04x05 - Sacrificial Altar

[bunniefuu]

[narrator] Previously on
Blind Frog Ranch...

In their quest
to find the Aztec gold,

the collapse
of the south cave...

- [Eric] Everyone get out?
- [Chad] Yeah.

[narrator] ...cut off Chad
and Eric's most promising lead

to the keyhole chamber.

[Chad] There's no way
we can go back in there.

No, we gotta find
another entrance, dude.

[narrator]
Forced to change strategies...

Using high-tech LiDAR...

[Duane] I'll be darned.

[narrator] ...to find
a possible mine tunnel...

- You see right here.
- Yeah.

It looks like an open pit mine.

[narrator]
deep in the mountains.

[Chad]
There it is. Right behind.

[Eric] Oh, my!

[narrator] It could lead
to the lost gold.

[Chad] This is a treasure hunt.
We're looking for entrances.

We're looking for clues.

I mean, this could
be something big.

[narrator] But it also
put them in the path...

[Chad] Hey, look at this.

Watch out, watch out, watch out.

[narrator] ...of an
unknown predator.

[Eric] There's a lot of
predator prey going on here.

I just hope we're not the prey.

[narrator] Meanwhile,
Duane was able to crack open

a hidden void at the bead site.

- [Josh] This keeps going, James.
- [Charlie] And that's

going down underneath it, too.

[narrator] It could lead
to the keyhole chamber

and the treasure.

[Josh] We're gonna hook
up this smoke machine,

take this hose, and
put it right in that hole.

[narrator] The smoke test
revealed multiple entrances

connecting to the void.

- [Josh] Look up! There!
- [James] Yup.

[Josh] That smoke
is pouring out of there.

[narrator] And the
team uncovered

what could be a sacred altar.

[James] I'm thinking
this is an altar piece.

I think there really is

something to these smoke pipes.

[narrator] But when they
scouted one with an endoscope...

What the [bleep] is that?

[narrator] ...the team made
an unsettling discovery.

It's a skull.

[narrator] Legends
of ancient treasures...

This has to be
hundreds of years back.

[narrator] ...and
unexplained phenomenon...

[James] What the hell is that?

[narrator] ...meet at a 160-acre
property in northeast Utah

known as Blind Frog Ranch.

There, Duane
Olinger and his team

are digging in search
of long-lost Aztec gold.

[Josh] Could the Aztecs
have discovered this?

[narrator] But the
closer they get...

Finally get to hold
[bleep] gold in my hand.

[narrator] ...the more
the land fights back.

- [Josh] Poison gas.
- [Chad] Let's go! Let's [bleep] go!

[narrator] Now, Duane
will move heaven

- and Earth...
- [man] Fire in the hole.

[narrator] ...until he gets to
the bottom of the mystery...

[Duane] We've
started this whole deal,

and we're sure as
hell gonna finish it.

[narrator] ...and solves
what's lurking below...

[Eric] Holy [bleep]!
There's something in there.

[bleep] God!

[narrator] ...at
Blind Frog Ranch.

I'll be spotting from over here.

- Let's drill it.
- All right.

[narrator] At the bead site,

Duane is ready to cut
into the side of the rock wall

to access an opening
at the bottom of the vent

where they discovered
two burnt animal skulls.

[Josh] How did it get in there?

We're not seeing any other
bones around it or anything,

so I don't think an
animal drug it in there.

[Duane speaking]

Well, there has to be
a larger opening then,

somewhere.

[narrator] Duane
theorizes the skulls

must have been placed there

via another entrance
further underground,

perhaps one that eventually
reaches the keyhole chamber.

[Josh] There he goes.

While Duane is
excavating the soil away,

we're gonna be looking for clues

to tell us where there could be

an additional entrance
into the cave system.

You seeing anything, Charlie?

[Charlie] Nah, nothing yet.

[Charlie] Whoa,
whoa, whoa. Hold up,

hold up! You're hitting
something hard up in there.

Josh, can you look at
that to see what it is?

