Holy Grail UNEARTHED in Jerusalem | Buried: Knights Templar and the Holy Grail (S1, E1) | History

the knights templar the crusades most feared and mysterious  warriors rumored to possess god-given relics   like the ark of the covenant and the holy  grail with armies and strongholds spanning   three continents they were richer than kings and  popes and that's exactly who brought them down   in 1307 the templars were hunted to  extinction and vanished or did they could the templars and their powerful  relics actually have survived   and later transformed into secret societies that  still exist today two investigators are embarking   on a journey to test that theory the templars  were the special forces units of their day   organizations like that don't just disappear  mikey k spent years in the british military   hunting down terrorists across  the middle east and europe   garth baldwin is an archaeologist who has  conducted excavations in combat zones around   the world we're investigating whether or not the  templars disappeared off the face of the earth   or did they go underground together  they'll use the latest technology   and tracking tools to investigate an ancient  mystery what happened to the knights templar there we are garth baldwin and military  expert mikey k arrive in royston england   a small village 40 miles north of london  after 1307 the templars all but vanished   from the historical record almost no  evidence remains of the night's true fate but clues that the order survived may be buried  beneath this sleepy town a flurry of recent   headlines allege the templars may have used a  cave in royston as a hideout long after history   said they had been annihilated this little  town here in middle england my whole some of   the best evidence that we have it could boost the  working theory but the templars went underground there you go check it out wow this is absolutely unreal i was a  templar in 1307 i'm being hunted from a   military perspective everything has to be in the  shadows there's no bare space on the wall isn't it everything look at this i mean i've seen a lot  of cave art this is seriously weird templar cross   yeah and another one and another one and another  one among the hundreds of mysterious images   one stands out the hands with the hearts on them  there's one there there there there there there   experts believe that for the templars the heart  symbolizes the holy grail a representation of   where the spiritual and the physical meet the  holy grails existence and form have been debated   for centuries some describe it as a chalice the  cup that held christ's blood at the crucifixion   others have said it's a stone from beyond the  earth or ancient mystical scrolls symbols the   icons really have a strong indication that it is  templar related centuries of moisture and decay   make it impossible to carbon date the carvings  but the images could help establish a timeline   royston cave expert james robinson joins the team  if we look over here there is a a small figure   that may represent jacques de molay the last  grand master of the temples showing him in this   particular position as being burned at the stake  wearing what would appear to be a heretic's cap   mullet was executed for heresy in 1314 seven  years after the fall of the templars his carving   could mean whoever chiseled these walls did so  long after history says the templars were gone   this is where they ended maybe there was  a group here hiding out on the ground   royston's compelling there would have been  factions of the templars that would not have   given up under any circumstances maybe it was a  group that just wouldn't say die the symbols in   royston suggests that at least some templars  survived well after their alleged end in 1307 when the order disappeared they had tens of  thousands of men spread over 12 countries   the equivalent of billions in dollars in  riches and possibly the world's most powerful   holy relics if the templars went underground  they would have needed more than one small cave but with nearly no archives or written  records of the templars after 1307   the team will need a unique approach  to investigate their true fate the templars probably one of the most resilient  organizations in the history of warfare time   and time and time again they've been beaten down  and managed to survive as a military strategist   looking at an organization in crisis is the  best way to truly understand their tactics   in the 200 years before the templars  officially vanished they had faced   multiple staggering defeats but always found a  way to bounce back and rise again investigating   the strategies and tactics the templars used  during these earlier brushes with extinction   may shed light on how the knights could have  pulled off one of the greatest escapes of all time the team arrives in london to consult  with world-renowned templar expert   there he is dan jones to look at the templars  track record of surviving against impossible odds   you were a serious military outfit  yeah the elite warriors of their day   and they've taken religious vows and that's quite  an unusual combination because for a lot of the   middle ages you'd either been a killer or you'd  be a man of god the idea that warriors could also   devote their lives to religion was revolutionary  instead of murdering people being a sin   and preventing you going to heaven  this was now doing god's work   their fanatical devotion made them the  elite troops within crusader armies the templars were born out of the crusades  a medieval world war between christian and   muslim kingdoms