Expedition Unknown (2015–…): Season 4, Episode 2 - Vikings in America - full transcript

This is a god-killer.

This is death itself.

At some point, though,
in the 1400s, they vanish.

Yeah.

GATES:
It looks like a structure.

How awesome is that?

If this is real,
it's history-changing.

Look at that!
There's bones everywhere!

Iceberg! Turn! Turn!

Whoa!

My name is Josh Gates.



Whoa!

With a degree in archaeology
and a passion for exploration,

I have a tendency to end up
in some very strange situations.

It's just straight down!

Unbelievable!

My travels have taken me
to the ends of the Earth...

Oh, God!

...as I investigate
the greatest legends in history.

We're good to fly. Let's go.

This is "Expedition Unknown."

The Vikings --

fearless warriors
and intrepid seafarers

who dominated northern Europe
for hundreds of years,

beginning in the 8th century.



Their accomplishments are many,

but how did they pull it off?

My mission is to unlock
the secrets of their success

and discover how far
they truly traveled.

I began in the Viking
homeland of Denmark,

where I worked
with archeologists

excavating the fortress
of a powerful Viking king.

I discovered that, far from
being just brute fighters,

Vikings worked in unison
on complex military projects.

There's real
engineering here.

It's the first time
in Denmark.

At another site, I learned that
while they may have raided,

they were also skilled
artists and traders

who crafted amazing,
precious objects.

That's incredible.

At a Viking festival,

I channeled
my inner Norse fighter

to find out what made the
Vikings such lethal warriors...

-Dying was a promotion.
-Yes, absolutely.

...and then quickly met my
own demise on the battlefield.

Valhalla, here I come.

I also discovered
that one of the biggest keys

to their domination was in their
mastery of ship building...

-Yeah!
-Whoo-hoo!

...which allowed them
to construct fast, hardy vessels

that they used to spread across
the known world and beyond.

Now I'm following the path
of the Vikings by heading west.

I've flown to the island
nation of Iceland,

which was first settled
by the Vikings in the year 874.

I meet with archeologists Kevin
Smith and Gudmundur Olafsson.

-Josh.
-Hey, I'm Kevin.

-Nice to meet you, Josh.
-Hi. Nice to meet you.

They're investigating
Norse mythology --

the gods, monsters, and magic

that have come
to define the Vikings.

But the question is,
how did this mythology

help to make the Vikings
such a dominant force?

We'd like to take you up
into the mountains here,

where mythology and archeology
all come together.

-Let's go, come on.
-All right.

We pile into my Defender
and head away from town

toward Kevin's site --

a cave deep in the backcountry.

To help illustrate what made
the Vikings such a powerhouse,

he suggests we take
the direct route,

which means leaving the highway

in favor of basically no way.

I think in 10 years

of driving on some of the worst
roads in the world,

you found the worst one.

Perfect.

And before long,
we hit a minor obstacle.

The road is gone.

Gudmundur, do you think
we can get through that?

Okay.

Okay, boys,
hold your breath.

Okay.

It's deep in here.

It's real deep.
It's dragging it.

[ Engine stops ]
Aah!

[ Engine starts ]

Hold on, hold on, hold on.
Here we go, here we go.

Come on, girl.

There we go.

Go!

[ Laughs ]

-We got it!
-Nicely done.

Whoo-hoo.

[ Laughter ]

We're alive.

We roll on, and I notice
that we've gone from water

to a land that looks like
it's been scorched by fire.

Iceland has 130 volcanoes,

one of which was blanketing
this section of the island

with massive rivers of lava

just when the Vikings landed.

So, when the Vikings
arrived here,

this eruption happened
soon after?

Probably within the first
decades of people's arrival.

I mean, to the Vikings,
that must have seemed

totally supernatural.

Viking mythology is populated
with not just gods,

like Odin and Thor,

but giants and evil creatures

who face off in the ultimate
battle called Ragnarok.

Yes, that Ragnarok.

They believed that a massive
fire monster named Surtr

would emerge from the underworld

and engulf the Earth in flames.

So, it may be
that this whole notion

of these Norse fire gods
was kind of born here.

It may be a product
of sitting on their front porch,

watching the world end.

Finally, Kevin's GPS
indicates we've arrived

at our destination.

