Pirate Treasure of the Knights Templar: RELICS FOUND IN SHIPWRECK (S1, E1) | Full Episode | HISTORY

lost treasure the foundation of Legends and lore and the greatest lost treasure of all belong to the Knights Templar now from the medieval fortified cities of Europe to the holy lands of the Middle East from a secret pirate island in the Indian Ocean to America's first great cities new evidence is being unearthed one of our archeologists found this revealing hidden links between the Knights Templar and pirates if it's what I think it is he'll be the front page of every newspaper in the world how did it get on the bottom of the ocean in Madagascar pirate shipwrecks untouched for hundreds of years may hold the Lost Templar treasure that's like a Templar cross now that's when the mystery starts to get unraveled sparking a journey across the globe in the back in time to solve this ancient mystery I'm trying to crack the secret codes signs and symbols the Knights Templar left behind Knights Templar historian Scott Wolter joins world-famous underwater Explorer Barry Clifford in an adventure to crack a secret code in rewrite history as we know it we could be making incredible discoveries maybe with that far away these artifacts could be connected I want to get to the truth Knights Templar historian Scott Wolter is heading to Cape Cod where world-renowned underwater Explorer Barry Clifford has a relic that could unlock mysterious connections between the medieval Knights Templar and 17th century pirate's well I received a call from a guy I've never met his name is Barry Clifford and he's asked me to come and take a look at some artifacts that he pulled up out of the ocean in Madagascar and it sounds like he's artifacts could be connected to the Knights Templar well that's something I know a little bit about I've spent 15 years cooked by the question of what happened to the lost treasures of the medieval Knights Templar order the Knights Templar were a secretive order of warrior monks birth during the Crusades of the 12th century based in Jerusalem they were the shock troops and christened domes war against Islam for control of the Holy Land despite vows of poverty the Templars amassed power and fortune to rival Pope's and kings in 1307 its leaders were arrested on sensational charges of heresy and burned at the stake in Paris the Knights Templar fortune thought to be one of the greatest in history was never found and most intriguing it's believed those Templars who survived fled France under the flag of the skull and crossbones a flag raised four hundred years later on the high seas by renegade pirates very things that we might be able to uncover some new evidence that's going to tell us more about this story and the mysteries of what happened to the lost treasures of the Knights Templar how are you doing man hey Barry has made a remarkable discovery on a sunken pirate ship in the Indian Ocean that he believes is the fiery dragon a holy relic he's convinced is linked to the Knights Templar one of our archaeologists found this in very very shallow mud and think the feet are still there we and we think the arms are there yeah and the crucifix if you know we have to believe this was attached to probably attached to a crucifix right and the arms are published along the crucifix well this this is fascinating it is can I can I turn it over and look at it a little bigger it's certainly exquisitely made that's for sure one of the main features that jumps out at me is the emaciated body the ribs you can see under the skin these two holes were used to attach some type of sash and the question is where did that come yet well it's possible the statute dates to the 12th or 13th century I mean at the time when the Templars were in Jerusalem that's been on a long journey yeah and it's spent over at least 300 years underwater underwater amazing alright I'm blown away you got me how is this Christ figure from the time of the Knights Templar linked to the Pirates two groups separated by 400 years that ivory carving of Jesus has me totally intrigued this thing just drew me in and it's drawing me I think this probably dates back to the time of the Templars and if so we've got to get more evidence who carved it when was it carved and how did it get on the bottom of the ocean in Madagascar that's the big question and the best place to go is where it all started for the Templars Jerusalem while Scott digs deeper into Templar history Barry will mount a large-scale dive off Madagascar at the site of what he believes is the fiery dragon shipwreck to hunt for more clues together Barry and Scott hope to find concrete evidence that not only links the Templars to pirates but also leads them to the greatest lost treasure in history we're going to piece together the insignias and the secret codes to see what we can learn about the secretive society of pirates what their connection was you know to the Templars 5,000 miles from