The UnXplained: top 5 shocking mysteries of 2023 | Part 1

Check out our favorite unsolved mysteries from this year in this compilation from The UnXplained.

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From the producers of Ancient Aliens and The Curse of Oak Island comes The UnXplained, a one-hour, non-fiction series that explores the world’s most fascinating, strange and inexplicable mysteries. Hosted and executive produced by Golden Globe and Emmy Award-winning actor William Shatner (Star Trek, Boston Legal) each episode will feature compelling contributions from scientists, historians, witnesses and experiencers—each seeking to shed light on how the seemingly impossible actually can happen.

HISTORY® is the leading destination for award-winning original series and specials that connect viewers with history in an informative, immersive, and entertaining manner across all platforms. The network’s all-original programming slate features a roster of hit series, premium documentaries, and scripted event programming.

Lovelock Nevada, 1911

Inside a narrow cave, two miners
are searching for bat guano.

a key ingredient in making fertilizer.

But as they head deeper into the darkness,
they make an unexpected discovery.

They find more than 40 human skeletons,

some of which are abnormally large.

In 1911 giant bones
were found in Lovelock cave.

Large human skulls and skeletons

that measured
between 7 and 8 feet in height

which for ancient man
would have been rather significant.

This caused a sensation

and one of the strange things
about the discoveries in Lovelock cave

is that the skeletons
were often found with red hair

and so it does seem like there are
a different kind of people

than the Native Americans from the area

although many of the large bones
found in Lovelock cave

were unfortunately
lost a time for decades.

A number of skulls were preserved
at a local museum.

Until about 10 years ago,

there were four very large skulls
on display inside the museum

and these were then removed
and ceremonially buried

Was also so interesting

is that over 100,000 artifacts
were excavated from Lovelock cave.

The strange thing is that
many of the artifacts were huge

like you have giant sized sandals

like a 15 inch long shoe
which is size 29 US

which would fit someone
who's about 9 feet tall.

And even pieces of clothing
which was so big,

looked as though they were worn by giants.

The idea that giant bones
were actually found in a cave in Nevada

may sound far-fetched to some

but the truth is that there were
many such discoveries reported

during the wild west.

Even in the southwestern United States,

there's several
very strange stories of these,

dead corpses or skeletons
being found regularly

in terms of the reports of giants.

This is a compelling motif.

People were fascinated
by the idea of a giant race

that had lived here previously

and this connects
to a lot of biblical belief

that tended to be fairly literal back
in the day

and the Bible talks about back
when there was a race of giants

when there was a race of giants
that lived on the Earth

and so for many people in the wild west

when you see some skeletons
dug out of the earth

that seem to corroborate this.

This was an affirmation
of literal biblical beliefs as well

Is it really possible that a race
of giants once inhabited the old West?

As the numerous discoveries
reported throughout the 1800s suggest

and if so?

Was evidence of these giants
recovered in Lovelock cave?

Perhaps a clue can be found

by examining the history
of the indigenous Piute people

who have inhabited
the Nevada desert for centuries .

A woman named Sarah Winnemucca
who was a descendant of chief Winnemucca,

the Piutes, wrote a book in the 1800s

and recounted her people's battle.

with this race of giants

Now, what's fascinating about this

is that she says
that it was an actual battle

not part of tribal lore or mythology

but something that actually occurred.

The ??? were red-haired and lived
in the mountains near the Piute nation

and they were cannibals.

According to the Piutes,
they naturally grew tired

of being cannibalized

and they confronted these giants.

A war was started between the giants
and the Piute people, for three years.

They battled one another.

The last of the giants
holded themselves up

in the Lovelock cave

and the Piute people stuff the openings
with a bunch of of brush and firewood

and lit the place on fire

and that was the end
of the redhaired giant cannibals.

What's also interesting is that

when the discovery was made
in 1911 at Lovelock cave

they also found evidence
of extreme burning

which took place near
the entrance to the cave

So, this matches the story
almost precisely

and again have evidence of red hair

because Sarah Winnemucca Hopkins

actually saved some of the hair
and sewed it into a morning dress

which she used when she gave lectures

and so the story of the Piutes
defeating the giants.

then suddenly became a reality.

For many the evidence in support
of the Piute story

about the redheaded giants
is compelling

not only because
of what was found in Lovelock cave

but also because there have been
reports of giant bones

being discovered in other places

throughout the Western Nevada desert.

If you go back
and look through the records

you can find numerous accounts of bones,
skeletons and giant sized artifacts

that been found in this area.

In 1904 it was reported
that an 11 feet tall skeleton was found

and then we have accounts in 1931
of an 8 and 1/2 feet skeleton

that was reported and so the fact is
you have the stories,

you have the skeletal evidence

and you have the artifacts

And even the legends that proved

this was a real story of giants
in this area.