[Josh] Duane, pull that back.

- [Charlie] We need to get a closer look.
- [Josh] Yeah.

That sound was way
different than anything else.

[Josh] I think we're gonna
have to hand dig this.

[James] All right. I'm gonna go
grab some shovels and trowels.

[Charlie] Yeah.

[Josh] Excavation
is a serious business.

You gotta know what
the hell you're doing.

You gotta put everything
in place one inch at a time,

or somebody's gonna get k*lled.

[narrator] The team starts digging
away the loose dirt around the rock face.

He hit something
hard, didn't he, Charlie?

[Charlie] What is this?

[James] You got something?

[Josh] I just...

Boy, there it goes.

Look at that.

- Look at it.
- [James] Look right here.

- You got something there.
- [James] Yeah.

Look at that,
Duane. Another one.

Look at that.

- What do you got?
- Charcoal.

- [Josh] Really? Charcoal.
- [James] Look at that.

[Charlie] Well, we saw the
discoloration on the endoscope,

so maybe it's the charcoal.

There's, like, charred all
around the other edges, and then

there's this skull right there.

[Josh] Whoa, look at
this, guys. Look at this.

Look at this. This is going.

Oh, my God. It's
just falling away.

There's, like, a solid
rock face right here.

[James] Wow. Now
this is interesting.

[Josh] These are big,
flat sheets of sandstone,

but they're sitting like this.

This was put here.

- [Charlie] Yeah.
- For sure.

- This didn't come in naturally.
- Yeah.

This sandstone would not be
sitting like this. These flat sheets,

these are puzzled together.

Now you're talking.

[Charlie] This looks like
a structure or something.

Let me grab... Hold on here.

Look at this. Look at this.

[Charlie] Put it in. Put it in.

[James] Look at
this. Look at this.

[Josh] Nice and easy.

I think it's a ceiling
top, so be careful.

We found what appears to be
the roof of the sandstone slabs.

It's almost like
it's forming the roof

of a man-made dome structure.

So I'm really hoping that
we're closing in on that chamber

that we found with
the endoscope.

Look, I'm starting to
see a recess. Look at this.

Oh. Oh, here we
go. It's giving way.

- [Josh] What do you got?
- [James] Look.

[Josh] Oh, my gosh. You're
getting your arm in there.

[James] Check this out.

You know, James, you're
sticking your arm in there.

That could be a snake
pit too, so be careful.

[Josh] Yeah. You should
take a look before you

- shove your whole arm in there.
- [James laughs]

[James] Oh, hold
on here real quick.

There's just a little bit more.

[James grunts]

Oh, wait a minute. Wait
a minute. Wait a minute.

[exhales] Oh, my God.

Duane.

The skulls are here.

[Duane] From the scope?

From the endoscope.

And the walls

are completely charred.

That'll make more sense
about some of this charcoal

- scattered all over here.
- [James] Yeah.

Wait a minute. Hold on.

Man, guys, you know what?

I don't think this is some
random rock chamber.

It looks like some
type of crematorium.

What?

- [Chad] What a spot, huh?
- [Eric] Yeah.

We got a good spot here, Chad.

[Chad] Oh, yeah.
Overlooking the mine.

[Eric] Good view of the mine.

[narrator] After
following the fault line

that leads north
from the south cave,

Chad and Eric have located
the abandoned pit mine

they first identified
on the LiDAR map.

With the south
cave now collapsed,

they hope this will lead

to a new way into
the keyhole chamber.

[Chad] How old do
you think this mine is?

[Eric] Um,

hard to say, but
from what I'm seeing,

probably...

Mormon era was
maybe the last to work it.

Just by the roughness
of the timbers.

So, I mean, we see
nails in some of it.

But others, it's just
like it was rough-hewn.

But it could have been worked,

- you know, far earlier than that.
- Yeah.

There could have been
several different mining...

[Chad] Spaniards
or something like that.

Even going back to
the Spaniards. Yeah.

