01x08 - expl*sive Discoveries

[bunniefuu]

Narrator: Tonight,
on the season finale

of "Lost Gold of the Aztecs"...

Fire in the hole!

It looks like a vertical shaft
back here.

I’ve never seen anything
like this.

I’ve gotta see it, man.
I’ve gotta see this.

We’re gonna be stepping
into a time machine.

What’s in there?

Gabriel: That’s a treasure
in itself right there,

just to be able to locate
something like this.

All right, I’m going in.

Dan: We’ve got a camera that’s
designed to go into pipes,

and we’re gonna find out
if that opening is a tunnel.

All right, you got it.
Keep on going.

I feel that we are right
at the cusp

of finding where
the treasure is.

You see that? What is that?

Narrator: 500 years ago,
the Aztecs possessed

one of the greatest treasures
the world has ever seen.

Word of this treasure
attracted the attention

of the Spanish conquistadors,

but when they came for the gold,

it was already gone,

hidden by Emperor Montezuma

in locations throughout what
is now the American Southwest.

Now,
three treasure hunting teams,

all with different approaches

are closing in
on what they believe

is the location
of the lost Aztec gold.

This right here is
definitely manmade activity.

The Dillmans
are following a trail

blazed by the research
of their grandfather.

I believe it’s my destiny
to find it for the family.

The Villescas
are treasure seekers

descended from
Spanish conquistadors.

They believe the Spanish
found the gold...

- All right. Here we go.
- And melted it into bars

hidden throughout
the American Southwest.

Gabriel: If anybody’s gonna
find it, it’s gonna be us.

And finally,
the Hoagland and Hegg.

Fire in the hole!

They believe the treasure
is hidden inside mines

along well-known
Aztec trade routes.

If anything happens,
be ready to go.

Decades of searching.

- [ beeping ]
- That’s old as hell.

Three different theories.

Kevin: That’s what I do.
I go find stuff.

Which one of these teams
will be proven right

and be the first to find

the lost gold of the Aztecs?

A little bit more.
It’s coming off.

A little more.

Yeah, real slow.
Real slow.

The Villescas team
is lifting a large stone

that they discovered
in Fire Pit one.

The shape of the stone...

It’s almost square.
Almost perfectly square.

And how it sounds
when it’s struck...

- [ hollow knocking ]
- You hear that?

Has the team excited
at what may lie beneath.

A little more!

We’re in a pit of nothing
but small rocks.

We’ve got this large
rectangular rock

that’s about six,
eight inches thick,

probably 300 or 400 pounds,
you know?

This was definitely
placed there.

We don’t know if there’s

something underneath
there or not.

- A little more.
- Come on.

- That’s coming off, Gabe.
- Gabriel: Oh, h*, h*!

Hey, take a look at this.

There is a hole down there.

- Let’s see.
- A hole.

Let’s get it out of there.

Yeah! All right, all right.
Let’s take it up.

Jerome: We’re on the verge
of finding something big here.

I just gotta keep
the nerves down a little bit.

It’s kind of scary
to move big machines

around that close to people.

Easy, easy.

Look at that.

Put it over there, Jerome.

That is something special
right there.

What’s in there?

Gabriel: Oh, look at that.

Look at how
it’s constructed though.

They’re all laid. Laid.

Ramon: Very well-sealed.
Huh, look at that.

Even molded into the rock.

Gabriel:
Yeah, laid like bricks.

Jerome: Is there dirt
down there? Or what’s...

Gabriel: Yeah, I don’t feel
anything in there.

[ clinking ]

Is that a start of a shaft?
Or why does it just stop?

Maybe there’s a false floor?

Ramon:
No, that’s a vault, isn’t it?

Maybe. It just sucks
that it’s empty.

I’m just kind of disappointed.

I thought we were gonna
lift this rock,

boom, be rich, retire, gold.

And then nothing.

I’m just bummed out.

Oh, no, this is the proof
we’re looking for right here.

