:50,000 --> 00:29:54,000 Okay, so right now we've just got a flap on them. 550 00:29:55,000 --> 00:29:56,000 Oh, this. 551 00:29:56,000 --> 00:29:57,000 Here we are. 552 00:29:57,000 --> 00:29:59,000 Wow, look at that! 553 00:29:59,000 --> 00:30:01,000 Huge sonar return. 554 00:30:01,000 --> 00:30:05,000 I mean, there's nothing down there, and then out of nowhere, 555 00:30:05,000 --> 00:30:07,000 suddenly something's 15 feet underneath us. 556 00:30:07,000 --> 00:30:09,000 So what is that? 557 00:30:09,000 --> 00:30:11,000 Well, we have to get in the water to see that. 558 00:30:11,000 --> 00:30:12,000 In the water? 559 00:30:12,000 --> 00:30:13,000 In the water. 560 00:30:13,000 --> 00:30:14,000 The water's warm though, right? 561 00:30:14,000 --> 00:30:15,000 No. 562 00:30:17,000 --> 00:30:18,000 Okay, great. 563 00:30:18,000 --> 00:30:20,000 Let's try to stay positive, guys. Come on. 564 00:30:21,000 --> 00:30:25,000 Visibility in the Sea of Galilee is notoriously bad, 565 00:30:25,000 --> 00:30:28,000 so we throw over a shot line to follow to the bottom. 566 00:30:29,000 --> 00:30:35,000 Then Mike and I suit up to look for evidence of Miriam's well by diving into some very chilly water. 567 00:30:37,000 --> 00:30:41,000 Topside, Shmulik will monitor communications as we explore the anomaly. 568 00:30:48,000 --> 00:30:50,000 Josh, to topside, do you read? 569 00:30:50,000 --> 00:30:51,000 I hear you loud and clear. 570 00:30:51,000 --> 00:30:53,000 How is the visibility? 571 00:30:53,000 --> 00:30:56,000 Visibility is very bad, just a couple of feet. 572 00:30:56,000 --> 00:30:58,000 We are headed down the line. Here we go. 573 00:31:02,000 --> 00:31:06,000 The algae makes it difficult to see as we descend toward our target. 574 00:31:07,000 --> 00:31:08,000 Until... 575 00:31:09,000 --> 00:31:11,000 What a second. I think I've seen something. 576 00:31:13,000 --> 00:31:18,000 Unbelievable. We are seeing a huge mass of stones down here. 577 00:31:18,000 --> 00:31:22,000 I think we are at the top of a huge pile of some kind. 578 00:31:22,000 --> 00:31:25,000 It must go down 15 or 20 feet. 579 00:31:25,000 --> 00:31:29,000 Josh, try to see if you see any arrangement of the stones. 580 00:31:29,000 --> 00:31:35,000 It's very hard to tell whether this was once more organized and collapsed, 581 00:31:35,000 --> 00:31:39,000 or whether they're just loosely piled up. It's hard to say. 582 00:31:39,000 --> 00:31:42,000 The rocks appear to be dark. What are these? 583 00:31:42,000 --> 00:31:44,000 Looks like the vault. 584 00:31:44,000 --> 00:31:47,000 Is there basalt anywhere else in this lake? 585 00:31:47,000 --> 00:31:49,000 Let us find out now. 586 00:31:49,000 --> 00:31:54,000 Do you see any schizel marks? Any sign of walking on the stones? 587 00:31:54,000 --> 00:32:00,000 It's really tough. We have certain stones here that look like they have really straight edges. 588 00:32:00,000 --> 00:32:03,000 Look at this. This looks so much like a cut stone. 589 00:32:03,000 --> 00:32:06,000 You can see these straight lines and this corner here, 590 00:32:06,000 --> 00:32:11,000 but this might just be the natural fracturing of the rock. 591 00:32:11,000 --> 00:32:15,000 But just the fact that they're here and piled so high 592 00:32:15,000 --> 00:32:19,000 means they must have been placed here intentionally. 593 00:32:21,000 --> 00:32:24,000 I see lots of little gaps between the rocks, 594 00:32:24,000 --> 00:32:27,000 but they're just choked with sand and sediment. 