>> Wildman: IT WAS A WORLD OF CASTLES AND KNIGHTS, BURIED TREASURE. BUT THIS WAS NO FAIRY TALE. IT WAS A NIGHTMARE THAT LASTED 1,000 YEARS. GOING UNDER OR GOING OVER? WE'RE TAKING THE CASTLE. IN EUROPE, AFTER THE FALL OF ROME, IT WAS KILL OR BE KILLED, AND THE UNDERWORLD WAS THE KEY TO SURVIVAL. >> YOU HAD TO GO INTO THE GROUND IN ORDER TO PROTECT YOURSELF. >> Wildman: I LOVE MY JOB. WE'RE EXPLORING DEADLY DUNGEONS WHERE MEN WERE LEFT TO ROT. >> YOU GO IN THERE, I CLOSE IT. >> Wildman: THAT'S IT. I'M GONE. AND FOR THE FIRST TIME ON TELEVISION, DECODING NEW SECRETS OF THE KNIGHTS TEMPLAR. FOR ALL OF THIS, THESE GUYS WERE RISKING THEIR LIVES. WE'RE PEELING BACK THE LAYERS OF TIME ON "CITIES OF THE UNDERWORLD: BARBARIANS' LAIR." I'M DON WILDMAN, AND I'M SMACK-DAB IN THE CENTER OF WESTERN EUROPE, IN LUXEMBOURG CITY, SCENE OF 1,000 YEARS OF BARBARIC WARFARE. OF COURSE, WHAT YOU SEE TODAY ON THE SURFACE IS PEACEFUL, VERY CLEAN -- ULTRA-CIVILIZED. BUT BENEATH MY FEET IS A WHOLE OTHER WORLD, A WORLD WHERE MASS CARNAGE, SAVAGE FEUDALISM, AND BARBARIC HOLY WARS RULED THE DAY -- WHERE THE LIVES OF EVERYDAY PEOPLE WERE AT THE MERCY OF MURDEROUS, POWER-HUNGRY OVERLORDS. HORDES OF SAVAGE TRIBES LIKE THE VISIGOTHS AND THE HUNS SACKED EUROPE AND BROUGHT THE MIGHTY ROMAN EMPIRE TO ITS KNEES. IT TURNED AN ENTIRE CONTINENT UPSIDE DOWN. IT WAS THE END OF AN EMPIRE AND THE DAWN OF THE DARK AGES. WHEN ROME FELL IN 410 A.D., THE ENTIRE EMPIRE LOST THE ENGINEERS AND TECHNICIANS WHO BUILT AND MAINTAINED ROADS, BUILDINGS, AND AQUEDUCTS. THE WORLD LITERALLY COLLAPSED AROUND THE PEOPLE OF EUROPE. I'M JUST OUTSIDE LUXEMBOURG CITY IN THE SMALL TOWN OF WALFERDANGE. IT'S ABOUT THE LAST PLACE YOU'D EXPECT TO FIND A MAJOR FEAT OF ROMAN ENGINEERING. BUT, IN FACT, HIDDEN BENEATH THIS TOWN IS ONE OF THE LARGEST SUBTERRANEAN WATER SYSTEMS IN ALL OF EUROPE -- THE BIGGEST THIS SIDE OF THE ALPS. THEY'RE CALLED QANATS, AND BURIED INSIDE OF THEM ARE THE ONLY CLUES OF A LOST ROMAN VILLAGE AND THE BRUTAL BARBARIAN INVASIONS THAT WIPED IT OFF THE MAP. WEALTHY ROMAN COLONISTS HAD BEEN LIVING IN WHAT BECAME LUXEMBOURG SINCE JULIUS CAESAR CONQUERED THE LOCAL TRIBE, THE CELTS, IN 53 B.C. BUT AT THE END OF THE 4th CENTURY, A SAVAGE BARBARIAN UPRISING SPREAD ACROSS EUROPE. ENTIRE SETTLEMENTS WERE WIPED OUT, AND EVENTUALLY ROME ITSELF WAS SACKED AND LOOTED. BUT ONE REMNANT OF ROMAN GLORY SURVIVED HERE -- THE SUBTERRANEAN CHANNELS KNOWN AS THE QANATS. I'M MEETING EXPERT MARC THILL, WHO'S AGREED TO TAKE ME DOWN INTO THE QANATS SO I CAN SEE THE REMNANTS OF THIS AMAZING WATER SYSTEM FOR THIS LOST ROMAN VILLAGE. MARC. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. SO, THIS IS THE LOCATION OF THE QANAT. IN THE 4th CENTURY A.D., THIS LANDSCAPE WAS DOMINATED BY A PALATIAL ROMAN VILLA WHOSE OWNER ENJOYED ARTS, ENGINEERING, AND LUXURIES LIKE RUNNING WATER. BUT 200 YEARS OF CIVILIZED LIFE HERE WAS WIPED OUT IN A HEARTBEAT, WHEN THE EMPIRE FELL. YOU BROUGHT A CRANE IN THE MIDDLE OF THE WOODS? THESE QANATS WERE DESIGNED TO HOLD WATER, NOT PEOPLE. SO GETTING DOWN INTO ONE REQUIRES SOME 21st-CENTURY ENGINEERING. [ GRUNTS ] WHOA. THAT'S A DEEP HOLE. >> 82 FEET. >> Wildman: 82 FEET. SO, I JUST GET IN THAT CHAIR AND YOU DROP ME DOWN? THERE'S A COSTUME. VERY GOOD. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. >> SO NOW IT WILL BE NO PROBLEM. >> Wildman: THIS THING IS<i> HUGE.</i> I WAS KIND OF THINKING LIKE, "YEAH, YEAH, YEAH. ANOTHER HOLE IN THE GROUND." BUT THIS THING IS DEEP. TAKE ME DOWN. LET'S GO. I LOVE THIS. >> [ CHUCKLES ] >> Wildman: AT SOME POINT, IT TURNS FROM MODERN LUXEMBOURG INTO ANCIENT ROME, JUST LIKE THAT. LOOK AT THIS. YEAH, IT'S VERY WET RIGHT HERE. ALL RIGHT. >> STOP? >> Wildman: STOP! >> STOP! >> Wildman: WE'RE IN. THE TORRENTIAL RAINFALL COMING DOWN. ALL RIGHT. COME ON DOWN, MARC. UNTENDED AND UNUSED FOR NEARLY 2,000 YEARS, THESE QANATS ARE STILL COLLECTING WATER. THE LAST REPAIRS DONE DOWN HERE DATE TO 370 A.D., THE YEAR THE ROMANS ABOVE FLED THE BARBARIAN HORDES BENT ON SLAUGHTER. IT'S IN INCREDIBLE SHAPE. AND, SO, WE'RE HOW DEEP HERE? 80 FEET DOWN BELOW THE EARTH. ALL RIGHT. [ GROANS ] THE QANAT, INVENTED