across the globe all  battling for control of the holy land   the area of modern day israel in 1119 the templars  began in jerusalem as nine poor knights defending   christian pilgrims the original templars decided  to set up an armed bodyguard for pilgrims on the   roads around jerusalem but they grew to become  a medieval superpower the united states took   170 years to become a true world superpower but  in less than 20 years the templars exploded from   nine to over 20 000 members with unimaginably  vast riches people couldn't believe that an   organization is so big so powerful so wealthy  all can come from nowhere some have attributed   the templars meteoric rise to possession of  powerful relics like the ark of the covenant   and the holy grail this was one of the most  capable most feared organizations in the world   in an age where countries didn't have standing  armies the templars were a standing army   but it all nearly came to an end in 1187. 1187  was the first big catastrophe for the templars   is when they lost jerusalem and suddenly found  themselves in a war for survival seven decades   after the founding of the order the holy city they  were sworn to defend was conquered by a massive   muslim army from syria and egypt  and the templars faced extinction   it looked for a moment like there was no  way back jerusalem is where christ had died   so all of jerusalem was like an epic  world-changing event incredibly important 1187 was history's first example of the templars  surviving annihilation against impossible odds   the question is how the strategy and tactics the  templars use to escape destruction in jerusalem   will give mikey and garth vital clues into how  they could have pulled off the ultimate escape   in 1307. gruesome sounds like the logical place  to start we need to get boots on the ground   the temple mount it's the intersection  of the three main religions   it's where god spoke to abraham it's  where the prophet muhammad ascended to   heaven and that's where the bible says  that the ark of the covenant was kept   that's the place that's the center and that's  where the templars had their headquarters during their reign in jerusalem from 1119 to  1187 the templars converted their temple mount   headquarters into a massive military complex they  garrisoned it with hundreds of the world's most   highly trained killers and reinforced its  walls with a mountain of hardened limestone   a fort knox with firepower it was the perfect  place to safeguard their holy relics and it would   be put to the test in 1187 when the templars arch  enemy the muslim general soledad came to the holy   land with an army of 30 000 to take the city  of jerusalem back from the christian crusaders people said that when saladin's army was coming  the ground rumbled and you could just see this   of cloud of dust as they approached  but a huge crusader army is summoned   to almost every templar in the holy land as well   the christian army advanced saladin's army  cut them off the christian army were walking   into a trap they were forced to camp a night  without water and at that point saladin attacked suffering from dehydration a christian army of 20  000 was slaughtered including most of the templars saladin assembled the remaining templars   on the battlefield he had them all  lined up and beheaded one by one saladin's plan had been to wipe the order out  and he wasn't that far away from succeeding within the city walls of jerusalem  only a handful of templars remained   salad and in his army of 30 000  were now reaching the city gates   how could the surviving templars have escaped  with the sacred relics vital to their order   when all seemed lost it's a surprise  that they weren't totally destroyed but they weren't the knights templar the  crusades most feared and mysterious warriors a medieval superpower rumored  to possess the holy grail   and the ark of the covenant history says  they were hunted to extinction in 1307.   but military expert mikey k and archaeologist  garth baldwin are testing a different theory   that the knights escaped and eventually  transformed into secret societies   that still exist today using strategy and  tactics developed throughout their history if i'm the commander of the templars and i've  got somewhere that i really want to protect i   am not going to let anyone take me behead me and  take the very thing that will allow me to expand   who we are defeat is not an option the first  great test of the templars survival tactics   came in 1187 in jerusalem the muslim general  solomon had slaughtered and beheaded nearly   every templar in the holy land and was attacking  the city walls only a small band of templars would   have remained inside the city who could save  the sacred relics they were rumored to possess   how did they escape against impossible odds  saladin's army and there were a lot of them   were attempting to smash down this southern  perimeter wall so if we want to go to the north   you want to do it covertly but you don't want to  take it out into the area which where the threat   is coming from absolutely so if i'm a templar  commander i'm going to take a subterranean with   solidan attacking the southern wall the templars  needed an underground escape path to the north   this is zedekiah's cave this is  a five acre nine meter deep cave   zedekiah's cave is named after king zedekiah  the last king of judah according to the bible   he escaped jerusalem during another siege of  the city 15 centuries earlier using an ancient   underground rock quarry this has a history  of being an escape route so there would   have to