And this still seems
like a really rich dig site.

So why did they leave?

[exhales] That's a
very good question.

[narrator] The Uinta
Mountains of Utah

hold a long history
of hunting for gold.

In the mid-1500s,

the Spanish dispatched
search parties

to find Montezuma's
lost Aztec gold

that was rumored to
be hidden underground.

This led to large-scale
mining operations in the area.

And by the 1800s, the
Mormons were bringing in gold

from at least 40 gold
mines across the Uintas.

[Eric] This area has
been mined and explored

for hundreds of years,

regardless of who
mined it last, um...

But it'll be really interesting
to see what we find tomorrow.

- How's it looking?
- [Eric] Ah,

it needs a little while longer.

[branches snapping]

[branches snapping]

[branches snapping]

[Chad speaking]

[Eric speaking]

[Chad speaking]

[Chad speaking]

[Chad] [bleep]!

[Chad speaking]

[Eric speaking]

[cameraman speaking]

[narrator] After being awakened
by a strange animal nearby,

Chad and Eric rouse
the camera crew.

[Chad speaking]

[narrator] But one of
the crew is missing.

[Chad speaking]

[Chad speaking]

Dude, where were you?

[Chad] Hey, hey, hey.

[narrator] At the
open pit mine camp,

one of the crew heard
the midnight intruder

and decided to investigate.

- [Chad] Joel, show me where it's at.
- [Joel] This way. Over here.

- [Chad] Right.
- [Joel] This straight.

- Over here. Yeah.
- [Chad] Straight ahead?

- Camera set? Let's go.
- [Joel] Yeah.

[Eric] What is that
smell? It smells like

a dead animal or something.

I can still smell it.

[Eric] Hey, Chad.

You think we should make
ourselves known here?

- [Chad] Like a bear or something?
- [Eric] Yeah.

Hey!

- [Chad] Down there. Down there.
- [Eric] Look at that.

Look at that. Right there. Hey!

Cameras. You see it?

Right there. There's
something down there. Lights.

Lights over there.

- Right there. Right there.
- [Eric] Yeah, there. Right there.

- [Chad] What's that?
- [Eric] What is that? What's that?

[Chad] Oh, my God.
It's huge. Whatever it is.

What is that?

[Eric] Whatever it is, I want
it to know that we're here.

[Chad] Oh, he knows.

- [branches snapping]
- [Eric] Oh.

[Chad] Right there. Right there.

- [rustling]
- It's running.

Where'd he go?

Lost it.

It's gone now. I don't
hear it anywhere.

Ah.

We're gonna take sentry shifts.

I'll be first. Y'all
down with that?

- [Joel] Yeah.
- Yeah.

All right, we'll keep the machete handy
just in case something else comes by.

Let's do it. [bleep]

[Chad] Get some
sleep. I'll stay up.

All we can do now,

you know, keep the fire going.

Last night, we
had a crazy night.

This morning I
checked the perimeter

to make sure
whatever it was is gone.

Hey, guys.

Whatever it was, it's gone.

I was looking for tracks,
but there's so many rocks

that I couldn't
actually track anything.

Yeah, it'd be hard to see.

[Chad] Yeah, so...

I think today I want to look for

a cave entrance that goes
underground all the way to Blind Frog.

I want to look for
more of that rich ore.

I mean, this is
significant enough

that it can lead us
to a tunnel system

that connects to the south cave.

I mean, I don't think
it's a coincidence

that this mine right here

is right in line with the
fault and right in line with

- the collapsed cave system.
- [Chad] Exactly.

The same fault zone,

I think likely we
could find something

- and follow it all the way back.
- [Eric] That'd be awesome.

So, you'll take a
cameraman, I'll take one too.

- Sounds good.
- [Chad] We'll split up.

- [Eric] Yeah.
- [Chad] Be safe.

Ready?

[Eric] This morning
I'm focusing on

where that rich vein might be.

Mineralization,

meaning the
accumulation of gold,

happens along fault lines.