BY THE PERSIANS 3,000 YEARS AGO AND BROUGHT HERE BY THE ROMANS, WAS A 600-YARD-LONG SLOPING TUNNEL SYSTEM ACCESSED BY A SERIES OF VERTICAL SHAFTS. USING GRAVITY ALONE, IT MOVED GROUNDWATER FROM THE HILLS DOWN TO THE LUXURIOUS ROMAN VILLA BELOW, FILLING FOUNTAINS AND BATHS. BUT THE VANDALS PUT AN END TO IT ALL. I FEEL THE FRESH ROMAN WATER SOAKING MY SOCKS. [ GROANS ] OH, MY GOODNESS. WE'RE GOING THROUGH THAT? OKAY. AND HE'S GONE. [ STRAINS ] I LOVE MY JOB. ONLY HALF OF THIS QANAT SYSTEM HAS BEEN EXPLORED IN MODERN TIMES. THE REST HAS BEEN UNSEEN BY HUMAN EYES SINCE ROMAN WORKERS CARVED IT OUT 2,000 YEARS AGO. NICE. IS THIS OPEN FOR THE PUBLIC? THIRD TIME IN YOUR LIFE? THAT'S COOL. ALL RIGHT. ONWARD. LOOK, RIGHT BENEATH MY FEET, THESE ROCKS HERE ARE ACTUALLY ROMAN CONSTRUCTION PLACED HERE IN ORDER TO PRESERVE THE CHANNEL. YOU SEE IT? THAT'S THE ACTUAL FLOW. THAT'S THE CHANNEL UNDERNEATH OF US, WHERE WE'RE CRAWLING ALONG. ESSENTIALLY, THEY BUILT UP A CHANNEL SO THAT IF ANYTHING EVER FELL FROM THE CEILING, IF THERE WAS ANY KIND OF COLLAPSE, IT WOULDN'T DISTURB THE SMOOTH FLOW OF WATER. THIS IS 2,000-YEAR-OLD ROMAN ENGINEERING. THESE QANATS SEEM TO SHOW THAT WHILE BARBARIAN FORCES WERE MASSING ON THEIR BORDERS, AT LEAST SOME ROMANS WERE LIVING A LIFE OF LUXURY. BUT BY 410 A.D., THE VISIGOTHS HAD CONQUERED ROME ITSELF, AND THE ENTIRE EUROPEAN CONTINENT WAS PLUNGED INTO CHAOS. ENGINEERING MARVELS LIKE THESE QANATS WERE ABANDONED AND FORGOTTEN. IMAGINE -- THERE'S NO ONE TO BUILD AND REPAIR YOUR ROADS, NO ONE TO BRING YOUR WATER TO YOU, PROVIDE AN ARMY TO DEFEND YOUR LANDS. INSTEAD, THERE'S THIS ENORMOUS POWER VACUUM -- EVERYTHING UP FOR GRABS. IN OTHER WORDS, TOTAL CHAOS. THAT'S EUROPE FOR THE NEXT 1,000 YEARS. >> Wildman: BY THE 14th CENTURY, ABOUT 900 YEARS AFTER THE FALL OF ROME, EUROPE WAS A HOLY MESS OF BRUTAL FEUDALISM, VICIOUS INFIGHTING, AND RAMPANT DISEASE. THE PLAGUE WAS DEVASTATING EUROPE, RAVAGING MILLIONS. WHILE THE WORLD WAS BEING RIPPED APART, A SECRET SOCIETY WAS TRYING TO PUT IT BACK TOGETHER FROM THE ONLY PLACE IT COULD -- THE UNDERGROUND. IF YOU WANTED TO SURVIVE THE BLOODY HORROR THAT WAS EUROPE AFTER THE FALL OF ROME, YOU NEEDED PROTECTION -- STRONGHOLDS, CASTLES, CITY WALLS. YOU NEEDED STONE. QUARRYING BECAME AN ESSENTIAL AND POWERFUL INDUSTRY. MAASTRICHT -- A LITTLE TOWN SITTING ON A WEALTH OF LIMESTONE -- BECAME THE HEART OF A BIG MEDIEVAL BUSINESS, SUPPLYING STONE TO THE TRUE SUPERPOWER OF THE 13th CENTURY, THE CHURCH. AS THE ONLY REAL UNIFYING FORCE IN EUROPE, THE CHURCH HAD THE POWER TO BRAND ANYONE A HERETIC AND CONDEMN THEM TO DEATH AND DAMNATION. EVEN THE RICH AND POWERFUL HOLY WARRIORS, THE KNIGHTS TEMPLAR, WERE MASSACRED IN 1314 WHEN THEIR SECRETIVE RITUALS AND VAST FORTUNE THREATENED TO UNDERMINE THE AUTHORITY OF THE POPE. BUT IN ORDER TO BUILD THEIR SOARING CATHEDRALS, THE MIGHTY CHURCH WAS UTTERLY DEPENDENT ON A SMALL, MYSTERIOUS BAND OF QUARRYMEN WHO MAY HAVE PRESERVED THE KNIGHTS' SECRETS UNDERGROUND. I'M ON MY WAY TO THIS MASSIVE UNDERGROUND LAIR THAT MAY HOLD CLUES TO THE HUSH-HUSH INITIATION RIGHTS OF MEDIEVAL QUARRYMEN. I'M MEETING WITH THIS GUY NAMED JACQUO SILVERTANT. HE'S ONE OF THE FOREMOST EXPERTS ON LITERALLY HUNDREDS OF QUARRIES THAT ARE IN THIS AREA. AND HE'S TAKING ME TO THE BIGGEST AND BEST OF THEM -- ST. PETERSBURG QUARRY. JACQUO. HOW YOU DOING? NICE TO MEET YOU. >> YOU WANT TO GO INTO THE CAVES? >> Wildman: I DO, IN FACT. >> SO, THE ORIGINAL SYSTEM, WHEN YOU COULD PUT ALL THE PASSAGES BEHIND EACH OTHER, IT WOULD BE ABOUT 300 KILOMETERS. >> Wildman: MM. GEEZ. >> SO, IN MEDIEVAL TIMES, IT WOULD BE ONE OF THE BIGGEST HUMAN ENTERPRISES IN THE WESTERN WORLD. >> Wildman: SO, THE CAVE ENTRANCE IS IN THERE? >> YEAH, IT'S IN THE FOREST. QUARRY. >> Wildman: YEAH, YOU CAN FEEL THE AIR JUST CHANGE RIGHT HERE. >> DON'T DO THIS AT HOME. >> Wildman: LOOK AT THIS. SO, WE'RE NOT ALLOWED TO GO INTO THIS PLACE, BUT IF WE SNEAK IN THAT HOLE OVER THERE, WE CAN GET IN. THIS HIDDEN LAIR CONTAINS CLUES PRESERVED FOR 700 YEARS THAT MAY LINK THE QUARRYMEN HERE TO THE KNIGHTS TEMPLAR. >> WATCH YOUR HEAD. >> Wildman: AWESOME. IT'S JUST ENORMOUS. AND