Ancient Unexplained Files (2021–…): Season 1, Episode 7 - Grave of the Red Skulls - full transcript

[narrator] can digital
analysis in our tech lab

Explain a medieval genocide?

The severity indicates a savage
blow by some kind of blunt object.

Forensic science reveals the chilling
truth behind a mass grave in peru.

What initially seemed like a grizzly sight

Turned out to be far grizzlier
than anyone expected.

And could chemical analysis
of a hoard of golden treasure

Rewrite bronze age history?

This flies in the face of
everything we thought we knew.

In a digital technology lab of the future,

Experts uncover clues
invisible to the naked eye...



I've never seen anything like that before.

...And solve mysteries that
have baffled for centuries.

That, right there, is what
scientists have been missing.

All the evidence points
to an incredible discovery.

This could be a game changer.

State-of-the-art digital technology
closes the toughest cases...

This mystery finally makes sense.

...From the ancient unexplained files.

Aberdeenshire, scotland.

The mid-19th century.

A farmer unearths an
intricately-carved stone ball

Weighing just over a pound.

[dr. Maca] it's known as the towie ball.

And it has four carved knobs.



And three of the four knobs
have incised designs on them

And one has been left blank.

Its use and function
are completely baffling.

Over the decades, more than 430 of
these enigmatic balls .Have been discovered

But still no one has the
faintest clue what they are.

They're about the size of tennis balls

With geometric patterns
cut into the surface.

Some are pretty rough and
some are fabulously carved.

[prof. Horton] some of
them have got spirals,

And some of them are just pure circles,

Some of them have knobs and protuberances.

[dr. Hoffman] they appear to
be decorative or ornamental.

But they are scattered far
away from human settlement,

Which suggests an
entirely different purpose.

So what is that purpose?

Now experts are pinning their
hopes on modern technology

To finally unlock their hidden meaning.

[dr. Hassett] for over 100 years,

People have tried to come up
with a convincing explanation

And have utterly failed.

So the question is:

Is there anything in the scientific arsenal

That will allow us to
actually answer this question?

Over the years, experts
have ventured myriad theories

For these odd scottish spheres.

The conjectures are that
they are road pointers,

Iron age art, standardized
weights or even ball bearings.

But nobody can say for sure.

[dr. Hassett] the problem
with these particular artifacts

Is they're not found in
proper archeological context.

They're just usually ploughed
up from fields and things

Without any settlement or other structure

To give us an idea of
what role they played in life.

The closest archeological context

Came after violent storms on
the scottish islands of orkney.

Shifting dunes exposed the
remains of ancient buildings.

[prof. Horton] suddenly the
stone houses were uncovered

And subsequently excavated.

And from that, called skara brae,

They found three of these
balls in a domestic context.

Critically, the skara brae discovery

Allows scientists to radio
carbon date associated remains.

For the first time, they can determine
the age of these carved balls.

The result takes everyone by surprise.

The carbon date came out,

From about 3000 bc,
something in that range.

They provide really dramatic evidence

Of what we call the later neolithic period.

This is a time period far older
than we thought originally.

It's really rather baffling.

[dr. Maca] in the neolithic period,

Human cultures used stone
to fashion all manner of objects.

For example, tools,
knives, scrapers, cutters.

Now we also know that they used
stone to carve these stone balls.

Archeologists could easily have dismissed
them as trivial household objects.

But now there's a
dramatic shift in opinion.

Some believe the balls'
neolithic design is significant.

[dr horton] if one looks at
the decoration on these things

You see that there's
overwhelmingly spirals.

And these are really interesting

Because these spirals are found
on prestigious passage tombs,

Particularly in ireland

But also on other sites
in wales and in scotland.

This suggests that the carved stones
might have far more than practical value

But symbolic value.

They may have actually been
a symbol of power and prestige.

But there is a fundamental
flaw with decorative spheres

That belonged to ceremonial burials.

These stone balls are
found in random fields

Across one area of scotland.

They're not found in elite burials,

Which begs the question, then:

Why weren't they buried
with powerful people?

Unable to pierce these stones' enigma,

In 2018, scientists turn to
advanced photogrammetry.