You can pull over
anywhere up here.

Okay.

Parking in lava.

We pull over, grab helmets,

and Kevin leads us toward
a terrifying sight.

Oh, man.

Josh, welcome
to the Cave of Surt...

...the fire god
who will end the world.

And he is this fire giant.

This is a god-killer.
This is death itself,

the death of the world
and all existence.

GATES:
This cave has been associated

with the fire demon Surtr
since the Vikings were here,

and Kevin's eager to show me
what's lurking inside.

SMITH: And in we go.

GATES: Wow.
I mean, it's enormous.

Some of these boulders that have
fallen are the size of a car.

And heavier.

Your helmet is just there
to protect your dental records.

Great.
Great, great, great.

GATES: Surtr Cave
is actually a lava tube,

formed when flowing magma
hardens into a crust

that creates a massive tunnel.

-Oh, wow.
-This is a part of the cave

that the ceiling
has collapsed.

-This looks like a wall.
-And it is.

-That's man-made?
-That's man-made.

With blocks that big?

Which is about
4 1/2 feet wide,

3 1/2 feet high, many tons.

The top of this wall
is 15 feet above

the original floor of the cave,
and it's 30 feet wide.

It's one of the biggest
man-made constructions

from Viking-age Iceland.

Why would you
put a wall there?

Yeah, that's a very
good question.

Is it to keep somebody out
or to keep something in?

So, that's where the real story
is, beyond the wall?

Beyond the wall.

GATES: We make like Jon Snow
and go over the wall,

traversing more boulders

into the collapsed section
of the lava tube.

Now it is getting dark.

SMITH: And this is what makes
this cave so incredible.

Look at that!
There's bones everywhere!

-Everywhere.
-Wow!

GATES:
It's littered with bones.

SMITH:
About 750,000 bone fragments.

GATES:
And these are all animal bones?

Absolutely.

In fact, on the walls
behind you,

we can see that there
is dark organic staining

that tells us that the bone pile
was originally 3 feet thick.

This would've been
all bone?

All bone.

One of the things
that's really strange about it,

is that there's no burned
bone at all in this pile.

-Okay?
-Fragments of animal bones

in the prime of their life
but not cooked here.

GATES:
So, why were these animals here
if not to be cooked and eaten?

Why build a rock wall in a cave?

Kevin has a theory.

Is it possible
that what you're doing

is giving offerings
to Surtr?

This fire giant?

It's his home.
And we have a wall out there

which blocks the passageway

to prevent Surtr
from coming out.

Right.
And the punch line is,
in that case,

whatever they did here
would seemingly have worked.

The volcano here
never erupted again.

They survived
the apocalypse.

GATES:
It appears the Vikings may have
pilgrimaged to this cave

in a brave effort to appease
one of the angriest demons

in their mythology.

It just, for me,
underscores again

that the Vikings are living
and exploring

and thriving, really,
all across the North Atlantic,

in places that seem to us,

in the modern world,
uninhabitable.

Absolutely, and constantly
creating a new reality

as they go.

The Vikings lived
in a sort of blended reality

between the natural
and mythological worlds.

They may have interpreted
the volcanic events in Iceland

as a real fire demon

and an impending apocalypse,

stopping at nothing
to keep them at bay.

This is perhaps
the greatest secret

to the Vikings'
accomplishments --

their unwavering commitment
in the face of adversity,

both real and mythological.

It's amazing.

Yeah. Okay, so, we have
a horrible drive home.

-Everybody ready?
-So, yeah. Let's do it.

Let's go.
My ass is hurting already.

[ Laughs ]

With a deeper appreciation

of the high-stakes world
of Viking beliefs,

I say goodbye
to Kevin and Gudmundur

and continue my expedition.

I've learned a great deal

about what made the Vikings
so successful in Iceland,

but they left behind
other enduring mysteries

in the next place they settled,

like why their entire
colony vanished.

GATES: I'm walking
in the footsteps of the Vikings

on the island nation of Iceland.

But now my journey
is taking me to the site

of one of the strangest Norse
mysteries of all.

The mystery begins
with the Viking explorer

Erik Thorvaldsson,
better known as Erik the Red.