THIS IS JUST THE BEGINNING. IN THE 13th CENTURY, ONLY A SELECT FEW KNEW HOW TO PRODUCE THE LIMESTONE BUILDING BLOCKS VITAL FOR CONSTRUCTING CASTLES AND CATHEDRALS. THE MINES THESE QUARRYMEN DUG ALSO BECAME THEIR SECRET HEADQUARTERS. AND THE AUTHORITIES SUSPECTED SOMETHING MORE SINISTER THAN JUST STONECUTTING WAS GOING ON OUT OF SIGHT IN THE UNDERGROUND. >> LOOK UP THERE. THAT'S THE FIRST LEVEL OF EXTRACTION. SO, IN MEDIEVAL TIMES, WHEN THEY WOULD OPEN A QUARRY, THEY WOULD START WITH A PASSAGE THAT WAS ABOUT TWO METERS HIGH, LIKE, A MAN COULD STAND UP, BASICALLY. >> Wildman: RIGHT. USING PICKS, THE QUARRYMEN WOULD DIG OUT A NARROW CHANNEL JUST BIG ENOUGH FOR A MAN ABOUT SIX FEET INTO THE ROCK. FROM THE CHANNEL, THEY WOULD USE SAWS TO CUT OUT LARGE, EVEN BLOCKS, WORKING THEIR WAY DOWN. AFTER YEARS OF DIGGING AND EXCAVATING, THE ORIGINAL QUARRIES MEASURED A TOTAL OF OVER 185 MILES. >> WE KNOW THAT THE EGYPTIANS USED EXACTLY THE SAME TECHNIQUES FOR DIGGING STONE OUT, BUILDING PYRAMIDS. AND BASICALLY, AFTER THE EGYPTIANS, THIS WAS THE FIRST TIME IN HISTORY WHEN, IN THESE AMOUNTS OF STONE, BUILDINGS WERE ERECTED. >> Wildman: WHY IS THAT? SO YOU'RE SAYING THAT PEOPLE LOST THE KNOWLEDGE -- >> YEAH, ESPECIALLY AFTER THE ROMANS LEFT. >> Wildman: SO, THESE ARE VERY SOPHISTICATED TECHNIQUES THAT THEY HAVE THAT THEY LEARNED FROM WHERE? >> WELL, WE SUSPECT THAT THEY BROUGHT IT HOME FROM THE CRUSADES. AND THEY PROBABLY BROUGHT BACK, ESPECIALLY, THE FAMOUS TEMPLARS, KNIGHTS TEMPLAR, WHO BUILT THESE HUGE CRUSADE OF CASTLES. >> Wildman: COULD THESE MAN-MADE CAVERNS HOUSE THE LONG-LOST LEGACY OF THE KNIGHTS TEMPLAR? WE KNOW THE KNIGHTS CAME BACK FROM THE CRUSADES IN THE 12th CENTURY WITH VALUABLE KNOWLEDGE COLLECTED FROM MUSLIM SCHOLARS AND ENGINEERS AT A TIME WHEN THEIR OWN REPRESSIVE CHURCH OFTEN VIEWED SCIENCE AS HERESY. BY THE TIME MANY OF THESE QUARRIES WERE DUG, THE TEMPLARS HAD BEEN ROUNDED UP AND SLAUGHTERED. BUT THEIR VALUABLE TRADE SECRETS, LIKE TECHNIQUES FOR STONECUTTING AND FORBIDDEN RITES AND RITUALS, MAY HAVE SURVIVED, QUIETLY PASSED ON FOR GENERATIONS. HERE, 30 FEET BENEATH THE MODERN TOWN, WE FOUND POSSIBLE EVIDENCE THAT THE QUARRYMEN OF MAASTRICHT WERE DESCENDENTS OF THE TEMPLARS. >> THE FACT IS, WE FIND SYMBOLISM HERE USED BY THE KNIGHTS TEMPLAR. >> Wildman: THIS IS A KNIGHTS TEMPLAR TEMPLE. >> YEAH, IT'S VERY HARD TO SAY. I REALLY WOULD LIKE TO BELIEVE IT. >> Got any more light? >> Wildman: BECAUSE THEY WERE SO SECRETIVE, THE TEMPLARS' TRADITIONS ARE AMONG THE WORLD'S GREAT ANCIENT MYSTERIES. >> Got to bring some light over here. >> Wildman: BUT AN EXTRAORDINARY DISCOVERY BY OUR CREW REVEALED FURTHER EVIDENCE OF TEMPLAR ACTIVITIES -- HIDDEN IN THE DARK FOR CENTURIES. >> There, right there. You see that? >> Wildman: THIS IS WILD. WE'RE DOING LIGHTING DOWN HERE TO GET SOME SHOTS FOR THE SHOW. AND THIS IS VERY COOL BECAUSE THIS GUY'S SEEING THINGS DOWN HERE THAT HE'S NEVER SEEN BEFORE 'CAUSE HE'S NORMALLY ONLY HERE WITH A GAS LAMP. AND HE FOUND SOME NEW MARKS. WHAT DID YOU FIND? >> OH, ALL KIND OF THINGS. WE SEE ALL KINDS OF INSCRIPTIONS WE NORMALLY CAN'T SEE BECAUSE WE DON'T HAVE LIGHT ENOUGH. >> Wildman: LIKE WHAT? >> WE CAN SEE SURVEY POINTS. WE CAN SEE PENTAGRAMS, WHICH ARE MYSTICAL SIGNS THAT THE QUARRYMEN WOULD PLACE FOR GOOD LUCK. >> Wildman: AUTHORITIES ABOVEGROUND SUSPECTED THESE SECRETIVE MEN, LIVING AND WORKING DOWN IN THE DEVIL'S DOMAIN, WERE UP TO NO GOOD. BUT THEY NEEDED THE STONE TOO MUCH TO ACTIVELY INTERFERE. INSTEAD, LOCAL MONKS INVADED THEIR SANCTUARY AND ADDED THEIR OWN GRAFFITI, WARNINGS AGAINST THE BEHAVIOR THEY THOUGHT WAS GOING ON DOWN HERE. >> HERE'S ANOTHER ONE. SODOMY. >> Wildman: WHERE? >> HERE. IT'S VERY NICE. >> Wildman: OH, YES, WELL, THAT WOULD BE SODOMY RIGHT THERE. THAT WOULD ALSO BE BESTIALITY. >> OBVIOUSLY. >> Wildman: THAT'S NOT GOOD. THAT'S A BAD, BAD -- >> THERE WAS SOMEBODY AT THE SURFACE WHO WANTED TO TELL THE PEOPLE UNDERGROUND TO WATCH THEIR LOOSE MORALITY. >> Wildman: THE QUARRYMEN LEFT THEIR OWN MESSAGES BEHIND -- SELF-PORTRAITS, UNTOUCHED, FOR OVER 500 YEARS. >> SO, THIS IS HOW THE QUARRYMEN WOULD HAVE LOOKED AROUND 1470 