Discovery Channel - Myth Hunters: Series 1 (2012)

Myths lead us to perilous adventures in search of money and fame. Will it be possible to find the treasure or will the voyages end in failure?
Ever wonder if Noah's Ark actually exists, or if the Holy Grail's supernatural powers provide eternal youth? For some, these seeming legends are an authentic reality. MYTH HUNTERS tells the gripping adventures of the ultimate quest seekers who believe in the myths and are on a mission to prove their historical accuracy.
In human history, the boundaries between reality and myth are not always clear. What is fact, what is fantasy? In the 13-part series "Myth Hunters" adventurers go in search of answers. American creationists follow in the footsteps of Noah's Ark, a Stasi officer goes on a hunt for the Amber Room, and Heinrich Himmler sends SS man Otto Skorzeny to Greenland to find nothing less than the Holy Grail. Myth Hunters Season 1 features the true stories of quests to discover legendary objects…The Da Vinci Code meets Indiana Jones!
From the Nazis' search for the Holy Grail, to the Americans who hunted for pirate treasure in Vietnam; from the true story of the crystal skulls to the mystery of King Solomon's mines - this series uncovers the truth behind some of the most fabulous, romantic and deranged treasure hunts in modern history. Includes all 13 episodes from Season 1

Produced and Directed by Nick Davidson and Elliot McCaffrey; A WMR and IMG Entertainment Co-Production

Part 1: The Quest for Noah's Ark
Between myth and reality, finding it was an exciting adventure for many people who spent their lives searching for it. Learn about Noah's Ark story, and the discoveries related to it.
For 2000 years, adventurers have been searching for the ship that, according to the Bible, saved Noah, his family and the animals from the great flood that God wanted to use to wipe out evil from the earth. In the last 50 years, the American creationists in particular have taken over the search. They believe that finding the Ark on Mount Ararat in eastern Turkey would be the ultimate proof that the theory of evolution is wrong and that every word of the Bible is true. The documentary accompanies three of these creationists on their perilous expeditions.

Part 2: Hitler and the Spear of Destiny
The armies of Nazi Germany crossed the border with Austria, but when Hitler arrived in Vienna just 2 days later, the very first thing he did was to go to the Hofburg museum to lay claim to what appeared to be a simple Roman spear head. This spear head was something that Hitler had apparently coveted ever since he had first nurtured ambitions to become the ruler of a new German Reich.
According to the Gospel of Saint John, when Jesus was crucified, a Roman soldier named Longinus pierced Christ's side with his lance to ensure he was dead. This weapon, baptized the "spear of destiny" or "holy lance," immediately became a highly coveted relic. Ever since it pierced the side of Christ more than 2,000 years ago, it has been said that the Spear of Destiny has been invested with amazing occult powers that will render the user unstoppable. When Hitler arrived in Vienna in 1938, one of his first acts was to seize the Holy Lance, which was kept in the Hofburg Museum. Hitler took the lance, which is said to make its owner invincible, to Nuremberg to present himself as the heir of the greatest European rulers. After the end of the Second World War, the lance was lost. Walter Horn, a US Army lieutenant who had fled Germany, went in search of the Holy Lance.

Part 3: The Hunt for Pirate Treasure
Richard Knight was an unlikely treasure hunter. He travelled the world working as an actor, cruise ship entertainer and casual labourer to make ends meet. But when he became obsessed by the story of Captain Kidd's treasure his life changed forever.
Richard Knight has traveled the world as an actor, entertainer and odd-job man. But then the story of Captain Kidd's pirate treasure wouldn't let him go. He discovered marked maps in Kidd's estate and located the probable treasure island: Hon Tre Lon. However, this belonged to communist Vietnam. Knight and his partner Fred Graham were caught trespassing and arrested. After 14 months, Knight was finally released after a ransom was paid. However, he did not give up hope for the treasure.