Erik got himself banished
from Iceland for manslaughter.

So in 986, he set off
to explore a new land.

Now I'm flying west,

following the same route
he traveled a millennium ago.

When Erik the Red sailed here,

he tried to convince
other Vikings to follow.

And so, in one of the great
marketing scams of all time,

he named this place "Greenland."

But one look out the window
reveals a chilly reality.

Greenland, the largest
island on Earth,

locked under nearly a million
square miles of ice.

In the interior,
a frosted oblivion

where no man can survive.

The 50,000 people who live here
cling to the coasts,

which is the 20% of the island

that isn't parked
under a glacier.

It's only a few hours
from Iceland to Greenland,

but unlike the bustling
streets of Reyjkavik,

things are
a little quieter here.

This is the town of Narsarsuaq.
Now that I'm here,

the population
has skyrocketed to 131.

There's an airstrip here because
this used to be a U.S. base

for Allied planes crossing
the Atlantic in World War II.

But today, it is a typical
Greenlandic village --

colorful, functional,

and very quiet.

Modern Greenlanders live a lot
like their ancestors did.

They farm. They fish.

Hell, they still kill whales
and seal and walrus.

But they're not descended from
the Vikings and Erik the Red.

People that are here now
are mainly Inuit.

So what happened
to all the Norse people?

There's an archeologist
named Christian Koch Madsen

who might be about
to find the answer.

But reaching him won't be easy.

There are virtually
no roads here.

So if you want to get
between any two towns,

you have to travel by water.

Got it.

All right, gear's all aboard.

Let's set sail.

The entire coastline
of Greenland

looks like a million-piece
jigsaw puzzle.

So to reach the archeologist
I've come to see,

we'll have to navigate a winding
route to his excavation site.

Navigating through
Greenland today

is nearly as challenging
as it was

when the Vikings were here.

It's just endless
fjords and bays,

many of them choked
with ice and fog.

Today, we have GPS
and sonar systems,

but 1,000 years ago,

they had only the stars,
the sun, and a lot of courage.

While today's
advanced technology

helps identify icebergs,

the system isn't infallible.

So the captain asks
that we remain hyper-vigilant

as he keeps the vessel
moving at a steady pace.

You really just have to watch
and keep your eyes wide open.

Iceberg! Turn! Turn!

-Whoa!
-Whoa!

GATES:
I'm navigating the fog-covered
southern coast of Greenland

on a mission to find out
what happened

to its once-flourishing
Viking population.

But getting to my destination

means playing a dangerous game
of dodge 'berg.

Iceberg! Turn! Turn!

Whoo-hoo-hoo!
[ Laughs ]

Out of nowhere!

[ Laughs ]

Ooh, man.

Relieved that I won't be
the subject

of the next James Cameron movie,

we continue on
through the mist.

We approach the GPS coordinates
of the archeological site

and are soon met
by a small, inflatable boat

to transport us
into the shallows.

Is one of you Christian?

-Yeah, I'm Christian.
-Hey. I'm Josh.

Pleasure.

Okay, here we go.

Christian and his team ferry me
to an awaiting tractor,

the only vehicle capable
of making it to his site.

By the 11th century,

Norse settlers are farming
along the coasts

and hunting for valuable
walrus meat and ivory

in this unforgiving environment.

At some point, though,
in the 1400s, they vanish.

-Awesome, yeah.
-Let's go.

We travel on
to a massive, sandy expanse

that Christian believes may be
the main part of the farm.

To find out what's
really buried here,

his team has enlisted the help
of geophysicist Steve Scruggs.

-How are you, man?
-Doing great.

Okay, so, what's
the plan for today?

I have what's called
the EM38 conductivity device.

If there's any structure,
the EM38 will pick it up.

Got it. You're gonna use
your cool, high-tech machine

to look for structures.

-Is that about right?
-Yeah. Yeah, yeah.

-Same thing.
-I got it.

Awesome.
Let's do it, guys.

The E.M. meter sends
an electromagnetic signal

into the ground
and measures how it's conducted

by the soil beneath the surface.

Steve scans the area,
making meticulous passes

over every inch of the site.

After hours of collecting data,
we gather around the computer

to learn what's really
under our feet.

Look at Christian,
foaming at the mouth.

