1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:08,420 Can a new discovery from sunny California reveal the real event behind one of the greatest 2 00:00:08,420 --> 00:00:11,000 maritime mysteries of them all? 3 00:00:11,000 --> 00:00:13,240 The parting of the Red Sea. 4 00:00:13,240 --> 00:00:15,000 This looks like it's the smoking gun. 5 00:00:15,000 --> 00:00:18,400 It's a possible root cause of what happened. 6 00:00:18,400 --> 00:00:24,760 A first world war transporter disappears without trace in calm seas. 7 00:00:24,760 --> 00:00:31,480 Are rumors of a heist by German agents true or is something more mysterious at play? 8 00:00:31,480 --> 00:00:35,960 It was navigating through the Bermuda Triangle when it was lost. 9 00:00:35,960 --> 00:00:41,280 And could there be life on a ghost ship adrift on the high seas? 10 00:00:41,280 --> 00:00:44,640 These killer monster hungry cannibal rats. 11 00:00:44,640 --> 00:00:47,000 It's going to look like a house of horrors. 12 00:00:47,000 --> 00:00:52,280 One would have to be pretty crazy to want to board that ship. 13 00:00:52,280 --> 00:00:57,160 The underwater realm is another dimension. 14 00:00:57,160 --> 00:01:06,400 It's a physically hostile place where dreams of promise can sink into darkness. 15 00:01:06,400 --> 00:01:08,120 I'm Jeremy Wade. 16 00:01:08,120 --> 00:01:13,480 I'm searching the world to bring you the most iconic and baffling underwater mysteries 17 00:01:13,480 --> 00:01:15,280 known to science. 18 00:01:15,280 --> 00:01:16,920 Shipwrecks can't just disappear. 19 00:01:16,920 --> 00:01:18,120 Or can they? 20 00:01:18,120 --> 00:01:22,400 It's a dangerous unexplored frontier that swallows evidence. 21 00:01:22,400 --> 00:01:26,320 We know more about the face of Mars than we do our deepest oceans. 22 00:01:26,320 --> 00:01:31,440 Where unknown is normal and understanding is rare. 23 00:01:31,440 --> 00:01:49,600 I've witnessed strange happenings on the water and some of them I can't explain. 24 00:01:49,600 --> 00:01:56,840 But nothing compares with the biblical story of the parting of the Red Sea. 25 00:01:56,840 --> 00:02:02,160 Is there a physical process that could explain this miraculous event? 26 00:02:02,160 --> 00:02:10,040 Could an entire sea really have withdrawn leaving a corridor of dry land? 27 00:02:10,040 --> 00:02:16,080 Now a breakthrough from California could unlock one of the greatest marine mysteries of all 28 00:02:16,080 --> 00:02:25,120 time. 29 00:02:25,120 --> 00:02:29,680 This is Egypt over 3,000 years ago. 30 00:02:29,680 --> 00:02:35,360 After centuries of enslavement, the Israelites have crossed the desert and stand on the threshold 31 00:02:35,360 --> 00:02:37,080 of freedom. 32 00:02:37,080 --> 00:02:39,920 Their promised land lies ahead. 33 00:02:39,920 --> 00:02:46,760 But behind them are Pharaoh's troops intent on returning them to slavery. 34 00:02:46,760 --> 00:02:51,520 Blocking their escape is the Red Sea. 35 00:02:51,840 --> 00:02:56,360 Even God commands Moses to hold out his staff over the waves. 36 00:02:56,360 --> 00:03:00,400 The winds blew causing the waters to recede. 37 00:03:00,400 --> 00:03:06,720 Flanked by two walls of water, the Israelites cross to the other side. 38 00:03:06,720 --> 00:03:13,040 And when Pharaoh and his boys come and chase them down, the seas collapse upon them and 39 00:03:13,040 --> 00:03:14,840 they're all dead. 40 00:03:14,840 --> 00:03:19,520 And it's a clean break, a quick getaway. 41 00:03:19,520 --> 00:03:25,040 Today many believers accept the story of the parting of the Red Sea as symbolic rather 42 00:03:25,040 --> 00:03:28,160 than a description of an actual event. 43 00:03:28,160 --> 00:03:32,120 But could it really have happened? 44 00:03:32,120 --> 00:03:40,240 An eyewitness account from the 19th century chronicles an incident with uncanny similarities. 45 00:03:40,240 --> 00:03:47,880 British Major General Sir Alexander B. Tullock is charting an area on the eastern Nile Delta. 46 00:03:47,880 --> 00:03:53,200 Some scholars believe that this area, rather than what we now call the Red Sea, is where 47 00:03:53,200 --> 00:03:57,040 the biblical story may have taken place. 48 00:03:57,040 --> 00:04:01,000 They have to abandon their work due to strong and consistent winds. 49 00:04:01,000 --> 00:04:07,680 Then they come back the next day and they find that an area that was once submerged is now 50 00:04:07,680 --> 00:04:09,680 walkable. 51 00:04:09,680 --> 00:04:16,320 For Tullock, this is evidence that the biblical parting could have taken place. 52 00:04:16,320 --> 00:04:22,400 At the time, no rational explanation can be found for the event that Tullock witnessed. 53 00:04:22,400 --> 00:04:27,680 But can modern insights fill the blanks? 54 00:04:27,680 --> 00:04:33,200 A recent study uses a computer program to simulate the impact of sustained overnight 55 00:04:33,200 --> 00:04:37,440 winds in the coastal area where Tullock was working. 56 00:04:37,440 --> 00:04:44,000 It suggests that winds of between 63 and 70 miles per hour, lasting for 12 hours, could 57 00:04:44,000 --> 00:04:49,280 part waters up to six feet deep. 58 00:04:49,280 --> 00:04:55,760 Such a parting of the waves would require a specific underwater geography. 59 00:04:55,760 --> 00:05:00,520 There would need to be a high spot on the bottom of the Red Sea for a land bridge to 60 00:05:00,520 --> 00:05:03,000 be created when the water receded. 61 00:05:03,000 --> 00:05:07,040 Moses would have to be in the right place where that shallow spot was to then be able 62 00:05:07,040 --> 00:05:08,480 to cross it. 63 00:05:08,480 --> 00:05:14,280 So in the right place at the right time, it appears that a land bridge through the sea 64 00:05:14,280 --> 00:05:18,280 could have occurred naturally. 65 00:05:18,280 --> 00:05:23,640 As intriguing as this study is, it doesn't account for the enormous walls of water described 66 00:05:23,640 --> 00:05:28,800 in the biblical story. 67 00:05:28,800 --> 00:05:34,400 So science must look elsewhere for answers. 68 00:05:34,400 --> 00:05:40,320 A new discovery by, of all things, a tree-ring specialist in far away California may have 69 00:05:40,320 --> 00:05:46,160 inadvertently unlocked this age-old sea mystery. 