595 00:32:27,000 --> 00:32:34,000 The problem is, as soon as you touch it, this silt kicks up and it's just a cloud. 596 00:32:34,000 --> 00:32:38,000 The algae and clouds of disturbed silt reduce our visibility to the point 597 00:32:38,000 --> 00:32:42,000 that any interior exploration of the pile is futile. 598 00:32:42,000 --> 00:32:45,000 We therefore ascend to the surface to re-grew. 599 00:32:47,000 --> 00:32:49,000 Good to see you. 600 00:32:49,000 --> 00:32:53,000 I mean, really incredible down there. 601 00:32:53,000 --> 00:32:56,000 So did you see any formation, any arrangement? 602 00:32:56,000 --> 00:32:59,000 There are areas where it almost seems like it's in tears. 603 00:32:59,000 --> 00:33:02,000 The frustrating part is, you can't see very much. 604 00:33:02,000 --> 00:33:06,000 The visibility is so bad, you can only really take it in a few feet at a time. 605 00:33:06,000 --> 00:33:07,000 I wish I could see more of it. 606 00:33:07,000 --> 00:33:09,000 Yeah, maybe we can. 607 00:33:09,000 --> 00:33:11,000 How? 608 00:33:11,000 --> 00:33:15,000 To tackle our visibility problem, I climb back aboard and dry off. 609 00:33:15,000 --> 00:33:20,000 Schmulich has arranged a high-tech solution to get a clear picture of whatever's beneath us. 610 00:33:20,000 --> 00:33:21,000 Hello. 611 00:33:21,000 --> 00:33:23,000 Hi, Josh. I'd like you to meet Mo. 612 00:33:23,000 --> 00:33:24,000 Hi. 613 00:33:24,000 --> 00:33:25,000 Mo, nice to meet you. 614 00:33:25,000 --> 00:33:27,000 Okay, so what are we going to do here? 615 00:33:27,000 --> 00:33:30,000 Here, Mo is going to operate the air gun. 616 00:33:30,000 --> 00:33:31,000 I'm sorry, the air gun? 617 00:33:31,000 --> 00:33:32,000 Air gun. 618 00:33:32,000 --> 00:33:33,000 That's the air gun. 619 00:33:33,000 --> 00:33:35,000 Okay, I'm not familiar with this device. 620 00:33:35,000 --> 00:33:36,000 How does this work? 621 00:33:36,000 --> 00:33:38,000 We don't shoot people with it. 622 00:33:38,000 --> 00:33:39,000 That's good news. 623 00:33:39,000 --> 00:33:42,000 But we do use it to shoot seismic surveys. 624 00:33:42,000 --> 00:33:51,000 This generates the acoustic sound that travels through the water into the sea floor and back to the recorder on the other side. 625 00:33:51,000 --> 00:33:54,000 We are using that as our data to image our object. 626 00:33:54,000 --> 00:33:57,000 Try to imagine like ultrasound for younger babies. 627 00:33:57,000 --> 00:33:58,000 That would be the same. 628 00:33:58,000 --> 00:34:00,000 Got it, okay. 629 00:34:03,000 --> 00:34:06,000 The air guns are pressurized before being lowered into position. 630 00:34:10,000 --> 00:34:12,000 That's one meter. 631 00:34:15,000 --> 00:34:19,000 Two meters and then it's time to rock. 632 00:34:19,000 --> 00:34:20,000 Okay, we are in position. 633 00:34:20,000 --> 00:34:21,000 In position, ready to echo. 634 00:34:21,000 --> 00:34:24,000 The seismic air gun is primed and ready to go. 635 00:34:24,000 --> 00:34:28,000 We're either about to make history or blow our boat into a million pieces. 636 00:34:28,000 --> 00:34:29,000 May I? 637 00:34:29,000 --> 00:34:30,000 Yeah. 638 00:34:30,000 --> 00:34:31,000 Fire! 639 00:34:39,000 --> 00:34:40,000 Ready to echo. 640 00:34:40,000 --> 00:34:41,000 May I? 641 00:34:41,000 --> 00:34:42,000 Fire! 642 00:34:46,000 --> 00:34:47,000 Yes! 643 00:34:47,000 --> 00:34:50,000 I didn't know collecting data could be this much fun. 644 00:34:50,000 --> 00:34:59,000 We're dropping a seismic air gun in the Sea of Galilee to scan an underwater anomaly that could be connected to the biblical legend known as Miriams Well, 645 00:34:59,000 --> 00:35:03,000 providing a historical link to the story of Exodus. 