To be sure the Piutes believe this to be
a historical truth.

People might dismiss him as just folklore

but again who's to say
that it didn't happen?

Of course, there were ethnic conflicts,
of course there were wars

and of course people
tend to remember this.

So, this has been a real important part
of many people's historical beliefs

and how they think
about their own history.

Mecca, it is home to one of the world's
largest religious structures,

the Grand Mosque.

In the center courtyard
of this immense edifice

stands a 43 foot tall granite Cube

known as the Caaba, the house of God.

Five times a day, every day,

almost 2 billion Muslims across the world

will turn and prey towards
this striking black monument,

the holiest and most sacred site
in all of Islam.

Why? Because embedded
in the Eastern corner of the shrine

is perhaps the most sacred stone
in all the world,

the Black Stone of Mecca.

For the world's 1.8 billion Muslims,
this stone is crucial.

When Muslims face
in the direction of Mecca,

they face in the direction of that stone.

This object, as simple as it might be,

is of incredible significance
to the Muslim faith

because it is said to have fallen
from Heaven

at the commands of Allah
at the time of Adam and Eve

and it was was said to have marked
the position of the first temple

which obviously becomes Mecca itself.

Then the story is that
that stone gets lost during the flood

because Muslims have the same flood story
that Jews do from the Hebrew Bible.

Then that stone for Muslims
is rediscovered by Abraham,

so Abraham with his son Ishmael
build in Mecca the first place of prayer.

That's why Mecca is important to Muslims,

because this is the first place of prayer
to the one God.

Over time it gets worn away,
the building gets rebuilt.

In 605 the prophet Muhammad himself

is the one that places
that stone in its place.

That's part of what gives it power.

Each year millions of Muslims
make a pilgrimage or Hajj to the Kaaba.

Once there, visitors take part
in a series of rituals called Tawaf

which includes circling
the Kaaba seven times

in the belief that it will bring about
true humility

by linking them with God.

The Black Stone is therefore

one of the focal points
of the Hajj ceremony

that every Muslim certainly
tries to achieve during their lifetime

and they will then enter
the Central Court of Mecca

and, if possible,
try to kiss the Black Stone

in emulation of Muhammad

who was said to have set it up
in this position in the year 605 AD.

Certainly the stories
that have been built around it

really pull people in

and some people suggested that maybe
it's something in the stone itself

that pulls people in.

The stone itself pulling people in?

But how for the millions,
if not billions, of Muslims,

who have made their pilgrimage
to the Kaaba?

There's no doubt that the Black Stone
has an inexorable power

that seems to draw them into its orbit

and, according to some experts,

that's because the Black Stone
is not of this world.

Muslims believe that
this was sent down by God to Earth.

If we're scientific
we may call that a meteorite.

If we're not scientific,
we may call that miraculous.

Here's this stone that comes
from the heavens.

When a meteorite hits the Earth
and somebody witness it to fall

and they were to go to that location,

there's a variety of things
that they might be able to find.

If the stone falls in a sandy area,
for example,

there might be a lot of heat
associated with the meteorite as it falls

and that could cause a fusion of the sand

to cause some kind of glass to form.

And so, when you walk up onto it

you might find
some interesting new features

that you probably wouldn't have seen

in that particular part
of the of the world before.

Meteorites arrive from outer space
being exposed to cosmic rays.

They're slightly radioactive to people
not exposed to electromagnetic radiation.

They would might have been able
to even feel that buzz from this rock,

from the radiation,
beta particles especially.

Whether you believe
it was sent by God

or whether you believe
it was a random act,

it has literally extraterrestrial origins

and so that creates a real power there.

Could the Black Stone of Mecca
really have the power

to physically affect people
who come near it?

Now, the truth is
we may never know for sure

because no one has ever been officially
allowed to inspect or analyze it.

So, there are a lot of exciting
and interesting questions

about the Black Stone.

I think the first initial one is

Is it actually a meteorite?

A lot of people propose that
and there's some evidence,

particularly from a local impact trader,

that it came from there

and is there some sort of radiation energy

that it emits or is coming from it

that we just don't understand yet.

So, it would be really amazing

to have the opportunity
to analyze the Black Stone

There are obviously challenges,

both sort of social as well as scientific.

It's in the Muslim world,
it's in a very sacred place.

It's a very sacred stone.

So, bringing in scientists
and doing careful analyses

have those social challenges

and would be difficult.

Tombstone, Arizona.

The spirit of the Wild West
is alive and well in this small town

where a saloon doors still swing open

and horses pull stage coaches
along main street.

Founded in the late 1800s
Tombstone embraces its history

when outlaws, gunslingers
and violent shootouts were all too common.

Tombstone was a silver broom town...

but what makes Tombstone so legendary

was well mostly
the Gunfight of the O.K. Corral.