70 00:05:46,160 --> 00:05:52,920 It's a story that begins back in 1986 when Egyptologist Hans Gurdica unveils a theory 71 00:05:52,920 --> 00:05:58,680 which could account for the walls of water that accompanied the biblical sea parting. 72 00:05:58,680 --> 00:06:04,720 His theory pivots on one of the most cataclysmic and controversial events in ancient history, 73 00:06:04,720 --> 00:06:15,000 the eruption of Thera, a colossal volcano on the Greek island of Santorini. 74 00:06:15,000 --> 00:06:21,800 This massive eruption over 3,000 years ago is one of the greatest ever recorded. 75 00:06:21,800 --> 00:06:30,440 The number erupting is like 300 atomic bombs building off. 76 00:06:30,440 --> 00:06:38,600 Cliffs fall into the sea as the volcanic crater collapses and the island implodes. 77 00:06:38,600 --> 00:06:43,360 When you have a whole island being obliterated and that release of energy has to go somewhere, 78 00:06:43,360 --> 00:06:45,600 well, it goes into the sea. 79 00:06:45,600 --> 00:06:49,160 A tsunami is unleashed. 80 00:06:49,160 --> 00:06:54,440 And where it ends up is central to Gurdica's theory. 81 00:06:54,440 --> 00:07:01,280 The Nile Delta, one of the likely locations for the biblical sea parting. 82 00:07:01,280 --> 00:07:08,760 Could this towering wall of water be the real phenomenon at the heart of the great Bible story? 83 00:07:08,760 --> 00:07:14,240 As it reaches the Egyptian coast, the tsunami draws back water from the shoreline. 84 00:07:14,240 --> 00:07:21,040 We have this counterintuitive situation where the waters are pulled back. 85 00:07:21,040 --> 00:07:25,320 It'll come in as a series of waves that almost appear like walls. 86 00:07:25,320 --> 00:07:35,200 Any witnesses would have seen the sea withdraw and walls of water form, in effect, a parting of the sea. 87 00:07:35,200 --> 00:07:41,800 For Thera to be the real event behind the biblical story, it would need to have happened at the same time 88 00:07:41,800 --> 00:07:50,480 as the Hebrew exodus from Egypt, often thought to be around the early to mid-16th century BC. 89 00:07:50,480 --> 00:07:59,080 But the date of the Thera eruption is difficult to pin down and there has been much debate and disagreement. 90 00:07:59,080 --> 00:08:05,560 Then, in 2006, researchers hit what looks like the dating jackpot. 91 00:08:05,560 --> 00:08:10,840 One of the most accurate dates for the eruption of Thera is said to be from an olive tree 92 00:08:10,840 --> 00:08:15,080 that's actually inside the ash layer itself. 93 00:08:15,080 --> 00:08:19,520 This olive branch is a vital piece of evidence. 94 00:08:19,520 --> 00:08:25,920 Because it's formed of organic material, researchers are able to test it using radiocarbon dating, 95 00:08:25,920 --> 00:08:30,080 the gold standard method for dating detectives. 96 00:08:30,080 --> 00:08:36,600 And that's giving a time range that can bring it down to about a 25-year window. 97 00:08:36,600 --> 00:08:42,880 But the result of the analysis places the eruption in the early 17th century BC. 98 00:08:42,880 --> 00:08:47,560 Approximately a century before dates mooted for the exodus. 99 00:08:47,560 --> 00:08:52,960 This suggests that any attempts to connect the two events are wishful thinking. 100 00:08:52,960 --> 00:08:56,400 Science is great, marvelous, because it moves us forward. 101 00:08:56,400 --> 00:09:01,160 But in other ways, science can ruin a mystery. 102 00:09:01,160 --> 00:09:04,120 The story should end there. 103 00:09:04,160 --> 00:09:09,000 But tree ring specialist Dr. Charlotte Pearson has a different theory. 104 00:09:09,000 --> 00:09:13,000 There's been a discrepancy, something that didn't add up. 105 00:09:13,000 --> 00:09:17,080 Dr. Pearson believes that although it was found at the site of the eruption, 106 00:09:17,080 --> 00:09:21,920 the olive branch is not an accurate indicator. 107 00:09:21,920 --> 00:09:28,280 She thinks that the key to when Thera erupted lies 7,000 miles away 108 00:09:28,280 --> 00:09:33,360 in the Sunshine State of California. 109 00:09:33,400 --> 00:09:38,960 If the olive branch is a red herring, could Dr. Pearson's hunch resurrect the theory 110 00:09:38,960 --> 00:09:43,960 that Thera is the real event behind the parting of the Red Sea? 111 00:09:55,960 --> 00:09:59,960 Scientist Dr. Charlotte Pearson believes that the key to dating 112 00:09:59,960 --> 00:10:04,800 one of the greatest underwater explosions of all time 113 00:10:04,800 --> 00:10:08,040 lies not with an olive branch found in Greece, 114 00:10:08,040 --> 00:10:12,040 but halfway around the globe in California. 115 00:10:15,640 --> 00:10:18,240 Dr. Pearson's research could be the breakthrough 116 00:10:18,240 --> 00:10:21,320 that finally identifies the eruption of Thera 117 00:10:21,320 --> 00:10:24,440 with its subsequent tsunami as the real event 118 00:10:24,440 --> 00:10:27,440 behind the Bible's sea parting story. 119 00:10:28,440 --> 00:10:33,080 Trees are one of the most valuable resources for dating experts. 120 00:10:33,080 --> 00:10:37,920 Since their rings form yearly, they are natural calendars. 121 00:10:37,920 --> 00:10:43,520 And the bristlecone pines that grow here in California are extra special. 122 00:10:43,520 --> 00:10:48,440 The oldest discovered so far is over 5,000 years old. 123 00:10:48,440 --> 00:10:51,640 So one single individual tree starts life 124 00:10:51,640 --> 00:10:54,520 before they build the pyramids in Egypt. 125 00:10:55,520 --> 00:11:00,520 This longevity makes these pines ideal for radiocarbon dating. 126 00:11:00,520 --> 00:11:04,520 In every single tree ring, there is a sample of carbon-14 127 00:11:04,520 --> 00:11:06,520 in the year in which it formed. 128 00:11:06,520 --> 00:11:10,520 You can get clues to what the climatic conditions were 129 00:11:10,520 --> 00:11:12,520 in that period of time. 130 00:11:12,520 --> 00:11:16,520 Most species of tree put on rings annually, 131 00:11:16,520 --> 00:11:19,520 but olive trees are an exception. 132 00:11:19,520 --> 00:11:22,520 And Dr. Pearson believes that they don't provide accurate dates 133 00:11:22,520 --> 00:11:25,520 when radiocarbon tested. 134 00:11:25,520 --> 00:11:28,520 She believes that bristlecone pines 135 00:11:28,520 --> 00:11:31,520 are a much more reliable indicator. 