646 00:35:03,000 --> 00:35:04,000 I like this. 647 00:35:04,000 --> 00:35:06,000 Okay, fire it again! 648 00:35:07,000 --> 00:35:13,000 To get a clear digital picture of what lies in the murky waters below, we do this again. 649 00:35:13,000 --> 00:35:14,000 Fire! 650 00:35:15,000 --> 00:35:16,000 And again. 651 00:35:16,000 --> 00:35:17,000 Fire! 652 00:35:18,000 --> 00:35:19,000 And again. 653 00:35:19,000 --> 00:35:20,000 Fire it again! 654 00:35:23,000 --> 00:35:29,000 A total of eight charges are set off in a circle around the anomaly we found in the sea below. 655 00:35:30,000 --> 00:35:36,000 This seismic survey of the area has generated enough data to form a 3D image on a computer. 656 00:35:36,000 --> 00:35:38,000 Okay, let's look at this first. 657 00:35:38,000 --> 00:35:44,000 And we see this location of the short points where we made the noise. 658 00:35:44,000 --> 00:35:48,000 And this is a higher resolution image of the structure. 659 00:35:48,000 --> 00:35:55,000 And what is important here to see is that some of the reflection comes from the structure which is buried by sediments. 660 00:35:55,000 --> 00:35:57,000 Oh, it continues under the sediment here. 661 00:35:57,000 --> 00:35:59,000 It continues under the sediment. 662 00:35:59,000 --> 00:36:04,000 So it means that the sediment accumulated after the structure was built. 663 00:36:04,000 --> 00:36:14,000 Based on this sediment accumulated above the base, we assume that it was built about 4,000 years ago, minimum, or perhaps even earlier. 664 00:36:14,000 --> 00:36:16,000 So we're in the Bronze Age here. 665 00:36:16,000 --> 00:36:19,000 In terms of our Exodus story, we're in the neighborhood. 666 00:36:19,000 --> 00:36:26,000 Okay, so if we take a look at our final product of the imaging, we can see that this image is in the middle of the structure. 667 00:36:27,000 --> 00:36:32,000 It's three-dimensional, as we crossed in different profiles, in different angles. 668 00:36:32,000 --> 00:36:34,000 That is unbelievable. Look at that. 669 00:36:34,000 --> 00:36:37,000 Now you can look at a three-dimensional image of the structure. 670 00:36:37,000 --> 00:36:39,000 Look at the size of it. It's huge. 671 00:36:39,000 --> 00:36:47,000 It has to be artificial. Somebody had to bring these huge borders of basalt and put them one on top of the other. 672 00:36:47,000 --> 00:36:49,000 It never happens naturally. 673 00:36:49,000 --> 00:36:55,000 There's no question this was constructed. It's just such an oddity on the sea floor. 674 00:36:55,000 --> 00:36:58,000 It does not match the topography of the sea floor. 675 00:36:58,000 --> 00:37:05,000 So this is also supporting the possibility that it was built and leveled by someone. 676 00:37:05,000 --> 00:37:11,000 So we have this Jerusalem Talmud that says that you could look down into the Sea of Galilee and see this bump. 677 00:37:11,000 --> 00:37:14,000 Is there anything else like this that rises up out of the lake here? 678 00:37:14,000 --> 00:37:18,000 No, that's the only place that we know of. 679 00:37:18,000 --> 00:37:23,000 This mysterious man-made structure is the only thing like it in the Sea of Galilee. 680 00:37:23,000 --> 00:37:28,000 And it matches the location of where Miriam's well was said to have been interred. 681 00:37:28,000 --> 00:37:32,000 So the million-dollar question, what the hell is this thing? 