Taking hundreds of high-res images,

They create interactive 3-d
models of over 60 different balls.

It allows archeologist
karen bellinger to study them

In ways never achievable before.

What's fantastic about this
form of scientific analysis

Is that I can give these
balls a shiny metallic surface.

Like this.

It reveals minute details
otherwise invisible to the naked eye.

Now, take this one.

It looks like one of the most
primitive designs from the collection.

But what's clear when
we examine in hyper detail

Is actually this ball is in the
process of being reworked.

We can see the original
carved surface here.

But if we rotate it,

We can see where a craftsman
has begun to create a new design.

Now, this is the most famous
of them all, the towie ball.

You can see there are four disks,

Three of which are intricately
carved with stunning designs.

But the fourth is like a blank
canvas waiting to be worked.

And if you look at this ball here,

There's quite a clear
contrast between this section,

Which is very geometric and precise,

And this one, which
was more crudely carved,

With wavier lines, less regularly spaced.

That suggests to me that this ball

May have been carved by different people

And in all likelihood, passed
down through generations.

Clearly each ball is unique,

Each one made by an individual
with their own artistic vision.

It's evident these beautiful artifacts

Were significant to their
neolithic communities.

But what that is is
still really hard to tell.

This lab evidence of inter-generational use

Opens up an intriguing new explanation.

It's tempting to say that, for example,

Like other cultures, they
might be memory devices.

In australia, aboriginal
cultures are well documented

For using tjurunga stones
to memorize information.

In the absence of a written language,

Individuals had to
memorize critical knowledge

In terms of plants, animals,
geographical locations,

Seasonality, amongst over things.

These stones from scotland may, as it were,

Contain information.

Some have suggested
that it's a way of recording

The passage of the seasons.

If you're a neolithic farmer,
knowing the time of year

To plant and harvest crops
is a really important thing.

So far, these scottish stones have
resolutely guarded their secrets.

Until irrefutable context is found,

They will remain an unsolved mystery.

The neolithic period in the british isles

Is endlessly fascinating.

Why are they building
these elaborate tombs?

Why are they erecting
places like stonehenge?

And these balls are just a
part of the added mystery.

Huanchaquito, northern peru.

Children playing at a
vacant lot in this coastal town

Make a gruesome discovery.

[dr. Bellinger] they stumble across a
group of bones sticking out of the earth.

I mean, if that's not
the stuff of nightmares...

Archeologists are called
to the ghastly scene

And are horrified by what they discover.

What initially seemed like a grizzly sight

Turned out to be far grizzlier
than anyone expected.

They start digging and very soon
more and more bones are unearthed.

What has happened here?

Now, can 21st-century forensic analysis

Explain this horrific mass grave?

[narrator] peru, 2011.

The discovery of bones in a vacant lot

Sends shockwaves through
the seaside town of huanchaquito.

But as further excavations get underway,

The finds become even more disturbing.

As they excavate the site,

They reveal the skeletons
of more than 140 children.

[dr. Bellinger] this is
a really odd burial site.

Who were these people?

To find out,

Pieces of cloth found wrapped
around some of the bodies

Are sent for radio carbon dating.

They're shown to be over 500 years old.

[dr. Maca] the age and
location of the bones

Associate the site with the famous
ancient andean city of chan chan,

Part of the great chimu civilization.

[rose] the chimu civilization
dominated the north coast of peru

Between the 10th and 15th century ce.

They forged one of the largest
empires in the ancient andes.

[dr. Bellinger] they absolutely
dominated the region

Until the inca came along and
conquered them in the mid-15th century.

At the grave site, more and
more small bodies are excavated.

Samples of teeth and
bones are sent for analysis.

The degree of development
in the teeth and bones

Shows us how old they were when they died.

We can use dna to figure out what sex

The different remains belonged to,

Whether they are xx for
females or xy for males.

The results reveal the children
belonged to a narrow age group.

The bodies are both male and female

And they range from
about five to 14 years old.

Archeologists hope scientific tests

Can pinpoint the geographic
origin of these children.

They send tooth samples
for isotope analysis.

