Secrets

The stone giants of Easter Island are some of the most recognizable statues on Earth, and some of the least understood. How were hundreds of these enormous figures built, and why? And what prompted the Islanders to topple all of them to the ground, save for one? To answer these questions, our team of experts gathers evidence on the island and pores over a centuries-old eyewitness account. They also use modern analysis to decipher the symbolic code cut into the last statue standing, a carving that reveals a story of extraordinary struggle.

The Great Pyramid at Giza is the last of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World still in existence. It's as tall as a 50-story building, has stood for 4,500 years, and for centuries, has been a puzzle to archaeologists, who still do not really know how it was built. But today, two new developments might just solve this great mystery: the remarkable discovery of a diary written by one of the men involved in the pyramid's construction, and radical new theories from an engineer who's bringing fresh insights to this ancient riddle.

Queen Nefertiti was the most powerful woman in ancient Egypt, but few today would know anything about her if it weren't for the discovery of her statue in the Amarna Desert in 1912. Since then, she has become a global icon...and a very controversial figure. Many believe the unearthing of her likeness was staged, and that the bust is one of the greatest art frauds of all time. Follow our team of historians and scientists as they sort through the clues, visit the sites, and put the spectacular object to the test to solve this ancient secret.

"Raiders of the Lost Ark" made it famous, but the story of the Ark of the Covenant goes back many centuries. According to the Bible, it was built by the Israelites at God's command 3,000 years ago, then vanished 25 centuries later, from Jerusalem and from history. Some say that it was destroyed. Others claim that it never existed at all. Follow our team of experts as they sift through evidence and hunt for physical clues in an attempt to prove if the ark was real, to show what it might have looked like, and to determine if it still exists today.

Before it landed in a museum in Vienna, the Spear of Destiny had a long and fascinating history..at least according to legend. Claims that it pierced Jesus, was carried into battle by Charlemagne, and was coveted by Hitler have made for captivating stories. But is there any merit to any of them? Join the investigation as we examine ancient texts, and scrutinize the spear, layer-by-layer, through modern Magnetic Resonance Imaging and x-ray fluorescence technology, to cut through the fiction and unlock the secrets of this celebrated spear.

Beneath the waters off the North Carolina coast, lost for over 300 years, lays the wreckage of a ship. Experts believe it once belonged to the bloodthirsty pirate Blackbeard, but not everyone is convinced. Join the investigation as our experts analyze historical records and charts, and search for clues among 300,000 documented artifacts. Their mission: to prove this is the wreckage of Queen Anne's Revenge, and to determine how this ship, supposedly captained by one of the most skilled sailors of his day, suddenly and mysteriously ran aground.