be tunnels connecting and they would  have established or reestablished that route   the massive labyrinth of caves sits 800 yards  from the templars headquarters much of the   cave system is unexplored if i'm the grandmaster  templar and i'm looking at a contingency option   that's going to pull me straight away to  thinking about how i can utilize that space for   an exfiltration plan i think we need to get eyes  on inside that cave good point look at this wow   that's seriously deep yeah it keeps going  three stories below jerusalem's muslim quarter   the team enters zedekiah's cave an underground  labyrinth the size of an ocean liner   this room is just one section of  the largest quarry in jerusalem   where massive limestone blocks used to build the  city above were harvested for thousands of years   could this maze of tunnels have been used  as an escape tactic by the templars it's a   big subterranean cavity anything that's covert  that can not only protect you from visibility   but also protect you physically from a threat it's  gold dust in in wartime the natural stone defenses   of the quarry could have provided the first layer  of protection for any escaping knights as an army   of 30 000 was breaking through the city walls  above we did a huge survey and we actually found   coins from the crusader period yahil selinger has  spent the last 15 years excavating zedekiah's cave   the coins tell you that the templars were  inside this cave during that period yeah the team is granted special access  to off-limits areas of the cave   oh point and no return watch your head dude have you seen all these comedies the  templars were very familiar with the underground   of the old city in jerusalem they understood  defense better than anybody else in the medieval   period and they would have investigated that cave  for security reasons and potential escape routes   little is documented about the templars  underground activity in jerusalem   but in the 19th century archaeologists found  templar artifacts in tunnels extending from   beneath their headquarters on the temple  mount toward the direction of zedekiah's cave   time and erosion in the soft limestone bedrock  of jerusalem has erased many tunnels the templars   once walked be careful it's slippy but traces of  the templars underground activity may still remain mikey mikey look at this holy  wow i know isn't that wild that is insane bang there's this  doorway and walls what in the hell   is anybody doing making a wall and a threshold  and a wall they can close this whole area   the primary purpose of zedekiah's cave was a  quarry who would build a barrier that would have   made extracting heavy stone more difficult and  why the last thing that i was expecting that deep   underground was an immaculately constructed  wall it looks like it's got little slits   slits that you would see in a castle slits that  you could potentially fire bow and arrows through   the wall definitely to me could  have served some defensive purpose this is kind of a mind blower could the medieval knights templar have escaped  their alleged destruction and lived on to form   secret societies that still exist today clues  may lie in the escape tactics a small band of   templars might have used to get out of jerusalem  with the knights godly powerful relics as a muslim   army of thirty thousand were smashing down the  city's walls five stories beneath the old city garth baldwin and mikey k  investigate zedekiah's cave   an ancient underground rock quarry the size  of an ocean liner as a possible escape route   mike you look at the look at this  holy wow i know isn't that wild 50 feet deep into the cave mikey and garth find a  wall that is out of place in a quarry that needed   clear pathways to extract massive stone blocks  the whole thing with the templars is nothing   happens by mistake someone has come down here and  built a piece of architecture a piece of structure   for some defensive purpose the artifacts  that we found is dated to the 12th century ce   oh okay there were some busy little  fellows weren't they archaeologists   have not yet id'd who built the structure  but it does fit the mo of the templar era   12th century medieval castles commonly fortified  their escape tunnels with similar features   to form mazes gateways and barriers  one tactic was known as a chicane   a zigzagging series of walls used  to slow down and ambush attackers   could the templars have retrofitted  the rock quarry with similar strategies   mikey and garth descend deeper in search of  additional evidence you can feel it getting   more isolated you just don't know how  far these tunnels are going to keep going let's go we're going to have together here seven different offshoots to the point we're  standing in five stories underneath the earth god hey hey hey don't go leaving  the big guy behind oh nice are you gonna see this oh that's  a wall yeah wow this is incredible   100 feet beyond the first wall the team  finds a second wall with similar construction   you go down even further and  there's yet another constructed wall   just a very top of another wall  that could be part of a system this is the key to your survival if you can  manipulate and monopolize tunnel networks   then when you've got big armies bearing  down on you this is how you escape   everything there is backfilled so all of the  debris and all the stuff has been filling   in and filling in and filling in so when you  excavate all that out how far does that wall   go down is there a doorway is there yet another  tunnel that'll lead out to the temple mount centuries of cave-ins erosion