Differences in the chemical isotopes

Show that these children had varied diets,

Which suggests that they
grew up in different places.

It's possible the children
were actually brought here

From right across the chimu empire.

But it's still unclear how
these children perished.

Did these children die as
a result of a terrible tragedy

Or something more sinister?

One bizarre clue could
point to an explanation.

Many of the skulls are stained bright red.

[dr. Bellinger] this isn't blood.

Could it be some sort of dye or paint?

[dr. Ruben] analyzing the red pigment
with a technique called mass spectrometry

Tell us what chemicals it's made of.

And we see large amounts of mercury,

Which implies that this might
be cinnabar, a red pigment.

The presence of this ancient pigment

Could begin to explain the
significance of the mass burial.

[dr. Maca] the color red, for many
ancient societies of the americas,

Was the most sacred color,

Often directly associated with water,

Which was so essential for food,

Tied to rain, tied to
sustenance and fertility.

Archeologists also find
that some of the children

Are wearing decorative headdresses.

It leads to a shocking question.

[dr. Bellinger] the evidence is building to
suggest a communal ritual was going on.

Did this ritual end with mass death?

To confirm the theory,

Investigators must explain
how these children died.

As they examine the skeletons' torsos,

They find disturbing evidence.

There are visible cut marks to the sternum.

It's the kind of incision a modern-day
thoracic surgeon might make.

[valentine] many of the children
have visible displacement

Or movement of the ribs,

Which suggests that
the chests were cut open

And the ribs were pulled
apart to expose the heart.

It looks like these children's hearts
were being ripped out of their chests.

Everything seems to point
to a chilling conclusion.

With these types of injuries,

There's little question - this was murder.

As the wounds are studied more closely,

There's further evidence
to back up this theory.

These cuts are clean, there's
no evidence of false starts

Or incomplete cuts.

They're expertly done.

It just bears all the
hallmarks of a ritual killing.

If this is true,

The mass grave would rewrite history.

This is the first chimu site where
child sacrifices have been studied.

We've previously had little evidence

That this was something they practiced.

Could this really be the
scene of a mass ritual killing

Of chimu children?

To investigate this shocking concept,

They study the presentation of the bodies.

All of the bodies are buried
in the same layer of sand.

Virtually all of them
are at the same depth,

And they're at close
proximity to each other.

This suggests that all of these
burial pits were dug simultaneously

And that it was the aftermath
of a single ritual killing event.

Why were these children
so ruthlessly sacrificed?

As the team further
examines the burial positions,

They notice an intriguing pattern.

[dr. Maca] many of the
children were facing the sea,

Which suggests that ideologically,
this was something really important,

To pay a sort of respect
and homage to the sea,

The giver of life.

Ritual sacrifice is usually associated with
appeasing or negotiating with the gods.

And we know one of the
important chimu gods was ni,

The god of the sea.

So why did they think
these gods were so angry?

[narrator] a mass grave of children,

Discovered in a peruvian coastal town,

Is looking more and
more like a ritual sacrifice

Offered to the chimu god ni.

But for what reason?

Searching for answers,

Archeologists examine
the soil stratification.

There are distinct layers
around the children's graves.

The top layer is a mix of
mud and clay and gravel

But beneath that is a layer of clean sand.

The uppermost stratigraphic layer

Reveals a vital clue.

[dr. Ruben] the top layer
of mud is sheet wash.

It was carried from higher
ground by a lot of water

Most likely from heavy rain.

Some of the children are laid to rest

On top of these muddy layers.

Which tells us that this
ritual probably took place

During a time of heavy rains and flooding.

Could some environmental event have led
to the ritual sacrifice of these children?

Peru's historical climate data

Reveals a possible explanation -

The weather phenomenon known as el nino.

El nino is a weather cycle
found in the pacific ocean.

It is one of the most important
weather cycles on earth.

It's been known to make deserts bloom

And plunge other areas into drought.

El nino would have
resulted in heavy downpours,

Coastal flooding, rising sea temperatures.

And the effects of these
would have interrupted

The chimu's carefully constructed
irrigation systems and coastal fisheries.

