>> Wildman: IN 79 A.D., MOUNT VESUVIUS ERUPTED, DECIMATING THE CITY OF POMPEII AND EVERYTHING IN ITS PATH. BUT ONE CITY SURVIVED TO TELL THE TALE -- NAPLES. TODAY, THE VOLCANO STILL LOOMS, READY TO ERUPT AT ANY MOMENT. BUT TO FIND THE REAL STORY OF WHAT HAPPENED HERE, YOU HAVE TO GO UNDERGROUND. OH, MY GOD, THIS IS SO COOL. WE'LL REVEAL ANCIENT GREEK CAVERNS COVERED IN A SECRET CODE AND TOMBS LEFT BEHIND BY THE CULT OF THE DEAD. WELL, THIS IS A LITTLE DIFFERENT DOWN HERE. THIS IS THE WORLD OF THE CULT OF THE DEAD. >> YEAH. >> Wildman: HERE WE GO. AQUEDUCTS TURNED WARTIME BUNKERS SNAKE FOR HUNDREDS OF MILES BENEATH THE CITY STREETS. I AM REALLY HOPING THAT THERE IS NO EARTHQUAKE NOW, BECAUSE... WE'RE [BLEEP] AND EMPEROR NERO'S 2,000-YEAR-OLD STOMPING GROUNDS... WOW! ...ARE THE FOUNDATIONS FOR AN ENTIRE STREET ABOVE. NERO'S STAGE, WHERE HE PERFORMED, IS HERE, RIGHT UNDER SOMEBODY'S MODERN-DAY BATHROOM. AND A FORGOTTEN, UNDERGROUND CITY IS EXPOSED. THAT'S INCREDIBLE. THIS IS SO MUCH MORE THAN I THOUGHT WAS GONNA BE DOWN HERE. THE WORLD THE VOLCANO CREATED ABOVE IS NOTHING COMPARED TO THE ONE BELOW. WE'RE PEELING BACK THE LAYERS OF TIME ON "CITIES OF THE UNDERWORLD: BENEATH VESUVIUS." --<font color="#FFFF00"> Captions by VITAC --</font><font color="#00FFFF">
www.vitac.com</font> CLOSED CAPTIONING FUNDED BY
A&E TELEVISION NETWORKS I'M DON WILDMAN. I'M IN NAPLES, ITALY. FOR THOUSANDS OF YEARS, THE PEOPLE HERE HAVE LIVED IN THE SHADOW OF AN ACTIVE VOLCANO, BUT MOUNT VESUVIUS IS ONLY THE BEGINNING. THE THREAT OF IMMINENT DEATH HAS HOVERED OVER THIS CITY FOR CENTURIES. IT'S ENDURED VOLCANIC ERUPTIONS, EARTHQUAKES, MUDSLIDES, CHOLERA OUTBREAKS, AND INVADING ARMIES, BUT IT REFUSES TO BE DESTROYED. IRONICALLY, THE SAME VOLCANO THAT BURIED NEARBY POMPEII LITERALLY LAID THE FOUNDATION FOR MODERN-DAY NAPLES. THAT MEANS 2 MILLION RESIDENTS ARE LIVING DIRECTLY ON TOP OF NOT SOIL, BUT VOLCANIC ROCK -- ROCK THAT HAS BEEN CARVED OUT BY GREEKS AND ROMANS BEFORE THEM, CREATING A PARALLEL WORLD OF ANCIENT CISTERNS, BOMB SHELTERS, AND BONE-FILLED CRYPTS BENEATH THE STREETS. THERE ARE FEW CITIES IN THE WORLD WITH AN UNDERGROUND AS MASSIVE AS NAPLES'. IT'S SAID THAT OVER 60% OF THE CITY TODAY SITS ON TOP OF A CHASM SPANNING UP TO 3 MILLION SQUARE METERS. THAT'S OVER 32 MILLION SQUARE FEET OF CARVED-OUT CAVITIES THAT EXIST UNDERNEATH THE STREETS. THEY ARE BENEATH EVERY HOUSE, STREET, CHURCH, AND PIZZERIA. BUT HOW IS IT POSSIBLE THAT WHEN THE ANCIENTS FIRST SETTLED IN THIS TINY FISHING VILLAGE NEARLY 3,000 YEARS AGO THEY COULD CARVE MILES OF CAVITIES INTO THE GROUND, CAVITIES THAT WOULD LATER BECOME WATER WORLDS, WAR BUNKERS, AND BURIALS, ALL WITHOUT MODERN MACHINERY? AND HOW DOES TODAY'S CITY NOT CAVE IN ON THE ONE DOWN BELOW? THE STORY OF NAPLES' UNDERGROUND BEGINS 400,000 YEARS AGO, WHEN VOLATILE MIXTURES OF ASH, ROCKS, AND GASES FROM THIS HIGHLY VOLCANIC REGION WERE CONSTANTLY SPEWING OUT FROM THE GROUND AND BLANKETING THE AREA. WHEN THESE MATERIALS CAME INTO CONTACT WITH THE AIR, THEY WOULD COOL AND HARDEN, FORMING THE FOUNDATION OF TODAY'S CITY. DIG INTO NAPLES, AND YOU WON'T FIND SOIL BUT TUFF, OR TUFA, ROCK. IT'S EASY TO CARVE AND EQUALLY AS STRONG -- THE PERFECT COMBINATION TO CREATE A PARALLEL UNDERGROUND CITY. BUT WHAT THE ANCIENTS DIDN'T REALIZE IS THAT THE SAME FORCES THAT CREATED THE REGION THREATENED TO DESTROY IT, AS THE NEIGHBORING TOWN OF POMPEII WOULD SOON FIND OUT. ON AUGUST 24, 79 A.D., THE GROUND BEGAN TO SHAKE. SMOKE AND ASH BILLOWED FROM THE MOST NOTORIOUS VOLCANO IN THE REGION, MOUNT VESUVIUS. A MASSIVE EXPLOSION, ONE WITH A THERMAL ENERGY 100,000 TIMES GREATER THAN THE ATOMIC EXPLOSION AT HIROSHIMA, BLEW SKY-HIGH. THE ERUPTION LASTED FOR OVER 24 HOURS. FIRST, IT SENT A COLUMN OF ASH AND ROCK OVER 12 MILES INTO THE AIR, COVERING THE REGION IN OVER 16 FEET OF VOLCANIC DEBRIS. NEXT, AN EVEN DEADLIER PYROCLASTIC FLOW OF GAS AND EARTH AS HOT AS 1,300 DEGREES FAHRENHEIT ROLLED DOWN THE MOUNTAIN AT 70 MILES PER HOUR, DESTROYING EVERYTHING IN ITS PATH. IT WAS THIS FLOW THAT SILENCED THE CITIES OF POMPEII AND HERCULANEUM FOREVER. AT THAT MOMENT, NAPLES COULD EASILY HAVE SUFFERED THE SAME FATE BUT FOR ONE SMALL DETAIL -- THE WIND. A NORTH WIND WAS BLOWING THE ASH AWAY FROM NAPLES, AND DEADLY PYROCLASTIC FLOW SPEWED SOUTHEAST, NOT NORTHWEST TOWARD THE NEAPOLITANS. BUT NAPLES' GROUND IS MADE UP ALMOST ENTIRELY OF TUFA, SO IF THE POMPEII ERUPTION DIDN'T CREATE ITS FOUNDATION, WHAT DID? FEW REALIZE THAT ALMOST 2,000 YEARS BEFORE POMPEII WAS DESTROYED, AN ERUPTION TWICE AS POWERFUL LEFT