[ Laughs ]
Okay, what'd you find?

SCRUGGS: I see this.
This is at the top of the dune.

You can see right angles,

and, if you connect the dots,
you kind of get a shape.

It looks like a structure.

-Doesn't it?
-Yeah.

It's possible.

How awesome is that?

-Yeah.
-One of the bonuses about this

is it will also identify
metallic content, as well.

And did you find anything
metallic out there?

There's definitely
something there.

Okay, great.
Well, let's get to it, yeah?

All right, come on,
let's go.

We walk over to the newly
identified area

and break out metal detectors
to search the surface,

while Christian's team
begins excavating a test pit.

[ Metal detector beeping ]

Ooh, got a hit here.

What's that?

That's incredible.

How old?

-It's Norse?
-Yeah.

-Look at that!
-That is awesome.

We literally just -- At your
feet, there's history here.

Now we're cooking.
Okay, let's go.

[ Metal detector beeping ]

Right there.

It's a rivet!

Wow.
Awesome.

Of course, not all
my finds are winners.

That...

is poop.

That is sheep poop.

That is gross.

With the test pit opened...

it's time to see if there's
anything significant

hidden underground.

What do you got?

Uh-huh.

So, does that mean that
we're inside a structure?

That's incredible.

It could be mostly buried
under the sand.

Yeah.

We continue to scan the site,
and the farm

continues to yield more metal
and stone artifacts.

Is it a strike stone?

But it's what we are
not finding here

that may reveal the true fate
of the Vikings in Greenland.

So, we don't see their riches
and their fine items

kind of left in the house?
Things are just gone.

So, what do you think
ultimately happens to them?

So, they were economically
driven to come here.

And if that economy dries up,

then they go elsewhere.

Well, I'm excited to hear
what's underneath all this sand.

-You guys will keep digging?
-Absolutely.

Awesome. Hey, thanks, guys.
It was a real pleasure.

GATES: With the fog lifted,

the mystery of the disappearing
Norse settlers is now clear.

As skilled traders and farmers,

they knew when it was
time to move on.

But where did they go?

The answer may lie
with the son of Erik the Red.

Explorer Leif Erikson
has gone down in history

as the architect
of the Vikings' final phase

of westward expansion.

It seems strange to find
this huge statue of Leif Erikson

up on this hilltop

in one of the most
remote places in the world,

but it's here for a good reason.

This may be the very spot

that Leif Erikson set off from
when he sailed southwest

to a mysterious destination
known as Vinland.

Now, if you look at a map,
the only thing in that direction

is North America.

So, how far south?

How far west?

The answers to those questions

may rewrite
the pages of history.

GATES:
I'm in majestic Greenland,

getting ready
to continue my journey west

to investigate the greatest
Viking mystery of all --

Vinland.

It is a settlement
that has vexed historians

for centuries.

Leif Erikson landed at the site
in the year 1000.

The name appears in Viking sagas
and historical records,

as well as on
a controversial map

that shows Greenland
and then, far to the west,

a mysterious coastline
labeled Vinland.

No one is sure of its exact
location, though archeologists

believe there's
a strong contender.

In the 1960s,
a site was discovered

in Newfoundland, Canada,

known as L'Anse aux Meadows.

Based on radiocarbon dating
of artifacts,

this is a confirmed
Viking settlement,

but is it Vinland,

or did they travel
farther south?

Some believe they landed in what
is now the United States.

There's only one way
to find out,

which means I'm headed home.

Beantown, baby.

Wish that I could take you
everywhere I go

Welcome to Boston,
A.K.A. my hometown.

It's the cradle of New England.

Yeah, I'm coming home

Famous for the arts,
educational institutions,

a nearly fanatical
devotion to sports,

and, of course, seafood.

This is a town
built on revolution,

where patriotism runs deep,

and where everyone
runs on Dunkin'.

I'm comin' home, yeah, yeah

And while I'm proud
to be a local,

I admit that I've worked hard
to bury my native accent.

Otherwise, I might say that
I frickin' love Boston, bro!

[ Boston accent ] I'm from here!
My father was born here!

Later on, we're going up
to Revere Beach,

maybe go to Kowloon,

get a pu pu platter
up at Saugus.