And that's also
where caves form.

So anytime we
see traces of gold,

that could lead us to the
underground cavern system.

And Chad, he's looking
for cave openings.

So we're diversifying
our exploration a little bit.

Oh, this is a good spot.

Let me take a look at
this in more detail here.

First thing I'm looking at is...

You'll see some...

There we go. Look at that.

We're seeing some
malachite here.

That's one of the
indicating minerals

that could show you where to

look for the gold, basically.

The other good thing I
see is in the wall here,

you see they have this
reddish-brown material.

And this is hematite, another
gold-indicating mineral.

I'm not gonna take a sample here

because the walls
here look very unstable.

This has definitely been
worked significantly by others

before us.

This debris pile here

came from there.

And so if you were
to be standing there

when that debris came
down, you'd be buried.

This mining business
can be kind of dangerous.

Uh, we don't know when
that mine was last mined,

but it was a pretty
long time ago.

We've already experienced
a couple of cave-ins,

so we've got to be really
careful around this old mine.

[Chad] Big cave right here.

[narrator] Chad
has identified a cave

on the hillside near
the open pit mine.

[Chad] I got a camera.

[narrator] He's hoping
there are other tunnels inside

that could lead back to
the collapsed south cave.

[Chad] Let's see where it'll go.

Yeah, there's four different
directions they went.

They went that way.

I guess they didn't find
anything. Went that way.

That way. And
then back that way.

There's five. Then down here.

These caves these guys
are digging are so tight.

Like, this one, you
can barely fit through.

So these guys would prospect.

If they weren't finding
anything in a certain direction,

they would stop and
go a different direction.

There's so many tunnels here.

One of them could lead back

to the keyhole chamber
through the fault line.

I mean, they're obviously
digging here for a reason.

There's a whole
lot of that green rock

down at the bottom.

Oh, yeah, right here too.

You got that green rock
all over the place here.

Yeah, that's definitely
what they were tracking.

One over here.

This one stops.

So you can see,

this definitely won't get us back
to the cave system in our ranch.

It goes back, I
don't know, 20 foot?

Keep looking.

[Eric] Yeah.

So I'm liking what I see here.

Um, I see both

the hematite and the
malachite right here.

This looks good
enough for me to, uh,

to grab a sample of
it and bring it back.

There we go.

So we have a nice
piece. We've got, um,

the indicator
minerals, um, in here.

The headwalls are
looking pretty good.

We're seeing the
greens and the reds.

And so

it makes sense geologically.

We follow the fault.

We follow the
indicating minerals.

We look for the cave.

So we'll bring this
back and look at it.

All right.

[Chad] Got another
cave right here.

Yeah, they were serious
about whatever they were doing.

You see that shoring.

And they're following this
hematite the whole way.

Usually where
these entrances are,

there's hematite all around it.

And shoring.

Metal all around.

Old stuff.

Stuff like this is proof of
the teams that were here.

I mean, they weren't just mining

and shoring and everything.
They were living up here.

There are those same logs again.

And they look like the
ones at the south cave.

All these cave
entrances have hematite

all over it.

That's not our way in.

There's another cave right here.

Doesn't look like it
goes very far, though.

[soft rumbling]

[Chad] Hey, Eric?

Eric!

Eric!

[Eric] Yeah?

- [Chad] Did you hear that?
- [Eric] No.

There's [bleep]
moving up here, man.

- [Eric] Something's going on.
- [Chad] Let's go.

[bleep] was that?

[Chad] There's [bleep]
moving up here, man.

Let's move, but
we gotta be careful.

[narrator] At the open pit mine,

Chad and Eric are
caught off guard

by something
lurking in their camp.

[branches snapping]

Joel, come on.

[bleep] was that?

Hold on.

So whatever this thing
is, it's like it's stalking us.

I mean, same smell, same sounds

and all this [bleep].

- [Eric] Chad!
- Hey.

Hold on.

Hold on. Hold on.

[bleep]!

It's gone. Whatever
it is, it's gone.