I mean, look at the way

the rocks are individually
stacked in there.

This square nature?

Somebody did this
hundreds of years ago.

Look at this, Jerome.

The width of it right there
is about the size of a doré bar,

and that’s perfect
to fit in there.

The doré bar is, you know,
kind of a crude bar

that they would wet the soil
to make a mold,

and then they would pour
their gold in there.

They were about the width
of two fingers

and very thin like that
and long.

I mean, that would fit
probably 50 of them.

This vault
that we just came across,

the intention was
to put the gold in there.

There wasn’t banks out here,
and the Spanish,

they would
construct these vaults

deep in the ground
where nobody could find them.

So we know we’re in
the right spot.

That’s a treasure in itself
right there

just being able to locate
something like this.

The Spanish, they went
through elaborate methods

to reassure that only
they could return to the spot

and dig up their gold
that they had stashed.

Probably an individual’s vault,
you know?

’Cause they spread up the gold
amongst themselves

and each person
was in charge of, you know,

stashing their own stuff.

We may have to
go through this pit

a little bit more careful

- ’cause there could be more.
- Yeah.

Gabriel: This is the way
they would have done it,

the method they would’ve used.
This is perfect.

I’m really getting excited here.

There could be vaults
in every one of these holes,

and we have
a lot of ground to cover.

Narrator: Miners Kevin Hoagland
and Chris Hegg

are returning to the mine

that they believe dates back
to the time of the Aztecs

to check the progress
of their ventilation system.

The system has been
pumping in fresh air

to dilute a pocket
of carbon dioxide gas...

- [ beeping ]
- Hey, I got bad gas in here.

That they encountered
in the pit.

Back again.

That’s a precision built
instrument right there.

Chris:
We got the blower going.

We’re hoping
the mine’s cleared out.

We gotta take readings
all the way down.

If it’s all good,

we’re gonna load the holes up

and blow that wall down.

Make sure to keep an eye

on that meter.

You’re gonna be on tether,

so you keep your ears
open for me.

All right,
I got the gas meter on.

- Let’s go do it.
- Let’s go blow it up.

Kevin: Chris and I have been

in a lot of mines
over the years.

Meter’s good?

Chris: Yep.
Meter’s just beeping.

Kevin: All right, brother.

But not know what
we’re going to find

to me is one
of the most anticipated

parts of all of this.

- All right, wish me luck.
- Make it happen.

Looking at this wall
that we know has a void on it,

I think it’s the first time
that we’ve actually felt

like we were truly
in the right place

at the right time.

Today is the day.

Chris:
Okay, I’m on the bottom.

Give me some slack.

Hey, Chris, give me a status.

Chris:
Let me take a reading.

It still looks good.
That thing’s doing its job.

Copy that.

Need some water.

I’m organizing my gear,

getting ready to set this up
to blast.

I put these holes
in a strategic pattern

so the blast should allow,
maybe in one shot,

entry into the cavity
that’s two feet back.

Narrator: Kevin and Chris
will place blast rods

into the holes.

The small charges
are coordinated

to shatter the rock face,
causing less shock

to the surrounding tunnel

than a traditional expl*sive
would do.

I have to clean these holes out
because if those blasters

aren’t completely
touching each other

and there’s any of that dust
that falls in between,

it will detonate all
of my blasters that are inside.

I’m gonna stack them
on top of each other

to get the most effect I can
at once.

These are the things
that go bang right here.

Copy that.

Chris: Okay, I’m putting
the blasters on right now,

getting ready to load the hole.

All right, man,
just keep me informed.

Let me know when you’re done.

Chris:
This mine’s way too shaky

to use high expl*sives,

so the Sierra Blaster,
it’s low impact.

They’re really useful in mining
and construction

because you can use them
literally right next to a house.

Okay, Kev, I got one
locked and loaded.

I got three more to go.

But it will actually crack
a very large boulder.

Okay, Kevin,
I loaded the second.

- Going for the third.
- Copy that.