The community would have been devastated,

Forcing its leaders to take action.

Chimu priests and leaders may
have organized the mass slaughter

In order to convince the gods
to stop the meteorological chaos.

This has all the trappings of a phenomenon

Which is actually not so
unusual in the ancient world.

It's a people who were faced with trials

And things they either didn't
understand or were fearful of.

And so they offered up
their most valuable resource

In an effort to appease the gods -

Their own children.

Using modern forensic archeology,

Investigators have
revealed the shocking truth

Behind the largest child
sacrifice event in history.

This mass sacrifice of children

Was done in an effort to appease the gods

Who had sent such bad weather

It actually threatened the
survival of the chimu civilization.

A tragic tale of a community
brought to its knees

By the uncontrollable force of the weather.

The city of varna, bulgaria.

An engineer carrying out
an excavation in the city

Makes an accidental discovery

With the potential to rewrite history.

The engineer looks down, sees something
glittering in the bucket of his excavator.

It's an astonishing hoard of gold.

This treasure trove contains
pendants, bracelets, tiny beads.

It makes king tut look like nobody.

But what's more shocking
is the age of the find.

[dr. Bellinger] this hoard
is over 6,000 years old.

It's the oldest gold treasure on earth,

And is more than had been found
anywhere else in the world at this time.

It's staggering.

Experts are stunned that
such an ancient people

Had the technical knowledge to
create such precious gold objects.

This burial flies in the face of
everything we thought we knew.

Now can cutting-edge metallurgical analysis

Reveal the secrets of the ancient tribe

That made these gold treasures?

1972, soviet bulgaria.

Archeologists begin to excavate the site

And discover a vast ancient cemetery.

It takes 19 years to
unearth over 300 burials

Along with an incredible 22,000 objects,

3,000 of which are gold.

[dr. Bellinger] this site was so
extensive and required so much labor,

That archeologists had
to bring in local teams

Recruited from the prison nearby,

Who, of course, they kept an eye on.

The team are shocked by
the scale of the golden hoard.

Now, in order to date
the precious treasures,

They turn to the buried bodies

And are astonished by what they discover.

Radio carbon dating shows that the
bodies date between 4600 bc and 4200 bc.

This is only a couple of hundred years

After the first farmers move into europe.

Amazingly, it means this
gold is a full 1,500 years

Older than king tut's treasure.

The idea that they were
working with gold at this time

Is absolutely mind-blowing.

It turns our understanding of
this time period totally on its head.

This is crazy. This is bronze age bulgaria,

Not golden age egypt.

Historians next consider what
tribe could have mastered metallurgy

So early in history.

This is a really pivotal moment in
terms of human evolution and its timeline.

It's the bronze age, when humans
are just starting to work with metals

To make better tools and utensils.

They conclude these bronze
age people are from the varna tribe,

From the black sea region.

But until now, it was never believed
they were capable of manufacturing gold.

[dr. Bellinger] what were
these people doing working gold

Centuries before we thought they were?

Investigators turn to the science
of metallurgy for an answer.

Using a laser,

They obtain a microscopic sample of gold,

Ionize it with plasma,

And analyze it with mass spectrometry.

This is a powerful technology
that basically tells us

What metals the treasures are composed of.

The results reveal something unexpected.

The quantity of copper within the gold

Is many times more than what would be found

In a naturally occurring ore.

[dr. Proctor] these objects are
evidence that the varna people

Are melting and combining gold and copper.

This is an amazing discovery.

It represents the earliest
intentional metal alloys ever found.

It also suggests that the varna people

Were adept at conserving their resources.

[dr. Proctor] gold is rare,
but by mixing it with copper

To make a gold-copper alloy,

The varna people could make more objects

With their limited gold supply.

This incredible revelation
explains the vast size of the hoard.

But a question remains:

How did these supposedly simple farmers

Develop such sophisticated techniques?

It is possible they
observed how certain rocks,

Like malachite or azurite,

Melted into shiny beads of
copper when they got hot.

Perhaps the varna people then took this
copper smelting technology they'd developed

And decided to see what happened
if they combined gold with the copper.