THIS REGION A DESERT WASTELAND FOR CENTURIES AFTERWARDS. IT WAS CALLED THE AVELLINO ERUPTION, AND IT BURIED ENTIRE VILLAGES UP TO 25 KILOMETERS AWAY. BUT THAT'S NOT ALL. 10 MILES FROM VESUVIUS SITS THE PHLEGRAEAN FIELDS, OR BURNING FIELDS, WHERE OVER 40 SMALL VOLCANOES BORDER THE AREA. ACCORDING TO THE ROMANS, THESE FIELDS WERE SO FEARED THAT THEY WERE BELIEVED TO BE THE GATEWAY TO THE UNDERWORLD AND THE INSPIRATION FOR DANTE'S "INFERNO." THROUGHOUT HISTORY, EXPLOSIONS FROM THE BURNING FIELDS COVERED THE REGION IN LAVA, MUD, AND ASH, ADDING MORE AND MORE LAYERS TO NAPLES' UNDERGROUND. TODAY'S CITY SITS ON TOP OF ALL THESE LAYERS OF DESTRUCTION, AND I WAS ABOUT TO GET SPECIAL ACCESS BENEATH THE STREETS. THEY'VE UNCOVERED OVER 10 MILLION SQUARE FEET OF NAPLES' UNDERWORLD, BUT THERE ARE 20 MILLION YET TO BE DISCOVERED. MY FIRST STOP WAS THE CENTER OF ANCIENT NAPLES, TO WHAT WAS ONCE A BUSTLING, 3rd-CENTURY MARKETPLACE. BUT WHERE DID THIS MARKETPLACE GO? TODAY IT'S 20 FEET BELOW THE CITY, AND IT'S GROUND ZERO FOR ANOTHER DEADLY DISASTER. BUT THIS TIME, IT WASN'T VOLCANIC ASH OR LAVA THAT WIPED OUT THIS STREET SCENE. IT WAS A MUDSLIDE. MUDSLIDES THIS DEADLY CAN BE TRIGGERED BY RAINWATER MIXING WITH VOLCANIC ASH, CREATING A FLOW THAT CAN BE AS HEAVY AS WET CEMENT AND CAN SWIFTLY DESTROY EVERYTHING IN ITS PATH. LIKE POMPEII, SOME CITIZENS IN THIS 3rd-CENTURY NEIGHBORHOOD I WAS ABOUT TO SEE WERE ABLE TO FLEE. OTHERS DIED IN THE STREETS. BUT AS THEY ALWAYS DO, THE PEOPLE OF NAPLES REBUILT. 700 YEARS AFTER THE MUDSLIDE, IN THE SO-CALLED DARK AGES, THE MEDIEVAL NEAPOLITANS BUILT A CHURCH DIRECTLY ON AT LEAST 10 FEET OF HARDENED MUD. SINCE THEN, THE PEOPLE WORSHIPING UP ABOVE HAD NO IDEA THAT BENEATH THE PEWS WAS A ONCE HORRIFIC SCENE OF DESTRUCTION, AND MOST LIKELY, THEY NEVER WOULD HAVE KNOWN IF NOT FOR ANOTHER DISASTER -- WORLD WAR II. HEY, KATIE. >> HEY, DON. HOW'S IT GOING? >> Wildman: URBAN SPELUNKER KATIE PARLA HAS BEEN EXPLORING NAPLES' UNDERWORLD FOR YEARS. SHE SAYS THAT WHAT THEY HAVE FOUND BENEATH THIS CHURCH IS LIKE A TIME CAPSULE FROM AN ANCIENT DISASTER AREA. OH, MY GOD. THIS IS SO MUCH MORE THAN I THOUGHT WAS GONNA BE DOWN HERE. THAT'S INCREDIBLE. THIS LOST CITY BURIED BENEATH A 12th-CENTURY CHURCH SAT AT THE INTERSECTION OF TWO MAJOR THOROUGHFARES, AND 1,600 YEARS AGO, IT WOULD HAVE BEEN BUSTLING WITH PEOPLE WHO HAD NO IDEA THEIR WHOLE WORLD WAS ABOUT TO GET WIPED OUT. WHAT ARE WE STANDING ON NOW? >> WE ARE STANDING ON MUD. LARGE PORTIONS OF THE CITY WERE ACTUALLY SWALLOWED UP BY THE MUDSLIDES, SO CONSEQUENTLY, THEY BUILT ON HIGHER LEVELS ON TOP OF THIS MUD. >> Wildman: INCREDIBLY, IT WAS THE MUD THAT SAVED THIS UNDERGROUND CITY. IN FACT, THE MUD HAD ACTUALLY PRESERVED THE SHOPS, BUILDINGS, AND EVEN THE STREETS SO WELL, IT WAS AS IF THE 3rd-CENTURY NEAPOLITANS HAD NEVER LEFT. >> THIS IS ONE OF THE SEVERAL AREAS OF THE SITE WHICH HAS BEEN DESIGNATED AS A FULLONICA. >> Wildman: FULLONICA? >> SO A LAUNDRY OR WOOL-DYEING AREA. >> Wildman: SO THIS WAS A LAUNDROMAT? >> THIS IS A BAKERY. >> Wildman: [ CHUCKLES ] SO THE LAUNDROMAT'S NEXT DOOR. THE BAKERY -- I'M COMING DOWN HERE TO DO ALL MY DAILY NEEDS. THERE WERE ALSO REMNANTS OF A BANK, FOOD VENDORS, EVEN GROOVES THAT ONCE HELD SLIDING, IRON GATES USED TO SECURE THE STORES AT NIGHT. SO IF THE MEDIEVAL CHURCH SAT ON TOP OF ALL THIS, HOW DID ANYONE KNOW THIS ANCIENT CITY WAS DOWN HERE? IT WAS ALL DISCOVERED THANKS TO A LITTLE BIT OF LUCK. DURING THE INTENSE BOMBINGS OF WORLD WAR II, THE FOUNDATION OF THIS CHURCH WAS RATTLED. SO TO SECURE THE BUILDING, ENGINEERS HAD TO DIG DOWN TO THE FOUNDATION, AND WHILE DIGGING, THEY BROKE THROUGH TO THE ANCIENT WORLD. OKAY, TAKE ME THROUGH THIS. I'M LOOKING AT...A STORE HERE... >> MM-HMM. >> Wildman: ...A STORE HERE, ALL THE WAY DOWN. THIS IS AN ARCADE, BASICALLY. >> YEAH. THIS IS LIKE A MODERN CITY STREET IN NAPLES TODAY. >> Wildman: AND NOT UNLIKE WHAT I JUST SAW UPSTAIRS. >> NO. YOU'VE GOT COMMERCIAL SPACES ON THE GROUND FLOOR, WHERE PEOPLE DO THEIR DAILY BUSINESS, WHETHER IT'S BANKING OR DOING THEIR LAUNDRY OR GRABBING A BITE TO EAT. IN ALL CASES, YOU HAVE THIS EASILY AVAILABLE ON THE STREET LEVEL. >> Wildman: JUST LIKE A MODERN CITY, THE STREETS WERE LAID OUT IN A GRID SYSTEM, WITH THE FORUM AND THE MARKETPLACE AT THE VERY HEART OF THE CITY. BUT THIS LAYOUT WASN'T UNIQUE. OTHER ROMAN CITIES WERE SET UP THE SAME WAY. IT WAS A SIGN OF ORDER AND A MARK OF AN ADVANCED SOCIETY. JUST 60 YEARS AGO, THIS SITE WAS FILLED WITH MUD. ENGINEERS REMOVED OVER 1.4 MILLION CUBIC FEET OF MUD, LEAVING