136 00:11:31,520 --> 00:11:37,520 And on analysis, her samples reveal something hugely significant. 137 00:11:37,520 --> 00:11:41,520 They show noticeably narrower growth rings 138 00:11:41,520 --> 00:11:44,520 over one specific four-year period, 139 00:11:44,520 --> 00:11:48,520 indicating a short but extreme change in climate. 140 00:11:48,520 --> 00:11:51,520 So we know that year of that tree's growth 141 00:11:51,520 --> 00:11:56,520 was interrupted by reduced sunlight or a lot of carbon in the air. 142 00:11:56,520 --> 00:12:00,520 But to be certain that this anomaly could be related to Thera, 143 00:12:00,520 --> 00:12:03,520 Dr. Pearson needs to make sure it wasn't caused 144 00:12:03,520 --> 00:12:06,520 by any localised weather event in California. 145 00:12:06,520 --> 00:12:11,520 So she goes in search of the same evidence elsewhere in the world 146 00:12:11,520 --> 00:12:16,520 and finds it 5,000 miles away in Ireland. 147 00:12:17,520 --> 00:12:23,520 There are samples of Irish oaks dating back thousands of years. 148 00:12:23,520 --> 00:12:26,520 And the rings in these tree samples 149 00:12:26,520 --> 00:12:29,520 show exactly the same growth restrictions 150 00:12:29,520 --> 00:12:33,520 occurring in the same period. 151 00:12:33,520 --> 00:12:36,520 That was the big surprise moment, 152 00:12:36,520 --> 00:12:39,520 because what it showed us was that here we have two trees 153 00:12:39,520 --> 00:12:42,520 in very different growth locations, different latitudes, 154 00:12:42,520 --> 00:12:43,520 different altitudes, 155 00:12:43,520 --> 00:12:48,520 and yet essentially the measurements of C14 in the annual tree rings 156 00:12:48,520 --> 00:12:51,520 are making the same pattern. 157 00:12:51,520 --> 00:12:55,520 This points to a weather event of global proportions. 158 00:12:55,520 --> 00:12:59,520 And an event of this scale at this period of time 159 00:12:59,520 --> 00:13:04,520 could only be one thing, the eruption of Thera. 160 00:13:04,520 --> 00:13:06,520 And when you have a huge eruption, 161 00:13:06,520 --> 00:13:09,520 the ash in the atmosphere blocks out the sunlight 162 00:13:09,520 --> 00:13:12,520 and creates like a mini-ice age sort of situation, 163 00:13:12,520 --> 00:13:15,520 which causes the tree to grow really slowly. 164 00:13:15,520 --> 00:13:18,520 Dr Pearson's hunch has paid off. 165 00:13:18,520 --> 00:13:21,520 These new radiocarbon dating results 166 00:13:21,520 --> 00:13:25,520 place the Thera eruption in the 16th century BC, 167 00:13:25,520 --> 00:13:30,520 up to 100 years after the Olive Branch dates, 168 00:13:30,520 --> 00:13:35,520 with massive implications for biblical scholars. 169 00:13:35,520 --> 00:13:37,520 This looks like it's the smoking gun. 170 00:13:37,520 --> 00:13:40,520 It's a possible root cause of what happened. 171 00:13:40,520 --> 00:13:43,520 This chance breakthrough brings the Thera tsunami 172 00:13:43,520 --> 00:13:47,520 back into the same period as that mooted for the Exodus. 173 00:13:47,520 --> 00:13:50,520 Allowing us an entrance into a scientific explanation 174 00:13:50,520 --> 00:13:53,520 for what is one of the biggest mysteries of all time. 175 00:14:04,520 --> 00:14:08,520 I ventured deep under the ocean in a small submarine, 176 00:14:08,520 --> 00:14:11,520 and I know how vulnerable it can make you feel. 177 00:14:11,520 --> 00:14:15,520 I almost feel like an astronaut landing on the moon. 178 00:14:15,520 --> 00:14:19,520 But what if you never managed to make it back up? 179 00:14:19,520 --> 00:14:22,520 This is exactly what happened to the crew 180 00:14:22,520 --> 00:14:25,520 of one of the very first submarines, the HL Hunley, 181 00:14:25,520 --> 00:14:29,520 which vanished in action during the American Civil War. 182 00:14:29,520 --> 00:14:35,520 Lost for nearly 140 years, the sub is finally found. 183 00:14:35,520 --> 00:14:37,520 Now, armed with new evidence, 184 00:14:37,520 --> 00:14:41,520 can science work out what happened to the Hunley? 185 00:14:44,520 --> 00:14:48,520 South Carolina, the year 2000. 186 00:14:48,520 --> 00:14:53,520 The HL Hunley is finally raised from the ocean floor. 187 00:14:53,520 --> 00:14:55,520 It launched a successful attack. 188 00:14:55,520 --> 00:14:58,520 It should have returned to base without any trouble. 189 00:14:58,520 --> 00:15:01,520 So the question is, why then is it on the bottom? 190 00:15:05,520 --> 00:15:08,520 1864. 191 00:15:08,520 --> 00:15:10,520 At the height of the American Civil War, 192 00:15:10,520 --> 00:15:15,520 Confederate submarine HL Hunley leaves base on her maiden mission. 193 00:15:15,520 --> 00:15:18,520 It was built specifically to deal with the blockade 194 00:15:18,520 --> 00:15:20,520 of the north against the south. 195 00:15:20,520 --> 00:15:23,520 Her target is the USS Housatonic, 196 00:15:23,520 --> 00:15:25,520 which is on blockade duty for Union forces 197 00:15:25,520 --> 00:15:30,520 outside Charleston Harbor on the South Carolina coast. 198 00:15:30,520 --> 00:15:34,520 Made of iron, the Hunley travels just beneath the surface 199 00:15:34,520 --> 00:15:39,520 and features a very rudimentary propulsion system. 200 00:15:39,520 --> 00:15:41,520 This was human-powered. 201 00:15:41,520 --> 00:15:44,520 The crew would sit and they would hand crank 202 00:15:44,520 --> 00:15:46,520 to move the ship around. 203 00:15:46,520 --> 00:15:48,520 It's like working inside a coffin. 204 00:15:48,520 --> 00:15:52,520 We're talking something which would make a smart car look roomy. 205 00:15:52,520 --> 00:15:56,520 The HL Hunley is armed with a single torpedo. 206 00:15:56,520 --> 00:16:00,520 Torpedoes were not the fire and forget weapons we think of today. 207 00:16:01,520 --> 00:16:05,520 It was essentially a keg of explosives 208 00:16:05,520 --> 00:16:11,520 with a prong on the end that was attached by a long wooden pole. 209 00:16:11,520 --> 00:16:15,520 The submarine had to drive up beside the warship 210 00:16:15,520 --> 00:16:20,520 and impregnate this cask of dynamite into the side 211 00:16:20,520 --> 00:16:23,520 and then light the fuse that would explode the keg. 212 00:16:24,520 --> 00:16:27,520 The submarine stealthily approaches the warship 213 00:16:27,520 --> 00:16:29,520 and deploys its weapon. 