Cape Cod is the first stop and Scott's search for the origin of Barry's Christ figure we are here this is Jerusalem you know I can't even tell you what it is there's just something about the iconography of Barry's Christ figure that to me dates back to the time of the Templars when they were here in Jerusalem how did it get on the bottom of the ocean in Madagascar that's the big question if there's any evidence that we can find to make that link between the Christ figure the Templars and Madagascar is right here Jerusalem the holy city of the world's three great monotheistic religions at its heart the Temple Mount the holiest ground in Judaism believed to be the site of King Solomon's Temple and his fabled treasure on it lies the Dome of the rock and the al-aqsa mosque Islam's third holiest site where Muslims believe Mohammed ascended to heaven and in Jerusalem's Old City the Church of the Holy Sepulchre where Christians believe Jesus was crucified buried and resurrected look at these walls the walls of the city of Jerusalem New Jerusalem here the old city here we are walking down the very street that Jesus walked carrying the cross to his crucifixion this is also the street that Crusaders walked a thousand years after Christ when they captured the Holy Land at the very end of the 11th century and controlled the Holy Land for the next almost 200 years to trace the trail of the Templar Christ figure found by Barry and a pirate shipwreck off Madagascar Scott must explore the origins of the Knights Templar and their treasure the clues line a sacred site at the heart of Jerusalem there it is there it is the Dome of the rock on the Temple Mount I can't believe I'm seeing it traditional scholarly thinking is that the Templars acquired their wealth and power through their business acumen and commerce and certainly they made money that way but other people believe that the source of their wealth came from under the Dome of the rock the Knights Templar set up their headquarters next to the Dome of the rock in 1120 21 years after the first crusade to control the city the Templars believed it was the site of the Temple of Solomon which housed the Ark of the Covenant they took their name Templars from this holy place according to legend they dug in secret below the temple searching for King Solomon's fabled treasure if you stop and think about it because of the enormous success that they enjoyed after they were here there's a good chance that they indeed did find King Solomon's treasures in 1867 pioneering archaeologist captain Charles Warren began excavations on the Temple Mount that offered important clues about the mystery of King Solomon's treasure under the dump he entered a cave known as the Well of Souls where legend says the spirits of the Dead wait Judgment Day here Warren found a further chamber where some believe the Templars uncovered the treasure Scott has secured access to Warren's 150 year old map which may show where this chamber lies this is an amazing document now if you look closely there's an entrance directly under the Dome of the rock down to the Well of Souls but what really has me excited is if you look you can see that that vertical shaft continues below the floor of that chamber and it looks like that there's the top of another chamber below that a second level below that but then it stops it just ends right there which to me is very cryptic somebody like that who was very detailed as evidenced by the work he did if he went down there and found a second chamber why didn't he map which leads me to believe that he might have known that there was more I need to find answers to the question that has been pondered for 900 years back when the Templars were here in the Holy Land digging under the Temple Mount what were they doing what were they looking for and most importantly what did they find and man I just got to get underneath here to see what Charles Warren saw but it's going to be very difficult because people of the Islamic faith are that really the only ones allowed down here to investigate the Well of Souls Scott will have to gain access to one of the most sensitive and closely guarded places on earth but it just might hold a clue that directly links the medieval Knights Templar to 17th century pirate's it's incredibly hard for a westerner like me to get in there it's a long shot but if there's any chance at all I'm going you are the medieval Knights Templar of the 12th century directly connected to 17th century pirate's could one of history's most famous treasures have ended up his pirate booty explorers Barry Clifford and Scott Wolter are trying to find out I think this probably dates back to the time of the Templars that's been on a long journey while Scott is in Israel investigating the Templars more than 3,000 miles away on the island of Madagascar Barry and his team of world-renowned divers and archaeologists are investigating three hundred-year-old pirate shipwrecks