BEHIND A MASSIVE, EMPTY CAVITY BENEATH THE CHURCH AND THE CITY STREETS ABOVE. IN ORDER TO PREVENT COLLAPSE, ARCHES WERE PUT UP AS REINFORCEMENT THROUGHOUT THE NEIGHBORHOOD, BUT KATIE TELLS ME THAT THE STRONG TUFA STONE ANCIENT NAPLES WAS BUILT OF HASN'T SHOWN ITS AGE YET. AMAZINGLY, THESE STOREFRONTS ARE STILL SUPPORTING THE WORLD ABOVE. WHAT IS THIS PASSAGEWAY HERE? I HAD FOUND ANOTHER PASSAGEWAY. IT WENT BEYOND THE EXCAVATED AREA, SO NO ONE KNEW WHERE IT MIGHT LEAD, BUT I HAD TO FIND OUT. [ GRUNTS ] OH, HOW COOL. IT'S REALLY BIG BACK HERE. OH, MAN, THIS IS AMAZING. THIS IS THE OLD CHURCH...PILLARS HERE. AND YOU CAN REALLY SEE -- THIS WAS PROBABLY WHERE THEY CAME IN THROUGH THE EXCAVATION, RIGHT DOWN THROUGH THESE HOLES. THIS IS MORE POTTERY, RIGHT? >> NICE RECEPTACLE FOR... ANCIENT AND EVEN MEDIEVAL, MODERN POTTERY SHARDS. >> Wildman: OH, MY GOD. IT'S JUST PILED UP HERE. SO THIS IS WHERE THEY THREW ALL THE SHARDS THEY WERE FINDING THROUGHOUT THE EXCAVATION, HUH? AMAZING. LOOK AT THESE. THESE ARE REAL -- THESE ARE MUSEUM PIECES. THIS ROOM WASN'T PART OF THE ORIGINAL ROMAN CITY. IT WAS ACTUALLY PART OF THE 12th-CENTURY CHURCH BUILT DIRECTLY ON TOP OF THE MUDSLIDE AREA. AND KATIE SAYS THIS ROMAN TRASH YARD COULD POSSIBLY BE A 12th-CENTURY CRYPT. THIS HOLE HERE -- THAT'S THE ACTUAL METALWORK FOR THE STREET OUTSIDE. >> WOW. >> Wildman: I MEAN, IT'S LIKE -- >> SO IT GIVES YOU A SENSE OF WHERE WE ARE IN RELATION TO THE MODERN LEVEL OF THE CITY. >> Wildman: YOU HAVE THE GREEK -- ANCIENT GREEK, ABOVE THAT THE ROMAN, THEN THE MEDIEVAL HERE, AND THEN THE MODERN DAY RIGHT UP THERE. IT'S ALL RIGHT HERE. >> MORE THAN 2,000 YEARS. >> Wildman: 2,000 YEARS OF HISTORY LIE ONE ON TOP OF THE OTHER BENEATH THE STREETS. PEEL BACK THE LAYERS, AND YOU ARE BOUND TO FIND ANCIENT FOUNDATIONS SUPPORTING MODERN ONES OR, IF YOU'RE LUCKY, ENTIRE NEIGHBORHOODS PRESERVED FOR ALL ETERNITY IN MUD. BUT NAPLES' UNDERWORLD WOULDN'T EXIST WITHOUT THE DESTRUCTIVE HAND OF MOTHER NATURE, DESTRUCTION THAT HELPED CREATE AND SOMETIMES PRESERVE AN ANCIENT, PARALLEL WORLD. >> FOR BETTER OR WORSE, WE'VE GOT THIS GIANT VOLCANO LINGERING IN THE BACKGROUND, AND YOU CAN'T GO INTO ANY HOUSE OR HOTEL OR RESTAURANT WITHOUT SEEING A SYMBOL OF THIS VOLCANO. IT DOMINATES THE LANDSCAPE, BOTH LITERALLY AND CULTURALLY. THERE'S THIS VERY REAL FASCINATION WITH THE POSSIBILITY THAT THEIR CITY COULD DISAPPEAR, JUST AS HERCULANEUM OR POMPEII DID. >> Wildman: WORLD WAR II UNEARTHED THE ANCIENT, MUD-FILLED MARKETPLACE I HAD JUST BEEN IN, BUT THAT'S NOT ALL. THERE WERE HUNDREDS OF CISTERNS AND MILES OF TUNNELS LEFT BEHIND BY THE ROMANS AND THE GREEKS, DISCOVERED WHEN BOMBS BLEW APART THE STREETS AND LOCALS SOUGHT SAFETY UNDERGROUND. IT WAS THEN THAT PEOPLE BEGAN TO REALIZE THE SCOPE OF THEIR SECOND CITY AND THAT ONLY ABOUT 40% OF MODERN NAPLES ACTUALLY SITS ON SOLID GROUND. AFTER THE TUNNELS BENEATH NAPLES WERE REDISCOVERED IN WORLD WAR II, ARCHAEOLOGISTS AND ADVENTURERS BEGAN SEARCHING FOR LOST TREASURES IN THE VAST LABYRINTH BENEATH THE CITY. BUT A LOCAL FAMILY BEAT THEM TO THE PUNCH. WHILE REPAIRING SOME LEAKY PIPES IN THE BASEMENT, THEY DIDN'T JUST FIND A LOST TREASURE. THEY FOUND THE SUBTERRANEAN STOMPING GROUNDS OF ROME'S MOST NOTORIOUS EMPEROR. I MET UP WITH ARCHAEOLOGIST ENZO ALBERTINI. CIAO. >> HI. HOW YOU DOING? >> Wildman: HI. HE BROUGHT ALONG HIS COLLEAGUE MANILLA TO TRANSLATE. THEY WERE TAKING ME BENEATH AN ORDINARY APARTMENT, AN APARTMENT THAT, UNTIL RECENTLY, NO ONE KNEW SAT DIRECTLY ON TOP OF AN ANCIENT THEATER. BUT IT WASN'T JUST ANY THEATER. ONE OF THE MOST NOTORIOUS PERFORMANCES IN ALL OF ROMAN HISTORY HAPPENED RIGHT HERE. HEY. SO, THIS IS THE PLACE, HUH? >> YES. >> Wildman: FOR 400 YEARS, FAMILIES HAVE BEEN LIVING RIGHT ABOVE THIS FORGOTTEN THEATER. SO, WE ARE IN AN APARTMENT RIGHT OFF THE STREET? >> YEAH. HE SAID THAT THIS IS A TYPICAL NEAPOLITAN HOUSE. >> Wildman: YEAH? BUT WHAT WAS BELOW THIS APARTMENT WAS ANYTHING BUT TYPICAL. OH, WOW. COOL! [ LAUGHS ] WOW. THIS IS REALLY COOL. FOR YEARS, THE LOCAL FAMILY THAT LIVED HERE HAD NO IDEA THEIR BEDROOM WAS HELD UP BY THE WALLS OF NERO'S INFAMOUS THEATER. INCREDIBLE. SO THIS WAS ALL DOWN HERE WHILE THE FAMILY WAS LIVING UPSTAIRS? >> YES. HE DISCOVERED ALL THIS. BUT THE MOST IMPORTANT THING THAT HE'S DISCOVERED IS THAT PASSAGEWAY. THEY USED TO TAKE NERO FROM THIS POINT TO THE OTHER SIDE OF THE THEATER WITHOUT BEING SEEN. >> Wildman: THE THEATER WE WERE STANDING IN DATES BACK TO 64 A.D. ENZO BELIEVES THAT, ORIGINALLY, A GREEK THEATER STOOD HERE. THEN THE ROMANS CONQUERED