It's... It's that
same [bleep] thing.

Big movements,
branches snapping.

Right over there.

[Eric] I don't know, Chad.

[Chad] All right.
All right, [bleep] it.

Let's pack our [bleep]
up and go. Come on.

I checked out the
biggest tunnels,

and I feel like there's much
more to explore at this site.

But right now, we're
like sitting ducks here.

I mean, we can always come back,

but more prepared next time.

We're definitely gonna need some kind of
protection, like bear spray or something.

Let's go, guys.

I mean, we've got enough to worry
about without something stalking us.

And so, uh,

I don't want to come back
here unless I have, like,

more people

and probably some weapons, too.

[James] Wait a minute.

It looks like some
type of crematorium.

[Charlie] What?

[narrator] Yesterday at the bead
site, the team discovered an opening

at the base of the chimney vent

covered by slabs of sandstone.

When they opened it up,

they discovered
burnt animal skulls

that looked as if they
had been placed there.

If you pull this one,
I'll be able to put

a camera down through
the crevice right here.

[narrator] To
document their findings,

they must carefully remove

the larger slabs of sandstone
to make way for the camera.

- Yeah.
- [Josh] I see the void now, James.

Let me get the
camera going here.

[Josh] Okay.

You don't hear any
rattlesnakes, do you?

[chuckles] It's too late now.

I can see the larger skull is

- right around where you're at.
- Over here?

Right there, yeah.

[Charlie] Okay.

[James] That's as far as I
can go in with the camera,

but you know what?

- [Josh] Okay.
- [James] I think we can start removing

these front stones right here.

- So then we found the chamber. This is...
- [James] This is it.

[Josh] This crematorium

holds a lot of answers

to the questions that Duane has

about this property.

- Easy, easy, easy.
- [James] Yeah.

- Slowly.
- [James] Yeah. There you go.

There you go. There you go.

Wait, wait, wait.

Look, look, look,
look. Right here.

[Josh] Is that more bone?

[James] Yeah. I
think so. Hold on.

[James exclaims]

- There's an eye socket right there.
- [James] Yeah.

- [Charlie] Yeah. That's the top of the skull.
- [James] Look at this.

You know that the Native
Americans locally didn't do this,

but the Aztec, the Mexica did.

[Duane] What do
you think it is, guys?

You think it's some
kind of an oven?

You know, Duane,
this was not an oven.

But that vent that
connected into

this chamber was used for fire.

Duane, this is some
type of sacrificial altar.

The Mexica, the Aztec
that were in Mesoamerica...

This was common.

[Josh] You're talking
about animal sacrifice?

[James] Not just
any animal sacrifice.

This animal,

it looks like a fox or a coyote,

could very well have been

sacrificed for their w*r god,

Huitzilopochtli.

And if this dealt
with the w*r god,

this was protecting something.

The only thing I
can't tell from it,

is it the area that's important,

or are they asking to
protect something with it?

[narrator] According
to the historical records,

the ancient Aztecs
made monthly sacrifices

of both humans and animals

to their gods
throughout the year.

Over 400 different
animals were sacrificed

in the Aztec capital
city, Tenochtitlan,

including pumas, jaguars,

wolves, crocodiles, and snakes.

These animal sacrifices
were often made

to win the favor of the gods

or gain their protection.

But one god received
a special offering.

To appease the warrior sun god,

Huitzilopochtli,

the Aztecs reportedly

would make a human
sacrifice every 52 years,

or else the universe
would come to an end.

They would then burn the body
and use their rekindled flame

to light new fires
throughout the empire.

Come on, James, what
are they protecting?

If they were doing this
to protect something,

then maybe the
cavern is behind this

and they were
protecting their treasure.

[James] Look where it's at.

I mean, we're talking
about underground,

something in front of it.

It's got to be the treasure.

So what are you thinking?

There's a cavern
behind it, below it?

There may very well be
something underneath it.

No, I don't know if we want
to drill through that thing.