682 00:37:32,000 --> 00:37:40,000 Indeed. It reminds me of a cairn, or in other words, an artificial stone mound covering a tomb underneath. 683 00:37:40,000 --> 00:37:43,000 So is it possible then that there's something inside of this? 684 00:37:43,000 --> 00:37:45,000 It's very possible. 685 00:37:45,000 --> 00:37:47,000 I mean, it would be hugely significant, right? 686 00:37:47,000 --> 00:37:52,000 Exactly. It would be the only untouched tomb of this kind in this region. 687 00:37:52,000 --> 00:37:57,000 Right. Obviously this isn't a magic rock that followed the Israelites through the desert, 688 00:37:57,000 --> 00:38:01,000 but is it possible that this is connected to the story of Exodus? 689 00:38:01,000 --> 00:38:09,000 Well, in general, religions are known for incorporating unique landscape features into their own oral tradition. 690 00:38:09,000 --> 00:38:14,000 Right. But you could see how something like this could become the well of Miriam, 691 00:38:14,000 --> 00:38:17,000 something dry that then is consumed by water. 692 00:38:17,000 --> 00:38:19,000 It is definitely a possibility. 693 00:38:19,000 --> 00:38:24,000 The next step will be to investigate exactly what lies inside the structure, 694 00:38:24,000 --> 00:38:26,000 which will be an arduous undertaking. 695 00:38:26,000 --> 00:38:31,000 For now, though, I'll settle for the amazement of imaging this most mysterious object. 696 00:38:31,000 --> 00:38:36,000 There's much work to be done. This is just the beginning of the story. 697 00:38:36,000 --> 00:38:40,000 The story of Miriam's well is both miraculous and tragic, 698 00:38:40,000 --> 00:38:47,000 because shortly before reaching the Promised Land, Miriam dies, and her namesake well runs dry. 699 00:38:48,000 --> 00:38:53,000 To restore it, God tells Moses not to strike the rock as he did before, 700 00:38:53,000 --> 00:38:56,000 but to speak holy words instead. 701 00:38:56,000 --> 00:39:02,000 Yet, when the panicked and thirsty Israelites angrily demand that Moses turn the water back on, 702 00:39:02,000 --> 00:39:08,000 Moses defies God by striking the rock with his staff. 703 00:39:08,000 --> 00:39:12,000 The water comes, but with grave consequences. 704 00:39:12,000 --> 00:39:19,000 For his pride and insolence, God punishes Moses by forbidding him from entering the Holy Land with his people. 705 00:39:19,000 --> 00:39:26,000 They will cross the Jordan River into Canaan, but first, Moses will die, 120 years old. 706 00:39:28,000 --> 00:39:34,000 And it's this final part of his story that's in my head as I set off back into the desert. 707 00:39:34,000 --> 00:39:38,000 I have a nagging question about the Exodus story, 708 00:39:38,000 --> 00:39:46,000 and you know, something that would really help to cement this as an historical event would be to find the body of Moses himself. 709 00:39:46,000 --> 00:39:51,000 After all, someone this significant must have been buried with some real pomp and circumstance. 710 00:39:51,000 --> 00:39:55,000 So, I just have one question. Where's Moses? 711 00:39:55,000 --> 00:39:58,000 Turns out there's more than one answer to that question. 712 00:39:58,000 --> 00:40:05,000 To learn why, I'm headed back to the Palestinian territories, here in the rolling and empty hills of the West Bank, 713 00:40:05,000 --> 00:40:08,000 an unlikely sight emerges in the distance. 714 00:40:10,000 --> 00:40:16,000 A huge walled compound called Nabimousa, which translates to the Prophet Moses. 715 00:40:19,000 --> 00:40:24,000 Here to greet me is archaeologist and Islamic studies professor Tafiq Da'adli. 716 00:40:24,000 --> 00:40:28,000 Thanks for taking the time. I appreciate it. This is spectacular. 