214 00:16:29,520 --> 00:16:34,520 135 pounds of black powder explosive 215 00:16:34,520 --> 00:16:37,520 rips through the hull. 216 00:16:38,520 --> 00:16:42,520 The Housatonic sinks in less than five minutes. 217 00:16:44,520 --> 00:16:47,520 It's a spectacular success for the Hunley. 218 00:16:47,520 --> 00:16:50,520 She's the first sub ever to sink an enemy ship. 219 00:16:51,520 --> 00:16:54,520 But what happens next is a mystery. 220 00:16:54,520 --> 00:16:58,520 It went out, did its job, never came home. 221 00:17:00,520 --> 00:17:04,520 All trace of the Hunley is lost for almost 140 years. 222 00:17:04,520 --> 00:17:07,520 But when she is finally found and raised 223 00:17:07,520 --> 00:17:10,520 she is in surprisingly good condition. 224 00:17:10,520 --> 00:17:13,520 The presumption was that this would be blown to bits 225 00:17:13,520 --> 00:17:15,520 but in fact when they brought it up it was intact. 226 00:17:16,520 --> 00:17:19,520 There was no visible damage to the hull. 227 00:17:19,520 --> 00:17:20,520 Why did it sink? 228 00:17:21,520 --> 00:17:25,520 Investigators set out to find an answer to the mystery. 229 00:17:26,520 --> 00:17:29,520 After years on the seabed the Hunley is covered 230 00:17:29,520 --> 00:17:32,520 with a thick layer of sediment called concretion. 231 00:17:33,520 --> 00:17:36,520 Iron under water reacts with the salt water. 232 00:17:36,520 --> 00:17:39,520 The salts in the iron create corrosion product. 233 00:17:39,520 --> 00:17:44,520 Basically creates a dense impermeable layer around the iron. 234 00:17:46,520 --> 00:17:49,520 This coating has helped preserve the submarine. 235 00:17:50,520 --> 00:17:53,520 But unless it's removed with extreme care 236 00:17:53,520 --> 00:17:57,520 the Hunley could be damaged and vital evidence lost. 237 00:17:59,520 --> 00:18:03,520 And as researchers scrape away the layers of solid sediment 238 00:18:03,520 --> 00:18:05,520 they make a shocking discovery. 239 00:18:06,520 --> 00:18:09,520 The decomposed bodies of the Hunley's crew. 240 00:18:20,520 --> 00:18:24,520 The Confederate submarine H.L. Hunley has been exhumed 241 00:18:24,520 --> 00:18:28,520 from a watery grave after 136 years. 242 00:18:28,520 --> 00:18:32,520 Now can clues hidden in her hull shed new light 243 00:18:32,520 --> 00:18:36,520 on why this valiant little vessel never made it home. 244 00:18:38,520 --> 00:18:41,520 The remains of the Hunley's crew are found. 245 00:18:41,520 --> 00:18:45,520 But it's a discovery that raises yet more questions. 246 00:18:46,520 --> 00:18:49,520 It appeared that all men died at their stations. 247 00:18:49,520 --> 00:18:51,520 Maybe these people were unbelievably heroic. 248 00:18:51,520 --> 00:18:53,520 Went down with the ship. 249 00:18:53,520 --> 00:18:56,520 Or maybe they were dead before they hit the seabed. 250 00:18:56,520 --> 00:19:00,520 If researchers can identify how these men died 251 00:19:00,520 --> 00:19:03,520 this may at last reveal what happened to the Hunley. 252 00:19:03,520 --> 00:19:07,520 The original theory about the Hunley's sinking 253 00:19:07,520 --> 00:19:10,520 was it was to do with a sonic blast of its own explosive 254 00:19:10,520 --> 00:19:13,520 that that took out the crew somehow. 255 00:19:13,520 --> 00:19:18,520 I would not want to be sitting 30 feet from a 135 pound 256 00:19:18,520 --> 00:19:22,520 black powder explosion, especially underwater. 257 00:19:25,520 --> 00:19:27,520 The pressure wave from the explosion 258 00:19:27,520 --> 00:19:29,520 is going to be traveling through the water. 259 00:19:29,520 --> 00:19:32,520 It's going to hit this air tube. 260 00:19:34,520 --> 00:19:37,520 Did the explosion of the torpedo cause some kind of 261 00:19:37,520 --> 00:19:40,520 concussive blast that knocked these guys out? 262 00:19:41,520 --> 00:19:43,520 They wouldn't be able to operate the submarine 263 00:19:43,520 --> 00:19:45,520 and eventually it would sink. 264 00:19:46,520 --> 00:19:50,520 Recent research suggests that the torpedo explosion 265 00:19:50,520 --> 00:19:53,520 while only 16 feet away from the sub 266 00:19:53,520 --> 00:19:56,520 would not have been sufficient to kill the man. 267 00:19:56,520 --> 00:19:59,520 Whether they were incapacitated by concussion 268 00:19:59,520 --> 00:20:02,520 remains an open question. 269 00:20:03,520 --> 00:20:06,520 With the blast theory proving inconclusive 270 00:20:06,520 --> 00:20:09,520 investigators go in search of new evidence. 271 00:20:09,520 --> 00:20:13,520 And while clearing away the last of the concretion 272 00:20:13,520 --> 00:20:16,520 they make a game-changing discovery. 273 00:20:17,520 --> 00:20:20,520 There appeared to be no structural damage. 274 00:20:20,520 --> 00:20:24,520 It was really only when they started to clean out the inside 275 00:20:24,520 --> 00:20:26,520 and they noticed that there was a particular pipe 276 00:20:26,520 --> 00:20:28,520 that had ruptured. 277 00:20:30,520 --> 00:20:35,520 The hole an inch across is small but potentially catastrophic. 278 00:20:35,520 --> 00:20:38,520 It's in the ballast system which pumps seawater 279 00:20:38,520 --> 00:20:42,520 in and out of the vessel to manage its buoyancy. 280 00:20:43,520 --> 00:20:47,520 Researchers calculate it would take only 50 to 70 gallons 281 00:20:47,520 --> 00:20:49,520 of water to flood the submarine. 282 00:20:49,520 --> 00:20:53,520 And just three minutes to fill it through this tiny opening. 283 00:20:53,520 --> 00:20:56,520 If you had three minutes to realize you were going to die 284 00:20:56,520 --> 00:20:58,520 would you scramble for the exits? 285 00:20:58,520 --> 00:21:00,520 Would you try to use the pump to pump it out? 286 00:21:00,520 --> 00:21:02,520 Would you try to plug the hole? 287 00:21:03,520 --> 00:21:05,520 But the crew are still at their stations 288 00:21:05,520 --> 00:21:09,520 so the leak is unlikely to be the only factor. 289 00:21:09,520 --> 00:21:11,520 Perhaps concussion did play a part 290 00:21:11,520 --> 00:21:14,520 and the men were unconscious when the sub flooded. 291 00:21:14,520 --> 00:21:17,520 Maybe it's a combination where they couldn't react 292 00:21:17,520 --> 00:21:19,520 and it was sinking at the same time. 293 00:21:19,520 --> 00:21:22,520 The thing about catastrophic accidents 294 00:21:22,520 --> 00:21:24,520 is generally there's never one thing. 