The varna people's grasp of metallurgy

Now seems more advanced
than ever thought possible.

Traditionally, the varna have
been considered a very simple,

Egalitarian society
organized around agriculture.

If in fact they were in command

Of this very sophisticated
productive technique,

And the trade opportunities
it would have afforded,

Well, that changes the picture entirely.

If this theory is correct,

The cemetery should
reflect a hierarchical society.

[prof. Horton] as people can become
richer because they've got metals,

They can display that wealth

And so hierarchies can rapidly develop,

As a result of the unequal
distribution of resources.

[dr. Bellinger] the quantity
and the nature of grave goods

Say a great deal about the status
of an individual in their society.

At varna, only some graves contained gold

And some did not at all,

Showing us it was a stratified community.

Amazingly, three-quarters of
the cemetery's vast gold hoard

Is unearthed from just four graves.

And one grave is decorated
above all the others.

This is the oldest elite
male burial known in europe.

He certainly went out with style.

[narrator] on the shores of the black sea,

A 4,500-year-old gold
hoard found in a cemetery

Is rewriting the story of the varna people,

Revealing an advanced,
hierarchical society.

Archeologists now examine
the most lavish grave discovered.

The man buried here is
literally dripping in gold.

He's buried with a scepter,

A symbol of high rank or spiritual power.

This is the oldest elite
male burial known in europe.

He certainly went out with style.

[dr. Bellinger] this particular
grave is most stupendous

In scientific terms,

Not because of the amount
of gold that came out of it

But because it really
causes us to have to rethink

What has been believed
about this society at this time.

At least some of its members

Were really on the high
end of the scale economically

Because of their access to
amazing gold metal objects.

[prof. Horton] this
varna culture in bulgaria

Might at first sight be simple farmers,

But they really are industrial pioneers.

Twenty-first century forensic analysis

Has unlocked secrets hidden
within this precious golden hoard

To shine a glittering light

On one of the earliest and most
advanced societies in europe.

It's transformed our understanding
not just of the varna people

But the formation of the
bronze age in europe generally.

Oland island, sweden,

Where the remains of
a 1,500-year-old hill fort,

Sandby borg, are rumored to be cursed.

[prof. Horton] locally, it's thought
to be a rather haunted place.

Recently, archeologists
have begun to investigate

And are coming up with some
really rather gruesome results.

In 2011, excavations
revealed dozens of bodies

From just three plots,

With scores more believed
entombed elsewhere.

The manner of these
deaths seemed suspicious.

What's so unusual about this is, none of
these individuals were buried in graves.

After they'd died, these
bodies are left in the same place.

And eventually, the houses crumbled on top

And the village was never used again.

Over a millennium later,
can advanced digital analysis

Finally explain the
slaughter at sandby borg?

Sandby borg was the beating
heart of an ancient hill fort.

Why was an entire village just wiped out?

Archeological excavations
unearth body after butchered body.

It prompts investigators
to scour historical texts

For a better grasp of this damned village.

In the 5th century, sandby
borg was a prosperous village

Inside a hill fort.

It was surrounded by thick walls

And inside were houses and a street.

This was a very wealthy
village with evidence of coins,

Things that were traded quite far afield.

But out of the blue,
this bustling community

Was inexplicably wiped out.

Even stranger, this
appears to be highly targeted.

Every adult that has so
far been identified from this

Are all male.

The men and the children were killed,

But the women were taken away.

To untangle the mysteries
swirling around sandby borg,

The team unleash a trio of technologies.

Geophysics and aerial
archeology map out the site,

While fine details are
captured by photogrammetry.

Pathologist carla valentine is
able to explore this evidence

For hidden clues in our digital lab.

In front of me is the digital
model of sandby borg.

And I'm focusing on this house,

Which is pretty harrowing as it
contains the remains of nine individuals.

Photogrammetry using high-res images

Has turned two near-complete
skeletons into 3-d models,

Giving us a fresh perspective
on what happened here.

Let's take a look at this body first.

If I measure the femur,

It's 18 inches long.

That tells me this is a juvenile
of around 12-15 years of age.