THE AREA IN 327 B.C. AND SOMETIME AFTER THAT BUILT THEIR OWN THEATER ON TOP OF THE GREEK RUINS. THE COMPLEX WAS 82 FEET TALL AND OVER 100 FEET WIDE. THERE WAS THE ROYAL STAGE AND SEATING FOR 7,000 PEOPLE. SECRET CORRIDORS ALLOWED EMPEROR NERO TO GO FROM ROOM TO ROOM WITHOUT BEING SEEN. THE THEATER EVEN HAD A PRIVATE BATHHOUSE FOR THE EMPEROR. COVERED ENTIRELY IN MARBLE, IT WAS ONE OF ROMAN NAPLES' MOST IMPRESSIVE SIGHTS. SO, THIS IS AN EMPEROR'S WALKWAY, HUH? THIS IS NERO'S PASSAGE. >> NERO USED TO WALK DOWN HERE. >> Wildman: OHH. SO WE'RE RIGHT IN THE FOOTSTEPS OF AN EMPEROR. >> YES. >> Wildman: BUT WHAT WAS NERO DOING HERE IN THE FIRST PLACE? NERO WAS ONE OF ANCIENT ROME'S MOST LETHAL EMPERORS -- A MANIAC WHO IS RUMORED TO HAVE SET FIRE TO ROME, HIS CAPITAL CITY, IN 64 A.D. JUST TO MAKE ROOM FOR HIS OPULENT PALACE. BUT FEW PEOPLE KNOW THAT NERO HAD A BIZARRE OBSESSION WITH THE THEATER AND OFTEN ENGAGED IN INCOHERENT, RAMBLING SPECTACLES IN FRONT OF AN AUDIENCE. WHAT'S MORE, PERFORMERS WERE CONSIDERED THE LOWEST DREGS OF SOCIETY IN ANCIENT ROME, MAKING NERO'S ONE-MAN SHOWS ALL THE MORE BIZARRE. BUT IN NAPLES, HE FOUND A CAPTIVE AUDIENCE -- LITERALLY. DURING HIS PERFORMANCES, THE EMPEROR OF ROME FORBID ANYONE TO LEAVE THEIR SEATS. THERE ARE EVEN RUMORS OF WOMEN GIVING BIRTH DURING HIS MARATHON SHOWS AND MEN FAKING THEIR DEATHS JUST SO THEY COULD LEAVE THE THEATER. THE STAGE WHERE HE PERFORMED NEARLY 2,000 YEARS AGO HAS BEEN A LEGEND EVER SINCE, BUT UNTIL RECENTLY, NO ONE REALIZED IT STILL EXISTS -- 15 FEET BENEATH THIS APARTMENT. THIS IS THE THEATER. OH, MAN. THIS IS BEAUTIFUL. MY GOD. >> THIS IS A PART OF, BASICALLY, THE STAGE OF THE THEATER. >> Wildman: THIS IS THE STAGE ITSELF. >> YEAH. A PART OF THE STAGE. >> Wildman: NERO'S STAGE, WHERE HE PERFORMED, IS HERE, RIGHT UNDER SOMEBODY'S MODERN-DAY BATHROOM. THAT'S AN IRONY, ISN'T IT? BUT ALMOST 2,000 YEARS LATER, HOW IS THIS THEATER STILL STANDING AND ACTUALLY SUPPORTING THE APARTMENT BUILDING THAT STILL SITS ABOVE IT? IT WASN'T EASY. THE ROMANS KNEW THEY LIVED IN A HOTBED OF SEISMIC ACTIVITY, BUT BY USING TUFA BRICKS FROM THE LOCAL QUARRIES, THEY BUILT THIS PLACE TO LAST. WHAT'S THAT? >> LOOK. HAVE A LOOK. >> Wildman: COOL. >> LOOK IN HERE. >> Wildman: OH, SO THIS IS HOW THIS WHOLE MASONRY IS CONSTRUCTED? >> THEY USED TO CUT THE ROCK ONCE AT A TIME, AND THEN THEY JUST PUT THE ROCKS INSIDE. >> Wildman: I SEE. SO IT'S ACTUALLY SHAPED FOR THAT -- THAT ROCK. >> YEAH, IT WAS SHAPED FOR THAT. >> Wildman: BEAUTIFUL. IT WAS A GENIUS INVENTION. THE ROMANS FIGURED OUT THAT IF THERE WAS AN EARTHQUAKE, THE SEISMIC WAVES TRAVELED DIAGONALLY AND NOT HORIZONTALLY, SO THEY LAID THEIR BRICKS IN THIS PATTERN TO ABSORB THE MAXIMUM IMPACT FROM THE EARTHQUAKES. BUT DESPITE THEIR BEST EFFORTS, IT'S BELIEVED THAT LESS THAN A YEAR AFTER NERO PERFORMED HERE, AN EARTHQUAKE LEVELED THE THEATER. WITH THE DECLINE OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE, THE RUINS FELL INTO OBLIVION. THEN, WITH NO BULLDOZERS TO CLEAR AWAY THE DEBRIS, TODAY'S CITY WAS JUST BUILT ON TOP OF THE RUINS OF THE PAST. BUT NERO'S LAST PERFORMANCE WAS NOT SO EASILY FORGOTTEN. THE YEAR WAS 64 A.D., JUST 15 YEARS BEFORE THE GREAT ERUPTION OF VESUVIUS AND A FEW YEARS AFTER NERO HAD ATTEMPTED TO DROWN HIS OWN MOTHER IN THE BAY OF NAPLES, JUST A MILE AWAY. THE NIGHT OF THIS PERFORMANCE, BOTH THE CITY AND MOUNT VESUVIUS SEEMED CALM. BUT DEEP BENEATH THE EARTH, THE GROUND WAS ALREADY RUMBLING, AS IT OFTEN DID IN NAPLES. ACCORDING TO LEGEND, THERE WAS AN EARTHQUAKE DURING NERO'S PERFORMANCE, BUT NERO DIDN'T STOP. INSTEAD, HE FORCED THE FULL-CAPACITY CROWD TO SIT AND WATCH WHILE THE THEATER BUCKLED. SOME TOOK THE EARTHQUAKE AS A BAD OMEN, BUT NOT NERO. HE CLAIMED HE HAD MOVED THE GODS SO MUCH WITH HIS PERFORMANCE THAT THEY WERE SIMPLY SHOWING THEIR APPRECIATION. JUST FOUR YEARS AFTER HIS LEGENDARY PERFORMANCE, NERO COMMITTED SUICIDE IN ROME. HIS SENATE HAD TURNED ON HIM, AND INSTEAD OF FACING DEATH BY FLOGGING, HE CHOSE TO TAKE HIS OWN LIFE. HIS LAST WORDS WERE, "WHAT AN ARTIST THE WORLD LOSES IN ME." O0 C1 >> Wildman: AT THE HEIGHT OF WORLD WAR II, THE CITY OF NAPLES WAS A PRIME TARGET FOR FIERCE ALLIED BOMBING RAIDS. IT WAS THE MOST BOMBED CITY IN THE COUNTRY. NOW, MOST NEAPOLITANS WERE FAMILIAR WITH LEGENDS ABOUT THEIR CITY'S UNDERWORLD, BUT WHEN THEY HAD TO RETREAT BENEATH THE STREETS, THEY REDISCOVERED A LOST WORLD. MANILLA. >> HI. >> Wildman: I MET UP AGAIN WITH LOCAL GUIDE MANILLA, WHO WAS GONNA TAKE ME DOWN TO THE VERY BEGINNINGS OF NAPLES' UNDERWORLD. WOW. THIS JUST KEEPS ON GOING DOWN. >> YEAH. YEAH, IT'S AMAZING. >> Wildman: WOW. IT'S HUGE! BUT HOW DID ALMOST 250 MILES OF CAVITIES AND TUNNELS GET DOWN HERE IN THE FIRST PLACE? IT ALL STARTED OVER 2,500 YEARS AGO, WHEN THE GREEKS BEGAN QUARRYING THE STRONG, VOLCANIC TUFA TO BUILD THEIR CITY JUST ABOVE. 