A.D. THIS IS WHAT THEY THOUGHT ABOUT HIM. >> Wildman: HE WAS A JESTER. >> A JESTER. AND THE JESTER, IN MEDIEVAL DAYS, WAS THE ONLY ONE WHO COULD TELL THE KING HE WAS A FOOL. >> Wildman: I SEE. SUSPICIOUS OF THE AUTHORITIES ABOVE, THE QUARRYMEN MAY WELL HAVE CREATED AN ENTIRE PARALLEL SOCIETY DOWN HERE, INCLUDING THE ULTIMATE MEDIEVAL HERESY -- FORMING THEIR OWN BREAKAWAY RELIGIOUS SECT AND BUILDING THEIR OWN CHURCH. AND THE EVIDENCE IS ALL AROUND US, IN A GIANT CHAMBER SHAPED LIKE A CROSS. >> I THINK THE BEST WAY TO COMPARE IT TO IS THE FREEMASONS. >> Wildman: OKAY. >> FREEMASONS BASICALLY BUILD ON THE KNOWLEDGE OF THE KNIGHTS TEMPLAR. >> Wildman: AND THERE ARE RITES THAT YOU GO THROUGH AS YOU GO -- >> YES, IT'S A WAY THROUGH LIFE. YOU START OFF AS AN APPRENTICE AND YOU GROW INTO YOUR -- >> Wildman: EXPERT STATUS. >> YEAH. YOU CAN IMAGINE THAT IN THIS CROSS-SHAPED HALL, THESE PEOPLE WOULD GATHER TO WELCOME A NEW MEMBER INTO THEIR GROUP. >> Wildman: IF THE QUARRYMEN DID WORSHIP HERE WITHOUT THE CHURCH'S BLESSING, THEY RISKED THE SAME HORRIBLE FATE AS THEIR ANCESTORS, THE KNIGHTS TEMPLAR. THINK OF THE IMPLICATIONS OF THIS. I MEAN, I'M STANDING IN, WHAT IS BY NO COINCIDENCE, A CROSS, OKAY? AN ENORMOUS CROSS. HERE'S THE LONG PART. AND THIS IS THE CROSSPIECE. THERE'S NOWHERE ELSE IN THE WHOLE QUARRY SYSTEM THAT IS LIKE THIS. SO THEY CHOSE TO BE HERE. THAT MAKES THIS THE ALTAR, ALL RIGHT? SO, WE'RE ESSENTIALLY IN WHAT IS AN UNDERGROUND CATHEDRAL. AND LOOK ABOVE US. ALL THESE ELABORATE SYMBOLS UP THERE HAVE TO HAVE BEEN PART OF SOME KIND OF SECRET CEREMONY, A RITUAL, PERHAPS A RITE OF PASSAGE, AN INITIATION INTO, PERHAPS, A CULT. THINK HOW DANGEROUS THAT WOULD BE DOWN HERE IN THE DARK. A TOTAL VIOLATION OF THE POWERS THAT BE ABOVEGROUND. THIS WOULD HAVE BEEN HERESY. FOR ALL OF THIS, THESE GUYS WERE RISKING THEIR LIVES. >> Wildman: EUROPE SUFFERED CENTURIES OF BARBARIC TRIBAL WARFARE. EVERY CASTLE, CLAN, AND KINGDOM FOUGHT FOR EVERY INCH OF LAND. BUT AT THE END OF THE 11th CENTURY, ONE CAUSE UNIFIED EUROPE LIKE NEVER BEFORE -- THE CRUSADES. IN 1095, THE POPE CALLED ON EVERY CHRISTIAN MAN IN EUROPE TO TAKE UP ARMS AND HEAD TO JERUSALEM TO RECAPTURE THE HOLY LANDS FROM THE SO-CALLED INFIDELS -- THE MUSLIMS. MILLIONS WOULD HEED THE CALL, SLAUGHTERING COUNTLESS NUMBERS ALONG THE WAY. BUT THE CRUSADES HAD ANOTHER HIDDEN LEGACY. THEY BIRTHED THE WORLD'S MOST INFAMOUS SECRET SOCIETIES -- THE KNIGHTS TEMPLAR AND THE ORDER OF SION. AND CLUES TO THEIR MYSTERIOUS ORIGINS ARE BURIED HERE, IN THE UNDERWORLD. FOR 200 YEARS, THE KNIGHTS TEMPLAR, A WEALTHY CHRISTIAN PARAMILITARY GROUP, WAS ONE OF THE MOST POWERFUL ORGANIZATIONS IN A TURBULENT WORLD. THEIR CREATION CAN BE TRACED BACK TO A CASTLE IN THE TINY BELGIAN TOWN OF BOUILLON AND THE MAN WHO OWNED IT, GODFREY, THE FIRST CHRISTIAN RULER OF JERUSALEM. I'M MEETING A MAN NAMED RUDY SCHOTTE. HE'S TAKING ME IN A TUNNEL UNDER THAT STRUCTURE UP ON THE HILL, BOUILLON CASTLE, THE EUROPEAN HEART OF THE FIRST CRUSADE, AND THE PLACE WHERE THE TEMPLARS THEMSELVES WOULD HAVE WORKED. NICE CASTLE YOU HAVE HERE. >> YES. >> Wildman: IT IS A STRATEGIC PLACE TO HAVE ONE. THIS CASTLE DATES BACK TO THE 10th CENTURY, WHEN THE CHURCH WAS THE ONLY CONSTANT IN A CHAOTIC EUROPE. FEUDAL LORDS BATTLED RELENTLESSLY OVER THEIR OWN SMALL PATCHES OF LAND. FINALLY, IN 1095, A UNITED FRONT EMERGED IN THE FORM OF A HOLY WAR. THE CRUSADES PITTED CHRISTIAN INVADERS AGAINST MUSLIM ARMIES A WORLD AWAY, BUT THEY BEGAN HERE IN BOUILLON CASTLE. BOUILLON CASTLE WAS BUILT ON A HILL, PROTECTED ON TWO SIDES BY A RIVER. AND, MUCH LIKE THE PENTAGON TODAY, IT WAS BUILT WITH THREE LAYERS OF DEFENSIVE WALLS, EACH CONNECTED BY A DRAWBRIDGE. THE THIRD AND FINAL LINE OF DEFENSE WAS A DRY MOAT SOME 30 FEET DEEP THAT WAS BOOBY-TRAPPED. IN AN EMERGENCY, THE DRAWBRIDGE WOULD GO UP AND THE MOAT COULD QUICKLY BE FILLED WITH WATER. WITHOUT THESE STATE-OF-THE-ART SAFEGUARDS AGAINST TURBULENT TIMES, GODFREY COULD NEVER HAVE SURVIVED LONG ENOUGH TO MARCH ON THE HOLY LAND. WHAT WE'RE STANDING ON HERE IN THE MIDDLE AGES WOULD HAVE BEEN A DRAWBRIDGE. >> YOU EVEN CAN SEE THE HOLE. >> Wildman: OKAY. AND THIS WOULD