What does it all mean?
This is where the archeology has been found.
Hi, how are you?
Look at that.
I need a planter.
A shrine to a bellybutton.
Is this a rock of salt?
Look at that!
No one gets into this place?
Whoa! Don't take me too far.
Now that's naked archeology.
[theme music]
[SIMCHA] Last time on the Naked Archaeologist.
We were hot on the historic path of stolen treasure!
Ok, Ok. Hold on... [crashing]
We are in Jerusalem. On the mount of olives.
Across from one of the holiest places on earth.
For Muslims, it's The Dome of the Rock.
For Jews, it's The Temple Mount.
, years ago that's where the Temple of Solomon stood.
King Solomon's temple once contained
billions of dollars worth of bullion and these,
the holiest icons of Judea.
The Ark of the Covenant held the Ten Commandments,
the golden Table of Divine Presence held holy bread
to bless all harvests. The silver trumpets of truth
were blown by the high priests to call in the Sabbath.
And the golden candelabra, or menorah,
was designed by Moses
according to detailed instructis from God.
These temple treasures were considered
the holy hot-lines to God.
control them and you had direct access to the all mighty.
And then they were stolen. Jerusalem was ran-sacked twice!
The priceless temple riches were burgled by Babylonians,
returned by Persians and once again ripped-off by Romans.
The Ark of the Covenant was lost in the shuffle,
and billions of Jewish bullion
was blown on the splendors of Roman architecture.
But, the magnificent Moses-designed-menorah,
the golden, bejeweled, divine bread table,
and the silver trumpets of truth
were left intact and stashed by the Emperor Vespasian
at the edge of the Roman Forum for centuries.
And that's where I went
in search of Jerusalem's temple treasure!
This is Rome.
This is the heart of ancient Rome, the Forum.
This is where we know from ancient sources
like Josephus and from the Arch of Titus
that they brought the treasure of the temple of Jerusalem
and they paraded it right down this route
where all these thousands of tourists flock.
They don't realize that they're walking along the very path
that the temple treasure took.
And they paraded it right behind me through this very path
right by the senate, up the hill to my left.
They gave thanks to their god, the pagan god Jupiter
and finally they would have taken the temple treasure
and housed it just that way in a building
that they built especially for the treasure
called the Temple of Peace,
or more properly, the Temple of Pacification.
[SIMCHA] Could the priceless temple treasures still be here?
Is it really that crazy to belie that I can find them?
The Arch of Titus, a tribute to Emperor Vespasian's son
and best general, proves that the holy gold was in the Forum.
Ancient writings tell us
that it was kept in the Roman Temple of Peace.
And I tracked down historian Lea Cline
who showed me a recent excavation
believed to be the ruins of that temple.
What we understand is that the menorah,
the golden table and the silver trumpets
were brought to the Temple of Peace and put on display.
It would have been displayed along with the booty
from other triumphs of Greek statuary
and beautiful objects that displayed the extent
and the glory of the Roman Empire.
[SIMCHA] Lea tells me that Jerusalem's temple treasures
were displayed here for years,
but we won't find them here today.
Because in the th Century,
a massive and powerful band of Germanic Barbarians,
made up of Visigoths and Vandals,
took control of North Africa from the Romans.
- Impossible that our armies cannot defeat them.
We've been masters at the art of warfare!
They're only barbarians, we're civilized!
-Every moment we delay is an advantage to the Romans.
Our combined armies have never been as strong
and united as they are now.
Our men have never been more anxious to fight! To pillage!
[SIMCHA] Using Carthage, in modern day Tunisia,
as their base, the Barbarians launched raiding missions
and in CE they sailed into the Mediterranean,
up the Tiber River and did the unthinkable.
They sacked Rome!
And for days they looted the city of its riches.
What happened to the treasure?
As far as we understand,
we know that the Visigoths came
and laid siege to Rome,
and this is when they disappeared
from the archaeological record in Rome.
So was it the Visigoth Vandals that took it?
The barbarians?
The barbarians, the Vandals.
And then?
And then that's where I drop off the story.
Once they're out of Rome I don't know much more about them
and not many people know
because the sightings of them trickle away.
[SIMCHA] Trickle away.
Some say, right down here, into the Tiber River.
Behind me is the Tiber River, the mother river of Rome.
When the barbarians were literally at the gates of Rome,
legend has it that Christian Roman soldiers,
in order to save the menorah,
grabbed it and threw it into the river behind me.
If that's true it's still there.