150 YEARS LATER, WHEN THE ROMANS CAME TO POWER HERE, THE QUARRIED HOLES LEFT BENEATH THEIR STREETS WERE THE PERFECT CONTAINERS FOR WATER STORAGE AND DISTRIBUTION. THEY BEGAN TO RETROFIT THE CAVES AND CARVE OUT THEIR OWN TUNNELS AND CISTERNS. SO 2,500 YEARS AGO, I WOULD HAVE BEEN UNDER MORE THAN 70 FEET OF WATER INSIDE THE VERY SOURCE THAT KEPT NAPLES ALIVE. OH, MY GOD, LOOK AT THAT. >> YEAH. IT'S AN OPEN WELL. >> Wildman: SO THIS IS THE ACTUAL WELL THAT THEY WOULD HAVE BEEN DROPPING DOWN THE BUCKET AND GETTING THE WATER DOWN HERE? THAT'S ABOUT THIS HIGH. >> YEAH, YEAH. >> Wildman: AMAZING. IT WAS ONE OF THE MOST ADVANCED AND EXPANSIVE WATER WORLDS OF ITS TIME, ESPECIALLY CONSIDERING WHAT IT TOOK TO GET THE WATER DOWN HERE. UNLIKE OTHER ROMAN CITIES WHOSE WATER SOURCE WAS HIGH UP ON A HILL, NAPLES' SOURCE WAS EXTREMELY LOW IN ELEVATION. THE ROMANS HAD MASTERED THE ART OF THE AQUEDUCT, BUT IN NAPLES, THEY NEEDED TO TAKE THEIR ENGINEERING PROWESS EVEN FURTHER. THEY KNEW THEY NEEDED A STEADY DOWNWARD GRADE TO TRANSPORT THE WATER, SO THE ONLY CHOICE WAS TO GO UNDERGROUND. INSTEAD OF BUILDING ARCHES INTO THE SKY, EARLY ENGINEERS HAD TO DIG TUNNELS INTO THE TUFA IN ORDER TO MAINTAIN A STEADY DOWNWARD GRADE FROM THE SOURCE INTO THE CITY'S CENTER. IN SOME SPOTS, THESE TUNNELS STILL SIT MORE THAN 100 FEET BENEATH THE STREETS. THEY TRANSPORTED THE WATER FROM CISTERN TO CISTERN AND EVENTUALLY TO A WELL ON THE STREETS ABOVE. THAT MEANT I WAS STANDING IN ONE OF THE ANCIENT WORLD'S MOST ADVANCED ENGINEERING ACHIEVEMENTS. OH, MY GOD. WOW. OH, THIS IS BEAUTIFUL. THIS IS JUST AS IT WAS? THIS IS A CISTERN? >> YES. >> Wildman: BUT HOW THE WATER MOVED IN THE AQUEDUCT FROM CISTERN TO CISTERN IS EVEN MORE AMAZING. ENGINEERS KNEW THAT THE SMALLER THE TUNNEL, THE FASTER THE WATER IS PROPELLED THROUGH IT. SPECIAL WORKERS CALLED "POZZAROS" WOULD SPEND THEIR DAYS MAKING SURE THESE TUNNELS WERE FREE AND CLEAR. THE JOB OF THE POZZARO WAS AN IMPORTANT ONE. WITH AS MANY AS 6,000 WELLS AND ALMOST EVERY RESIDENT OF NAPLES DRINKING FROM THE SAME SOURCE, CONTAMINATION COULD WIPE OUT THE CITY, AND IN 1884, IT NEARLY DID. A CHOLERA EPIDEMIC RAVAGED THE CITY AND KILLED OVER 7,000 PEOPLE. AFTER MORE THAN 2,000 YEARS OF SERVICE, THE TUNNELS WERE FINALLY SEALED OFF... UNTIL ABOUT 65 YEARS AGO, WHEN WORLD WAR II HIT THE SHORES OF NAPLES. UNLIKE HIS ALLY HITLER, WHO BUILT BUNKERS THROUGHOUT BERLIN AND MAJOR CITIES, MUSSOLINI DIDN'T HAVE MUCH OF A PLAN FOR HIS CITIZENS DURING THE WAR. BUT LUCKY FOR THE LOCALS, THE DEEP, TUFA-ROCK CAVERNS MADE THE PERFECT SUBTERRANEAN FORTRESS, AND THE HOLES FOR ANCIENT WELLS ACTED AS BUILT-IN VENTILATION. BUT WHEN THE WAR BEGAN, THEY WEREN'T READY FOR IMMEDIATE MOVE-IN. >> THEY FOUND MOUNTAINS OF DEBRIS -- 12 METERS OF DEBRIS. BUT THEY DIDN'T TAKE EVERYTHING OUT. THEY JUST PUSHED EVERYTHING DOWN. >> Wildman: OH, I SEE. SO THEY LITERALLY TAMPED THE WHOLE PLACE DOWN AND MADE A FLOOR OUT OF IT? >> MM-HMM. >> Wildman: THE ORIGINAL ANCIENT FLOOR WAS BENEATH 32 FEET OF RUBBLE. SINCE THE LATE 19th CENTURY, THE CAVERNS WERE ESSENTIALLY USED AS A TRASH DUMP FOR LOCALS, SO WHEN MUSSOLINI'S FASCIST GOVERNMENT DECIDED TO TURN THESE ANCIENT TUNNELS INTO BOMB SHELTERS, INSTEAD OF GETTING RID OF THE TRASH, THEY SIMPLY CRUSHED THE MATERIAL BELOW AND LEVELED THE FLOOR. THE FIRST AIR RAID BY THE BRITISH BEGAN IN 1940. FOR MORE THAN TWO YEARS, NAPLES WAS THE TARGET OF INTENSE BOMBING UNTIL FINALLY AN ARMISTICE WITH ITALY WAS REACHED. THE NUMBER OF DEAD WOULD HAVE BEEN STAGGERING IF IT WASN'T FOR THIS ALREADY EXISTING ANCIENT UNDERGROUND. NOW, WHAT IS THIS? >> YEAH, GOOD QUESTION. THAT IS A GRAFFITI. SEE THERE ARE TWO PEOPLE? >> Wildman: UH-HUH. >> THIS SHOULD BE THE WORLD. >> Wildman: OKAY. >> AND HERE THERE'S WRITTEN, "VINCEREMO." "VINCEREMO" MEANS "WE WILL WIN." THIS IS HITLER, AND THIS IS MUSSOLINI. >> Wildman: THE MUSTACHE. >> YEAH. >> Wildman: THE BALD HEAD. >> YEAH. >> Wildman: "WE WILL WIN --" DIDN'T HAPPEN. >> NOT REALLY. >> Wildman: TODAY THERE'S EVIDENCE OF OVER 2,500 YEARS OF HISTORY EVERYWHERE YOU LOOK. WHAT IS THIS? >> IT'S ANOTHER PASSAGE FOR THE WATER. >> Wildman: OH, MY GOD, IT'S SO DEEP. THOUGH MANILLA HAS EXPLORED THE CAVERNS EXTENSIVELY, SHE'S NEVER VENTURED THROUGH THIS SMALL TUNNEL. BUT