Archeologists discovered no
defense wounds on the arms,

Indicating a surprise attack.

And the body is curled up in a ball,

Possibly in agony from the assault.

Seeing this alongside
the victim's young age,

Shows us exactly how
callous this attack was.

Let's see what the other body can tell us.

This victim looks around the same age

So perhaps a sibling.

You can see that the feet
are over another dead body,

These are the bones here.

It's thought perhaps this person
tripped and stumbled as they were dying.

Archeologists pieced together the fragments
of the juvenile's shattered skull.

And this hole looks like it was caused

By a savage blow by
some kind of blunt object.

And this grizzly scene gets worse.

Discovered on the juvenile

Was a baby's femur, or thigh bone,

Indicating that they were clutching
the infant as they were struck down.

All this evidence demonstrates
that sandby borg suffered

A horrific genocide.

No one, however young,
was spared in this rampage.

Now can archeologists use
this new scientific evidence

To finally explain the slaughter?

[narrator] in the ancient
swedish village of sandby borg,

Archeologists have discovered a genocide

From 1,500 years ago.

As investigators look for a motive,

The picture gets even murkier.

Alongside everything
else, the archeologists find

Large quantities of jewelry.

They find things like
brooches, they find pendants

All left in place.

What that means is this
was not a pure robbery.

The fact that the
valuables were left in place

Means the motivation for the
attack was something quite different.

The search for clues is
widened out to the rest of oland.

On other sites on the island in
the late-5th, early-6th century,

We see further evidence
of conflicts going on,

Which suggests that the
place became very unstable.

This period coincided with the
collapse of the roman empire,

And with it the end of a
vital trading partnership.

One must realize that this island of oland,

Sitting in the baltic,

Had a rather special
role as a trading center.

A lot of roman objects
and particularly coins

Were going into the baltic
region in return for furs,

Wood and so forth.

As the trade collapses,

So the different communities
involved become fiercely competitive

To wrest control of what was left

Of the resources of the land and the trade.

This early-medieval period in europe

Was a time of great chaos and upheaval.

For sandby borg in particular,

It marks a truly dark chapter.

[rose] the brutal massacre and
disrespectful treatment of the dead

Was an act of sheer brutality,

Designed to instill fear in
the hearts of local people

And it would have sent a clear message:

Stay in line or this is what happens.

The deserted village
stood as a lasting monument

To an act of terror.

The city of turin, northwest Italy

Kept in a local cathedral,

The turin shroud is said
to have once wrapped

The crucified body of jesus christ.

This simple cloth,

Stained allegedly with the blood of christ,

Was it his burial shroud?

Despite a barrage of scientific
investigation over the years,

It simply defies explanation.

It's one of the most
divisive relics in history.

When it comes to mysteries,

This is up there with
the biggest of all time.

Now can a new forensic investigation

Finally settle this question forever

And prove whether the turin shroud is holy

Or a complex forgery?

Is it the real thing or is
this the biggest lie ever told?

The turin shroud has
been known of far and wide

Since the mid-14th century.

But it's only in 1898

That a photograph of the shroud
reveals the now iconic image.

[valentine] the image appears to
depict a barely visible naked man

Who has lots of wounds that
correspond to crucifixion marks.

[prof. Wright] it's heralded
as a major breakthrough.

The injuries match the
description of christ's crucifixion.

For the first time, we
see the face of jesus.

Over the century that follows,

The shroud comes under
increasing scientific scrutiny.

In 1978,

The stains on the cloth
are proven to be blood.

But a decade later,

Carbon dating reveals the cloth
itself is less than 1,000 years old.

It's from the medieval period,

Over a millennium after
christ is said to have died.

Debate rages as to
the shroud's authenticity.

[prof. Wright] even the
catholic church cannot decide.

The pope stops short
of calling it a true relic,

Instead labeling it an
icon of christian history.

Investigators continue to
examine the shroud for evidence.

They focus on the bloodstains,

Which appear to match historic accounts.

The arms are crossed in the figure,

And then there's a large
stain where the wrist would rest

Consistent with a nail
being driven through it.