where an earlier dive led to the discovery of what they believe are Knights Templar artifacts if you want to go where the Pirates were where the pirate Kings were the big guys the the most successful guys got to come here this is where they were you know I get chills thinking about it and I you know can't sleep at night thinking about getting back in the water and seeing what's out there today and what we're gonna find and so it's really pretty cool any second we could be we could be making you know incredible discoveries I mean maybe we're that far away the period 1652 1730 is known as the Golden Age of piracy when vicious outlaw seamen preyed on rich merchant vessels amassing huge fortunes in the 1680s as European colonial powers clamped down on piracy in the Caribbean the Pirates came to the Indian Ocean they discovered that Madagascar in its fabled island of Isle st. Marie were perfectly placed for looting rich hauls crossing the Indian Ocean the islands bays and inlets provided shelter from the storms and the quiet waters gave an excellent Anchorage here a group of notorious pirates set up what became known as pirate I lifted there's nothing like this in the world you've got five pirate ships within two or three hundred feet from shore it's a massive massive project we have here you know this is like the valley of the kings of pirate ships Barry thinks one of the five Rex is the fiery dragon based on his previous research and dives in the area over the last 15 years Billy one-hand Condor seized it from the Dutch East India Company in 1720 with a crew of some 500 pirates he used the fiery dragon to attack ships from Africa to India and was feared for sometimes cutting off the noses and ears of his prisoners today the only visible sign of what the team believes is the wreck site is its Boulder ballast pile but it's under those rocks that Barry Clifford suspected Templar Christ was found and here that Barry's crew will dive fire dragon is William Condon's aka Billy one hands ship it had approximately 200,000 pounds sterling not just treasure but silica sand porcelain and we have reason to believe that there are a lot of very important Templar artifacts still on the ship Barry's joined by his right-hand man archaeologist Chris McCourt everyday we're here every hour every minute we have the possibility of making great discoveries they don't get a chance like this very often in life doing what we do best uncovering pirate hip rat Chris and fellow team member John de Bruyne make a beeline for the center of the bow is file should be right here it's really different very clear too much yourself this whole place was covered then towards the stern of the ship Chris makes a breakthrough they did find something kind of interesting I really couldn't see it underwater again but I just turned over one of the ballast stones and this is right there archaeologist John de Bry takes a closer look Southeast Asia comes to mind because it's like a little food at good fine oh my god that is incredible that is incredible definitely Asian features but somebody's going to know what this is it's the first new find from the wreck but is this seemingly asian head another possible Templar artifact is it somehow connected to the Templar Christ figure Barry found that set this mystery in motion we've just discovered something that's very exciting I'd much rather see that gorgeous face and headdress than than than any coin we're in the area where we found the crucifix where we think that the cross to the crucifix may be the arms of Christ maybe so my hunch is that it's extremely important and every day that we're here we're going to find new mysteries the dive team is off to a great start meanwhile in Jerusalem Scott Wolter has made a breakthrough in his mission to trace the origin of Berry's Templar Christ vapor Scott has used his insider contacts with the authorities to gain access under the Dome of the rock where Scott believes the Templars stored ancient biblical treasures this is an incredible opportunity we're going to take full advantage but we have to be very respectful okay this is the most sacred ground in the world the Dome of the rock is here this is the al-aqsa mosque where the Templars had their headquarters right here plotting planning to dig under here literally walking in the footsteps of the Templars that we're here back at very earliest part of the 12th century just incredible Scot could be on the verge of his first big breakthrough in cracking the Templar pirate code you on Jerusalem's Temple Mount Knights Templar historian Scott Wolter has gained access to the Dome of the rock a religious shrine and one of the holiest sites on earth he believes that beneath it my clues to the lost treasure of the Knights Templar keep in mind I mean when the Templars first entered this this holy sanctuary I mean they were respectful even of their enemies faith so this was a moving place to move to come into we're