and debris have  blocked this tunnel but if it once connected   somewhere inside jerusalem's walls this cave could  have helped give the templars a viable escape plan   to flee the city any muslim invaders following  the nights in the darkness would hit a wall that   herds them like sheep towards a dizzying maze  of tunnels seven offshoots means an 85 chance of   choosing the wrong direction buying the templars  precious time to escape with the relics the second   wall could have given the templars a final choke  point to fight off any remaining pursuers and this   route is just one of several possible escape  scenarios for the templars and their relics the system of network inside zalakai's cave is  varying from large to quite tight actually if   the templars are going to all this trouble  to try and create an exfiltration route   underneath the city of jerusalem they're  going to want to make sure that it's   big enough for whatever it is  that they want to try and drag out   that hole just there you think you could  get the ark of the covenant through that   what was the size of the ark of the covenant  according to the bible it's 31 by 31 by 52. inches the ark of the covenant was one of the holiest and  most prized relics to christians jews and muslims   alike a golden box adorned with two cherubs it  was said to hold the ten commandments and possess   supernatural powers capable of stopping rivers  and toppling cities if you've got an enemy bearing   down here and they're about to slit your throats i  mean you could actually do it you need to and i'm   doing it for god if you talk it would but if that  was one of the objects they were protecting they   got it down we're learning a little bit more  about templar strategic military planning even   though the cave that we're looking at was a  quarry it would have definitely been utilized   in a military way that's kind of the way that  warfare operates right now today they utilize   what they had around them and that's exactly what  the templars i think would have done but even if   the templars escaped the city they weren't  safe yet a muslim army of thirty thousand   was still in the area templars still knew  there was a threat and the threat was coming 1187 the knights templar faced annihilation after  the muslim general soledad and his thirty thousand   man army destroyed them on the battlefield taking  no prisoners and capturing the holy city of   jerusalem a critical crisis that would change the  way the templars operated for centuries to come ah it's good to see sunlight garth baldwin and  mikey k believe the knights escape tactics in mo   in jerusalem may give clues to their ultimate  disappearance so you've got this small tight-knit   unit protecting this sacred relic navy seal  style so if i'm the commander we've literally   just come outside of the northern wall they've  got a significant threat into haladeen's army   which is about to crush them so they need to get  out of there and need to get out of there quickly time is of the essence escaping the city via  underground tunnels would have been only the first   phase of the templar escape plan in the aftermath  of the battle the templars would have been alone   in a hostile land the muslim army had killed over  90 of the templars in the region and would be on   their trail with no backup for hundreds of miles  how did these templars get themselves and their   prized relics to a safe location what we need to  do now is try to understand what the second half   of that exfiltration plan was i'm looking at  somewhere that's secure a people safe house   we need to try and work out what those options  are it's important to find somewhere within   a day or half a day's distance somewhere  that i can sprint with my team to and then   hold up and get a little bit of rest mikey  and garth look at templar castles in the   holy land as a possible fallback plan for  the knights well options north are there's   a cluster there's a bunch but that's five days  it's 100 miles i just don't see that happening between 1119 and 1187 they had built up a network  of defensive fortresses throughout the holy land   but with their manpower depleted after the  battle solidan had captured most of these castles   there was one stronghold near jerusalem still in  templar control latroon latrun castle 20 miles   20 miles from jerusalem yes what's the terrain  like there's cut valleys pointed straight there the templars would have known how to  exploit any terrain to their advantage   they were one of the only military organizations  in the medieval christian world to conduct a   regimen of formal training exercises they could  fight in the mountains they could fight on the   planes they could launch amphibious assaults  as they did in the crusades the nile delta   that was part of their training medieval  armies and particularly crusader armies   were not typically brilliantly organized but  what the templars brought was a disciplined   elite military force small and agile that could  be bolted onto these larger armies to improve   their capability moving along high ridge lines  between jerusalem and latrun would have given the   small band of templars cover and concealment  until they reached the gates of the castle i   think this would be a good option but it's one  of the very few options it's it's the option today latroon castle lies in ruins but even amid  the rubble its tactical advantages are apparent as a military man you build up  a sixth sense for the strategy   of survival templars didn't have binoculars  they didn't need them the visibility is great   big army's coming