We're going to the Sox game,
hit the packy store,

get a sixer, get wicked
freakin' hammered, bro.

[ Clears throat ]
[ Normal voice ] Excuse me.

Let us continue our search
for the Vikings.

The truth is,
here in Massachusetts,

stories of Viking landings
are as beloved as baseball

and baked beans.

Growing up around here,
I was convinced

that the Vikings discovered
what is now the United States.

I thought this was, like,
an accepted, historic fact.

Get this -- In high school,
I even portrayed Leif Erikson

in a play
where he discovered New England.

Now, you might say,
"Josh, that is crazy."

But here in Massachusetts,
the signs are everywhere.

This is Comm. Ave.,
a major road that runs

right through
the heart of the city,

and it is being lorded over
by a Viking.

It was put up in 1887

during a period
known as the Norse Revival.

This was a time when
New Englanders were consumed

with this idea that the Vikings
had discovered America.

So, surely there has to be
some evidence

to support this.

Right?

Consider exhibit "A."
The Norumbega Tower.

It was put up here in 1889.

According to this
very elaborate plaque,

this was the site
of a Viking fort.

It mentions Leif Erikson
coming here in the year 1000,

and it mentions Vinland,
saying that right here,

where we are right now,
was part of Vinland.

And so, what is the evidence?

Well, it's all in a name.

This area today
is Weston, Mass.,

but it used to be called
Norumbega.

And during this Norse revival
period, people were convinced

that Norumbega was a variation
of Norvego, or Norway.

In other words, that Vikings
must have come here,

and that's how this area
got its name.

There is there just one small
problem -- That's nonsense.

There's no archeological
evidence to support the claim.

Continuing south,
I "pahk my cah" in Fall River.

This right here,
this is it! Look!

A plaque that says,
"A skeleton in armor

was found near this spot

by Hannah Borden Cook
in the month of May 1831."

And some historians believe
that this skeleton

was the remains of a Viking.

It had some sort of
a metal chest plate on.

And the poet Henry Wadsworth
Longfellow actually wrote a poem

about this skeleton,
claiming it was a Viking.

Unfortunately,
about 12 years later,

the skeleton
and the armor it was wearing

were lost in a fire,

which means what could be
a bombshell piece of evidence

cannot be confirmed,
but it also can't be dismissed.

I cross the border
into Rhode Island

and continue south
toward the coast

for one more attempt to salvage

my Vikings-in-New-England
hopes and dreams.

This is the Newport Tower,
which many people have claimed

is the remains
of a Viking structure,

which would be incredible

if that wasn't actually
the remains of a stone windmill

built in the 1600s.

Wah-wah.

Okay, so, it's clear
my childhood was all a lie,

and these landmarks were built

on a foundation
of wishful thinking.

Basically, it was a way
for Boston's protestant elite

to align with
a Viking origin story

instead of with Columbus
and his Catholic heritage.

One of the biggest proponents

was a Harvard chemistry
professor named Eben Horsford,

who spearheaded the construction
of most of the landmarks.

But before I close out my
debunking tour of New England,

there's one last piece
of evidence I need to check out.

There is one supposed Viking
artifact here in Massachusetts

that has never been debunked,

and it could be the one
that's the real deal.

It's located off the coast
of Martha's Vineyard,

so named in the 1600s for
its abundant wild grapevines.

Perhaps also called Vinland
600 years earlier

for the very same reason.

To many, this upscale island
south of Cape Cod

is a summer refuge for tourists.

But to me, it's the filming
location of my favorite movie

and its fictional town
of Amity Island.

Can we put up the gratuitous
Jaws reference counter, please?

[ Woman screams ]

Perfect.

MAN: Gates,
what is that, a 20-footer?

25, 3 tons of him.

Ding.

Amity, as you know,
means "friendship."

[ Ding! ]

I'm not talking about
pleasure boating,

I'm not talking
about day sailing.

I'm talking about
working for a living.

I'm talking about sharking.

[ Ding! ]

-How are ya?
-Whoo!

They need a bigger boat.

[ Ding! ]

I'm out on a dock at the crack
of it's-still-dark-out,

not to hunt for sharks but
to meet with stonemason brothers

Jim and Bill Vieira.

What's up, Josh?