That was between the Earps, the Clantons,
and McLauries and Billy Claiborne.

Also Doc Holliday
was involved in that gunfight.

Now, the gunfight was actually

in the alleyway leading
into the O.K. Corral, on Freemont Street.

No one knows who fired the first shot.

It was a 30 second gunfight.

38 shots were fired

and three men lay dead on the street.

There's so much history around here.

When you walk those streets in Tombstone,

you're walking in the steps of History.

The gunfight at the O.K. Corral

is the most well-known tale
from this wild west boomtown.

But Tombstone past is also riddled
with bizarre supernatural stories,

including tales of strange creatures
roaming the frontier

that spread like wildfire
in the 19th century.

There are a lot of legends
that have come out of Tombstone.

but there's one very curious one.

In 1890 the Tombstone Epitaph

reported a story about two ranchers

who saw a giant flying creature
in the sky above them.

Tombstone Epitaph reported
that they encountered

a prehistoric looking monster,flying,

and they said the whole body
was about 100 feet long

and the head was about 8 feet long,

loaded with razor sharp teeth.

They not only were afraid of it

but apparently they tracked it down
and killed this creature

and tried to take a photograph of it
sprawled out.

According to local lore, a photo
of the strange creature was indeed taken

and even published
in the Tombstone Epitaph

but locating the supposed picture
is proven to be difficult.

In terms of the photograph,
there are legions of people

who remember seeing this pictur

even into the 1930s and 40s.

Yet no one has ever been able to locate it

and in fact the edition of the Epitaph
that the story ran in

didn't have any photographs at all.

Although the alleged newspaper photo
has never been found,

over the years a number
of bizarre pictures

featuring cowboys
and a massive winged creature

have surfaced and can be seen
on the Internet.

One photograph depicts a group of men

with a giant winged beast.

That creature is winged
but it's not really a bird.

It looks more like a pterodactyl,
something prehistoric

with large leathery wings

and a large head with two feet
hanging down below.

It adds to the mystery of the creature
and makes us wonder

what exactly is flying around
in the southern deserts.

While the images
of the wing creature are compelling

historians have questioned
their authenticity

and claim that
they may have been fabricated

as a result of the fascination people have

with this strange tale
from the old West.

Although most variations of the photos
seem to be hoaxes,

I think it's weird when you combine

all of the things
of the newspaper encounter

people swearing that they personally saw
the photograph

and now it's gone.

It only adds more history and wonder
to the story

and I think in some regard,

it makes it even bigger
than it would have been.

Is the story of the Tombstone pterodactyl
just a tall tale?

Or is it possible that there really was
a species of giant flying creatures

that roam the deserts of the old west?

Perhaps the answer can be found
by examining accounts

from Native American folklore
of a creature known as the Thunderbird.

The Thunderbird is one of the most
widespread powerful creatures

and symbols in Native American mythology.

It is a gigantic bird,
some kind of a raptor,

sometimes with somewhat human qualities

but it's connected
with thunder and with lightning.

Very often, those flapping its wings
is what creates thunder.

It shoots lightning out of its eyes.

The Thunderbird is common
in Native American tribes

all over the West.

You'll find them on petroglyphs,
on the rocks ,

or you'll find them in totem poles.

It's a special bird,

a special spiritual power
of protection and support and strength.

That's what the Thunderbird represents.

By some accounts, Thunderbirds
were strictly spiritual beings.

They lived in another world
and they were frightening

but could also sometimes
lend their power to the people.

On other occasions, they were
perly real creatures

that could swoop down at any time

and snatch up humans,
if they so choose.

Is it possible that there is a connection

between the Thunderbird
and the winged creature

that was reportedly seen
near Tombstone, Arizona, in 1890?

For now, the answer is unclear

but people remain fascinated by the idea

that massive winged birds really
did soar over the American frontier.

It's important to remember

that this is taking place in the wild West

is taking place when people
are looking out for marvels

and becoming aware
of Native American explanations,

Native American mythology
at the same time.

So, people were aware that
the Thunderbird was held to be out there

which leads us back to the question,

The Thunderbird is it encrypted
like it's out there somewhere?

Is it simply a deity that's sort
of cobbled together from abstract notions

of what the Divine is?

Or is it sort of resulting from people
finding pterodactyl skeletons

and saying,

Waw, there must have been
a great big bird here, at some point!

Or maybe all three.

So, this is still a great mystery.

Sardinia, 1974.

On this island located
off the Sardinia coast of Italy,

a farmer in a region known as Mont'e Prama

is tilling his fields,

when he strikes
what appears to be a large rock.

But upon closer inspection, he realizes

that his plow has revealed
something far more amazing.

It's the head of a massive ancient statue.