I HAD TO. IT SMELLS LIKE [BLEEP] AFTER A TIGHT SQUEEZE, THE PASSAGEWAY CONTINUED TO CURL AROUND. I AM CREEPING THROUGH ABOUT 150 FEET BELOW THE STREETS OF NAPLES. IT'S AMAZING. IT WAS DARK, CRAMPED, AND QUIET. THIS THING JUST GOES EVERYWHERE. AMAZING. OH, HOW COOL IS THIS? THIS IS LIKE A LITTLE, MINI CISTERN OR SOMETHING. THE WATER WOULD HAVE BEEN JUST SURGING THROUGH HERE, AND ABOVE HERE, THEY HAVE THE FOOTHOLDS FOR THESE GUYS TO DO THEIR WORK, SO THEY WERE CLIMBING ALL THROUGH HERE JUST LIKE WE ARE NOW. AND THEN IT JUST GOES ON AND ON AND ON. [ GRUNTS ] YEAH. IT'S GETTING A LITTLE COOLER UP HERE, A LITTLE CHILLIER. WE'RE GOING A LITTLE DEEPER, I THINK. THERE IS NO END IN SIGHT. HERE WE GO -- AN EVEN SMALLER LITTLE OPENING. OH, MY GOD. WHAT THE HELL IS THIS? THIS IS STILL AN OPENING THAT YOU CAN GET THROUGH IF YOU REALLY WORK AT IT. THIS IS A HIGHLY SEISMIC AREA. THERE ARE EARTHQUAKES ALL THE TIME IN THIS REGION. MOUNT VESUVIUS IS STILL ACTIVE. I AM REALLY HOPING THAT THERE IS NO EARTHQUAKE NOW, BECAUSE... WE'RE [BLEEP] 150 FEET ABOVE ME, THE CITY OF NAPLES WENT ABOUT ITS NORMAL BUSINESS. SHOPPERS, COMMUTERS, EVEN TOURISTS WERE ALL UNAWARE I WAS DEEP BENEATH THEIR FEET... IN A SEEMINGLY ENDLESS MAZE OF TUNNELS. ANOTHER TUNNEL DOWN THAT WAY. ALL RIGHT, HERE WE GO. HERE WE ARE. DEAD END. END OF THE EXCAVATION -- WHAT THEY WOULD HAVE DUG OUT IN WORLD WAR II. LET'S SEE IF WE CAN FIND OUR WAY OUT OF HERE. FROM AQUEDUCTS TO BOMB SHELTERS, THIS MASSIVE, SUBTERRANEAN LABYRINTH HAS BEEN THE KEY TO SURVIVAL FOR THE NEAPOLITANS. >> Wildman: EVERY DAY NEAPOLITANS LIVE IN THE SHADOW OF DEATH. THEY'VE ENDURED 2,000 YEARS OF WARS, PLAGUES, MUDSLIDES, AND, OF COURSE, VOLCANIC ERUPTIONS. SO IT'S NO WONDER THE CITY HAS DEVELOPED AN OBSESSION WITH THE AFTERLIFE. THEIR UNDERGROUND IS PACKED WITH BONE-FILLED CRYPTS AND HIDDEN TOMBS. BUT THERE'S ONE PLACE MORE BIZARRE THAN THE REST, WHERE HUNDREDS FLOCK TO WORSHIP UNIDENTIFIED CORPSES AND THE DEAD BEGAN TO TAKE ON A LIFE OF THEIR OWN. I MET AGAIN WITH THE KING OF NAPLES' UNDERGROUND... >> HELLO. >> Wildman: CIAO, ENZO. ...ARCHAEOLOGIST ENZO ALBERTINI AND HIS TRANSLATOR PAOLO. >> OKAY, OKAY. >> Wildman: THEY WERE GOING TO SHOW ME A SUBTERRANEAN WORLD DEVOTED TO THE DEAD. THEY TOOK ME TO A 400-YEAR-OLD CHURCH THAT LOOKED LIKE DOZENS OF OTHERS FOUND IN NAPLES. BUT BENEATH THIS CHURCH WAS AN IDENTICAL CHURCH THAT, BY ORDER OF THE CARDINAL OF NAPLES HIMSELF, FEW HAVE BEEN ALLOWED TO ENTER SINCE THE 1960s. ALL RIGHT. OKAY. BUT TODAY ENZO HAD MANAGED TO GET US ACCESS... OH, YEAH. OH, MAN. ...INTO THIS TOP-SECRET UNDERGROUND WORLD OF THE DEAD. OH, MY GOD. WOW. WELL, THIS IS A LITTLE DIFFERENT DOWN HERE. THIS IS THE WORLD OF THE CULT OF THE DEAD? >> YEAH. >> Wildman: AND I HAVE TO SAY, IT'S A LITTLE SPOOKY, A LITTLE EERIE AND MACABRE, HUH? BUT WHAT WAS THE CULT OF THE DEAD, AND WHY WAS THIS SUBTERRANEAN SITE SO FORBIDDEN? THEY WERE A CLANDESTINE GROUP WHO FOUND PEACE IN THESE UNDERGROUND BURIAL SITES. CULT MEMBERS ACTUALLY ADOPTED NAMELESS SKULLS AND BONES AND CAME TO VISIT THEM DAILY. OVER 2,000 SKULLS CALL THIS SUBTERRANEAN BURIAL SITE HOME. MANY OF THESE UNMARKED GRAVES DATE BACK TO 1656, WHEN A MASSIVE PLAGUE EPIDEMIC KILLED 150,000 PEOPLE, NEARLY HALF THE CITY. THEIR TOMBS WERE SEALED UP AND FORGOTTEN BENEATH THIS CHURCH UNTIL THE 20th CENTURY, WHEN ANOTHER DISASTER STRUCK NAPLES. MANY ITALIANS DIED DURING BOTH WORLD WARS, AND THEIR BODIES WERE NEVER RETURNED HOME. SEEKING A SOURCE OF CLOSURE, FAMILIES WHO LOST LOVED ONES BEGAN TO VISIT THESE NAMELESS CORPSES BURIED BENEATH THEIR CITY, SUBSTITUTING A DEAD OR MISSING SON WITH A NAMELESS SKULL, AND THE CULT OF THE DEAD WAS BORN. SO IT WASN'T A BAD THING, THE CULT OF THE DEAD. IT WAS A GOOD THING TO THESE PEOPLE, RIGHT? SO A GIVE-AND-TAKE BETWEEN THE LIVING AND THE DEAD. WOW. OH, MY GOD, LOOK AT THIS. SO THESE ARE -- IS THAT A REAL -- THIS IS A REAL HUMAN BONE. EVERYWHERE YOU LOOK DOWN HERE, THERE WERE REMNANTS OF BONES. CULT MEMBERS WOULD SHINE AND BUFF THE BONES AND EVEN LEAVE GIFTS BEHIND. AND THEIR ADOPTIVE FAMILIES MADE SURE THE BONES WERE CAREFULLY PLACED. SO YOU CAN TALK TO ME, BUT DON'T TALK TO EACH OTHER ABOUT ME. I FEEL THE SAME WAY ABOUT MY FRIENDS. >> [ LAUGHS ] >> Wildman: BUT VISITING CULT MEMBERS WEREN'T JUST FILLING A VOID LEFT BY THEIR LOST FAMILY MEMBERS. MANY BELIEVED ADOPTING AN UNINTERRED CORPSE AND PRAYING FOR IT WOULD RELEASE THEIR SOULS FROM PURGATORY AND, IN RETURN, THE LIVING WOULD RECEIVE FAVORS FROM THE OTHER SIDE. THERE WAS ONE SKELETON UNLIKE ANY OTHER. THIS IS