717 00:40:28,000 --> 00:40:32,000 I have questions about the end of the story of Moses. 718 00:40:32,000 --> 00:40:38,000 So, okay, if there is a historical Moses, where is this guy? I mean, where was he buried? 719 00:40:38,000 --> 00:40:43,000 According to the biblical tradition, he ended on the other side of the valley. 720 00:40:43,000 --> 00:40:44,000 And he dies where? 721 00:40:44,000 --> 00:40:45,000 At Mount Nebo. 722 00:40:45,000 --> 00:40:48,000 Mount Nebo, so literally just across the way there. 723 00:40:48,000 --> 00:40:52,000 Across the Dead Sea in what is now Jordan sits Mount Nebo. 724 00:40:52,000 --> 00:40:59,000 This place has been associated with the burial of Moses since at least the fourth century when a church was built here. 725 00:40:59,000 --> 00:41:03,000 So over at Mount Nebo, archaeologically, do we have evidence for this burial? 726 00:41:03,000 --> 00:41:04,000 No hard evidence. 727 00:41:04,000 --> 00:41:05,000 Okay. 728 00:41:05,000 --> 00:41:08,000 There is also another story, Islamic tradition. 729 00:41:08,000 --> 00:41:10,000 Moses has mentioned a lot in the Quran. 730 00:41:10,000 --> 00:41:17,000 Yeah, you have more than 130 times. His name is mentioned in the Quran, more than any other prophet. 731 00:41:17,000 --> 00:41:23,000 According to this tradition, Moses did cross the river and he ended in this side, like where we are standing. 732 00:41:23,000 --> 00:41:28,000 The Prophet Muhammad ascended to heaven from Jerusalem, which is not so far from here. 733 00:41:28,000 --> 00:41:29,000 Yes, the Dome of the Rock. 734 00:41:29,000 --> 00:41:30,000 The Dome of the Rock, yes. 735 00:41:30,000 --> 00:41:39,000 So when he ascended to heaven in his way, he said, I saw Moses praying on his tomb and the tomb is believed to be here. 736 00:41:39,000 --> 00:41:41,000 On this side of the Jordan River. 737 00:41:41,000 --> 00:41:42,000 Yeah. 738 00:41:42,000 --> 00:41:45,000 So we have one tradition over there and one tradition over here. 739 00:41:45,000 --> 00:41:49,000 What evidence is there here? What is it this site? 740 00:41:49,000 --> 00:41:51,000 Here at this site, we have the tomb of Moses. 741 00:41:51,000 --> 00:41:52,000 There's a tomb here? 742 00:41:52,000 --> 00:41:53,000 Yeah. 743 00:41:53,000 --> 00:41:54,000 Of Moses? 744 00:41:54,000 --> 00:41:55,000 Yes. 745 00:41:55,000 --> 00:41:56,000 Can we see it? 746 00:41:59,000 --> 00:42:08,000 I'm here in the West Bank and this barrier separates Israel from the Palestinian territories over here. 747 00:42:08,000 --> 00:42:11,000 Now, you've all heard of the Waldorf Hotel. 748 00:42:11,000 --> 00:42:13,000 Well, this isn't it. 749 00:42:13,000 --> 00:42:15,000 This is the Waldorf Hotel. 750 00:42:15,000 --> 00:42:24,000 The entire hotel is a living work of art, a collaboration between local Palestinians and the enigmatic, anonymous British street artist Banksy. 751 00:42:24,000 --> 00:42:26,000 Welcome, sir. 752 00:42:26,000 --> 00:42:27,000 Are you Banksy? 753 00:42:27,000 --> 00:42:28,000 No. 754 00:42:28,000 --> 00:42:30,000 Wink if you're Banksy. 755 00:42:30,000 --> 00:42:37,000 More than 70 pieces of Banksy's work offer whimsical and searing commentary on the tumultuous state of the region. 756 00:42:37,000 --> 00:42:45,000 A not-so-secret passage through a bookcase leads the way to the guest rooms and, of course, more art to ponder. 757 00:42:45,000 --> 00:42:50,000 And the rooms are lavishly decorated in that provocative Banksy style. 