about to go down the steps under the foundation stone the most sacred place Under the Dome of the rock legend has it and if it's to be believed this is where the Templars came and dug right down here well here we are deep down into the Well of Souls we have people praying here and it was down here that Muhammad himself prayed before he ascended to heaven here a secret chamber may have held the Templars vast treasure but Scott can't find any clues to the hit fault if we could find some evidence that connected to a room down here that'd be amazing I'm not seeing anything yet one thing we know for sure the Templars were definitely down here I mean in some ways it's almost overwhelming to imagine the Templars weren't right here many believe if this legend is true great straight down from this hole down nine levels it's where they found the Ark of the Covenant and the treasure of King Solomon as Scott Servais the room it's clear that all access below has been sealed off it makes me wonder what else is down there how far does it go how many chambers are there and how many of those chambers were the Templars in any Templar secrets hidden beneath the Dome of the rock will remain a mystery for now but Scott has a promising new lead he's come to Jerusalem's Israel Museum to meet professor Adrian Boas hi nice to meet you Boas is one of Israel's leading archaeologists specializing in the Crusades he has a medieval artifact that he thinks could link to the ivory figure of Christ Scott is investigating so here it is a figure of Christ the dates to the period of the second half of the 12th or the early 13th century so it falls nicely in the Crusader period right in the middle templates perfect yeah and if you look here we've got a shot this one also is missing the arms you can see the ribs through this game very soon am I not seeing the same thing here yes indeed you certainly see it in this piece okay no there's definitely a similarity in the in the way it's depicted from from that aspect so it does make sense to you that it could could indeed come from a similar time period of the Crusaders right yeah so tell me how did you get this well this was purchased by a forum archaeologist in acre or Akko wasn't that the the city were the final siege of the Templars took place that is correct yeah the meeting with Professor Boas his lengthy ivory Christ figures Scott is investigated to the port city of Acre where the Templars made their final stand before we're treating and giving up their 200 year old hold of the Holy Land well thank you very much appreciate it as Scott is leaving the museum another important artifact catches his eye do you know what these are these are Ashworth's this is worthy of skull and crossbones symbol originates the skull and crossbones became notorious in the 17th century as a pirate flag used to spread terror among their enemies but one theory suggests its origins go back much further also known as the Jolly Roger some claim it was named after Roger the second a 12th century King of Sicily said to be the first to fly the infamous flag a man with close ties to the Templars but Scott believes the Templars first encountered the symbol in the Holy Land where it dates back to the time of Christ back in the first century the Essene Jesus's people had a unique burial practice they would let the body decompose for one to two years they'd cover it in a shroud then they would come back collect the bones and put them inside of these boxes but these boxes are only big enough so that the largest bones in the body the femurs fit inside the cross then the skull goes in last that's the origin of your skull and crossbones we have a connection between Jesus and his people the Essene with the Templars with Pirates there's definite link with all three because we see the Pirates flashing the Jolly Roger which means they're connected to the Templars who fly the skull and crossbones who obviously knew about this burial tradition of Jesus in the Essene so when we see the Jolly Roger it's a symbol of reverence of Jesus in his people the skull-and-crossbones is an important historical link and fuel Scotland's theory that there is a direct connection between pirates and the Knights Templar this area is ground zero for the legends and the myths about the Knights Templar and the more I've seen the more I'm beginning to think they're not missed at all that there's truth to the story that they were here they dug under the Temple Mount and they found something of great importance Scott's work in Jerusalem is done for now his next step is 80 miles north to the port city of Acre where he's hoping another major clue awaits if I'm gonna find any evidence that connects that Christ figure to the Templars it's going to be in the ancient city of Acre where the Templars had their final siege before they gave up the Holy Land forever there's got to be something important there and if there is I'll find it Knights Templar