Part 4: The Real King Solomon's Mines
A rich and exotic Queen of Sheba brought King Solomon gifts of gold from the mystical land of Ophir. But where was Ophir? Where had all that gold come from? For 1000 of years, ancient Greeks, Renaissance adventurers, Victorian explorers, and modern day scientists have searched for the source of Solomon's gold. A mysterious place that would famously become known as King Solomon's Mines.
The biblical King Solomon was famous for his wisdom, women, and wealth. The Queen of Sheba gave him gold from the mysterious land of Ophir. For thousands of years, adventurers and explorers sought the source of gold, King Solomon's mines. German explorer Karl Mauch believed he had found Ophir deep in the heart of South Africa. While archaeological excavations in the early 20th century proved otherwise, his discovery of an ancient site proved to be one of Africa's most important archaeological discoveries. King Solomon's mines remain lost.

Part 5: The Missing Eighth Wonder of the World
In 1941 the Germanys looted one of the Soviet Union's most important art works, called the Amber Room. An extraordinary series of C18 amber screens worth millions of pounds and considered, by many, the 8th wonder of the world. It was taken to the Baltic city of Konigsberg. 4 years later at the end of the war, it had vanished. So began one of the greatest treasure hunts of the twentieth century.
For many it is the eighth wonder of the world: the Amber Room. Frederick I gave it to the Russian tsar in 1716, in 1941 the Germans stole it and brought it to Konigsberg, today's Kaliningrad. At the end of the war, the Amber Room disappeared without a trace - the starting signal for the greatest treasure hunt of the 20th century. For many years, the Soviet secret police and the Stasi directed the search. Finally, in 2002, a German company financed a replica that can be seen today in St. Petersburg's Summer Palace. But the search for the original continues.

Part 6: The Lost Sword of the Samurai
The Honjo Masamune is perhaps the greatest Japanese sword ever made. Forged in the 13th century by the great sword smith Masamune it became the ceremonial sword of the ruling Tokugawa shoguns for 250 years. After their fall from power in 1868 the great sword continued to be passed down the generations into the 20th century, but in the aftermath of the Second World War it disappeared.
The Honjo Masamune is perhaps Japan's most legendary sword, but no one knows where it is. Forged in the 13th century, it became the ceremonial sword of the Tokugawa samurai dynasty for 250 years. Since 1868 it was passed on from one generation to the next, but after the Second World War it disappeared. It may have been melted down undetected in occupied Japan, but experts believe it may have made its way to the United States as a souvenir. Today it would be worth millions and collectors hope that the lost sword of the samurai will one day be found.

Part 7: Himmler and the Holy Grail
The Holy Grail, the most prized relic of Christianity has been shrouded in mystery for centuries. Said to be the cup used by Christ at the last supper it is believed by many to hold miraculous powers. For centuries Kings, knights and treasure hunters have sought it, but it has always remained elusive and out of reach of human hands.
For centuries, the Holy Grail has been regarded as a holy relic that brings life-force and its location have repeatedly given rise to a wide range of myths. In 1935 the writer Otto Rahn was ordered to Berlin and met Heinrich Himmler there. The Reichsfuhrer-SS commissioned Rahn to search for the Holy Grail. It was to be exhibited in Wewelsburg, used by the SS, which Himmler wanted to make his Camelot. Rahn traversed all of Europe in search of the Grail, but in the end he had to pay for his search with his life.

Part 8: The Hunt for the Book of Spells
It's one of the most influential books ever written. It's said to have inspired early Freemasons, to provide the wisdom behind the Tarot and to have underpinned a string of 20th century esoteric cults. Yet after years of looking for it nobody has ever found the original text.
According to legend, the Egyptian god Thoth gave the Book of Thoth to the people. With its help, the future can be predicted. The Greeks incorporated a version of the book into their culture, the Christians rejected it as pagan. In the 17th century it supposedly influenced Freemasons, in the 18th century tarot card readers. Finally, in the 20th century, the flower power movement of the 1960s was based on its content. But since the actual book has not yet been found, it is doubtful that it ever really existed.