They think they know the
whereabouts of a Viking artifact

that could genuinely upend
everything we think we know

about the discovery of America.

Okay, first of all, why am
I awake at this ungodly hour?

Because we're going
to Nomans Land

about three miles off the coast.

-What is Nomans Land?
-It's an island.

It's now a wildlife refuge.

Okay, so this is like an island
off of Martha's Vineyard.

-Yeah.
-Correct.

And what's out there?

In 1926,
the original owner found

what looks like a runic stone.

-And it was photographed?
-Yes.

-Yes.
-Back in the '20s.

GATES:
The large stone with runic
letters carved into its face

was found on a remote
section of beach,

and it appears in
a number of photographs

from the early 20th century.

And so, what do you see
in the photos?

Well, you can see it says
"Leif Erikson"

and it says "M.I.,"

which is 1001.

The Vikings certainly
would've been exposed

to Roman numerals
at that point.

-Yes.
-So, it is possible.

-Yeah.
-So, there's both Roman numerals

-and Runic inscriptions on it.
-Yeah.

JIM: The other thing that's
interesting is "Leif Erikson"

is written -- It's all "I's".

There was no "E"
in the alphabet back then.

Uh-huh.

So, if this is a hoax,
it's a very ingenious hoax.

-Or it's the real deal.
-Yes.

If this is real,
it's history-changing.

GATES: But the island was later
turned into an off-limits,

military test site

and remains uninhabited
to this day.

And it's just been sitting
out there this whole time?

Well, it was a bombing range.
There's unexploded ordinance,

maybe even in the water, too.

-Wow, okay.
-Yeah, yeah.

This is sounding
better and better.

[ Both laugh ]
Uh, okay.

And do we think that the rock
is still on dry land out there,

or is it submerged?

From what we understand,
it's submerged.

We get 100-year storms
every three years now.

-Right.
-So, this thing could easily

get flipped out into the surf

on its head,
or covered with sand,

-and disappear forever.
-Right.

So, now's the time
to go find it.

Got it.
All right, let's go find it.

-You ready?
-You got it.

GATES: We grab our scuba gear
and hop aboard...

...making our way
the three miles to Nomans Land

before the sea starts
to get too gnarly for diving.

Conditions out here sound
like they're not great.

It's choppy. The visibility
can be questionable.

And to add a little spice
into the mix,

there are now
great white sharks

that frequent this area
with the warmer --

-Get out of here.
-Yes.

-Really?
-That is correct.

I want to make sure
I'm keeping score here.

We got rough water,
unexploded bombs,

and now great white sharks.

You got it.
[ Laughs ]

GATES: I'm in a boat with expert
masons Jim and Bill Vieira,

speeding out from the coast
of Martha's Vineyard.

The theory is that Leif Erikson
arrived on these shores

at the turn of the millennium

and carved the Viking
equivalent of "I was here"

onto the face of a stone
at his landing spot.

If we can find and date
those markings,

it would rewrite
American history.

That's Nomans Land right there.

-That's it?
-Yeah, that's it.

Wow, it's actually huge.

Yeah.

Do we know where off
the island this rock is?

It's off the south cliff.

Okay, we still got
a lot of coastline here,

so how do we narrow that?

In the '30s, it was 40 feet
from the bottom of the cliff.

Okay.

And it's next to this very large
boulder called the Whale Rock.

-Okay.
-We have a picture of that.

These are the photos from
the '20s and '30s right here.

Okay, let's see. So, this is
the supposed Viking rock here.

Correct.

And based on this guy
sitting on top of it,

what, it's about
5 feet long?

-That's what it looks like.
-Okay.

And then, you're saying it's
next to a bigger rock, though?

Yeah, it's nestled
right up against...

-This thing.
-...the Whale Rock.

Okay, so this is
the Viking rock down here.

Yes.

And this giant thing here,
this is Whale Rock?

Yes.
So, that's what
we're looking for.

-Correct.
-Find Whale Rock,

-you find the Viking rock.
-You got it.

GATES:
A shifting coastline and rising
seas have completely submerged

what the Vieiras believe
is the rune stone.

But due to its much larger size,

the Whale Rock could
still be partially visible.

Could it be whatever these waves
are breaking off of right here?