HAVE BEEN WATER BELOW. RUDY AND I WERE TESTING THE ANCIENT MEDIEVAL DEFENSE OF A CASTLE SO SECURE IT WAS RUMORED TO BE THE VAULT OF SOME OF THE GREATEST TREASURES IN HISTORY, HOLY RELICS BROUGHT BACK FROM THE CRUSADES -- INCLUDING THE ARK OF THE COVENANT. >> ...TWO, THREE. >> Wildman: RIGHT DOWN THERE? >> OKAY. >> Wildman: [ SIGHS ] IT'S COOL. SO, I'M IN A -- THIS IS WHERE IT WOULD HAVE BEEN FILLED UP WITH WATER. THIS WHOLE SPACE WOULD HAVE BEEN FILLED. >> EXACTLY. >> Wildman: THIS MOAT WAS USUALLY DRY. BUT ANY ATTACKER FOOLISH ENOUGH TO CLAMOR DOWN HERE IN HEAVY ARMOR WAS IN FOR A NASTY SURPRISE. A CHANNEL 25 FEET ABOVE COULD BE OPENED UP, AND THE WATER WOULD COME POURING IN. UNABLE TO MOVE QUICKLY IN 50 POUNDS OF CHAIN MAIL, INVADERS FACED A HORRIBLE DEATH BY DROWNING. OPENING THAT GATE, THE WATER WOULD SURGE OUT OF HERE. AND THEY HAVE A WHOLE NOTHER LINE OF DEFENSE TO PROTECT THIS CASTLE. ONCE WE CROSSED OVER THE MOAT, WE WORKED OUR WAY DEEPER INTO THE CASTLE, ALONG THE WINDING CORRIDOR INTO THE LOWEST LEVEL OF THE STRUCTURE. >> SO, LET'S ENTER HERE. WATCH YOUR HEAD. >> Wildman: OH, THIS IS GREAT. >> YEAH. >> Wildman: OKAY, SO, WE'RE UNDERGROUND UNDER BOUILLON CASTLE HERE. >> YES. >> Wildman: GODFREY, THE OWNER OF THIS IMPRESSIVE FORTRESS, DID BOW TO A MASTER -- THE POPE. IN 1095, WHEN THE HOLY FATHER CALLED ON ALL CHRISTIAN MEN TO TAKE UP ARMS AND HEAD TO JERUSALEM, GODFREY WAS ONE OF THE FIRST TO RESPOND. HE RAISED A PRIVATE ARMY OF 40,000 MEN -- AN EXPENSIVE PROPOSITION. SO, HOW DOES HE AFFORD TO LAUNCH A CRUSADE, FINANCIALLY? >> FINANCIALLY, IT'S VERY SIMPLE. HE SOLD THIS CASTLE. >> Wildman: HE SOLD THIS CASTLE? AND SO THEN HE HAS THE MONEY TO GO OUT -- >> HE HAS THE MONEY TO GET OTHER SOLDIERS AND KEEP THEM. >> Wildman: GODFREY HAD NO TROUBLE FINDING WILLING RECRUITS. 1095 WAS A BRUTAL YEAR IN EUROPE. DISEASE, STARVATION, AND VIOLENCE WERE CONSTANTS. THE PROMISE OF THE FORGIVENESS OF SINS AND THE RICH PLUNDER WAITING IN THE HOLY LAND DROVE 600,000 CHRISTIANS TO RAISE THEIR WEAPONS AND SLAUGHTER THE SUPPOSED INFIDELS. SO, THE CHURCH OFFERS THE ULTIMATE PRIZE -- "YOU GO ON THIS CRUSADE, YOU GET INTO HEAVEN NO MATTER HOW MANY SINS YOU COMMIT." >> EXACTLY. >> Wildman: WHEN DUKE GODFREY OF BOUILLON MARCHED OFF TO THE HOLY LAND, HE ALREADY HAD A REPUTATION AS A PIOUS, HONORABLE LEADER. BUT GODFREY WAS ALSO A MAN OF HIS TIME. AND THE 11th CENTURY WAS A BARBARIC AGE. >> SO, NOW WE ARE COMING IN THE PART WHERE WE FIND PRISONS. >> Wildman: SO, THIS IS A BAD ROOM. I CAN FEEL IT. LIKE MOST CASTLES AT THE TIME, BOUILLON WAS A FORTRESS, A HOME, AND A PRISON. UNDER THE ROMANS, THERE HAD BEEN THE RULE OF LAW. BUT AFTER THE EMPIRE'S FALL, EVERY PETTY RULER HAD THE POWER OF LIFE AND DEATH OVER HIS SUBJECTS. RUDY LED ME TO A ROOM WHERE GODFREY, THE POPE'S STAUNCH DEFENDER, ROUTINELY WOULD HAVE CRIMINALS AND RIVALS TORTURED AND KILLED. SO, WE'RE IN A PRISON CELL HERE. BUT WHAT IS THIS? >> THIS PRISON CELL IS VERY SPECIAL BECAUSE IT'S LIKE A LITTLE CHAMBER. IT ONLY HAS ONE ENTRY, AND THIS IS HERE. IT'S THE REASON WHY WE CALL THIS OUBLIETTE. >> Wildman: OUBLIETTE? WHAT DOES THAT MEAN, IN ENGLISH? >> "TO BE FORGOTTEN." YOU GO IN THERE, I CLOSE IT. >> Wildman: THAT'S IT. I'M GONE. >> YOU'RE GONE. >> Wildman: ALL RIGHT. HERE I GO. PRISONERS THROWN INTO THE OUBLIETTE NEVER CAME OUT AGAIN. THEY DIED SLOWLY OF THIRST AND HUNGER. THIS WAS 11th-CENTURY JUSTICE. THIS IS SO CREEPY. I MEAN, IT'S REALLY GRUESOME TO THINK OF THESE PRISONERS BROUGHT DOWN HERE IN THE DARK. TO THINK THAT THE MAN IN CHARGE OF THIS CASTLE IS OFF FIGHTING A WAR FOR GOD, A CRUSADE TO RECLAIM THE PROMISED LAND. AND BACK AT HOME, IN HIS BASEMENT, THERE'S SOMEBODY TORTURED TO DEATH. DUKE GODFREY CONQUERED JERUSALEM IN 1099. BUT ONE YEAR LATER, HE DIED OF THE PLAGUE IN THE HOLY LAND AND NEVER RETURNED TO RECLAIM HIS CASTLE. BUT SOME BELIEVE BEFORE HE DIED, HE FOUNDED AN ORDER OF KNIGHTS DEDICATED TO PROTECTING CHRISTIANS IN THE HOLY LAND -- THE KNIGHTS TEMPLAR. OVER THE NEXT 100 YEARS, THE KNIGHTS TEMPLAR GREW RICH OFF THE TREASURES OF THE EAST. AND WHEN THEY RETURNED HOME TO THIS LAND, THEY MAY HAVE BROUGHT SOME OF THE