So far, everything appears to
be matching recorded accounts

Of the last hours of jesus of nazareth.

But now an unusual
experiment casts further doubt

On the authenticity of the shroud.

To recreate these patterns, the body would
have to be in a completely different position.

[narrator] 2018.

Liverpool, England.

A forensic anthropologist
and an organic chemist

Take a new approach to examining
the authenticity of the turin shroud.

Using forensic techniques,

They try and recreate the
blood-soaked burial garment.

Bloodstain pattern analysis is the
same thing that's used at crime scenes,

In order to reconstruct a
particularly bloody incident,

Using the position of the bloodstains

To try and trace back or
reconstruct exactly what happened.

They devise an experiment to
accurately recreate the flow of blood

From the wounds left when
jesus was nailed to the cross.

It's thought that the
bloodflows will help ascertain

What position his arms
are in during crucifixion.

The scientists experiment
with different positions.

And compare the blood patterns
to the stains on the turin shroud.

The results are striking.

To get the bloodflow along
the forearm as in the shroud,

The arm must be raised above the head.

It suggests the popular
image of jesus on the cross

Is not the same as the
stains on the shroud.

The classic image of christ on the cross

Is one where his arms are outstretched wide

In that very t-shaped formation.

Other times we see him in a
y, where his body is sagging

And his knees are hardly
able to hold him up anymore.

[prof. Wright] if the shroud is
genuine, the research suggests

That he's almost dangling. By his arms.

But when the scientists study blood
patterns shown elsewhere on the shroud,

They spot inconsistencies.

[auerbach] the bloodstain analysis
shows the blood flowing on the hands

Is different in orientation to the way
the blood was flowing on the arms.

To recreate these patterns,

The body would have to
be in a different position,

Suggesting that these stains
are formed in different conditions.

The conclusion is that the
bloodstains on the turin shroud

Are not genuine,

But were an attempt at some
kind of recreation later in history.

The evidence suggests that the
bloodstains were actually created

As marks that mimic the
bloodstains of christ himself.

[auerbach] but because they didn't
have the scientific tools we have today,

They were not an accurate visualization
of what those stains would be.

But this does not explain the
iconic image of christ's face

Visible on the shroud.

If this is a fake, it was
created centuries ago.

Which begs the question:

How were they able to create
such a sophisticated con?

The answer could be within
the fibers of the cloth itself.

Microscopic analysis of the
shroud reveals unusual features.

Microscopy suggests that the
yellow coloring is quite diffuse.

It doesn't seem to be in the fibers

But actually on and around them.

Could this yellow coloring have been caused

By something over than the body of christ?

To find out, biochemists
explore the chemical process

Known as the maillard reaction.

The maillard reaction happens
when sugars and amino acids

Are heated and cause the
coloring like on a charred steak

Or the crust of toasted bread.

To test the theory,

They conduct the maillard reaction
using nothing more than plain flour.

Flour contains sugar and amino acids.

It is dusted onto a volunteer
and a damp linen cloth is applied,

Resulting in a detailed flour imprint.

When heat is applied to the cloth,

Something astonishing happens.

[dr. Sanford] like the shroud fibers,
the test coloration is strangely diffuse

Where it coats rather
than impregnates the fibers.

The similarities between the
test cloth and the shroud fibers

Are unmistakable.

A simple 21st-century experiment

Appears to prove the
turin shroud is a fake.

The maillard reaction doesn't
require sophisticated technology.

The process is very, very simple.

And it would have been easily
replicated in medieval times.

And that's when we think this
fake might have been produced.

[narrator] the maillard reaction
provides a plausible method

Of creating a face on the shroud.

Forgers could have used something like this

To create a long-lasting image of jesus.

Then they added bloodstain marks

To match the wounds
as described in the bible.

But while the maillard
reaction shows the image

Could have been forged in this manner,

Until scientists examine
the actual turin shroud

The question of proof remains unanswered.

[prof. Wright] the shroud is a
heavily guarded symbol of christianity.

Until the church allows the
shroud to be investigated first hand,

We will never really know.

For now, then, this artifact
remains "shrouded" in mystery.