758 00:42:50,000 --> 00:42:56,000 Here in the Presidential Suite, the hotel proudly advertises the worst view in the world. 759 00:42:56,000 --> 00:43:00,000 The hotel offering us a vision of a future without walls. 760 00:43:04,000 --> 00:43:05,000 There's a tomb here. 761 00:43:05,000 --> 00:43:06,000 Yeah. 762 00:43:06,000 --> 00:43:07,000 Of Moses? 763 00:43:07,000 --> 00:43:08,000 Yes. 764 00:43:08,000 --> 00:43:09,000 Can we see it? 765 00:43:09,000 --> 00:43:11,000 Yeah, it's downstairs. 766 00:43:11,000 --> 00:43:12,000 Please. 767 00:43:12,000 --> 00:43:13,000 Here we go. 768 00:43:13,000 --> 00:43:25,000 To answer the question of where the Prophet Moses is buried, I've come to the Palestinian territories to visit a site called Nabimousa, and what the Islamic faith contends is his tomb. 769 00:43:25,000 --> 00:43:26,000 Okay, Josh. 770 00:43:26,000 --> 00:43:28,000 Here we have the mosque. 771 00:43:28,000 --> 00:43:29,000 Wow. 772 00:43:31,000 --> 00:43:33,000 And here we have the tomb. 773 00:43:33,000 --> 00:43:34,000 The tomb of Moses? 774 00:43:34,000 --> 00:43:35,000 Yes, here. 775 00:43:35,000 --> 00:43:36,000 Up. 776 00:43:36,000 --> 00:43:37,000 Please. 777 00:43:41,000 --> 00:43:42,000 Wow. 778 00:43:43,000 --> 00:43:44,000 So this is the burial? 779 00:43:44,000 --> 00:43:45,000 Yeah. 780 00:43:45,000 --> 00:43:48,000 When can we date all of this too? 781 00:43:48,000 --> 00:43:50,000 This is the oldest part of the site. 782 00:43:50,000 --> 00:43:57,000 And near the entrance to this Mosulium, there is an inscription from the 13th century, and we have the date. 783 00:43:57,000 --> 00:43:59,000 It's 1269. 784 00:43:59,000 --> 00:44:05,000 So the 13th century, we're talking about a few thousand years after the life of Moses. 785 00:44:05,000 --> 00:44:06,000 Yes. 786 00:44:06,000 --> 00:44:11,000 So do we have any indication of what was in this spot before the building was here? 787 00:44:11,000 --> 00:44:19,000 There are written evidences earlier than the 13th century, but not much earlier, mentioning the tomb of Moses in this area. 788 00:44:19,000 --> 00:44:20,000 But nothing earlier than that. 789 00:44:20,000 --> 00:44:21,000 Something that you can touch? 790 00:44:21,000 --> 00:44:22,000 No. 791 00:44:22,000 --> 00:44:23,000 Right. 792 00:44:23,000 --> 00:44:24,000 Maybe an oral tradition, but it's been lost to history. 793 00:44:24,000 --> 00:44:25,000 Yes. 794 00:44:25,000 --> 00:44:26,000 Okay. 795 00:44:26,000 --> 00:44:29,000 So do we know who's inside this? 796 00:44:29,000 --> 00:44:31,000 This was a Mosulium. 797 00:44:31,000 --> 00:44:35,000 It's relying on Muslim traditions, and they pointed on this place. 798 00:44:35,000 --> 00:44:36,000 Right. 799 00:44:36,000 --> 00:44:40,000 And since this 13th century point, it became a whole compound. 800 00:44:40,000 --> 00:44:46,000 Not only the Mosulium and the mosque, it became like a Karavan Sarai, what we call Khan. 801 00:44:46,000 --> 00:44:51,000 Like people will come and stay for a few days, they will have food. 802 00:44:51,000 --> 00:44:53,000 So it became like a pilgrimage site? 803 00:44:53,000 --> 00:44:54,000 Yeah. 804 00:44:54,000 --> 00:44:55,000 And what about today? 805 00:44:55,000 --> 00:44:56,000 Do people still pilgrimage here? 806 00:44:56,000 --> 00:44:57,000 Do people still come here? 807 00:44:57,000 --> 00:45:00,000 Yeah, even from Indonesia, even from India. 808 00:45:00,000 --> 00:45:03,000 These people still believe this is the tomb of Nabi Moses. 809 00:45:03,000 --> 00:45:06,000 Has this ever been opened, examined? 