295 00:21:24,520 --> 00:21:27,520 It's generally a series of things. 296 00:21:27,520 --> 00:21:31,520 The ruptured pipe may bring us closer to the truth. 297 00:21:31,520 --> 00:21:36,520 But as research continues this iconic underwater vessel 298 00:21:36,520 --> 00:21:40,520 could still have further secrets to reveal. 299 00:21:42,520 --> 00:21:46,520 The last time anyone hears from the First World War transporter 300 00:21:46,520 --> 00:21:50,520 USS Cyclops she's heading towards the Bermuda Triangle. 301 00:21:50,520 --> 00:21:53,520 But is the vanished ship just another victim 302 00:21:53,520 --> 00:21:55,520 of this notorious tract of ocean 303 00:21:55,520 --> 00:21:58,520 or are there wartime games afoot? 304 00:21:58,520 --> 00:22:02,520 Now new developments in the understanding of deep water waves 305 00:22:02,520 --> 00:22:05,520 could have been a big part of the ship's journey 306 00:22:05,520 --> 00:22:08,520 and the ship's journey to the sea. 307 00:22:08,520 --> 00:22:11,520 But in the understanding of deep water waves 308 00:22:11,520 --> 00:22:13,520 could explain what happened 309 00:22:13,520 --> 00:22:17,520 and solve a raft of other maritime disappearances. 310 00:22:19,520 --> 00:22:21,520 March 1918. 311 00:22:21,520 --> 00:22:24,520 Under the stewardship of Captain George W. Worley 312 00:22:24,520 --> 00:22:29,520 the US Navy transport ship Cyclops is preparing to set sail. 313 00:22:30,520 --> 00:22:33,520 She's loaded with 11,000 tons of manganese 314 00:22:33,520 --> 00:22:36,520 for use in wartime munitions 315 00:22:36,520 --> 00:22:39,520 and has 309 passengers and crew on board 316 00:22:39,520 --> 00:22:42,520 when she leaves Brazil bound for Baltimore. 317 00:22:44,520 --> 00:22:48,520 Nine days into the voyage the Cyclops sends a routine message 318 00:22:48,520 --> 00:22:50,520 stating that all is well. 319 00:22:53,520 --> 00:22:56,520 It's the last that is heard from her. 320 00:22:56,520 --> 00:23:00,520 The Cyclops disappears without a trace. 321 00:23:00,520 --> 00:23:03,520 That is the very last communication from the Cyclops 322 00:23:03,520 --> 00:23:07,520 and the last anyone heard from those 309 people on board. 323 00:23:09,520 --> 00:23:12,520 Nothing associated with it has ever been found. 324 00:23:12,520 --> 00:23:16,520 Not a life ring, not a note in the bottle. 325 00:23:16,520 --> 00:23:18,520 There was nothing. 326 00:23:20,520 --> 00:23:22,520 What's mysterious about the SS Cyclops 327 00:23:22,520 --> 00:23:25,520 is that she shouldn't have disappeared. 328 00:23:25,520 --> 00:23:28,520 She is this ultra-modern ship for the time. 329 00:23:28,520 --> 00:23:31,520 She's supposed to be able to make this journey quite easily. 330 00:23:31,520 --> 00:23:34,520 Of course when she disappears she is in the Bermuda Triangle 331 00:23:34,520 --> 00:23:36,520 and that's always interesting. 332 00:23:39,520 --> 00:23:43,520 But for once this notorious area of ocean in the North Caribbean 333 00:23:43,520 --> 00:23:46,520 is not the prime suspect. 334 00:23:46,520 --> 00:23:50,520 The finger of suspicion instead falls on the ship's captain. 335 00:23:50,520 --> 00:23:54,520 It turns out that George W. Worley was in fact christened 336 00:23:54,520 --> 00:23:58,520 Johann Frederick Wichmann and born in Germany. 337 00:23:58,520 --> 00:24:03,520 With the world at war his allegiances become the subject of intense speculation. 338 00:24:03,520 --> 00:24:06,520 Some said he was a German sympathiser. 339 00:24:06,520 --> 00:24:11,520 So the theory is that it was some sort of wartime heist 340 00:24:11,520 --> 00:24:15,520 that the captain and potential German agents 341 00:24:15,520 --> 00:24:18,520 tried to abscond with the Cyclops. 342 00:24:19,520 --> 00:24:24,520 If true this ranks among the most audacious wartime missions ever. 343 00:24:24,520 --> 00:24:28,520 If not an innocent man has been wrongly accused. 344 00:24:29,520 --> 00:24:32,520 So what really happened? 345 00:24:34,520 --> 00:24:38,520 Fast forward over 75 years to the seas of Norway 346 00:24:38,520 --> 00:24:41,520 where a seemingly unrelated incident is about to unleash 347 00:24:41,520 --> 00:24:46,520 a chain of scientific discoveries which could hold the answer. 348 00:24:48,520 --> 00:24:52,520 Among a barrage of 25 foot storm waves 349 00:24:52,520 --> 00:24:59,520 an oil rig fitted with lasers records one that measures a massive 85 feet high. 350 00:25:00,520 --> 00:25:06,520 For years scientists have speculated about the existence of these gigantic rogue waves. 351 00:25:06,520 --> 00:25:09,520 Now finally there is proof. 352 00:25:09,520 --> 00:25:13,520 Rogue waves are built up by environmental conditions 353 00:25:13,520 --> 00:25:16,520 which involve very fierce winds. 354 00:25:17,520 --> 00:25:20,520 Storms create ocean swells which in some cases 355 00:25:20,520 --> 00:25:24,520 can combine to form these mid-ocean monsters. 356 00:25:26,520 --> 00:25:31,520 Similar to sound waves ocean waves can travel at different speeds 357 00:25:31,520 --> 00:25:36,520 and pile up in a process known as constructive interference. 358 00:25:38,520 --> 00:25:41,520 Sitting between the Atlantic and the Caribbean 359 00:25:41,520 --> 00:25:44,520 where storm systems can converge 360 00:25:44,520 --> 00:25:49,520 the Bermuda Triangle is particularly prone to these 100 foot waves. 361 00:25:50,520 --> 00:25:53,520 But there are no other than the Bermuda Triangle 362 00:25:53,520 --> 00:25:57,520 which can be used to create these 100 foot giants. 363 00:26:00,520 --> 00:26:03,520 However at the time of the Cyclops's disappearance 364 00:26:03,520 --> 00:26:06,520 there were no reports of storms. 365 00:26:07,520 --> 00:26:10,520 A fact confirmed by her final message. 366 00:26:11,520 --> 00:26:13,520 Weather's fair as well. 367 00:26:14,520 --> 00:26:17,520 But new understanding of underwater wave behaviour 368 00:26:17,520 --> 00:26:20,520 can only be formed in calm seas. 369 00:26:32,520 --> 00:26:35,520 The unexplained disappearance of the First World War 370 00:26:35,520 --> 00:26:38,520 transport ship USS Cyclops 371 00:26:38,520 --> 00:26:43,520 gives rise to rumours of a brazen heist by her German born captain. 