LUCIA. >> LUCIA. >> Wildman: WELL, THEY CERTAINLY HAVE HONORED HER WITH A LOT OF FLOWERS. LUCIA WAS A YOUNG WOMAN WHO DIED JUST DAYS AFTER HER WEDDING. CULT MEMBERS GAVE HER A VEIL AND A SPECIAL SHRINE IN THIS SUBTERRANEAN CRYPT SO THAT IN DEATH SHE COULD EXPERIENCE HER WEDDING DAY FOREVER. LUCIA BECAME A POPULAR CORPSE FOR YOUNG WOMEN TO VISIT, PRAYING FOR A GOOD MARRIAGE AND A GOOD HUSBAND. BUT THEIR GOOD-LUCK CHARM WAS SOON TO BE OFF LIMITS. THE CARDINAL CALLED THE PRACTICE PAGAN AND BANNED CULT MEMBERS FROM EVER SETTING FOOT DOWN HERE AGAIN. BUT THE CULT OF THE DEAD WASN'T THE FIRST OR LAST UNUSUAL BURIAL PRACTICE IN THE CITY SO COMFORTABLE WITH IMPENDING DOOM. THE STREETS OF NAPLES ARE LINED WITH STATUES AND MONUMENTS TO ITS MOST FAMOUS CITIZENS, A WAY FOR 21st-CENTURY NEAPOLITANS TO SHOWCASE THEIR FOREFATHERS. BUT BENEATH THIS MEDIEVAL CHURCH, NEAPOLITANS HAD ANOTHER, MORE GRUESOME WAY OF HONORING THEIR DEAD. I MET WITH ARCHAEOLOGIST GIOVANNI DI PASQUALE... GIOVANNI. ...AND LOCAL GUIDE KATIE PARLA. THEY WERE GOING TO TAKE ME BENEATH THE CHURCH INTO THE ANCIENT CATACOMBS OF SAN GAUDIOSO. IT'S BEAUTIFUL. THE CHURCH ABOVE WAS BUILT IN THE 16th CENTURY, BUT THE VAST BURIAL SPACES BELOW WERE ACTUALLY CARVED OUT BY HAND INTO THE TUFA IN THE 4th CENTURY. WOW. THIS IS AMAZING. THIS SUBTERRANEAN GRAVEYARD WAS MASSIVE, BUT IT WASN'T ORIGINALLY DESIGNED TO HOLD SO MANY BODIES. OH, WOW. SO YOU CAN SEE THE CHURCH RIGHT UP HERE. SO, THIS OPENING WAS FOR WHAT PURPOSE? >> IN THE 1500s, THIS WAS USED AS A BURIAL CRYPT FOR A FAMILY, AND THE BODIES COULD BE BROUGHT DOWN THROUGH THIS SHAFT. >> Wildman: I SEE. NOW, WHERE ARE THOSE BODIES NOW? >> WE'RE ACTUALLY TWO METERS ABOVE THE BURIALS. >> Wildman: OH, SO, THEY'RE STILL BELOW US? >> MM-HMM. >> Wildman: WOW. LIFE WASN'T EASY DURING MEDIEVAL TIMES. YOU WERE LUCKY IF YOU MADE IT TO YOUR 30th BIRTHDAY. IN 1656, A MASSIVE PLAGUE EPIDEMIC RAVAGED THE CITY, AND AS MANY AS 600 PEOPLE WERE DYING EVERY DAY FOR EIGHT LONG MONTHS. THE CITY COULD BARELY KEEP UP. THEY BEGAN DIGGING AS FAST AS THEY COULD, EXPANDING THEIR UNDERWORLD AND CREATING A SUBTERRANEAN CITY OF THE DEAD. OH, MY GOD. WHAT IS GOING ON HERE? >> THESE ARE TWO NOBLES WHOSE SKULLS WERE DETACHED FROM THEIR CORPSE AND THEN EMBEDDED IN THE WALL. >> Wildman: THEIR SKULLS WERE DETACHED? WHY DID THEY DO THAT? >> THERE WAS THIS DESIRE IN THE 1500s TO REMOVE THE HEAD, CREATE THESE PORTRAITS WITH SKELETONS, AND COMMUNICATE INFORMATION ABOUT THE DEAD. HERE YOU SEE THEY'RE HUSBAND AND WIFE. THEY'RE HOLDING HANDS. >> Wildman: THAT'S A LITTLE CREEPY. THIS SPECIALIZED BURIAL MEANT THE DEAD WERE OF NOBILITY. CENTURIES AGO, NOBLES WHO COULD AFFORD EXPENSIVE BURIAL CRYPTS WOULD PAY BIG BUCKS TO BE IMMORTALIZED IN THE TUFA STONE. THEY FELT THAT DISPLAYING THE ENTIRE BODY WAS IN POOR TASTE, SO THEY REMOVED THE HEADS. BUT THE DEAD HAD MORE STORIES TO TELL. YET ANOTHER TUNNEL. NOW, WHAT IS GOING ON UP HERE? THESE ARE SMALLER HOLES. NOW, THESE ARE ENTIRELY DIFFERENT THAN WHAT WE SAW UP THERE. >> THE BODIES WERE PLACED IN A FETAL POSITION ON A VESSEL. YOU CAN SEE THERE'S EVEN A CAVITY WHERE THE HEAD WOULD HAVE BEEN PLACED IN ORDER TO KEEP IT STEADY. >> Wildman: OH, YEAH. THESE NICHES LINED WITH VESSELS WERE EVERYWHERE. THEY WERE PART OF A DESICCATION PROCESS FOR DRYING OUT THE BODILY FLUIDS AFTER A PERSON DIED. BUT THIS PROCESS WASN'T FOR EVERYONE. ONLY THE NOBLES COULD AFFORD SUCH A LENGTHY AND EXPENSIVE BURIAL. IT WAS TRULY BIZARRE. WORKERS OVERSEEING THIS PROCESS WOULD ACTUALLY PUNCH THE BODIES TO DRAIN THEM OF FLUIDS. PLACING THE KNEES BY THE CHEST WOULD ALSO MAKE THINGS GO FASTER. THIS BIZARRE PRACTICE CONTINUED RIGHT UP UNTIL THE EARLY 20th CENTURY, WHEN THIS SUBTERRANEAN GALLERY OF SKELETONS WAS SEALED OFF AND FORGOTTEN BENEATH THE STREETS. O0 C1 >> Wildman: LIKE A LOT OF MODERN CITIES, NAPLES HAS A BIG PROBLEM WITH GRAFFITI. BUT IT ISN'T JUST A MODERN-DAY PROBLEM. PEOPLE HAVE BEEN WRITING ON THE WALLS HERE FOR THOUSANDS OF YEARS. IN FACT, IF YOU'RE AN ARCHAEOLOGIST, GRAFFITI ISN'T A PROBLEM. IT'S AN INVALUABLE TOOL FOR UNCOVERING THE SECRETS OF THE PAST -- THAT IS, IF YOU CAN CRACK THE CODE. DEEP BENEATH THIS HILL, SIX MILES FROM THE VOLCANO, YOU CAN FIND THE ROOTS OF THIS CITY, DATING BACK TO THE 5th CENTURY B.C. BUT THERE WAS MUCH MORE. DR. ENZO ALBERTINI DISCOVERED A MASSIVE CAVE UNDERNEATH THE GRAVEYARD OF THIS MEDIEVAL CHURCH, AND ON ITS WALLS ARE A STRANGE AND CRYPTIC WRITING THAT EVEN TODAY NO ONE HAS BEEN ABLE TO DECIPHER. IT'S OFF-LIMITS TO THE PUBLIC. BUON GIORNO. BUT I WAS GIVEN SPECIAL