Myth Hunters

The armies of Nazi Germany crossed the border with Austria, but when Hitler arrived in Vienna just 2 days later, the very first thing he did was to go to the Hofburg museum to lay claim to what appeared to be a simple Roman spear head. This spear head was something that Hitler had apparently coveted ever since he had first nurtured ambitions to become the ruler of a new German Reich. After the end of the Second World War, the lance was lost. Walter Horn, a US Army lieutenant who had fled Germany, went in search of the Holy Lance.

For 2000 years, adventurers have been searching for the ship that, according to the Bible, saved Noah, his family and the animals from the great flood that God wanted to use to wipe out evil from the earth. In the last 50 years, the American creationists in particular have taken over the search. They believe that finding the Ark on Mount Ararat in eastern Turkey would be the ultimate proof that the theory of evolution is wrong and that every word of the Bible is true. The documentary accompanies three of these creationists on their perilous expeditions.

Richard Knight has traveled the world as an actor, entertainer and odd-job man. But then the story of Captain Kidd's pirate treasure wouldn't let him go. He discovered marked maps in Kidd's estate and located the probable treasure island: Hon Tre Lon. However, this belonged to communist Vietnam. Knight and his partner Fred Graham were caught trespassing and arrested. After 14 months, Knight was finally released after a ransom was paid. However, he did not give up hope for the treasure.

The biblical King Solomon was famous for his wisdom, women, and wealth. The Queen of Sheba gave him gold from the mysterious land of Ophir. For thousands of years, adventurers and explorers sought the source of gold, King Solomon's mines. German explorer Karl Mauch believed he had found Ophir deep in the heart of South Africa. While archaeological excavations in the early 20th century proved otherwise, his discovery of an ancient site proved to be one of Africa's most important archaeological discoveries. King Solomon's mines remain lost.

For many it is the eighth wonder of the world: the Amber Room. Frederick I gave it to the Russian tsar in 1716, in 1941 the Germans stole it and brought it to Konigsberg, today's Kaliningrad. At the end of the war, the Amber Room disappeared without a trace - the starting signal for the greatest treasure hunt of the 20th century. For many years, the Soviet secret police and the Stasi directed the search. Finally, in 2002, a German company financed a replica that can be seen today in St. Petersburg's Summer Palace. But the search for the original continues.

The Honjo Masamune is perhaps Japan's most legendary sword, but no one knows where it is. Forged in the 13th century, it became the ceremonial sword of the Tokugawa samurai dynasty for 250 years. Since 1868 it was passed on from one generation to the next, but after the Second World War it disappeared. It may have been melted down undetected in occupied Japan, but experts believe it may have made its way to the United States as a souvenir. Today it would be worth millions and collectors hope that the lost sword of the samurai will one day be found.

For centuries, the Holy Grail has been regarded as a holy relic that brings life-force and its location have repeatedly given rise to a wide range of myths. In 1935 the writer Otto Rahn was ordered to Berlin and met Heinrich Himmler there. The Reichsfuhrer-SS commissioned Rahn to search for the Holy Grail. It was to be exhibited in Wewelsburg, used by the SS, which Himmler wanted to make his Camelot. Rahn traversed all of Europe in search of the Grail, but in the end he had to pay for his search with his life.

According to legend, the Egyptian god Thoth gave the Book of Thoth to the people. With its help, the future can be predicted. The Greeks incorporated a version of the book into their culture, the Christians rejected it as pagan. In the 17th century it supposedly influenced Freemasons, in the 18th century tarot card readers. Finally, in the 20th century, the flower power movement of the 1960s was based on its content. But since the actual book has not yet been found, it is doubtful that it ever really existed.

Legend has it that somewhere in South America there is a city of gold: Eldorado, the remnant of a kingdom that once lay deep in the Amazon jungle. British explorer Percy Fawcett believed in the legend. From 1906 he was regularly on expeditions in the border area between Bolivia and Brazil. In 1925 he started the Eldorado search with his son Jack and his best friend Raleigh. The disappearance of Percy Fawcett is still one of the greatest mysteries in history. The numerous search and research expeditions that were sent to unravel this mystery were all unsuccessful. There was indeed a mythical civilization in the jungle, but the riches of the true Eldorado had nothing to do with gold.

In 1944, Heinrich Himmler sent SS soldiers to Italy to search for a missing document. It is the oldest version of the work Germania, which Tacitus wrote in 98 BC. The book describes a noble and pure human race, the descendants of which the Nazis saw themselves as. With the work, Himmler wanted to prove that the Germans descended from superhumans, who the Nazis called Aryans. For this task, Himmler put together a special unit called Ahnenerbe to locate the missing manuscript.

The Ark of the Covenant has been missing for over 2000 years. According to legend, it contained the power of God and was carried into battle by the Israelites as a weapon. In 1982, American Ron Wyatt claimed he found the Ark in Jerusalem, but he had neither witnesses nor evidence. Findings from recent excavations in Israel suggest that there may have been more than one Ark, as other portable shrines have also been called the Ark of God.

In 1924, young Anna Mitchell-Hedges found an unusual object in the jungles of Central America: a crystal quartz skull. One theory is that he is part of an ancient legend. One day, 13 of these skulls will unite into one and reveal the great mysteries of life. Some of these crystal skulls have already surfaced and are on display in museums around the world. The program explores the question of what is actually behind the secret of the crystal skulls.

In the 1990s, German historian Michael Hesemann examined one of the most important Christian relics: the Titulus Crucis. The small piece of wood is said to have hung on the cross of Jesus and made known his name. But is it real or a medieval fake? Hesemann traveled across Europe and the Middle East to trace the history of this piece of wood, said to be 2000 years old. Eventually he confirmed the authenticity of the relic, but according to an examination using the scientifically approved C-14 method, it is a fake.