I think there's

things there that we
don't want to disturb.

We want to leave where we found

that little altar piece alone,

but we still have
to get inside there,

so what we'll do is

we'll just move over quite a bit

and see if we
can't grind in there

and see what we can find

as far as a void or a cavity.

You know, I think we
need to grind right beside it,

see if we can find
more of an opening.

Uh, that's my vote.

Yeah, I think we're
gonna have to.

[James] I second your vote.

[narrator] To avoid
disrupting the altar area,

Duane will angle the
drill to dig around it,

and search for another entrance

that opens up to
the keyhole chamber.

[wind blowing]

[Charlie] What the hell?
Where's that wind coming from?

[Josh] It feels like
a storm's coming.

It seems God don't
want us in there.

- [Chad] What you got, Eric?
- [Eric] Hey, Chad.

[narrator] After
trekking along a fault line

out to an open pit mine...

These caves these guys
are digging are so tight.

Like, this one, you
can barely fit through.

So these guys would prospect.

If they weren't finding
anything in a certain direction,

they would stop and
go a different direction.

[narrator] ...and fending
off a nocturnal stalker...

[Eric] Whatever it is, I want
it to know that we're here.

[Chad] Oh, he knows.

- [Eric] Oh.
- [Chad] Right there, right there.

[Eric] Yeah, there. Right there.

[narrator] ...Eric and Chad
have regrouped to process

the ore samples
that Eric collected.

- [Eric] Shall we go to work here? Let's do it.
- [Chad] Let's crush it, baby.

[Eric] We're gonna
do some crushing,

then sieving, then panning,

and we'll see what's in it.

[narrator] By crushing
the rock to reveal

the makeup of his samples,

they hope to find signs of
gold and other rich minerals

that might indicate
a tunnel system

that could lead back to
the collapsed south cave.

[Chad] Well, hopefully
we found something,

'cause that was a hell
of a trek up there, man.

[Eric] You bet it
was, man. If you want

to man the crusher here, this is

like a mortar and
pestle on steroids.

- [Chad] Okay.
- [Eric] So let's break it up.

We're following these
highly mineralized zones

that were deposited by water.

That same water could have
carved out a huge cave system.

[Chad] Whoo!

- You don't need to go to the gym today, huh?
- Feel the burn.

The gold and precious
minerals will often occur

within the limestone.

To liberate that,
you need to crush it,

bust up this rock,

and sift the pieces
to see what's inside it.

[narrator] A fault line is a
break in the Earth's surface.

Over thousands of years,

water leaks through
fissures in the rock walls

and into the larger caves,

carrying mineral traces with it.

These traces form deposits
in the surrounding rock,

acting as a mineral-rich

breadcrumb trail
through the caverns.

If Eric is correct,

the presence of
gold in his ore sample

could indicate a
vast cave system

and a way back to the south cave

and keyhole chamber.

If not, it means
another dead end.

- [Eric] Put it right in here.
- [Chad] All right.

- [Eric] Here we go.
- [Chad] Ready?

I always like to save the
oversize 'cause you never know.

Save that.

- So that's what we're gonna pan.
- Okay.

[Eric] It's just a
matter of washing it.

- [Chad] And the heavies of the gold stay down?
- [Eric] Yeah.

I mean, we can
take our time with it.

This is the moment
of truth here.

So I don't see anything there.

- [Chad] Damn it.
- [Eric] I know.

- It's a lot of work for nothing.
- Yeah.

So we'll just dump this out.

And we'll try again.

Miners have been doing this,
you know, for hundreds of years.

It's a very basic process.

And it ends with
just panning it out

to hopefully find gold

or silver or copper

or something of value.

I kind of like the
looks of this one.

Uh, it was from a
more mineralized zone.

[Chad] Yeah.

If we find gold in this sample,

it could be a good
indication that

there's an extensive tunnel
going back to the south cave.

But if not, we've risked
our lives for nothing

and right back where we started.

- Let's do it.
- [Eric] Go for it.