Chris: We’re gonna fill them,
load them with blasters,

and put the heads in there,
connect them up.

Okay, I got all four hooked up,
so you can pull me up.

And we’re gonna detonate it
from the outside.

Hopefully it’ll take
that wall down.

Yeah, go ahead
and get plugged in first.

All right, take a seat.

Let’s do it.

- Chris: You ready?
- Let’s go for it.

Let’s make big rocks
little rocks.

Chris: Here goes nothing!

Fire in the hole!

[ laughing ]

Listen to that echo.

Yes! Ha!

Now we gotta let it clear.

Dan: Let’s get to work.

All right, let’s light them up.

Derrick: Perfect.

Narrator: The Dillman team
is setting up a camera system

to inspect an opening
deep in the canyon wall.

While boring a hole
in the back of the chamber,

the drill hit an empty pocket,

a pocket that Dan believes

could be part
of a tunnel system.

All right, here’s the camera.

Without knowing where
the original entrance is,

his only option
is to send a camera

into the bore hole
to inspect the opening.

Derrick: You got a visual?
Can you see me?

Dan: I’ve got a visual.
We got you, man.

So what we’re gonna do next
is we’ve got a camera

that’s designed
to go into pipes,

and we’re gonna find out
if that opening

is just some empty space
or if it’s a tunnel.

All right, I’m going in.

Narrator: If they come out
the other end of the bore hole

and see any openings,

they’ll know there’s more
to investigate.

But if they hit a wall,

they may be looking
at another dead end.

A little bit slower.
There you go.

I’m pretty deep already.

Dan: It looks like
you’re getting to the end

of this bore hole.

Hold up. Hold up.

I’m seeing something.

You see that?

- It looks like an opening.
- It looks like a tunnel.

Keep on pushing that camera.
Keep on pushing.

Yeah, try to keep
pushing through.

Dan: Keep pushing, man.

Dan: What is that?

Look at this.

You see that?

Adjust the camera
just a little bit.

I see what looks like
a collapsed tunnel.

We’ve got boulders stacked up
and we’ve got an opening.

Look at this.

- This is unbelievable.
- Gina: It’s crazy.

We’ve got a tunnel.
How are we gonna get in there?

Hey, Lon. So glad you were
able to make it, man.

So, Lon Child has been friends
of my family for decades.

We’ve done research
and investigations together

on his property,

and we’ve done
even investigations

at other locations.

This is the west end of

our property, this fence.

Narrator: Lon Child’s family

once owned
the neighboring property

known as Three Lakes.

Dan and Lon searched
for Aztec gold

on that property in 2003...

And this is indicating
that there’s a void.

Here they located a chamber
and what could be tunnels.

But they were too difficult
to access through the lake.

That’s right where
the entrance is.

Dan has brought in Lon
to get his opinion

on whether or not
they could have found

a new way
into the same tunnel system

as the one they discovered
in 2003.

Derrick.

All right, check this out.

Lon: Okay.

So here we are in the bore hole.

Lon: Right, okay.

What the geophysicist said
is that from the data,

we needed to get about,
you know,


this cavity was.

So that’s what the drillers did.
Here we go.

- Wow.
- Now it went through.

So here we are,
we see this area.

Watch once this clears up
a little bit.

You can almost see
the top of the entrance.

Yeah, kind of looks like
it’s been sealed up.

Right, it looks like
there’s even some kind of draft

or something blowing
in front of the camera.

If you look at the walls
of the cave,

it looks like it was manmade.

You’ve got all this sediment,
the tillings...

Derrick: Mm-hmm.

From what they would’ve
excavated out of the cave.

And so it definitely looks
like a manmade tunnel system.

So let me ask you,
what direction is this heading?

Yeah, so we’re driving
this camera into a void

that was to the east of
the chamber that we uncovered.

- Okay.
- Northeast, actually.

Northeast, actually, yeah.

So it’s heading northeast?

- Yeah.
- Okay.

So that makes sense
because Three Lakes

is northeast of this area.