372 00:26:43,520 --> 00:26:47,520 But could new developments in the understanding of rogue waves 373 00:26:47,520 --> 00:26:53,520 exonerate him and solve other maritime mysteries in the Bermuda Triangle? 374 00:26:54,520 --> 00:26:56,520 Rogue waves are these unusually large waves 375 00:26:56,520 --> 00:26:59,520 that can occur amongst a sequence of storm waves 376 00:26:59,520 --> 00:27:02,520 or even in calmer conditions. 377 00:27:03,520 --> 00:27:06,520 Recent research has shown that these maritime monsters 378 00:27:06,520 --> 00:27:09,520 can form when normal waves encounter strong currents 379 00:27:09,520 --> 00:27:12,520 moving in the opposite direction. 380 00:27:14,520 --> 00:27:18,520 With the warm Atlantic Gulf Stream flowing right through it 381 00:27:18,520 --> 00:27:22,520 the Bermuda Triangle is particularly prone. 382 00:27:24,520 --> 00:27:27,520 But could a freak wave outgun the navy 383 00:27:27,520 --> 00:27:30,520 and take out a transporter of this size? 384 00:27:32,520 --> 00:27:37,520 In 2018 British oceanographers set out to answer this very question. 385 00:27:38,520 --> 00:27:41,520 The team builds a scale model of the Cyclops 386 00:27:41,520 --> 00:27:45,520 and recreates surges using indoor wave simulators. 387 00:27:47,520 --> 00:27:51,520 Their experiments yield a counter-intuitive result. 388 00:27:52,520 --> 00:27:56,520 The bigger the ship, the greater the chance of capsize. 389 00:27:57,520 --> 00:28:00,520 To maximise chances of survival 390 00:28:00,520 --> 00:28:03,520 the captain would have to literally ride the waves 391 00:28:03,520 --> 00:28:06,520 steering directly towards them. 392 00:28:06,520 --> 00:28:11,520 Where a ship of that type is most vulnerable is on its sides. 393 00:28:12,520 --> 00:28:15,520 And with no notice of the approaching killer wave 394 00:28:15,520 --> 00:28:19,520 it could have been too late to reposition a ship of this size. 395 00:28:20,520 --> 00:28:23,520 It had a huge superstructure and it's very likely 396 00:28:23,520 --> 00:28:26,520 that it was essentially knocked over. 397 00:28:27,520 --> 00:28:29,520 Does this new understanding of rogue waves 398 00:28:29,520 --> 00:28:32,520 and their potential effects on large vessels 399 00:28:32,520 --> 00:28:34,520 solve the mystery of the Cyclops? 400 00:28:34,520 --> 00:28:36,520 Even though you have the latest technology 401 00:28:36,520 --> 00:28:38,520 to see how a ship is behaving within a tank 402 00:28:38,520 --> 00:28:41,520 you can't be 100% sure what happened to the ship. 403 00:28:41,520 --> 00:28:45,520 Or did German agents pull off one of the most brazen heists 404 00:28:45,520 --> 00:28:47,520 in maritime history? 405 00:28:47,520 --> 00:28:50,520 I personally think it's not in the Bermuda Triangle. 406 00:28:50,520 --> 00:28:53,520 I think that they may actually have been trying to take it to Germany. 407 00:28:53,520 --> 00:28:58,520 Until the wreck is found, the mystery lives on. 408 00:29:05,520 --> 00:29:08,520 Since I first set sail as a teenager 409 00:29:08,520 --> 00:29:11,520 technology has dramatically improved our ability 410 00:29:11,520 --> 00:29:14,520 to track vessels at sea. 411 00:29:14,520 --> 00:29:18,520 Satellites have revolutionised the science of surveillance. 412 00:29:18,520 --> 00:29:23,520 But on occasion even large boats can drop off the grid. 413 00:29:23,520 --> 00:29:26,520 These ghost ships are potential hazards 414 00:29:26,520 --> 00:29:30,520 to anything else on the water have to be found. 415 00:29:35,520 --> 00:29:38,520 Russian cruise ship, the Lubov Olova 416 00:29:38,520 --> 00:29:41,520 has been carrying passengers on Arctic cruises 417 00:29:41,520 --> 00:29:43,520 for more than 20 years. 418 00:29:43,520 --> 00:29:47,520 But in 2010 her travels grind to a halt. 419 00:29:48,520 --> 00:29:51,520 She's impounded in Newfoundland, Canada 420 00:29:51,520 --> 00:29:54,520 and eventually sold for scrap. 421 00:29:55,520 --> 00:29:59,520 But her final journey is anything but plain sailing. 422 00:29:59,520 --> 00:30:02,520 It's being taken to the Dominican Republic to be scrapped 423 00:30:02,520 --> 00:30:06,520 and the tug isn't up to the job. 424 00:30:06,520 --> 00:30:09,520 Very soon after leaving Harbour, 425 00:30:09,520 --> 00:30:12,520 the Lubov snaps its toe and comes loose 426 00:30:12,520 --> 00:30:17,520 and floats off on its own with no power, 427 00:30:17,520 --> 00:30:21,520 no crew and essentially becomes a ghost ship. 428 00:30:22,520 --> 00:30:27,520 The Olova is adrift in some of the world's busiest shipping lanes. 429 00:30:27,520 --> 00:30:30,520 She joins a global phantom fleet 430 00:30:30,520 --> 00:30:33,520 They are floating metallic icebergs 431 00:30:33,520 --> 00:30:37,520 which can cause tremendous trouble by wandering into sea lanes. 432 00:30:38,520 --> 00:30:40,520 The race is on to find her. 433 00:30:42,520 --> 00:30:45,520 Seven days later, on the other side of the Atlantic, 434 00:30:45,520 --> 00:30:48,520 the Irish Coast Guard is put on alert. 435 00:30:48,520 --> 00:30:51,520 The Olova may be heading their way. 436 00:30:54,520 --> 00:30:57,520 The Coast Guard is part of a new international project 437 00:30:57,520 --> 00:30:59,520 called Sea Sigma, 438 00:30:59,520 --> 00:31:03,520 their mission to harness the power of emerging technology 439 00:31:03,520 --> 00:31:06,520 in the fight against maritime crime. 440 00:31:06,520 --> 00:31:11,520 First, satellites identify anything that looks like a ship. 441 00:31:11,520 --> 00:31:13,520 This is cross-referenced with data 442 00:31:13,520 --> 00:31:17,520 from the Worldwide Automatic Identification System, or AIS, 443 00:31:17,520 --> 00:31:21,520 which tracks the position of all active vessels. 444 00:31:23,520 --> 00:31:26,520 As the Olova is no longer in the hands of the Olova, 445 00:31:26,520 --> 00:31:29,520 the Olova is no longer emitting an AIS signal 446 00:31:29,520 --> 00:31:32,520 when a so-called dark vessel is identified 447 00:31:32,520 --> 00:31:36,520 matching her footprint, it looks like they've found her. 448 00:31:37,520 --> 00:31:40,520 But when the Coast Guard gets to the search area, 449 00:31:40,520 --> 00:31:44,520 the Olova is nowhere to be seen. 450 00:31:45,520 --> 00:31:47,520 Even with the best technology, 451 00:31:47,520 --> 00:31:50,520 accurately predicting the position of a drifting craft 452 00:31:50,520 --> 00:31:53,520 in open ocean can be next to impossible. 