from this direction but at  least you'll be able to see them a long way off   i've got my small unit sas style delta  style getting the relics out of jerusalem   there aren't many templars left they're  running they're running not only for the   lies but they're running to protect the very  thing that they believe gave them special   powers if you're looking at a sacred relic you're  going to want to have a very very safe location   visibility and high ground  are a key element to security   but that's not all they're going to need letroon  was far from a secret safe house solid in his army   knew about this fortress and would eventually  come hunting with the survival of the order's   holiest relics on the line how could the tiny  band of templars have protected themselves   in such a high profile location the stakes are  now really high they're going to have a plan did the templar knights survive their alleged  annihilation in 1307 and go on to form secret   societies battle-tested survival tactics honed  during their 200-year reign may have been the key mikey and garth investigate the templar fortress  of latroon a possible tactical safe haven for a   small group of knights that could have been on the  run with holy relics after the fall of jerusalem   in 1187. so i'm coming from jerusalem i'm a small  unit sas style protecting a high value asset so   you want to be here any big force was coming  out from there you'll be able to detect it   dr rafi lewis is a battlefield archaeologist  who has spent years investigating the ruins   of latrun castle you know this is the land of  conflicts of many conflicts the holy land we   tend to shed the blood of each other on the same  battlefields and we're standing off one of the   bloodiest battlefield throughout the ages the  way station of war it's the way station of war   on high ground overseeing a  strategic crossroads near jerusalem   letroon was a coveted site that had  been fought over since biblical times   the fortress would have been a well-known  target to the templars muslim enemies   did the templars have fortifications robust enough  to defend it even with just a handful of men what are our parameters here  that how far out is this castle   it was about 200 by 250 meters which makes it  the second largest castle in the latin east letroon was over two and a half football fields  wide five times wider than the white house   this massive castle was one of the first  fortresses the templar order had built   and had been used to protect pilgrims on the  busy road to jerusalem but in 1187 it would have   been the templars themselves seeking protection  most of the templars left their key positions   like this one in order to fight whoever was  left here which would be just a few maybe   a few nights those castles were made to be  protected by a very small number of people   like elite military units today the templars  usually fought against superior numbers   relying on advanced military  tech to level the playing field letroon had extra defensive  walls that sloped outwards   a feature known as a talus a medieval  equivalent to today's cluster bombs that   gave defenders a place to drop rocks and shatter  them spraying attackers with a hail of shrapnel obviously we're not at the original height of  the floor the floor should be way down below us   that's just the beginning of the arch so what  we're seeing is just the arch the entire rest   of the room is buried the original floor of  the templar castle is covered by 800 years of   accumulated dirt and debris whatever templar  secrets this place holds lie buried below   what we need to do is we need to go get the  ground penetrating radar we need to see what's   underneath this one this castle wasn't excavated  only surveyed never with ground penetrating radar   this would be the first time that would  be the first time that we use here awesome the ground penetrating radar is used by  the military to find underground ieds it   can detect buried rooms and objects up to 30  feet below the surface if we had to locate   the floor below the surface by hand it  undoubtedly would have taken months but with gpr   you can see that i'm in five minutes and  it's right there okay the gpr reveals that   the original ground level is nine feet below  the surface oh yeah right there see that okay   see the waves right there then gets another hit  indicating something even deeper underground   there's something down there there's  definitely something happening oh yeah   it looks like this wrench or something there  would it be possible that it continues down   to another surface video yeah maybe there  is a floor and then a space below the floor   it's so cool the gpr indicates underground walls  15 feet deep that line up with the archways   and create three separate chambers buried beneath  the original ground level these are consistent   with compartments once hidden under a wooden  floor that over centuries would have rotted away one explanation a false floor that  could have created a secure hiding place   to stash high-value relics  as an option of last resort   in case the castle was overrun the final  contingency in a well-thought-out mo nothing is not considered and planned to the  nth degree it's got all the military components   absolutely coming out of jerusalem when i was  on the run i sure bring him here i think that   latrun is some tactical breadcrumb the  templars would have found a safe place there   they could have kept things hidden they could  have safeguarded what they needed to safeguard   this is a good plot this is where you  stop to refresh change horses