810 00:45:06,000 --> 00:45:08,000 It's religion. 811 00:45:08,000 --> 00:45:13,000 You don't mix religion with science and excavations, especially in the Holy Land. 812 00:45:13,000 --> 00:45:20,000 So as an archaeologist, this is one of the great challenges, is how to look at the stories of the Bible, 813 00:45:20,000 --> 00:45:29,000 the stories of the Quran, and places like this, and find that intersection between faith and history and archaeology. 814 00:45:29,000 --> 00:45:31,000 Because we don't really know what's here. 815 00:45:31,000 --> 00:45:37,000 But spiritually, it's a place that's true for so many people. 816 00:45:37,000 --> 00:45:39,000 And how do we square that off? 817 00:45:39,000 --> 00:45:41,000 Because we're never going to be able to open this. 818 00:45:41,000 --> 00:45:42,000 We don't need to open that. 819 00:45:42,000 --> 00:45:45,000 Like we have the inscriptions around the building. 820 00:45:45,000 --> 00:45:47,000 So it's a different kind of archaeology. 821 00:45:47,000 --> 00:45:48,000 You read the buildings. 822 00:45:48,000 --> 00:45:55,000 You don't have to go down and dig the place to see or meet the person who is buried here. 823 00:45:55,000 --> 00:45:57,000 For us, you have to accept it. 824 00:45:57,000 --> 00:46:01,000 Even for archaeologists, some things have to be left to faith. 825 00:46:01,000 --> 00:46:03,000 You can turn over every stone. 826 00:46:03,000 --> 00:46:05,000 You have to accept some traditions, some beliefs. 827 00:46:06,000 --> 00:46:11,000 By asking to see what's inside this tomb, I'm knocking on a door that will never open. 828 00:46:11,000 --> 00:46:17,000 At Nabi Musa, science and faith have reached an impasse, and neither will yield to the other. 829 00:46:23,000 --> 00:46:28,000 But on my journey, I have seen how science and faith can intermingle. 830 00:46:29,000 --> 00:46:37,000 In an Egyptian tomb in Sakara, I've learned that a Semitic man rose to great power in Pharaoh's court, just as Moses did. 831 00:46:37,000 --> 00:46:42,000 Ancient monuments recount Israelites fleeing Egypt, just as Moses did. 832 00:46:42,000 --> 00:46:48,000 Again and again, verifiable historical events that echo the words of Exodus, 833 00:46:48,000 --> 00:46:54,000 though the specifics are slightly different and the timing doesn't line up to a single person's lifespan. 834 00:46:54,000 --> 00:46:57,000 Is it possible that this is connected to the story of Exodus? 835 00:46:57,000 --> 00:47:01,000 There's much work to be done. This is just the beginning of the story. 836 00:47:01,000 --> 00:47:06,000 My journey has also taught me that in this case, the literal is not all that matters. 837 00:47:06,000 --> 00:47:11,000 Here we have Semitic people who are worshiping a cow goddess. 838 00:47:15,000 --> 00:47:23,000 The story of Moses represents the movement of people and culture, with values that ring true across the human experience. 839 00:47:24,000 --> 00:47:27,000 The moral urgency for man to live free. 840 00:47:29,000 --> 00:47:32,000 Laws that bind us not just to God, but to each other. 841 00:47:33,000 --> 00:47:38,000 And the importance of service and humility during even the most arduous of trials. 842 00:47:40,000 --> 00:47:46,000 We may never be able to pinpoint the historical Moses, but his story shows us a real person. 843 00:47:47,000 --> 00:47:49,000 Someone just like you or me. 844 00:47:49,000 --> 00:47:50,000 Proud. 845 00:47:50,000 --> 00:47:57,000 Maybe a little too stubborn, but with the right guidance, capable of greatness.