453 00:31:54,520 --> 00:31:57,520 But the Irish Coast Guard aren't the only people 454 00:31:57,520 --> 00:31:59,520 looking for the Olova. 455 00:31:59,520 --> 00:32:03,520 It might be a ghost ship, but this is a goldmine for salvagers. 456 00:32:03,520 --> 00:32:07,520 Under maritime law, it's finder's keepers. 457 00:32:07,520 --> 00:32:12,520 Anyone salvaging an abandoned vessel is entitled to a reward 458 00:32:12,520 --> 00:32:16,520 based on the value of the ship and its contents. 459 00:32:16,520 --> 00:32:21,520 But salvagers in pursuit of the Olova can't find her either. 460 00:32:21,520 --> 00:32:26,520 It's becoming an international game of cat and mouse. 461 00:32:26,520 --> 00:32:31,520 And before long, another type of rodent hits the headlines. 462 00:32:31,520 --> 00:32:33,520 One of the stories going around about this ship 463 00:32:33,520 --> 00:32:36,520 is that should anyone find it and go on it, 464 00:32:36,520 --> 00:32:38,520 it's going to be full of rats. 465 00:32:40,520 --> 00:32:44,520 Speculation mounts as to how an army of rats 466 00:32:44,520 --> 00:32:47,520 might sustain themselves adrift at sea. 467 00:32:47,520 --> 00:32:50,520 They'll chew insulation on wires, 468 00:32:50,520 --> 00:32:53,520 but sooner or later, there will be no food supply. 469 00:32:53,520 --> 00:32:58,520 And then once that runs out, perhaps they're eating one another. 470 00:32:58,520 --> 00:33:01,520 The rat rumors run wild. 471 00:33:01,520 --> 00:33:05,520 These killer monster hungry cannibal rats. 472 00:33:05,520 --> 00:33:07,520 It's going to look like a house of horrors. 473 00:33:07,520 --> 00:33:10,520 One would have to be pretty crazy to want to board that ship. 474 00:33:10,520 --> 00:33:14,520 But is there any truth to these rat tales? 475 00:33:14,520 --> 00:33:17,520 It's possible that this is a story that's going around 476 00:33:17,520 --> 00:33:20,520 to try to prevent people from trying to find the ship. 477 00:33:20,520 --> 00:33:25,520 A fog of mystery surrounds the ghost ship Olova. 478 00:33:25,520 --> 00:33:29,520 But suddenly, the game's back on. 479 00:33:29,520 --> 00:33:32,520 Coast guards are alerted to a distress signal 480 00:33:32,520 --> 00:33:36,520 700 nautical miles off the west coast of Ireland. 481 00:33:36,520 --> 00:33:40,520 The signal is traced to an electronic device called an EPIRB, 482 00:33:40,520 --> 00:33:44,520 assigned to one of the Olova's six lifeboats. 483 00:33:44,520 --> 00:33:48,520 But EPIRBs only activate once lifeboats have been launched. 484 00:33:48,520 --> 00:33:53,520 Is there life on the ghost ship after all? 485 00:34:04,520 --> 00:34:07,520 The ghost ship Olova is at large on the high seas, 486 00:34:07,520 --> 00:34:11,520 but now the coast guard has been alerted by a distress signal. 487 00:34:11,520 --> 00:34:15,520 Could someone or something still be on board? 488 00:34:18,520 --> 00:34:21,520 The coast guard can't take any chances, 489 00:34:21,520 --> 00:34:26,520 so they scramble a plane for an aerial search. 490 00:34:26,520 --> 00:34:31,520 But once again, there's no sign of the missing ship. 491 00:34:31,520 --> 00:34:34,520 Getting the signal from the lifeboats themselves 492 00:34:34,520 --> 00:34:36,520 could be a couple of things. 493 00:34:36,520 --> 00:34:39,520 Either somehow they fell off the ship itself 494 00:34:39,520 --> 00:34:41,520 and the ship is still floating, 495 00:34:41,520 --> 00:34:43,520 or it could have actually been the ship sinking 496 00:34:43,520 --> 00:34:47,520 and that these lifeboats at that point ended up in the water. 497 00:34:47,520 --> 00:34:50,520 Experts have speculated that it has in fact sank. 498 00:34:50,520 --> 00:34:54,520 The others have speculated that it's somewhere up off Greenland. 499 00:34:54,520 --> 00:34:57,520 So ultimately, we may never know. 500 00:34:57,520 --> 00:35:02,520 For now, only the Olova and her rumored cargo of ravenous rats 501 00:35:02,520 --> 00:35:04,520 know the truth, 502 00:35:04,520 --> 00:35:08,520 and this ghost ship continues to haunt the high seas. 503 00:35:17,520 --> 00:35:19,520 For medieval sailors, 504 00:35:19,520 --> 00:35:24,520 the Portland charts revolutionise navigation on the high seas. 505 00:35:24,520 --> 00:35:27,520 In an age when the world is still considered to be flat, 506 00:35:27,520 --> 00:35:31,520 these astonishingly detailed maritime maps 507 00:35:31,520 --> 00:35:34,520 are light years ahead of their time. 508 00:35:34,520 --> 00:35:36,520 But how they were made and used 509 00:35:36,520 --> 00:35:39,520 has defied explanation for centuries. 510 00:35:39,520 --> 00:35:45,520 Can a new discovery finally crack this ancient maritime code? 511 00:35:52,520 --> 00:35:55,520 Before the early medieval period, 512 00:35:55,520 --> 00:35:58,520 using a chart to sail to a place you had never been 513 00:35:58,520 --> 00:36:00,520 was a dangerous endeavour. 514 00:36:00,520 --> 00:36:04,520 Early charts were very imprecise from a navigational standpoint. 515 00:36:04,520 --> 00:36:07,520 You really only were able to navigate headland to headland 516 00:36:07,520 --> 00:36:12,520 and you would touch the coast along the way to get anywhere you had to go. 517 00:36:13,520 --> 00:36:17,520 Then, as if from nowhere, a new kind of chart appears, 518 00:36:17,520 --> 00:36:23,520 with new levels of accuracy that reduce reliance on visual landmarks 519 00:36:23,520 --> 00:36:26,520 and help to open up new routes. 520 00:36:26,520 --> 00:36:32,520 It was as if the mapmaker could look down upon the area from space. 521 00:36:34,520 --> 00:36:38,520 In a world with untold wealth waiting to be discovered, 522 00:36:38,520 --> 00:36:40,520 navigation is power. 523 00:36:40,520 --> 00:36:43,520 These were highly secretive. 524 00:36:43,520 --> 00:36:45,520 They were talked about in hushed tones, 525 00:36:45,520 --> 00:36:47,520 captains traded for them. 526 00:36:47,520 --> 00:36:51,520 People probably gave up their lives to deliver them and to protect them. 527 00:36:52,520 --> 00:36:57,520 On the surface, the Portland charts look like a tangled mess of geometric lines 528 00:36:57,520 --> 00:37:02,520 spreading out from seemingly random points in all directions. 