- Derrick: Yeah.
- So this is 95 feet

through dirt and rock.

That’s gonna be a challenge
to get through.

I mean, we have
the technology to do it,

but it’s gonna be a challenge
and expensive.

Here they come.

Narrator: The Villescas team
have hired Jan Fancke,

an expert in the field
of ground penetrating radar

to help them with their search
for Spanish gold.

- Jan?
- I’m Jan.

Gabriel: Yeah, well, thank you,
guys, for coming out here

to the middle of the desert.

We’ve got some stuff we wanted

- to show you out here...
- Great.

And see if you guys can help us

with our little problem
we have here.

Jan: Okay.

After discovering what
he thinks is a Spanish vault

that may have been designed
to hold gold bars,

Gabe hopes that Jan’s team
can help them determine

if there are any other vaults
in the Fire Pits.

- Gabriel: We found this vault.
- Jan: Right.

Gabriel:
It happened to be empty.

Yeah, that’s definitely
manmade isn’t it?

We believe that this is
just one of many.

Can your equipment detect
something this small?

Looking at the size of this area
and how rough it is,

we’re thinking about
ground penetrating radar.

That seems to be
probably the best.

- How deep will that go?
- Well, it depends.

I think here
we’d get about 15 to 20 feet.

- Deep? Oh, that’d be plenty.
- Yep.

Gabriel: The GPR will allow us
to look deep inside the earth

and see if there’s
any more of these vaults

that might be hidden here.

So we wanna make sure
that we’re directly

on top of the target, right?

The radar doesn’t look
really to the side as much.

We’re gonna mount that
on a drone and go back and forth

in a very tight grid

and scan exactly
what’s under the ground.

Then what we’ll do
is we’ll take that data,

and anything
that’s really different

like a void space like that

will turn up as a red dot.

Man, I can’t wait to see
what you come up with.

Great.

Just go on ahead
and drop it on here.

We got that one?

- Let’s fire it up.
- All righty.

[ beeping ]

Jan: This is by far
the smallest

GPR system in the world
right now.

It’s the only one we have,

so we gotta be
a little careful with it.

Really, that’s a one of a kind?

It’s one of a kind.

We actually made it for this,

but it’s the same system
that will hopefully get up

to the moon on a lunar rover
pretty soon.

If there is another void
like the one you just showed me,

this one
will definitely find it.

Chris: All the way back.

Narrator: Kevin and Chris
are headed back into the pit

to see if their controlled
expl*si*n opened up a hole

into what they hope
is another mineshaft.

Kevin: All right, man.

- You good?
- Good.

Kevin: Getting Chris into
the bottom of this decline,

I’m, like,
pins and needles right now.

This could be a treasure room.
It could be.

But it could be nothing more
than just a geologic fault

that’s just collapsed
on top of itself.

Happens all the time
in these mountains.

Chris:
Okay, I’m at the bottom.

Oh, man.
The Sierras worked.

Took this whole wall down.

It’s like a chute in here
of rock.

What do you mean a chute?

Chris: This rock’s so soft,
it just all came down.

Kevin: Can you see behind
the blast area?

Uh, I’m working my way
there right now.

I’m just checking this roof.

’Cause, wow.

Yeah, it opened it.

Kevin: From what Chris
is describing,

not only did the wall drop,

but there was
a lot material behind that

as well that dropped.

Makes it one of the deadliest
places that you can be.

Okay, Kevin, I’m just
really doing it slow here

trying to move some
of this rock out of the way.

I think I have a little hole.

I’m gonna look in here
before I move anything else.

Kevin: Copy that.
As long as your safe.

Chris: All right, stand by.

Okay, I’m looking back here.

It did go all the way through
into that void.

It looks like
a vertical shaft back here.

Just keep talking to me.

Hold on a second, Kevin.
What is that?

Hey, I see something
on the floor here

with this rock.

Hold on a second.

What the hell is that?

[ bleep ]

What?

What?

Hey, I found something.