Almost there, brother.

That looks pretty good, Chad.

- [Chad] You like it?
- Yeah.

- Let's see what we got.
- [Chad] Hell yeah.

[Eric] All right, here we go.

I'm starting to see a little
more black sand in this.

Black sands are a good sign
because they're the heavy minerals

that gold is often
associated with.

There's a potential for

- bigger pieces in it.
- [Chad] Nice.

Come on.

Come on, man.

[bleep] come on.

- [Chad] Huh.
- [Eric] [bleep]! [bleep]!

You thought that that
one had something in it?

[Eric] I did. I thought this
was our best chance, man.

[bleep]!

[Eric exhales]

[Chad] Well, [bleep].

Um...

[bleep]!

Uh, this looks like
a good sample.

When I see areas of rich ore,

it means to me that there's
highly concentrated minerals

that could have
carved the cave system.

Let me just run the
detector over that

and see what we
got, if anything.

So what I'm
doing here is just...

- [device beeps]
- [Eric] Oh.

[Chad] Something
in there? [bleep] yeah.

[Eric] There's something in here.
There's something right in my hand.

- [Chad] [bleep] yes.
- [device beeping]

Let's see it.

- Is it still on?
- Yeah.

- This one.
- [Eric] Here.

Whatever it
was, it's still here.

What's that? What's
that? What's that?

That's it. Look at that. Yellow.

[laughs]

- That's it. That's what we're looking for, brother.
- [Chad] [bleep]!

- Whoo!
- Yeah!

[Chad laughs] Yeah.

[Eric] When you're looking for
gold or gems or what have you,

you put a lot of
work into it, man.

And, you know, it
doesn't always pan out.

You don't always find it.

But when you do,
it's just amazing.

- Hell yeah. Nice job, man.
- [Eric laughs] Yeah.

This rich ore is
significant enough

that it can lead us to this

tunnel system that
connects to the south cave.

- We got gold, boys!
- [Eric] Yeah!

[Chad] This is significant,
not just because there may be

gold veins under
Blind Frog Ranch,

but because we may
have found a tunnel that can

ultimately lead us back
to the keyhole chamber.

- [Eric] We got to go back up there, man.
- Yeah.

I mean, every
little clue we find

can lead us possibly
into another entrance

to this underground
cavern system we have.

I'm super stoked about this

'cause that means we
could find some cool [bleep].

It could lead to a
huge find, basically.

And it's on the same fault

- that we're looking for everything else.
- It is. It is.

It just means we
got more work to do.

Let's go, boys.

Whoo!

[James] You know, you see all
this rock back here that's charred?

It was all brought
here to create this.

Look at this. I mean,
we're looking at an altar.

[narrator] Everyday altars
adored Aztec houses and walkways

and held incense
and clay figures

used for ritual prayer,
such as honoring family.

But for the most culturally
significant moments

such as coronations
and sacrifices,

lavish altars sat atop temples

in the highest
places of worship.

In 2021,

researchers in Mexico City

unearthed a secret altar

dating back to 1521,

containing a jar of human ashes.

Experts believe it was hidden
from the advancing Spanish

by an Aztec family

and contained the
ashes of an ancestor.

As they mourned, the sun
setting on their civilization,

it marked the location of
a final desperate prayer

for survival.

[Josh] So you want
us just spotting you,

making sure you're not
getting into anything of interest?

[Duane] It's gonna eat
up anything we get into,

so just keep an eye out

so we don't hit another
one of those altars.

[narrator] The team's
excavation at the bead site...

Easy, easy, easy.

[narrator] ...revealed
an ancient stone altar.

This is some type
of sacrificial altar.

[narrator] Proof of
human habitation.

- [Josh] Is that more bone?
- [James] I think so.

[narrator] And the smoke test

showed a couple of chimney
structures clustered around the area.

- Oh, right there.
- Yep.

[Josh] That is
a beautiful sight.

[narrator] So Duane
and the team are

preparing to dig
around the altar

in hopes of
uncovering an entrance

to the keyhole cavern
beneath the ranch.