MOST PRECIOUS ONES BACK HERE. RUMOR HAS IT THE KNIGHTS TEMPLAR REMOVED -- RESCUED -- THE CHRISTIAN RELICS FROM THE HOLY LAND AND BROUGHT THEM TO EUROPE. >> THAT'S A GOOD RUMOR. I THINK YOU CAN SAY PROBABLY POSITIVE. >> Wildman: THEY COULD BE RIGHT IN THIS CASTLE. >> WELL...COULD BE, YOU KNOW. >> Wildman: IT MAY ONLY BE A LEGEND, BUT SOME BELIEVE THAT THE KNIGHTS TEMPLAR CONCEALED THE ARK OF THE COVENANT AND THE HOLY GRAIL HERE, IN THE CASTLE THAT BANKROLLED THE CRUSADES. IT'S INCREDIBLE TO THINK HOW CENTRAL THIS MAN -- GODFREY DE BOUILLON -- WAS. HE IS CHOSEN TO LEAD THE FIRST CRUSADE THAT RETAKES THE PROMISED LAND, CONQUERS JERUSALEM. HE SANCTIONS THIS GROUP CALLED POOR KNIGHTS OF CHRIST, WHICH BECOMES THE KNIGHTS TEMPLAR. SO IT ALL COMES BACK TO THIS MAN -- GODFREY DE BOUILLON. IT ALL COMES BACK TO THIS CASTLE. >> Wildman: ANCIENT ROME'S MILITARY WAS A MASSIVE, WELL-OILED MACHINE THAT DOMINATED AND PROTECTED ALMOST ALL OF EUROPE. SO WHEN ROME FELL, EUROPE WENT FROM BEING A SINGLE UNIFIED EMPIRE TO THOUSANDS OF SMALL FEUDING TOWNS. THE THREATS WERE EVERYWHERE. VIKING RAIDERS TO THE NORTH. THE VILLAGE NEXT DOOR TO YOU COULD BE YOUR WORST ENEMY. SO THE PEOPLE LIVING HERE HAD TO REVOLUTIONIZE THE WAY THEY DEFENDED THEMSELVES. THE ANSWER -- THE CASTLE... AND PROFESSIONAL WARRIORS CALLED KNIGHTS. ONE BAND OF KNIGHTS WHO FOUGHT FROM INSIDE THIS CASTLE USED A KIND OF GUERRILLA WARFARE, LAUNCHING QUICK AND DEVASTATING SURPRISE ATTACKS AND THEN DISAPPEARING UNDERGROUND. IN THE 13th CENTURY, IF YOU WERE A PEASANT, YOUR LIFE DEPENDED ON YOUR LOCAL NOBLEMAN, HIS CASTLE, AND HIS CUNNING. VALKENBURG CASTLE, IN THE MIDDLE OF A MOUNTAIN PASS BETWEEN GERMANY AND THE NETHERLANDS, WAS HOME TO THE ULTIMATE IN MEDIEVAL WARCRAFT. ONE OF THE FEW PEOPLE WHO KNOWS THE SECRETS OF THE LEGENDARY GHOST KNIGHTS OF VALKENBURG WAS MY GUIDE, JACQUO SILVERTANT. SO, WHERE ARE YOU TAKING ME? >> WELL, DON, I'M TAKING YOU TO THE -- TO THE UNDERGROUND PASSAGES OF THE CASTLE OF VALKENBURG. >> Wildman: OKAY. >> YEAH, AND THE PASSAGES ARE VERY CONCEALED. >> Wildman: THE BEST WAY INTO THE GHOST KNIGHT TUNNEL SYSTEM ARE THE EXIT POINTS, HIDDEN IN THE WOODS OVER 200 YARDS FROM THE CASTLE. THESE CRUMBLING RUINS ARE USUALLY CLOSED TO THE PUBLIC, BUT WE HAD SPECIAL PERMISSION TO ENTER. OH, WOW. LOOK AT THAT. >> IT'S VERY DARK IN HERE. >> Wildman: YOU GOT THE KEY? >> YEAH. >> Wildman: OKAY. I'M READY FOR THE UNDERGROUND. >> WELCOME TO THE REALM OF THE GHOST KNIGHTS. SO, WE'RE GOING TO THE SECTION NOW WHERE THE MEDIEVAL QUARRY MEETS THE PASSAGEWAYS THAT COME FROM THE CASTLE. >> Wildman: I SEE. OKAY. >> AND HERE'S ONE. LOOK. >> Wildman: THAT IS SO COOL. THESE PASSAGES MIGHT STILL BE A SECRET IF NOT FOR THIS LIMESTONE QUARRY, DUG OUT 200 YEARS AFTER THE GHOST KNIGHTS. THE EXCAVATION EXPOSED THE TUNNELS, COLLAPSING SOME PORTIONS OF THEM. IN THE 1300s, THESE CHAMBERS WEREN'T HERE, JUST A MAZE OF TUNNELS LEADING FROM THE CASTLE OUT INTO THE FOREST AND BEHIND THE LINES OF ENEMIES, THE WARLORDS, AND THEIR MEN, WHO WERE TRYING TO BREAK THROUGH THE DEFENSES OR WERE SIMPLY WAITING UNTIL SUPPLIES RAN OUT INSIDE. USING THE TUNNELS TO LAUNCH SURPRISE ATTACKS SEEMINGLY OUT OF NOWHERE AND THEN DISAPPEAR, THE MEN OF VALKENBURG SEEMED TO HAVE ALMOST SUPERNATURAL POWERS, EARNING THEM THE NAME GHOST KNIGHTS. WAIT. SO, THIS IS -- THIS IS THE KNIGHTS' PASSAGE UP HERE. >> YEAH. EXACTLY. >> Wildman: AND IT USED TO BE CONTINUOUS, YES? >> EXACTLY. THIS IS A CAVE-IN. >> Wildman: THE WARRIORS WHO CREPT THROUGH THIS PASSAGEWAY IN THE 13th CENTURY WERE A FAR CRY FROM THE ROMANTIC IMAGE OF KNIGHTS IN SHINING ARMOR. THEY WERE PART OF A PRIVATE ARMY FUNDED BY POWERFUL WARLORDS. THEY RAIDED THEIR NEIGHBORS FOR MONEY, SUPPLIES, AND WEAPONS, THEN WITHDREW INTO THE CASTLE. SO, DOWN HERE, WE'RE IN THE 15th CENTURY. >> 15th CENTURY, YES. >> Wildman: HOW AM I GONNA GET UP THERE TO THE 13th CENTURY? >> WE MIGHT TRY AND FIND A LADDER. >> Wildman: YOU GOT ONE AROUND HERE? ALL RIGHT. SO FAR SO GOOD. THIS IS THE BAD PART. >> REALLY? >> Wildman: THIS IS WHERE I DIE, SO IF I -- ANYBODY WANTS TO SAY ANYTHING TO ME BEFORE I GO... >> ACTUALLY, YOU REALIZE YOU'RE THE