I’m gonna bag it up
and bring it up to you.

- What’d you find?
- Uh, I’m not sure.

I got a little hole here.

I’m gonna open this up
just a little bit more.

What the...

This stuff
had to come from above.

It didn’t come from this side.

It was completely sealed.

Which means
there’s got to be a tunnel.

Yeah, I’ve got two bags
for you to look at.

There’s an actual
vertical shaft there

above our heads.

But there’s enough rock
that can come down

to really do some damage,
so we can’t enter.

We’re just gonna
have to step back

and figure out what
we’re gonna do with that.

But until then,
I wanna figure out

what this stuff is
we found on the ground.

Narrator: Dan is bringing
heavy equipment operator

Bert Clegg back to the chamber

in order to cut the path
into the opening

recently revealed
by their bore hole camera.

Dan: We’ve had the drillers
dig this bore hole,

and we’ve clearly punctured
into what I believe

is a tunnel system.

Now if we can excavate
as close as we can,

as deep as we can
into this tunnel system,

if we can get there
with the big equipment,

then that just gets us
that much closer.

If we can get Bert to dig
far enough and deep enough,

my hope is
we could just walk right in

to the entrance
of a tunnel system.

This soil, it’s almost wet.

As Bert’s going in
and out of this chamber,

the scoops are coming
more and more dense.

It looks like the ground
is getting more moist

from what he’s pulling out.

- Gina: It’s pretty wet.
- I know.

Yeah, it’s all, like,
just running off the side.

It’s definitely
making it more difficult

for us to get through here.

Hey, Bert! Hold, hold!
Hold, hold, hold!

Hey, we’re starting to hit
a lot of water here, Bert.

Yeah, it’s unusual to me.

I haven’t hit this much water

in digging in the sand
and stuff.

Dan:
Yeah, the more we dig now,

the more water we’ve got.

We got springs in the area.

Sure, it could be wet,

but somehow, some way,
we’ve triggered something.

All right, let’s keep it moving.

All right.

Chris: Thank you, guys,
for coming on such short notice.

- Loren: Yeah, absolutely.
- Jessica: Absolutely.

- Happy to try to help out.
- Well, we hope so.

Narrator: Kevin and Chris
have called in archeologists

Loren and Jessica Huddleston

to shed light on what
their recent discovery

could mean about
the rest of their mineshaft.

With over 40 years
of field experience

researching artifacts in mines,

the Huddlestons could provide
valuable insight

into their discovery.

So we’re 400 feet underground.

We blasted through
a solid rock wall,

and it was an open cavity.

There’s rubble above us,

so we’re unsure
what’s up there yet,

but what we found below
is why we called you.

We have three samples
of some material that we found.

And we don’t know how new,
how old.

Of course, they’re really dusty.

They’ve sitting on the bottom
of a mineshaft

for we have no idea how long.

Jessica:
It’s incredibly intriguing.

I will say that
in the Great Basin,

most preservation environments
occur in caves,

and that’s where
you would have cordage

that might actually
stay preserved this long.

Kevin:
Well, this mine is sealed.

Our biggest goal right now
is to get idea of a timeline.

These are kind of real similar
to things that have been found

that are rabbit snares
or larger animal snares.

They’ve had specimens
up to 12,700 years old.

So there’s some antiquity
to cordage in the Great Basin.

Could we eliminate Spanish
around the 1500s?

- I would think so, yeah.
- Jessica: Yeah.

- Absolutely.
- Great.

You would expect
a larger diameter gauge.

It definitely looks more like
indigenous technology.

Jessica: Yeah.

You would generally not think
of bringing down a wall

as opening a door.

Where are we going in time?

It predates the Spanish.

The twine is absolutely older

than anything else
that we’ve found at this point.

Loren: I think you guys have got
a really intriguing find.

Jessica: Absolutely.

Right now we’ve got two truths
that we’re facing.

One is this is the biggest find
that we’ve had.

And number two,
that rubble pile,

that’s the biggest obstacle
we’ve faced so far.