Part 9: The Lost City of El Dorado
Legend tells that somewhere in South America there is a great city of gold, El Dorado, a fabulously rich and sophisticated kingdom that was once home to thousands of people living deep in the Amazon jungle. To most people it was just a legend. But for British explorer, Colonel Percy Fawcett, it was real. Convinced he knew the location of this lost world, he spent years searching for it.
Legend has it that somewhere in South America there is a city of gold: Eldorado, the remnant of a kingdom that once lay deep in the Amazon jungle. British explorer Percy Fawcett believed in the legend. From 1906 he was regularly on expeditions in the border area between Bolivia and Brazil. In 1925 he started the Eldorado search with his son Jack and his best friend Raleigh. The disappearance of Percy Fawcett is still one of the greatest mysteries in history. The numerous search and research expeditions that were sent to unravel this mystery were all unsuccessful. There was indeed a mythical civilization in the jungle, but the riches of the true Eldorado had nothing to do with gold.

Part 10: The Nazis and the Book of Power
Heinrich Himmler sent his SS solders to locate a treasure so valuable to Nazi ideology that it must be recovered at all costs. The item they are searching for is an ancient manuscript, a perfect copy of a book written nearly two thousand years before in Rome which the Nazis call the birth certificate for the German race. The book is known as the Germania; for the Nazis it is the "Book of Power".
In 1944, Heinrich Himmler sent SS soldiers to Italy to search for a missing document. It is the oldest version of the work Germania, which Tacitus wrote in 98 BC. The book describes a noble and pure human race, the descendants of which the Nazis saw themselves as. With the work, Himmler wanted to prove that the Germans descended from superhumans, who the Nazis called Aryans. For this task, Himmler put together a special unit called Ahnenerbe to locate the missing manuscript.

Part 11: Raider Ron and the Lost Ark
Ron Wyatt claimed he had finally found the Ark of the Covenant but he had no witnesses and could produce no evidence. Many people believe him but professional archaeologists are sceptical. New archaeological evidence in Israel suggests that there may not just have been one grand golden ark, but many simple everyday portable shrines called in Hebrew 'Ark of God'.
The Ark of the Covenant has been missing for over 2000 years. According to legend, it contained the power of God and was carried into battle by the Israelites as a weapon. In 1982, American Ron Wyatt claimed he found the Ark in Jerusalem, but he had neither witnesses nor evidence. Findings from recent excavations in Israel suggest that there may have been more than one Ark, as other portable shrines have also been called the Ark of God.

Part 12: The Search for the Crystal Skulls
In 1924, a young girl found an extraordinary object in the jungles of Central America. It was a beautiful skull from a single block of pure quartz crystal. All her life Anna Mitchell-Hedges claimed that her skull had telepathic powers.
In 1924, young Anna Mitchell-Hedges found an unusual object in the jungles of Central America: a crystal quartz skull. One theory is that he is part of an ancient legend. One day, 13 of these skulls will unite into one and reveal the great mysteries of life. Some of these crystal skulls have already surfaced and are on display in museums around the world. The program explores the question of what is actually behind the secret of the crystal skulls.

Part 13: The Quest for the True Cross
Fifteen years ago Michael Hesemann, a German historian, set out to establish the authenticity of one of the most important Christian relics ever found. It's called the Titulus Crucis, or Title of the Cross, a small piece of wood that, it's claimed, hung on the cross of Christ announcing his name and crime. It's displayed in a church in Rome. But is it real or a mediaeval fake?
In the 1990s, German historian Michael Hesemann examined one of the most important Christian relics: the Titulus Crucis. The small piece of wood is said to have hung on the cross of Jesus and made known his name. But is it real or a medieval fake? Hesemann traveled across Europe and the Middle East to trace the history of this piece of wood, said to be 2000 years old. Eventually he confirmed the authenticity of the relic, but according to an examination using the scientifically approved C-14 method, it is a fake.