529 00:37:02,520 --> 00:37:06,520 These rum lines are 16 lines emanating from a central point 530 00:37:06,520 --> 00:37:10,520 and these lines are all over the portal lines. 531 00:37:10,520 --> 00:37:12,520 But how these lines were created 532 00:37:12,520 --> 00:37:17,520 and how the charts were used seven centuries ago is shrouded in secrecy. 533 00:37:17,520 --> 00:37:21,520 A closely guarded medieval puzzle waiting to be solved. 534 00:37:22,520 --> 00:37:26,520 Now, a blue sky breakthrough in, of all things, 535 00:37:26,520 --> 00:37:30,520 the geometry of spot patterns on butterfly wings 536 00:37:30,520 --> 00:37:35,520 could provide the key to unlock the mystery of these ancient charts. 537 00:37:35,520 --> 00:37:51,520 The Portland charts marked a giant leap forward in medieval navigation, 538 00:37:51,520 --> 00:37:55,520 but how they were created remains a mystery. 539 00:37:56,520 --> 00:38:01,520 We don't have written records in terms of how to use one, 540 00:38:01,520 --> 00:38:05,520 what the lines represent in relation to one another. 541 00:38:05,520 --> 00:38:09,520 I think we've lost a lot of the information. 542 00:38:10,520 --> 00:38:13,520 But in 2018, there's a breakthrough. 543 00:38:14,520 --> 00:38:18,520 Renowned mathematician and butterfly enthusiast, John Hessler, 544 00:38:18,520 --> 00:38:21,520 makes a radical connection between the Portland charts 545 00:38:21,520 --> 00:38:25,520 and a seemingly unrelated natural phenomenon. 546 00:38:26,520 --> 00:38:31,520 Hessler has tracked the differences in the spots on butterfly wings 547 00:38:31,520 --> 00:38:34,520 across the Alps in a method called morphometrics. 548 00:38:35,520 --> 00:38:42,520 Hessler, a chemical engineer by trade, is also a passionate amateur lepidopterist 549 00:38:42,520 --> 00:38:45,520 and he's studying the evolutionary relationships 550 00:38:45,520 --> 00:38:49,520 among the many butterfly species found in the French Alps. 551 00:38:50,520 --> 00:38:54,520 Using mapping software, he tracks butterflies from different areas 552 00:38:54,520 --> 00:38:57,520 and deploys a technique called morphometrics, 553 00:38:57,520 --> 00:39:00,520 a scientific method of analysing form 554 00:39:00,520 --> 00:39:06,520 to assess the relationships between the placement of the spots on the butterfly's wings. 555 00:39:07,520 --> 00:39:10,520 Now, Hessler wonders whether a similar method 556 00:39:10,520 --> 00:39:14,520 might help decode the secrets of the Portland charts. 557 00:39:15,520 --> 00:39:18,520 But instead of different points on butterfly wings, 558 00:39:18,520 --> 00:39:22,520 this time he's looking at different points on geographical maps, 559 00:39:22,520 --> 00:39:25,520 such as headlands and ports. 560 00:39:26,520 --> 00:39:30,520 So using that, he's trying to reverse engineer how the mathematicians 561 00:39:30,520 --> 00:39:34,520 and the navigators and the surveyors were able to kind of create these maps. 562 00:39:36,520 --> 00:39:39,520 Hessler is looking for patterns in the differences 563 00:39:39,520 --> 00:39:42,520 between the Portland charts and other maps. 564 00:39:43,520 --> 00:39:46,520 He took about 100 points from the Portland maps 565 00:39:46,520 --> 00:39:50,520 and made comparisons to our modern maps. 566 00:39:51,520 --> 00:39:55,520 He uses algorithms within computerized mapping software 567 00:39:55,520 --> 00:39:57,520 to make these comparisons, 568 00:39:57,520 --> 00:40:03,520 so we have a very good mathematical way of distinguishing accuracy from inaccuracy. 569 00:40:04,520 --> 00:40:07,520 Patterns could reveal the Portland's geometric structure 570 00:40:07,520 --> 00:40:10,520 and finally tell us how they were made. 571 00:40:12,520 --> 00:40:16,520 And what he finds is fascinating. 572 00:40:17,520 --> 00:40:20,520 After analyzing 22 ancient charts, 573 00:40:20,520 --> 00:40:24,520 all of which appear vastly different to the naked eye, 574 00:40:24,520 --> 00:40:29,520 he works out that they bear one remarkable similarity. 575 00:40:29,520 --> 00:40:34,520 They are all offset by almost exactly the same amount. 576 00:40:34,520 --> 00:40:38,520 8.5 degrees from true north. 577 00:40:39,520 --> 00:40:43,520 The really significant thing is the difference of 8.5 degrees. 578 00:40:43,520 --> 00:40:46,520 It's the difference between true north and magnetic north, 579 00:40:46,520 --> 00:40:50,520 so they were all orientated onto magnetic north. 580 00:40:50,520 --> 00:40:52,520 And this makes sense, 581 00:40:52,520 --> 00:40:54,520 because at the time the charts were compiled, 582 00:40:54,520 --> 00:40:58,520 compasses of the new medieval must have. 583 00:40:58,520 --> 00:41:03,520 It's only when the magnetic compasses start to come into wider use 584 00:41:03,520 --> 00:41:07,520 you have the information coming through that you can use to make these maps. 585 00:41:07,520 --> 00:41:10,520 Hessler has cracked the code, 586 00:41:10,520 --> 00:41:13,520 figuring out not only how the charts came to be, 587 00:41:13,520 --> 00:41:16,520 but also why they're so accurate. 588 00:41:16,520 --> 00:41:21,520 The Portland mapmakers were more advanced than we thought they were 589 00:41:21,520 --> 00:41:23,520 in terms of putting that map together. 590 00:41:23,520 --> 00:41:30,520 The best mapmakers actually are able to compile data from all kinds of places. 591 00:41:31,520 --> 00:41:36,520 The mapmakers are using the logbooks and the records of many, many different sailors, 592 00:41:36,520 --> 00:41:41,520 and what they're putting down as their compass positions to try and draw these maps. 593 00:41:41,520 --> 00:41:45,520 These maps were the product of large data analysis themselves. 594 00:41:45,520 --> 00:41:50,520 It turns out that these medieval mapmakers were harvesting big data 595 00:41:50,520 --> 00:41:53,520 800 years before Silicon Valley. 596 00:41:54,520 --> 00:41:57,520 There's no secret like a trade secret, 597 00:41:57,520 --> 00:42:01,520 so the mystery of exactly who these mapmakers were remains. 598 00:42:01,520 --> 00:42:06,520 But for now, our butterfly enthusiast helps us chart a course 599 00:42:06,520 --> 00:42:10,520 that takes us a little closer to the truth.