I agree.

It’s above our head.
It’s dangerous.

I wanna get in there
with the snake camera

and see if I can
get through that rubble

and see what’s in there.

Oh, that’s a brilliant idea.

I cannot wait. There is more.
There is more down there.

Bringing the big g*ns in.

Narrator: The Dillman team
is bringing in bigger machinery

so they can keep digging
in the heavier wet dirt

as they make their way

toward what they hope
is a tunnel system.

Dan: Right now we’ve got
the mini excavator here

because the little skid-steerer
just couldn’t get any further.

The main area that Bert dug out

is starting to fill
with some water.

But he’s not ready to quit
and we’re not ready to quit,

and he’s got that claw
right near the opening.

Derrick:
He’s going pretty deep in there.

Dan: I’m hoping
that this bore hole

that we’ve already created

enables us
to a little more easily

break into a tunnel system.

- Getting in there.
- Yeah.

This water’s really piling up
right here.

Yeah, this is, uh...

- Dan: What do you see?
- There’s a lot of water,

and it’s almost like it’s
bubbling up from the ground.

Dan: I’m convinced
that this is how

we’re gonna get
into this tunnel.

That’s why we’re working
so hard to get there,

but we keep running
into these little problems.

Right towards where
the opening is

it looks like where that water
is funneling from.

Dan: Nothing left to do
but keep digging

as long as
you think it’s cool, Bert.

We’ll keep trying.

I say you keep going
until you can’t go anymore.

- All right.
- All right.

Let’s keep it coming, Bert.

Hey, we got a lot of water
coming out now.

Look at that.

- Are you seeing that right now?
- Dan: Yeah.

Gina:
It’s gushing through there.

Dan: That water is gushing.

Derrick: Yeah, hold on
for a second, Bert.

- Yeah, it’s flowing.
- It’s flowing.

[ bleep ]

We’ve got water just rushing
into this chamber.

And if water’s rushing
into the chamber,

man, I’m worried it’s rushing
into our bore hole

and into our tunnel system.

- Gina: That’s crazy.
- Dan: Something ain’t right.

I’m not sure exactly what
has caused this problem.

I don’t know
if it was the digging.

I don’t know
if it’s the vibration

from the excavator.

I’ve got all reasons of why
that could be happening

and none of them are good.

The Aztecs were masters

at using the landscape
to their advantage.

They would’ve known
that the water table

would serve as a natural barrier

against anybody that tried
to enter the tunnel from above.

We can’t get ten feet in
and we gotta go 95.

Someone explain that to me.

I need to get the camera
back down the bore hole,

and I need to see
what the conditions are now.

There’s a reason
this is happening.

This ain’t happening
on accident.

If we just did
what I think we did,

we’ve got a major problem.

I think we’ll just put it here
on the back of the tailgate

- if you don’t mind.
- Sure.

Narrator: The Villescas team
is meeting up again

with ground penetrating radar
expert Jan Francke

to go over the results
of their GPR survey

of the Fire Pits.

Gabriel: We’ve been waiting
for a long time

for the results from the GPR.

So today we’re gonna
meet with Jan

and see if he’s got
any good news for us.

So let’s take a look
at what we did here.

This is Fire Pit number three.

Here we’re just looking
at background noise.

It just looks like
normal geology.

So we’re not seeing anything
really pop out at us

as an anomaly itself.

We couldn’t see anything
with the radar

to depth that
we were looking at.

- Oh.
- Now let’s look at

Fire Pit number one there.

That’s the first site
that we worked on.

Let’s take a look
at one of these sections now

in vertical profile.

So it’s where
we’re kind of cutting ground

- and slicing it, right?
- Okay.

Jan: And this is
the cross section that we see.

What I want you to notice,
do you see that right there?

We got a hyperbolic shape
that’s really, really bright.

That’s indicative
of either an air space

or potentially metal.

Gabriel: You’re saying
that could be another vault?

I’m saying
that’s not local geology.