FIRST ONE UP THERE? >> Wildman: OH. THIS IS COOL. OH, I CAN ALMOST SEE BACK THERE, BUT IT BENDS AROUND. SO THIS WOULD HAVE BEEN CONNECTED TO THIS HOLE OVER HERE? >> YEAH. >> Wildman: SO, IF NOT FOR THIS ENTIRE COLLAPSE, SOMEBODY COULD TRAVEL RIGHT THROUGH THIS TUNNEL, OVER MY HEAD. >> YEAH, EXACTLY, YEAH. >> Wildman: NOW, WHERE ARE WE IN RELATION TO THE CASTLE? >> OH, THE CASTLE IS THAT WAY. >> Wildman: I GOT TO GET SOMETHING SO I CAN TAKE A LOOK BACK THERE. THIS TUNNEL WAS TOO DANGEROUS TO EXPLORE. SO I BROKE OUT MY S.W.A.T. KIT TO GET A CLOSER LOOK. ALL RIGHT, LET'S GO TO WORK. YOU'VE NEVER BEEN UP THERE, HAVE YOU? >> NO, I HAVEN'T, NO. >> Wildman: SO WITH THIS THING, WE CAN LOOK AT WHAT'S AROUND THE CORNER UP THERE, TRY TO GET SOME SENSE OF WHAT THESE GHOST KNIGHTS WERE DOING UP THERE. OH, THIS IS AMAZING. THEY HAVE DUG OUT ALL OF THIS. IT GOES DOWN LIKE THIS. IT GOES DOWN IN EVERY DIRECTION. THIS MAY BE THE FIRST TIME ANYONE HAS PEERED INTO THIS TUNNEL SINCE THE GHOST KNIGHTS CRAWLED THROUGH HERE, ARMED TO THE TEETH, OVER 800 YEARS AGO. THIS IS... [ BREATHING HEAVILY ] THIS IS THE TUNNEL DUG BY THE GHOST KNIGHTS BACK IN THE 13th CENTURY IN ORDER TO SURPRISE-ATTACK THESE GUYS BEHIND THE ENEMY LINES. IMAGINE YOU'RE IN THE MIDDLE OF A MEDIEVAL SIEGE WARFARE. I'M A KNIGHT, BUT NOW I HAVE THE MEANS TO ATTACK HIM BY SURPRISE ATTACK. I HAVE THE MEANS TO ATTACK HIM WITHOUT HIM KNOWING WHERE I'M COMING FROM. HOW AMAZING WOULD THAT HAVE BEEN IN THE 12th CENTURY? I MEAN, I'D BE A LEGEND. AS WE WORK OUR WAY TOWARDS THE CASTLE, THE LAIR WHERE THE GHOST KNIGHTS WERE TREATED AFTER RAIDING HOSTILE NEIGHBORS, WE DISCOVER OTHER TUNNELS UNTOUCHED BY THE QUARRIES AND REMARKABLY STILL INTACT AFTER 800 YEARS. THE CASTLE HAD OTHER DEFENSES, TOO, CUTTING-EDGE MEDIEVAL BATTLE TECH, LIKE GRENADES FILLED WITH BURNING OIL. THEIR RIVALS FOUGHT BACK WITH CATAPULTS, FLINGING EVERYTHING FROM ROCKS TO DEAD ANIMALS THAT COULD POISON THE CASTLE'S WATER SUPPLY. AND WHEN ALL ELSE FAILED, THE ENEMIES OF VALKENBURG BROUGHT IN THEIR OWN DIGGERS AND HASTILY SCRATCHED OUT TUNNELS, HOPING TO SEIZE THE CASTLE FROM BELOW. SO, WE'RE STILL IN A TUNNEL HERE. >> WE'RE STILL IN A TUNNEL. THE DIFFERENCE IS, THIS TUNNEL WAS MADE BY THE ENEMY. >> Wildman: OKAY. >> WE CAN TELL THAT THIS IS A COUNTERMINE BECAUSE -- YOU CAN SEE HERE, FOR EXAMPLE, THAT THEY USED TO WORK FAST. THIS WAS NOT DONE FOR SPACE. >> Wildman: THIS SUBTERRANEAN CAT-AND-MOUSE GAME WENT ON FOR DECADES, BUT THE CASTLE ONLY FELL WHEN THE GHOST KNIGHTS LOST THEIR LEADER IN BATTLE IN THE EARLY 14th CENTURY. THIS IS ONE DEAD-END TUNNEL. OVER HERE, ANOTHER DEAD END. SO, THESE GUYS ARE PROBING AND TRYING TO DIG UNDERNEATH THE CASTLE. EACH ENEMY WAS BESIEGING EACH OTHER'S KINGDOM. GOING UNDER OR GOING OVER, BUT TAKING THE CASTLE. >> Wildman: 1492 -- A BIG YEAR. IT'S BEEN OVER 1,000 YEARS SINCE THE FALL OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE, AND EUROPE IS AT THE DAWN OF A NEW AGE -- THE RENAISSANCE. WITH A NEW AGE COMES A NEW EMPIRE. LESS THAN 100 YEARS AFTER COLUMBUS STUMBLED ON THE NEW WORLD, SPAIN WENT FROM BEING ONE OF A HANDFUL OF EUROPEAN KINGDOMS TO A GLOBAL EMPIRE. AND JUST LIKE THE ROMANS, SPAIN BECAME A VICTIM OF ITS OWN SUCCESS. IT WAS TOO BIG FOR ITS OWN GOOD. AND WHILE IT STRUGGLED TO KEEP ITS EMPIRE AFLOAT 6,000 MILES AWAY IN THE AMERICAS, HERE IN LUXEMBOURG, THE SPANISH EMPIRE FOUGHT SOME OF ITS LAST BATTLES AS A WORLD POWER. OVER THE SPAN OF 1,000 YEARS, EUROPE HAD EVOLVED FROM SMALL BANDS OF WARRING ENEMIES TO THIS -- MIGHTY EMPIRES BATTLING EACH OTHER, DEFENDING THEIR TURF WITH SUPER-SECURE FORTRESSES, AND CONFRONTING A DEVASTATING NEW WEAPON -- GUNPOWDER. ONE OF THE MIGHTIEST OF THESE URBAN CITADELS AND A KEY SPANISH POSSESSION WAS THE CITY OF LUXEMBOURG. I MET UP WITH FORTRESS EXPERT ANDRé BRUINS IN THE PUBLIC PARK THAT WAS ONCE PART OF THE IMPREGNABLE CITY DEFENSES THAT EVOLVED OVER 900 YEARS. SO, ALL THIS IS FORTRESS. I SEE A 10th-CENTURY CASTLE THERE. >> WE ARE STANDING ON A STRUCTURE BUILT IN 1673, WHICH IS CALLED FORT BOURLEMONT. >> Wildman: ANDRE WAS LEADING ME DOWN INTO AN AREA CLOSED TO THE PUBLIC -- THE SECRET 