Episode
Expedition Unknown: True Cross of Christ
Overview
Gates searches for the True Cross. This relic, said to have mystical healing powers, has been lost for 2,000 years. Gates visits Jerusalem, Israel and Istanbul, Turkey, to find if the cross or fragments of it still exist. The cross was cut into three pieces on the orders of Empress Helena. He examines this legend at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in the Old City where the tomb of Jesus is located and where he was crucified. Then he learns more about crucifixion in Tel Aviv, and discovers ancient cross wall carvings at the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem.
Details
- Series
- Expedition Unknown
- Season
- Season 2
- Episode
- Episode 8
- Air date
- 2015-12-23
- Runtime
- 60 min
Episode context
True Cross of Christ is Episode 8 in Season 2 of Expedition Unknown. It aired on 2015-12-23. The runtime is 60 min.
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Episode 7: Japan's Atlantis
Gates goes to the ruins of Yonaguni Island, the westernmost Japanese island on the East China Sea, to determine whether the undersea structures are geologic or man-made. The Yonaguni Monument discoverer, Kihachiro Aratake, dives with Josh, showing him the undersea area with cut steps leading up to a level platform. Josh takes a rock sample for geologic analysis. In Osaka, archaeologist Michio Maezano shows Josh an ancient rock tomb. It proves that ancient people could have carved the Yonaguni structures, then an earthquake could have sunk them.
Episode 9: The Sultan's Heart
Gates hunts for the Heart of Suleiman the Magnificent, ruler of the Ottoman Empire in the 16th century. When Suleiman died in 1566 during a battle in Hungary, his body was brought back to Istanbul, but not before a ritual was performed involving the removal of his heart being placed in a gold container and buried beneath his tent. The Sultan's followers believed his heart has magical powers and continues to beat, waiting to be returned to its host. The town of Tubek was built over the burial site to honor the Sultan.
More episodes from this season
Episode 6: Finding Fenn's Fortune
Josh Gates joins the hunt for for a $2,000,000 treasure. He attempts to decode the clues of the modern day treasure's location by following a cryptic poem, leading him deep into the harsh Rocky Mountains.
Episode 10: Africa's Gold Hoard
Gates travels to South Africa to search for the missing Kruger Millions, the gold coins of the country's entire financial reserve. The treasure vanished overnight after South African President Paul Kruger loaded the hoard on a train and it vanished overnight in 1900 during the Boer War.
Episode 5: The Real Robin Hood
Josh travels the English countryside on a mission to learn if Robin Hood was a real man and if he's the hero from the legends or a murderous outlaw. He dives into 800 years of ballads and stories at London's British Library, explores tunnels and caves beneath Nottingham, and joins historians in search of Hood's grave, first in Kirklees Priory, Yorkshire, and lastly at a churchyard in Loxley, where researchers believe an outlaw named Roger Godberd who was the real Robin Hood is buried.
Episode 11: Kalahari Desert's Lost City
Gates searches for a lost city in the Kalahari Desert in Africa. First discovered by circus pioneer The Great Farini in 1885, he supposedly came across the ruins of a lost city half buried in the scorching sands. Those who followed in his footsteps came up empty-handed and claimed it a hoax, while even some vanished. Today, a modern explorer launched an all new expedition which Gates joins.
Episode 4: Hunting Vampires
Gates digs up the truth behind vampire legends. His travels start at Curtea Veche in Romania, where he learns about Vlad the Impaler, the inspiration behind Dracula. Then off to Marotinu de Sus, a Romanian village, where six men desecrated a fresh grave believing it to be a "strigoi". He ends in Perperikon, Bulgaria to examine a supposed vampire grave.
Episode 12: Yamashita's Gold
Gates searches for Yamashita's Gold, millions of dollars in Southeast Asian gold and jewels that was looted by Japan and covertly transported to the Philippines under the direction of Japanese general Tomoyuki Yamashita during World War II. The fortune was hidden by gangsters, military generals, and a secret organization in tunnels and caves somewhere in the conquered country. But the treasure was lost when the Allies won the war, until a treasure hunter found part of it in 1970 and has been searching for it ever since.
Episode 3: Blackbeard's Hidden Gold
Josh explores the ocean floor of the Cayman Islands and the coasts of North Carolina in his quest to find the lost treasure of the legendary pirate Blackbeard.
Episode 13: Columbus: Legend or Liar?
Josh embarks on a journey around the world to uncover mysteries about Christopher Columbus. First, Josh looks for Columbus' legendary ship, the Santa Maria, and later ventures to find the real remains of the explorer.
This episode is a condensed special using footage from 2 previous episodes of Expedition Unknown about Christopher Columbus. S02E07 - Secrets of Christopher Columbus - December 2, 2015
S02E08 - Columbus Unearthed - December 9, 2015
Episode 2: Genghis Khan's Tomb
Josh Gates journeys into the heart of Mongolia in search of the fabled lost tomb of Genghis Khan.
Episode 14: Searching for Shangri-La
Gates searches high in the Himalayas for Shangri-La. He learns of its legend as a hidden utopia. In the most remote reaches of Nepal near the border of Tibet is an area known as the Mustang, an area that's been closed off to the outside world and the passage of time. But now Josh and his fellow archaeologists have been granted access to explore it. He finds out secrets hiding inside its sky caves, man-made chambers carved into cliff walls.