PERMISSION TO SEE THE QUARRY THAT BUILT THIS CITY... CIAO. ...AND THE MYSTERIOUS MESSAGES THE EARLY NEAPOLITANS LEFT BEHIND. ENZO BROUGHT ALONG HIS COLLEAGUE GINA TO TRANSLATE. OKAY, I'LL GET READY. >> YOU'LL HAVE TO DRESS TO GO DOWN. >> Wildman: WE WERE GOING INTO THIS ANCIENT CAVE, BUT IT WASN'T GOING TO BE EASY. I DIDN'T KNOW I WAS GETTING INTO THIS. WE'VE GOT THE WHOLE FIRE DEPARTMENT OUT TODAY. THE FIRE DEPARTMENT FROM THE CITY OF NAPLES WAS ON HAND WITH A MECHANIZED PULLEY AND HARNESS. IT WAS A DANGEROUS DESCENT THROUGH A NARROW SHAFT. FEW PEOPLE HAVE EVER BEEN ALLOWED DOWN. SO, THIS IS IT, HUH? HOW DEEP IS THIS OPENING? >> IT'S 42 METERS IN DEPTH. >> Wildman: 42 METERS, SO 120-AND-ODD FEET. THAT'S A LONG WAY DOWN. >> [ CHUCKLES ] BE CAREFUL, PLEASE. [ LAUGHS ] >> Wildman: ALL RIGHT. BENE? >> OKAY. >> Wildman: BENE. >> GO. >> Wildman: ME? GO, YOU. >> YES. [ LAUGHTER ] >> Wildman: BENE? OKAY. HERE WE GO. I'M GOING 120 FEET BENEATH A NEAPOLITAN CEMETERY AND 2,400 YEARS BACK IN TIME. >> OKAY. OKAY, DOWN, DOWN. OKAY, OKAY. >> Wildman: OKAY. IT'S REALLY TIGHT IN HERE. WE'RE GOING BACK INTO THE 5th-CENTURY B.C. THE TIME WHEN NEAPOLIS WAS FIRST BUILT IS JUST BELOW MY FEET. OH, MY GOD. THIS IS AMAZING. OH, MY GOD. OH, MY GOD, THIS IS SO COOL. WOW! THIS QUARRY IS ONE OF THE LARGER ONES FOUND BENEATH THE SHADOWS OF MOUNT VESUVIUS. THE GREEKS DUG OUT SO MUCH TUFA FROM THIS SITE THAT TODAY YOU COULD FIT A 10-STORY BUILDING DOWN HERE. ALMOST 2,500 YEARS AGO, IT WOULD HAVE BEEN A BUSTLING PLACE. I WOULD HAVE BEEN SURROUNDED BY THE FIRST ANCIENTS QUARRYING THE ROCK USED TO CREATE THIS CITY. IT'S ESTIMATED THAT THEY EXTRACTED 50,000 TONS OF TUFA ROCK OUT OF THE GROUND HERE. SO WHY DID THEY STOP? AFTER NEARLY 100 YEARS, THE GREEKS FELT IT WAS TOO DANGEROUS TO CONTINUE WORKING DOWN HERE. THE DANGER THAT CHASED THEM AWAY WAS NOT JUST VOLCANIC ERUPTION BUT ALSO EARTHQUAKES, AND THE ORIGINAL ENTRANCE ACTUALLY CAVED IN OVER 2,000 YEARS AGO. THAT MEANS THIS UNDERWORLD WAS SEALED UP FOR OVER TWO MILLENNIA. BUT HOW DID THE CITY UP ABOVE NOT CAVE IN TO THE ONE BELOW? THE CHURCH ABOVE PUTS TONS OF PRESSURE ON THESE CAVERNS, BUT THE GREEKS WERE SMART. THEY CARVED THE CAVERNS IN A BOTTLE SHAPE. THAT WAY THE SLOPING SHOULDERS HELPED TO DISTRIBUTE THE WEIGHT OF THE GROUND ABOVE. IN MOST OF THE ABANDONED CAVERNS, LATER GENERATIONS JUST COVERED THE ACCESS AND REMOVAL SHAFTS WITH PLANKS OF WOOD, THEN LAYERED THEM WITH CRUSHED TUFA AND SOIL. BEFORE LONG, THE EXISTENCE OF THIS CAVE AND MANY OTHERS WAS FORGOTTEN. BUT OVER 2,000 YEARS LATER, WHEN ENZO REDISCOVERED IT, AN ANCIENT MYSTERY WAS REVEALED. >> [ SPEAKING ITALIAN ] >> WE HAVE A LOT OF MYSTERIES IN THIS CAVE. THE FIRST MYSTERY IS WHY DID THEY TAKE THE ROCKS FROM THIS CAVE, NOT FROM ANOTHER ONE? YEAH, YEAH. AND THE SECOND IS WHY DID THEY WRITE SOMETHING ON THOSE WALLS? >> Wildman: NEXT TO THE CHISEL MARKS, ENIGMATIC GREEK LETTERS ARE ETCHED INTO THE TUFA. BUT EXACTLY WHAT THESE LETTERS ARE TRYING TO TELL US IS STILL A MYSTERY. IT'S UNLIKE ANYTHING ELSE IN THE CITY, EVEN THE WORLD. THIS IS A FIND -- IN ARCHAEOLOGY, A FIND OF A LIFETIME, RIGHT? >> YEAH. >> Wildman: SO, WHAT DO THESE SYMBOLS MEAN? ENZO BELIEVES THAT THE CODE COULD BE USED BY WORKERS, OFTEN SLAVES, TO COMMUNICATE WITH OTHER WORKERS. IF GREEK BUILDERS NEEDED A CERTAIN-SIZED ROCK TO BUILD A TEMPLE UP ABOVE, THEY WOULD PLACE THE ORDER, AND A SLAVE WOULD BEGIN TO QUARRY THAT STONE. WHEN THE SHIFT WAS OVER, HE COULD LEAVE A MESSAGE TO THE NEXT SHIFT WORKER -- INSTRUCTIONS AS TO HOW TO FINISH. WHAT MYSTIFIES EXPERTS IS THAT THERE IS NO PATTERN TO THESE MESSAGES. BUT THEY BELIEVE IT MIGHT BE LOOSELY BASED ON THE GREEK ALPHABET. AS SLAVES TAKEN FROM A FOREIGN LAND, THE QUARRY WORKERS MAY HAVE INCORPORATED THEIR OWN LANGUAGE WITH THE LANGUAGE OF THEIR CAPTORS TO CREATE THESE CRYPTIC MESSAGES. BUT UNTIL THEY CAN ACTUALLY CRACK THE CODE, THE MEANING BEHIND THESE ANCIENT SYMBOLS WILL REMAIN A MYSTERY. MILLIONS OF YEARS AGO, THE CITY OF NAPLES WAS CREATED BY POWERFUL FORCES DEEP BENEATH THE EARTH. SINCE THE GREEKS FIRST BUILT THE CITY HERE, ITS VOLCANIC FOUNDATION HAS BEEN CARVED OUT, CREATING A PARALLEL WORLD FULL OF ANCIENT CISTERNS TURNED SUPERBUNKERS AND BONE-FILLED CRYPTS BENEATH THE STREETS. THAT MEANS EVERYWHERE YOU'RE WALKING HERE, YOU'RE WALKING ON TOP OF THE PAST. BUT TODAY THE SAME FORCES THAT CREATED NAPLES THREATEN TO WIPE OUT 2,500 YEARS OF ITS HISTORY WITHOUT A TRACE. BUT NEAPOLITANS WOULD SAY THAT'S THE PRICE YOU PAY FOR BEING LUCKY ENOUGH TO LIVE IN THE SHADOWS OF VESUVIUS.