But there's another theory,
and that theory holds that in ft the Vatican sent soldiers here,
dredged the river, got the menorah
and to this day it sits in the secret vaults of the Vatican.
[SIMCHA] And to this day suspicions run strong.
Just in the last few decades,
Israeli presidents and Rabbis have made official requests
to various Popes that the vast Vatican storerooms be searched
not just for the menorah,
but for all the Jewish temple treasures.
It seems many important people are convinced
that there's some booty in the basement.
And though they've all been denied access by the pope,
I've been introduced to Vatican archaeologist Olof Brandt,
who just might be able to get my foot in treasures' door.
Now you're an archaeologist who works with the Vatican
and I know that a former Israeli politician asked the Vatican
to give back the temple treasure.
Have you seen the temple treasure?
I think there is a general misunderstanding.
The Vatican doesn't have more secrets than any normal,
modern state. And these-
Modern states have a lot of secrets.
These presumed secret storerooms don't exist.
I don't know where the temple treasure
could be looked for in the Vatican.
The temple treasure did get to Rome though.
Well yes.
We know that an important part of the temple treasure
was brought to Rome in triumph by Vespasian and Titus
and that it was exposed in the "Temple of Peace."
But it was brought there,
and we really don't know what happened to it.
The common theory is that vandals or other barbarians
invading Rome in the th century
brought it all down to North Africa.
Somewhere in North Africa and that we then lost the traces.
Where do you think it is?
I have no idea.
[SIMCHA] But Dr. Brandt, Vatican archaeologist,
did mention North Africa.
Is this a legitimate tip or some Roman wild goose?
I need a second opinion before jumping continents
and the Roman historian I need to talk to,
quite conveniently, hangs out here.
[SIMCHA] I'm on a hunt
for Jerusalem's priceless temple treasure!
I've chased its thieves through years of history
and landed in Rome.
And here, the trail has gone cold
because in CE a horde of Germanic Vandals and pirates
pillaged Rome of all its gold.
Where did they take the treasure?
I asked Roman historian Mino Carbone.
So what do you think happened
to all this incredible treasure?
Oh, actually, nobody knows,
but there is a good theory or legend that I like very much.
I like mostly, it is my favourite,
that during the first att*ck on the city of Rome
Vandals from Anthern, they entered the temple.
They took part of this treasure.
The Vandals.
The Vandals. And they loaded three ships
and on the way to Cortege,
because the vandals took Cortege again
from the Roman Empire-
Carthage. So they were going to Carthage,
three ships loaded with the treasure.
There was a wreck ship
along the journey to Carthage,
and most of the ships were lost
and I'm quite sure the treasury was lost with the ships
and now they're covered in the sand
in the bottom of the Mediterranean Sea.
You like the idea that it's sunk,
and it's somewhere between Africa and Sicily.
Yes, this is what we say.
[SIMCHA] If Jerusalem's gold is at the bottom of the sea,
I'm guessing that my search is sunk.
But maybe I'm giving too much attention to legend
when I really should be focusing on actual history.
It just so happens that there are year old writings
by an ancient historian named Procopius,
who literally picks up the treasure trail
directly after Jerusalem's gold leaves Rome.
Inside Procopius' books are clus we can use to draw a map.
He confirms that the treasure was carried by Vandal pirates
from Sicily to North Africa.
And here, he tells us, the Vandals grew fat for years
justifying their reign as "divine"
by holding high Solomon's Temple Treasures
in their hilltop palace in Carthage.
She's stuffed from keel to gunwals with treasure
[SIMCHA] By the end of the th century,
the Roman Empire had crashed,
but it began rebuilding as the Byzantine Empire,
shifting its control east, to Constantinople,
modern Istanbul in Turkey.
And the Byzantines were about to bust in on the booty!
In Emperor Justinian att*cked Carthage,
took control of the rich "olive oil lands"
and took back the Temple Treasures.
But archaeologist Dan Bahat tells me that the treasures
didn't exactly receive a golden welcome.
After Carthage was conquered by Justinian's army
the treasures of the temple were brought to Constantinople
and the advisers of Justinian told him "what are you doing?
Wherever those treasures were, the city was destroyed.
First Jerusalem, then Rome, now Carthage
and if you leave it here this will be also the lot
of Constantinople, so better send it away."
Then according to Procopius he sent it to Jerusalem.
[SIMCHA] Fearing that a curse was brought
upon any empire that kept the temple treasures hostage,
Justinian sent the holy icons home.
In the direct translation of Procopius,
he sent them back to the "sanctuaries of the Christians
in Jerusalem".
And it's this one line of translation
that has directed almost all of the treasure hunters here.