- [Duane] Let's get it started.
- [Josh] All right. Will do.

[Charlie] We followed a
chimney vent down to the altar,

but it seems to be
a dead end there.

We don't want to
damage the altar,

so we're gonna drill into
the rock wall on the left side.

Hopefully, we can intercept
another chimney vent

that will lead us down
into the keyhole chamber.

I'll be overseeing
what's going on,

be looking for anything
that's out of the ordinary

while he's drilling,

because whatever
that rock drill gets into,

it's gonna destroy.

So I've got to be pretty
close to the drill itself.

[Charlie over radio]
All right, Duane.

Give me a chance to kind of
look through this right quick,

make sure we're not
hitting into anything.

[Josh] You seeing
something, Charlie?

[Charlie] The whole
composition of this soil changed

as soon as he got to
that point right there.

It's kind of weird for all that
soft dirt to be in this deep.

[narrator] The sudden
accumulation of soft dirt

within the hard sandstone

could indicate an
opening in the rock face.

Look at that. That's a...

I mean, you're just in there with your hand
just pulling that out like it's beach sand.

[Charlie] Yeah, that just
goes way back in there.

[Josh] This must be part of the
chimney system that's in this rock.

[Charlie] Well, if it's part
of the chimney system,

it's got to be going
into the cavern then.

[Josh] Oh, yeah.

- Yeah, he's got to dig this down further, so...
- [Josh] It's still going

- this direction.
- [Charlie] Yeah.

[Josh] Let's have him drop the
rock wheel down a couple feet,

and if that's just all soft
dirt coming out of there,

- that could be an entrance in.
- [Charlie] Yeah.

We've got a void here,

and it just keeps going, uh,

deeper and deeper
inside the cliff face here,

and so we want
to chase that down

and just see how that opens up,

'cause this very well could
be what we're looking for.

[over radio] Duane, looks like
we've got an opening over here.

Copy that. That's
what we're looking for.

[Charlie] Yeah, if we can
get this down a little bit more,

let's see what it opens up as.

Copy that. Coming at you.

[Josh] Here he goes.

[narrator] Charlie has found
an opening in the rock formation.

However, the team must dig down

to see if it continues deeper.

If it does,

it could be the secret entrance
Duane has been looking for.

There he goes. There he goes.

Let's open this baby up.

We're into somethin'.

[Josh] Here we go.
Let the dust clear.

Yeah, perfect.

What do you think, Charlie?

What do you got?

[Charlie] Yeah, let's see.

Charlie saw that
there was a void there

right in the hard rock, that
doesn't make a lot of sense.

God only knows what it could be.

I mean, that could be
the key that gets us in.

[Charlie] Hey, Josh. Come
over here and look at this.

This could be a game
changer, Charlie boy.

[Josh] Hyah, hyah.

[narrator] Next time
on Blind Frog Ranch...

[Josh] There should be a
way across right over here.

[narrator] Chad and Josh
trek deep into the wilderness...

- [Chad] Finally here, brother.
- [Josh] What is going on with this place?

[narrator] ...to follow a lead that may
finally get them to the keyhole chamber...

- [device beeping]
- [Chad] Holy [bleep].

[narrator] ...and discover a
strange anomaly along the way.

[Chad] There has to be
an entrance somewhere.

[narrator] Meanwhile,
thousands of miles away,

Eric uncovers eerie
similarities to Blind Frog Ranch.

[Eric] We're seeing the
same type of phenomena

out at the ranch.

[narrator] And Duane embarks

on his most ambitious
excavation yet...

[Josh] Hey, whoa, whoa, whoa,
whoa, whoa! Stop him, stop him, Charlie.

[narrator] ...as he tries to crack
open the top of the bead site.

- Is that the machine doing that?
- No, that's not the machine!

[narrator] But something
else stands in the way.

The hell is that?

Shut it down!

Careful! Watch out! Watch out!

[bleep]!