historian Scott Wolter in underwater Explorer Barry Clifford are on a journey to uncover connections between the Knights Templar and pirates while Scott is investigating the Templars in Israel off the southeast coast of Africa on Pirate Island Barry and his team are examining what they believed to be a buddhist artifact pulled up from the wreck they are convinced is the fiery dragon they did find something kind of interesting looks like a little Buddha good fine it's a little statue carving of a face with a headdress and it looks to be South Asian and very very unique piece nobody's ever seen anything quite like it this is real treasure this is yeah you know this is what excites me this Far Eastern relic might have come to Pirate Island as pillage treasure seized on rated ships however there is also an intriguing link to the Knights Templar some experts have argued that the idea of a fighting Christian order stemmed from China where Buddhist monks practice their fighting skills as a means of spiritual attainment they believe that in the Middle Ages these Asian warrior monks traveled through Moorish dominated Southwest Europe and came into contact with the heretical Cather's he passed the knowledge on to the Templars the cross-section of cultural material is off the charts and this is this is evidence of that what does it mean it's hard to stop looking at it it's beautiful it really is really beautiful so now it's when the mystery starts to get unraveled the ivory Christ was found you know test pit adjacent to this test pit and as your mind wanders and you begin to think what could possibly be here you know I get goosebumps just kind of thinking about it how was the figure of Christ found by Barry on the suspected site of the fiery dragon what he believes is connected to the Knights Templar linked to the Asian Buddha found on that same wreck Barry will send an image off to a leading expert to get a definitive answer we opened up a whole new page in history about the pirates and I think we're about ready to open up a whole new volume in history about the pirates that are here it's not just the dive sites that interest bearing the entire Shore is littered with artifacts in 1722 or three a captain reddish came here on an English ship and described a 10-foot high pile of porcelain right here on this Beach which was taken off of the fiery dragon you could walk around this yard right now and find 50 pieces of Ming porcelain you know in the sand all over the beach oh my god I don't believe what I'm seeing here that is very very interesting you oh my god I don't believe what I'm saying here in Madagascar Barry Clifford may have found more evidence linking the Knights Templar to the pirate shipwrecks hey Claudia what do you see here I found this on the beach right there I think that is a freemason symbol we know many of the pirates were miss you know freemasons yeah and I believe there's a connection between the Freemasons and the Templars in my opinion that's definitely a Masonic symbol and widget I just found it just like a piece of broken glass right here people have walked over at three years it's amazing it's amazing when was this lost Barry believes the marking on the fragment resembles the square and compass symbol of the Freemasons he's found the symbol on pirate shipwrecks before could Freemasonry be the missing link between the Templars and the Pirates legend suggests this could well be the case after they were driven out of France in 1307 it's believed some Templar knights fled to Scotland this is where the first Freemason Lodge was established in 1599 inspired it's argued by local Templar traditions Freemason initiation rites were based on a named after the Templars what's more Freemasons draw sacred inspiration from King Solomon's Temple said to house the Ark of the Covenant and on whose site the Templars built their headquarters in Jerusalem and intriguingly some freemasons ceremonial robes feature the skull and crossbones the Knights Templar freemasons and pirates share a wealth of secret symbols and rituals but the full story of how those links connect remains untold excited by the find Barry gathers his team to scour the beach for more evidence divert to on surface after a few hours of searching berry spots another pottery shard oh my god - Barry it's a smoking gun cross cross Claire do that's like a Templar cross is that real it's real that's incredible mattis you fondled up here right beside where I found the Masonic symbol and also it seems the same type of pottery the same type of play you can't make that stuff up for burying the team the pottery fragments were a significant find and take them one step closer to proving a direct connection between Templars and pirates I think this expedition has blown a tall wide open and the fact that we were finding 13th century Christian artifacts who was here before the written history where are these 13th century and 14th century artifacts