The Church of the Holy Sepulcher.
You have layers of architecture, layers of faiths,
and an entire edifice of religion right here.
And the church was established
on top of the supposed place where Jesus was buried.
[SIMCHA] It's for this reason that for over centuries,
this church has been considered by most Christians
the holiest church in Christendom.
It seems logical to assume
that Procopius was referring to this church
when he said that the temple treasures
were sent to the Christian sanctuaries in Jerusalem.
There is a whole network here.
[SIMCHA] There has been digging done here.
Lots of it.
The Knight's Templar certainly d their share during the crusades.
But no temple treasure has ever been found.
And I've just discovered that's because
everyone's been digging under the wrong church.
Archaeologist Dan Bahat has shown me a secret,
hidden in the walls of Jerusalem's Temple Mount,
that he believes may actually lead us
directly to the correct location of the temple treasure.
[SIMCHA] Archaeologist Dan Bahat
has shared a secret that just may direct me
to the final resting place of Jerusalem's gold.
Professor thousands of people go up and down over here
and they don't notice this thing.
But I think it's very important because you told me so,
and also I think it's somehow connected, amazingly enough,
to the story of the temple treasure.
Yes, definitely.
As we know the treasures of the temple were in Constantinople.
Then according to Procopius,
Emperor Justinian sent it to Jerusalem.
Exactly at that time he finished
to build the church of Nea in Jerusalem.
Actually, the full name of the church was the Nea Theotokos
which means the new church
of the birth giver to the Lord.
[SIMCHA] Bahat tells me that the Church of Nea,
or "the New Church" was enormous.
A tribute to Christendom.
It had just been completed in Jerusalem
at the time the emperor brought the temple treasures
to Constantinople.
- Take your men to the inn and stand guard over the silver.
[SIMCHA] To kidnap God's gold, Justinian believed,
would be a curse and so Bahat says he sent it to Jerusalem
as a gift to the Church of Nea.
The New Church provides us with a new theory.
You say it's not the Church of the Holy Sepulchre,
it's the Church of Nea,
and this is the lintel from that church?
Yes, exactly so. All the stones,
which we see around us are stones from that church
reused in the Muslim palace
which was constructed here in the eighth century.
How do we know that this is from the Church of Nea?
Oh very simple.
You can see here if you look at it well you can see clearly,
you can see the wreath.
You can see here the cross which is visible
and you have got of course the emblem of Christ,
alpha and here you've got the omega
which of course was chiseled out by the Muslims
but it is existing and you can see it clearly.
You're saying that blocks of this size,
a lentil of this size could only have come
from the Church of Nea?
Yes because it was an enormous church,
enormous and not only was it a church,
according to Procopius it was an enter complex.
It included not only the church itself but also a hospice,
hospitals, alm houses and all kind of things of the like.
It was an enormous complex.
[SIMCHA] But it was a home that didn't last.
In CE Muslim Arabs under Caliph Umar conquered Jerusalem.
They then dismantled the Church of Nea
re-using the massive stones to build a Muslim palace
on the Temple Mount.
But it wasn't just the stones that interested them.
Bahat says they hit the Church of Nea
because they were looking for gold.
When the Muslims conquered Jerusalem
they did two things.
One of them, they removed the golden cross
from the top of the Church of the Holy Sepulcher
and they destroyed the Church of Nea.
The only reason which I can see for the destruction of Nea,
why not another church,
is simply because the treasures were there
and the Muslims looked for the treasures.
Now you could ask why don't you dig to look for the treasures.
Yeah why don't you dig and look for the treasures?
Because Nea is in today's Jewish quarter.
The Jewish quarter was built from north to south.
The Church of Nea was discovered
in the southernmost part of the quarter
after all the quarter was standing
so what we've got is mostly the southern fringes of that church.
We don't have the entire church.
You're saying that the way the Jewish Quarter
was constructed makes it impossible
to dig under the Church of Nea?
Yes, impossible because it's covered now with buildings.
So we know where it is.
We know precisely because we know the plan.
We know everything now.
This is just an incredible clue.
And you think we know what the last known resting place
of the temple treasure is?
Yes, that is what I would say.
You think the temple treasure is still there?
Difficult to say because,
remember the place was, you know what?
Why not?
[SIMCHA] Why not! This is a new theory!
Bahat says that today only the southern fringes are accessible.
But I had to convince the professor
to take me underneath the Jewish quarter
and into the southern ruins of the church
which might turn out to be a treasure chest
filled with temple gold.