17th-CENTURY DEFENSE TUNNELS RUNNING UNDER THE MODERN CITY. GO DOWN. >> ONE MORE LOCK. >> Wildman: I LOVE IT. LOOK AT THAT. THIS IS REALLY COOL. IT'S JUST THIS VAST SPACE. SO, WE'RE INSIDE THE WALLS, ACTUALLY. >> YES. >> Wildman: SO, THIS IS CLASSIC FORT DESIGN. YOU BUILD TUNNELS WITHIN THE WALLS SO YOUR TROOPS COULD MOVE AROUND WITHIN THEM. >> THAT'S RIGHT. >> Wildman: OVER 300 YEARS AGO, VIOLENT TIMES CALLED FOR A SERIOUS DEFENSE SYSTEM THAT WOULD SHORE UP CITY FORTIFICATIONS DATING BACK AS FAR AS THE MIDDLE AGES. RINGING THE OUTER WALL WERE SEVEN SEPARATE SMALLER FORTRESSES LIKE THIS ONE, A CENTRAL TOWER, OR KEEP, SURROUNDED BY AN OUTER WALL WITH TUNNELS OR GALLERIES INSIDE IT. THIS CONFIGURATION WAS DESIGNED TO WITHSTAND NOT ARROWS AND CATAPULTS, BUT CANNONS. ON TOP OF EACH KEEP WAS AN ARTILLERY PLATFORM, SO DEFENDERS COULD RETURN FIRE. LOOK AT THIS PLACE. >> THIS IS THE INNERMOST PART. IT IS THE CORE OF THE FORT. WE ARE IN THE SO-CALLED "KEEP," AND IT MEANS THAT IT'S A CENTRAL PLACE AND ALSO A PLACE WHICH CAN GIVE THE LAST RESISTANCE WHEN EVERYTHING ELSE IS LOST. >> Wildman: THIS IS THE LAST STAND. >> YES. >> Wildman: FORT BOURLEMONT WAS THE PRODUCT OF EVOLVING MILITARY TECHNOLOGY DURING 1,000 YEARS OF CONSTANT BLOODY STRIFE IN EUROPE, THE ULTIMATE DEFENSE AGAINST THE LATEST ADVANCES IN WEAPONRY. NOW, WHEN I THINK OF CASTLE WARFARE, MEDIEVAL WARFARE, I THINK OF THE MOATS, THE DRAWBRIDGES, THE TURRETS AND ALL OF THAT. THIS IS DIFFERENT, RIGHT? >> THIS IS DIFFERENT, YES. THERE ARE ELEMENTS STILL OF IT, BUT IT'S MAINLY THE ADVENT OF GUNPOWDER. >> Wildman: GUNPOWDER WAS FIRST BROUGHT TO EUROPE FROM THE FAR EAST IN THE 1200s. IT WAS BELIEVED TO BE A KIND OF BLACK MAGIC. BY THE 17th CENTURY, WHEN THIS FORTRESS WAS BUILT, IT HAD REWRITTEN THE RULES OF COMBAT. SO, THE DESIGN OF THESE TUNNELS, THIS FORT THAT WE'RE IN HERE, REALLY REFLECTS THE ADVENT OF GUNPOWDER, THE NEW FORM OF WARFARE. >> YES. YOU HAD TO GO INTO THE GROUND IN ORDER TO PROTECT YOURSELF. >> Wildman: IN 1684, THESE UNDERGROUND FORTIFICATIONS WERE PUT TO THE ULTIMATE TEST AS THE FRENCH SENT AN ARMY OF 30,000 TO THESE WALLS TO TRY AND CAPTURE THE CITY. THE THING JUST GOES ON FOREVER. IN THE FACE OF 79 PIECES OF HEAVY ARTILLERY, THE SPANISH SOLDIERS STATIONED HERE FOUGHT BACK FROM BELOW, USING A MASSIVE UNDERGROUND LABYRINTH. THESE CRAMPED TUNNELS WERE DUG OUT BEYOND THE PROTECTIVE WALL AND UNDER THE SPOT OF THE FORTRESS ENEMY CANNONS WOULD BE TRAINED ON. SPANISH DEFENDERS CRAWLED THROUGH TUNNELS LIKE THESE IN THE HEAT OF BATTLE, CARRYING THE MOST DESTRUCTIVE SUBSTANCE IN HUMAN HISTORY AND SET IT OFF UNDER THE FRENCH GUNS. SO, THE IDEA WAS, AT THE END OF ONE OF THESE CHAMBERS, THESE TUNNELS THAT ARE DUG, YOU WOULD BE PLACING AN EXPLOSIVE BENEATH YOUR TARGET, THE BATTERIES, THE GUNS. >> THAT'S IT. >> Wildman: IF BLASTING THE ENEMIES' GUNS FROM BELOW FAILED AND THE FORTRESS WALLS WERE BREACHED, THE SPANISH SOLDIERS HERE WERE PREPARED FOR A SUICIDAL LAST STAND, USING AN UNDERGROUND SELF-DESTRUCT MECHANISM. >> WE ARE HERE IN THE MINE CHAMBER UNDERNEATH THE WALLS OF THE KEEP. >> Wildman: MM-HMM. >> SO, IF YOU BLOW IT UP, THE KEEP WILL COLLAPSE. >> Wildman: THESE ROOMS WOULD BE PACKED WITH 1,100 POUNDS OF GUNPOWDER AND ARMED WITH LONG FUSES. IF THE ENEMY REACHED THE KEEP, THE FUSES WERE LIT. AND IF THIS ROOM BLEW, THE ENTIRE STRUCTURE WOULD CAVE IN, KILLING EVERYONE INSIDE, DEFENDERS AND INVADERS ALIKE FOR THE GLORY OF THE SPANISH EMPIRE. THIS WAS INTENDED, THIS WAS DESIGNED AS THE SELF-DESTRUCT MECHANISM OF THE FORT, THE LAST LINE OF DEFENSE, THE ALAMO, IF YOU WILL. DESPITE ALL THEIR HIGH-POWERED DEFENSES HERE AND IN THE STRONGHOLDS AROUND THE WORLD, THE SPANISH EMPIRE COLLAPSED, AND THE CYCLE OF DESTRUCTION IN EUROPE CONTINUED. REBUILDING CIVILIZATION ON THIS DARK CONTINENT WAS A BRUTAL, VIOLENT, AND PAINFULLY SLOW BUSINESS THAT TOOK OVER 1,000 YEARS. IN EUROPE, AFTER THE FALL OF ROME, BARBARIAN HORDES GAVE WAY TO CRUSADING TEMPLARS, ROBBER KNIGHTS, AND FINALLY, NEW EMPIRES ARMED WITH WEAPONS OF MASS DESTRUCTION. BUT MANKIND'S DEADLY THIRST FOR POWER NEVER CHANGES, AND BARBARISM IS ALWAYS LURKING... IN THE UNDERGROUND.