coming from and I don't pretend in any way to know the answers I'm just it's blinding the stuff renowned underwater Explorer Barry Clifford and Knights Templar historian Scott Wolter were on an unprecedented mission to solve a mystery that spans 400 years and links the medieval Knights Templar to the 17th century Brotherhood of pirates the puzzle began with what the team believes is a prized Templar artifact that Barry recovered from a pirate shipwreck in Madagascar an ivory figure of Christ how did it get there the team is determined to find out while Barry leads the pirate side of the investigation in Madagascar Scott is in Israel where the Templars once reigned he's explored the holy sites of Jerusalem looking for evidence that links the journey of the Christ figure to the movement of the Templars I mean in some ways it's almost overwhelming to imagine the Templars were right here now Scott's on the road to the city of acre 80 miles north of Jerusalem after talking to Adrian he said that he believed that his Christ figure originated from somewhere near acre I might be able to find something there after Jerusalem fell to Muslim forces in 1187 the Templars relocated their headquarters to acre the building a fortress to protect their treasure in a tunnel system that led to the sea but time was running out for the Crusader States in the Holy Land one by one they fell to superior Muslim forces until in 1291 acre itself came under siege the Templar forces are being overrun engaged in a vicious bloody battle right here on these very streets it only had one place to go underground Scott is investigating Templar tunnels under the city streets Hey look at this we have an X right here and an X right here that's the symbol of somebody who's been initiated into the order we have two intersecting circles here that make something called the bazooka spices this is a concept of sacred geometry that Templars are absolutely into that for sure Wow can you see the AVM Ave Virgo Maria Ave Maria Magdalena the Templar symbols match the Freemason symbol Barry discovered on Pirate Island Mary Magdalene represented the goddess to the Templars and so to see that AVM here for me is perfect it connects with the Templars perfectly I've seen it all around the world in context with the Templars these are symbols they're consistent with the Templars it's 13th century it's right in the wheelhouse or when they were here these were made by the Templars for Scot these are important new clues well one thing we know for sure the Templars were definitely down here in this tunnel system and during the final siege of Acre they use these tunnels 3000 escaped maybe even down this passageway right here to the sea legend says the Knights carry the Templar treasure through these tunnels to waiting ships the question is where did they take it and does the answer lie in the ivory Christ figure that was found on a pirate ship more than three thousand miles away in Madagascar here we are right here on the Mediterranean where the Templars escaped after the final siege I've been looking for symbols signs anything that connects the various Christ figure I really do feel like there is a connection between that figure and the Knights Templar it appears to date to that age all I need to find is some connecting evidence to make that link I'm very excited about the artifacts that Barry has already found in Madagascar he could be very close to finding something that blows this case wide open and I confident the breakthrough I'm looking for is just around the corner but I'm gonna keep looking I'm not done this season on pirate treasure of the Knights Templar you're not gonna believe this that is a Templar symbol we're onto something very very important it could Captain Kidd have been involved in highly secretive mission to get Templar treasure this is a secret coded cipher it's the only key to a pirate's treasure chest adorable there's something of great importance radio I want to know more about that Wow this could be a very important clue the Templars use all kinds of different alphabets to communicate what's that so there's something big under our feet don't forget you get on there but I want to jump out of my skin this is big this is big this is huge what is that oh my god this is Captain Kidd's treasure you you

Channel: HISTORY

Views: 226,757

Rating: 4.7806354 out of 5

Keywords: history, history channel, history shows, history channel shows, the history channel, The Templar Connection, Treasure, Hunting, Madagascar, templar, pirate treasure of the knights templar, quest, priceless relic, pirates, Pirate Treasure season 1 episode 1, Pirate Treasure se1 e1, Pirate Treasure s1 e1, Pirate Treasure 1X1, watch Pirate Treasure, Pirate Treasure full episode, full episode clips, 17th century pirates, Knights Templar, Pirate Treasure se01 e01, world-wide investigation

Id: dpSZ5cfNfXY

Length: 43min 20sec (2600 seconds)

Published: Sat Apr 25 2020