JIM: It seems a little too far
out from the cliffs.

This one's out, definitely.

-Wrong shape.
-It needs to have a smooth top.

Not flat enough on top.

Check that one off the list.

Okay, moving on.

What about
that one right there?

-Right there!
-Right?

That guy.
The flat one.

Oh, yeah.

That looks like the photo.

Look at the top.
It's exactly the same shape.

And that's the first
thing we've seen

that's got
that flat top to it.

Exactly.

What I don't see
is this step down, here.

Right now, the tide's
a little high to see that.

See that notch
right at the water line?

-That's it.
-Yes, it does!

It notches down
just like the photo.

I think we found it.

-Nice, man.
-All right, now --

-Step one.
-Step one.

The problem is, the thing
we're really looking for

is down here underneath it.

This is our Viking rock.

So, that would be
definitely submerged.

Yes.

What's the move here?
What do we do?

Kind of rough conditions.

One scuba,
camera down there,

let's see if we can
get some pictures.

Okay, cool.

This is gonna
be interesting.

This is a tough spot.

Easiest thing to do would be
to walk along that beach

and wade out on the surf,
but you can't go on the island.

It's strictly prohibited,

and it is literally
full of unexploded ordinates,

so the only way in
is the water side,

and conditions
are less than ideal.

-Yeah.
-Here we go.

GATES:
The visibility is low,

and the Atlantic surf
is getting ready to rumble.

But it isn't long before I find
a rock that could be the one.

So, it's just over 5 feet.

That seems perfect.

Based on the guy in the photo,

I think that's what
we're looking at.

-That's right.
-Yeah.

Right.

So, the problem is
it's covered in seaweed.

Let's see if we can take
a little bit

of that top growth off it, yeah?

-Yeah.
-Nothing too intrusive.

We don't want
to damage it at all.

We need to find some sign
of those carvings,

see if we can confirm
this is the real deal.

Here we go.

The vegetation is nearly
impossible to remove,

so Bill switches from snorkel
to scuba and joins me.

Pretty soon,
it's all-hands-on-deck

to find the runes on this rock.

GATES:
I'm on the eastern Massachusetts
coast with the Vieira brothers,

feverishly scraping away
sea growth

to reveal what could be evidence

that the Vikings landed here
1,000 years ago.

With our adrenaline pumping,

I film as many
close-ups as I can,

but the ocean current starts
getting too strong for us

to stay on top
of the site any longer.

Not wanting to get bashed
to bits against Whale Rock,

we're forced to call it.

Those looked like markings.

Yeah?

And I think that whatever
was etched on that rock,

the remains of it,
however faint, are still on it.

Yes.

Yeah.

-You know?
-Right.

-Nothing. Yeah.
-No sharks ate it, yep.

-Up top.
-Seriously.

-Nice. Yeah, no, it's awesome.
-Nice work, dude.

Come on!

If the rock can be recovered
and thoroughly studied,

some believe it could be proof,
literally written in stone,

that the Vikings set foot
on what is now U.S. soil

nearly 500 years before Columbus

made his voyage
to the new world.

My four-country exploration
of the Vikings

has brought me, of all places,
back to my childhood home.

I stand on the opposite side
of the same ocean

the Vikings looked over
1,000 years ago,

and I try to imagine them.

Would I be able to leave
the safety of my home

and sail into
the frigid unknown?

My journey has revealed to me
that the Vikings

weren't the
one-dimensional raiders

and pirates of popular culture.

They were organized builders,
they were artists,

master engineers,

sailors, and, yes,
fierce warriors.

As to the true
location of Vinland,

we'll see what evidence emerges.

But I belive it's probably
somewhere in Canada.

But the fact that New Englanders
have so fiercely

embraced the Vikings

only underscores the power

they still hold
over our culture.

They were a force of nature,

and their adventures
are still being discovered.

I can't wait to see
where they take us next.

On the next
"Expedition Unknown"...

Stonehenge.

Where did that idea come from?

Why put anything
in a circular form?

Over that ridge,
we found another henge.

It's massive.

This is older
than Stonehenge.

-That's a huge deal.
-Yeah.

This site is 3200 B.C.

So, more than
5,000 years old?

How cool is that?