He finally obliged but I would have to wait a whole day.
[SIMCHA] Archaeologist Dan Bahat
has finally agreed to take me
where no other treasure hunters have set foot.
This ancient mosaic shows that the massive Church of Nea
once stood at the southern edge of Jerusalem.
Bahat's new interpretation of Procopious's writings
has directed us underneath today's Jewish quarter
and into the ruins of the Church of Nea.
Here, we may just find an ancient hiding place
for Jerusalem's temple treasures.
Now, we are under a school.
The kids are making a lot of noise.
But that's wonderful, because under their school
there is a church.
You can see the fantastic stones
of which the church is made.
These are huge.
These are the big blocks, huge blocks.
This church must have been massive
to have such huge stones.
Yes. enormous fondations.
Yes, definitely.
Since this church is standing in a very precarious place,
they had to build enormous supporting walls
to create the platform on which the church,
and its ancillary structures were constructed.
If this is the place that Procopius was talking about
where the Temple treasure was sent,
and if you have this huge structure,
and you have a retaining wall,
that means you also have spaces
where you can hide things.
It's possible, 'cause the Muslims don't say
that they found the Temple treasure,
so it's possible that there are some spaces.
It must have been hidden.
Such a thing you don't leave in the open,
especially when enemies coming.
[SIMCHA] And now Bahat tells me of something
with great subterranean significance.
years ago the church's massive retaining wall
created some problems.
It acted as an obstruction that caused
enormous amounts of water to collect.
The builders came up with a practical solution
and constructed huge cisterns here.
Underground reservoirs that they used to store the water.
The recent discovery of these massive underground cisterns
has exposed areas that may have served as hiding places.
It is not open to the public, because again,
because of the water, so much water all the time,
we've got to solve the problem of water coming, seeping in.
But the Naked Archaeologist can get in.
The Naked Archaeologist can get in.
He has to undress, because otherwise
his trousers will be wet.
[SIMCHA] The Professor takes me above ground
and across the street
to access the Church of Nea's ancient cisterns.
We are literally going under the southern wall
of the Jewish quarter.
People living here have no idea that they are walking
on top of what could be a secret vault
for Jerusalem's temple treasure.
The temple treasure may be underneath. I'm not joking.
Tell me, does everybody get into this place?
Look at, look at. It's rusty because no one comes here.
No one gets into this place?
No one.
Let's get naked.
I don't mind if you ask me.
Ok. This is quite amazing, the size of this.
This is incredible.
We are under the city of Jerusalem here.
Whoa! I almost fell.
Careful, because now it's slippery.
Woah. How much dirt.
What's that sound?
There's flying from top.
Is it a rat? -No.
Bat's or rats? -Bats.
What? -Bats.
Bats? -Yes.
I hate the sound of those bats.
[SIMCHA] Bats now control the gates
into these year old cisterns,
massive vaults that still the collect running water
for a mega-church that no longer exists.
You're saying that this is not just a church.
You're saying it's an entire-
Complex.
Complex. And Procopius,
when he says that Justinian sent the Temple treasure
to Jerusalem, he doesn't say to the church,
he says to the Christian sanctuary. Complex.
I can tell you I'm convinced
that it was sent to this church, the Nea.
To this complex.
Yes, because it was a part of his embellishment
of this beautiful structure.
Look at it. It's huge.
Yes, yes, that's right.
The temple treasure could be here.
This is such an immense structure
that you could spend years looking around,
and you wouldn't find things unless you knew where to look.
And it's below the city. Nobody knows it's here.
People don't know about it, yes.
[SIMCHA] But it's impossible to excavate here.
The slope and geography are such
that this place fills with water after every heavy rainfall.
It has many problems, technical problems.
like always in winter it is full of water.
There are many problems which are involved.
That's why I didn't do it, yes.
[SIMCHA] But Bahat is convinced, and now so am I,
that this is where the temple treasures were delivered
by Emperor Justinian.
And what's most frustrating is that they still may be here,
resting under centuries of accumulated sludge and runoff.
To excavate this entire subterranean church complex
would cost millions. A price tag that for now,
keeps archaeologist far from what may be
the greatest archaeological find of all time.
(upbeat theme music)
02x05 - Chasing the Temple Booty: Part Two
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Show examines biblical stories and tries to find proof for them by exploring the Holy Land looking for archaeological evidence, personal inferences, deductions, and interviews with scholars and experts.
Show examines biblical stories and tries to find proof for them by exploring the Holy Land looking for archaeological evidence, personal inferences, deductions, and interviews with scholars and experts.