and move on what we found evidence the templars  have a sophisticated exfiltration plan   what we're seeing are the tactics that the  templars would have needed 120 years later   when they went underground and seemingly  disappeared off the face of the earth   so the next logical question on the  investigation is how did they bounce back the templars found a way to survive  what should have been their end   escaping the muslim siege of jerusalem in 1187  possibly with their holy relics using retrofitted   underground infrastructure and a massive  castle repurposed as a safe house well if i   was a military commander i was on the run oh this  has got all the perfect ingredients absolutely   the castle in latroon could have provided  temporary safe haven but three months later   even this stronghold was captured by the muslims  what was the next strategic move for the knights the templars were on their knees by the losses of  1187. they had been turned out of their base in   jerusalem they lost a lot of men but hardwired  into templar ideology was this sense that you   didn't back down you didn't give up you didn't  flee and so what you saw afterwards was really a   determination to recover the knights had one goal  take back the holy city of jerusalem jerusalem was   the most important place on earth for christians  so it was incredibly important that they held it   safely so that thousands of pilgrims get there and  visit the holy sites that jesus had lived and died   to retake jerusalem the templars would need  horses men arms and supplies and all that   came with a hefty price tag the key thing  to rebuilding the templars was the money   the templars had a sophisticated financial system  in place to move riches one in battle or received   from christians donating to the holy wars they  even pioneered an early form of checking accounts   so pilgrims could deposit money in  europe and withdraw it in the holy land   their castles became like atms and the templars  amassed sizable banking fees with each transaction   at the height of their powers they were like a  global bank like deloitte or merrill lynch the   templar's wealth was legendary a king's  ransom is not just a figure of speech   during the crusades kings were occasionally  kidnapped the templars were wealthy enough   that when the king of france was kidnapped on  crusade in egypt in the year 1250. the templars   stepped in and paid this ransom in 30 000 pounds  of silver if you want to put that in context   the average automobile you might weigh 3 000  pounds so we're talking about 10 of those   the weight of that in silver that was kind of  like news change that's how wealthy they were after the fall of jerusalem the templars  kicked this banking system into high gear   and the new center of this massive  templar operation the ancient city of akra they now had their headquarters at  the spot where all the resources   from the west were flowing in manpower animals  weapons most particularly of all hard cash located   along trade routes in the mediterranean  and just 100 miles north of jerusalem   akra was the perfect place to funnel wealth  and stage a campaign to retake the holy city   see this elevation drop that's the original ground  surface and this is all built on the old city   so anything templar is below here the knights  couldn't risk another massacre like jerusalem   so akra became a testing ground for new templar  military tactics that's the templar fortress this   is a pretty sick wolf that's the foundation  that's the footer the footer for the fortress   just it just must have been just massive the  fortifications the templars built above ground   were nothing compared to  what they were building below deep under okra streets the templars  poured their wealth into building one   of the largest subterranean military  complexes the world had ever seen   could this maze of hidden passages be a preview  of escape tactics the knights used a century later   in 1307 these tunnels could indeed hold the  very key to what happens in the nice templar   this season on buried everywhere you try and find  templar it's been completely destroyed all buried   they were escape experts thanks master small  dying to know what's behind that there's evidence   the templars were tipped off it was a massive  covert operation let's go see if there's anything   we're seeing how they managed to escape so  this is their secret passage to the pork   they're moving money all over the world  right around here that treasure was found   wait this is amazing this is like a highway under  the ground the key to communication with the   templars is their use of symbols that was a sign  for the holy grail what we're finding could change   the course of history portugal was born by the  will of the temples they wanted the crime trip of   their own the question is are there organizations  out there today that are direct descendants of the templars you

Channel: HISTORY

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Keywords: history, history channel, history shows, history channel shows, buried: knights templar and the holy grail, buried: knights templar and the holy grail show, full episodes, Buried: Knights Templar and the Holy Grail season 1 episode 1, Buried: Knights Templar and the Holy Grail se1 ep1, Buried: Knights Templar and the Holy Grail s1 e1, Buried: Knights Templar and the Holy Grail s01, Buried: Knights Templar and the Holy Grail 1X1, Holy Grail Unearthed in Jerusalem, Holy Grail

Id: CMJY4kmVKgY

Length: 43min 24sec (2604 seconds)

Published: Fri Nov 20 2020

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