That’s something different
for sure,

and that’s either air or metal.

Gabriel:
This is excellent.

I mean, this is
what we’re looking for.

This is what
we’re all doing here.

We’re gonna turn it
vertically, okay?

Gabriel: Okay.

Jan: And let’s slice down
through the ground.

And what we’re going to see
is not just one,

but as I slice down,
see that one?

- Gabriel: There’s more?
- But look over there! Exactly.

That might be an additional
two sites in your Fire Pit one.

So with this little survey,
just in Fire Pit one

we’re seeing at least
three new targets

that look very much like

either an air filled void
or metal in the ground.

Gabriel:
Seeing the results

from the GPR survey
really got me going.

Now we have targets
we can aim for.

We know there’s something
under the ground there.

This is the evidence
that we need to dig up

and see what’s there.

Now let’s take a look

at Fire Pit number two.

Look at this.
Again, we’ve got two

very bright
red spots there, right?

We’ve got the two
really bright targets there.

But if you compare that to...
You see these ones right here,

they’re a little bit
less obvious.

- Gabriel: Mm-hmm.
- If I was to guess,

I would say these
are full of air,

so might be empty,

and those would be
metallic potentially, right?

And here’s another one
up in this corner here.

So there’s at least
another five targets

over in Fire Pit two there.

Gabriel: Well, the news
just keeps getting better.

We have, you know,

more anomalies
in Fire Pit number two

spread out throughout
the whole thing.

This has really

got me intrigued.

The next step is to dig

this thing up.

I just can’t wait

to get some equipment

on this thing
and see where this leads us.

Dan: All right, let’s get
the camera stacked and set.

Narrator: The Dillman team
has returned to the chamber

to determine the source
of the water flow

and to assess the extent of the
flooding near the bore hole.

Dan: Yeah, we’re setting up
our camera system.

We are hoping to find
the bore hole again,

get the camera down there,
and see what we’re dealing with.

All right,
let’s see if we got juice.

All right, we are in action.

Derrick, let’s get you
to get that camera

and see if you can’t find
that bore hole.

- Derrick: All right.
- All right.

- Let’s see what we find, guys.
- Gina: Right.

I’ma go in.

All right.

Try to get your hand
in there, man,

and feel where that hole is.

You should be able to push
that camera right into it.

Derrick: Yep.

- Anything yet?
- Dan: Nothing yet.

Derrick: Give me a little bit
more on the cable.

I’m gonna try to go deeper.

Dan: Move the camera
a little bit

to your right really quick.

There we go.
Can you push forward?

Derrick: Yep. Let me try.

There we go.
I’m starting to see something.

A little to the right.

And go straight ahead.

Oh, hey, hold up.
You got it. You’re in.

- Just push forward.
- Derrick: Yeah?

All right, hold on.

Dan: Yeah, you’re in, buddy.

What are you seeing
right now, Dad?

I’m seeing water, man.
It is full of water.

It is totally flooded.

All we got is water, man.

- I see... damn.
- We’ve triggered something,

and the water definitely appears

to have found its level.

So I can dig out
this entire chamber

and I’m gonna have water.

That’s 95 feet of water
in that bore hole.

It ain’t like it’s five feet.

Derrick: Yeah.

- Dan: If this was our way in...
- Gina: Yeah.

It’s flooded for sure.

It’s definitely flooded.

We got a problem.

It doesn’t mean
it’s an end of our search,

but it might be an end

to try and get in there
from right here.

At that point, we have to start
thinking about another entrance.

Maybe we get up
to the very top of this canyon

and we drill straight down.

It doesn’t get easier
to unearth the treasure.

We’re gonna have to regroup,

and we’re gonna have to
approach this

maybe a little differently.

Man.

Chris: Okay, give me
a little bit more slack.

Narrator: Chris and Kevin
have returned

to the pit in the mine.

Okay, I’m at the bottom.

They have a plan to get
a better look inside the hole

that they blasted into the wall.

Chris: That handmade twine,
that’s hundreds of years old.

It’s everything that
I think our research points at.

I don’t know what’s gonna be
past that rock,

but I think we’re getting
older and older

as we go deeper in the mine.

Chris: Okay, I’m here.

Copy that.

All right.

Okay.

This is a snake cam.

I can reach up
into very tight areas

like periscope through the rock

and just see
how much rock is there

and then how big this tunnel is

and see if we can get into it.

Okay, here we go.

I’m seeing just a bunch of rock
stacked on top of each other,

but there’s some holes
in between.

If I get the camera running,
I can go around.

Come on.

Oh, man. There we go.
There we go.

There. That’s it.

It’s impossible almost
to get through.

I just... I’m just pulling it
back and forth,

turning it,
trying to look for one path.

It just dead ends.

Go to another path.

Oh, come on.

I’m seeing
some black space up here.

I made through the rock.

I don’t know how much...
This is about eight feet.

Let me rotate left here.

That’s about nine feet of rock
over my head.

Hold on. I don’t know
which way it’s pointing.

Let me rotate.
Let me rotate.

I don’t know if I’m looking up
or sideways.

Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait.

There’s another tunnel.

Wait, this is a...
There’s a three way intersection

right above this rock.

There’s three tunnels.

Repeat that last part again.

There’s a three way intersection
right above this rock.

What are you talking about?

There’s a tunnel system
up there.

I’m gonna pull this camera
and head up.

You gotta see this.

- Pull up the slack.
- Copy that.

Chris:
Poking through this wall

is literally just like
a whole new adventure for us.

I mean, this is
a whole new chapter

in our research.

Holy hell.

It’s a three way intersection
right there above the rock.

Oh, my God.

And once you build up this wall,
then start back-filling it.

Narrator: Unable to continue
digging because of flooding,

Dan is sealing up the chamber
before a storm hits the canyon.

Dan: We’re about to have
a massive snowstorm come in.

The marsh is frozen over.

We can’t do any more digging.

We’re just at a dead end
right now.

It needs to be sealed back up

so that no one
stumbles across it.

I can’t have anyone
contaminating

or messing with our progress.

I truly believe

that we’ve got some form
of tunnel system here.

Is Montezuma’s treasure
at the end of that tunnel?

That I don’t know.

But I do know this,

I’m gonna make sure
that we’ve got

all the resources that we need

to get into this tunnel system
to find this entrance.

My family’s been searching for
this treasure for over 55 years.

Another year
is not gonna k*ll us.

We’re patient
and we’re diligent.

We’re never gonna stop
searching for this treasure.

Narrator:
For more than 500 years,

men have searched the Southwest

looking for the lost gold
of the Aztecs.

But now three teams
are on the cusp

of breaking this centuries old
mystery wide open.

In New Mexico,

the Villescas team have followed

their conquistador ancestors

to the secluded Fire Pits.

Gabriel:
We’ve definitely found the spot.

And now after the discovery
of a potential vault...

Gabriel: My goodness.
Look at this.

Will they be the first

to find what the conquistadors

have been hiding for centuries?

In central Nevada,

miners Kevin Hoagland
and Chris Hegg

have followed Aztec trade routes

to an ancient underground mine.

Chris: Seeing that shaft
that’s above us

and going in three
different directions,

it’s opened up
a whole new world for us.

Narrator: Is the opening
of this hidden mineshaft

the breakthrough they have
been searching for for decades?

Once we remove that rubble,

we’re going to be stepping
into a time machine.

All right,
let’s make it happen, cap’n.

And finally, the Dillmans,

who have chased
their 56 year family quest

to a remote canyon in Utah.

What is that?

Following the clues
of Dan’s grandfather

may have led them
to within 90 feet

of the tunnel system
Raymond Dillman searched for

his whole life.

How are we gonna get in there?

But will they be able
to find a way

into this mysterious tunnel?

And will a voice from the grave
be able to lead them

to achieve
their family’s destiny?