The farmer started digging around it
brushing away the mud,

pulled it out and there was
this giant stone head

gazing back at him,
with these obsidian eyes.

And so this became
quite a sensation at the time.

It was one of the most important
archaeological discoveries of the decade.

Subsequently archaeologists
entered the area

and through the late 70s,

they dug and they found over 5,000
fragments of these giant statues.

We have archers, we have warriors,
we have boxers.

They are generally speaking
about 8 feet tall

and approach a ton in weight

and they are unique in the regard that

for their time there was
no other statuary

that was in human form and size

and that level
of detail and sophistication.

The monolithic statues came to be known
as the Giants of Mont'e Prama.

According to archaeologists,
they were carved by the Nuragic people,

a mysterious civilization that lived
on Sardinia nearly 4,000 years ago.

The Nuragic people were
the indigenous population of Sardini

beginning around 1750 BCE

and they were not the kind of society
that would have writing.

So, we don't know a lot
beyond their everyday lifestyle

which would be in many ways similar
to what was going on

throughout the Mediterranean
at the same time.

Incredibly, some researchers claim
that the reason

why the Nuragic people carved statues
that were 8 feet tall

is because these monoliths were created
in the image of an actual race of giants.

One of the strange things
about these statues

is that they appear to be buried

underneath these kind of slabs of stone
in this elongated grave

as though they were almost
like ancestors being buried in the ground.

Why they did this we don't know,

but there are many legends of giants
all over Sardinia

and the stories go on, and on, and on,

so this could be the same giants
who are memorialized

in these particular statues.

Could the monoliths of Mont'e Prama
really be evidence

that a civilization of giants
once inhabited the island of Sardinia?

Yes, some believe.

Many researchers think
that is possible

and claim that there are
additional clues in folklore

throughout the Mediterranean.

Diodorus, an ancient Greek historian

discussed how there was

an ancient bloodline
of the Athenian civilization

known as the 50 sons of Hercules,

that maided with a mortal race of women
to create a giant bloodline

that build these monolithic statues
on the island of Sardinia.

This story really put the idea
into different philosophers heads

that this was actually
a very advanced culture

that kind of led up to the time
of the Nuragic people

and culminated in the era
of the Mont'e Prama giants.

The massive monolith of Mont'e Prama
and stories from folklore

aren't the only pieces
of evidence to suggest

that giants once lived on Sardinia,

because there are also
mysterious tombs

located throughout the island

that may have been where
their oversized bodies were buried.

What we see at Mont'e Prama
are totally separate structures

for where they buried their deceased

and these are called the giants tombs,
"tumbas de sos zigantes".

They are typically made
of one very large stone

that have a semi-hemisphere
spherical entry area or front

that curves inward with the center part
having a small hole down at the bottom

which is where the skeleton
would have been interred.

As you see these giants tombs

what you realize is it's entirely made
of large blocks

with a small opening in the base.

In tradition, these were
the burial places designed for giants.

They would actually
build the tomb around it.

This is one of the clues
that kind of links with the legends.

The giants did exist in Sardinia

but there is further evidence
that actual skeletons have been found

in some of these giants graves.

We have accounts from 1901

where there's a report
of four 9-feet skeletons

being unearthed in the vicinity
in Northern Sardinia

and even relatively recently,

there are reports
of three skeletons being dug up

in an area called Terralba
in Southwest Sardinia.

However the problem is that
most of the evidence is now disappeared.

They've just gone missing basically
and so you have to question:

Why is this?

Is there a cover up?

Is it possible that the bones of giants
have actually been hidden from the public?

It's an intriguing theory

and it deepens the mystery

surrounding the strange towering
statues uncovered at Mont'e Prama.

The giants of Mont'e Prama
are very unique and enigmatic

and Sardinia's myths and stories
about who these people were

typically talk about giants

but there's a lot of things we don't know
about who these people were

and so these giant statues
are the mystery within that story.

San Juan, County Utah,
November 18th, 2020.

In the remote sandstone canyons
of the Utah desert,

a team of biologists tracking sheep
make a shocking discovery.

They come upon a gleaming
12 feet tall metal monolith.

It's just a completely unearthly image.

It's this big triangular prism
about 12 feet tall,

firmly embedded in the desert ground

in this incredibly remote place

where there are no roads.

It's very difficult
to get anything out there,

let alone a 12 feet tall slap of metal.

But what's very weird about it
is using Google Earth satellite imagery,

they eventually figure out that
it has been there for 4 to 5 years

without being discovered.

The sighting of this odd metal monolith

looking like some kind
of otherworldly portal

was a ??? around the world.

In some regards it was not a monolith

because "lith" means stone
and this is a metal thing

but still it attracted everyone's eyes.

I think part of it was the the mystery,
how did it get there?

Numerous theories were put forth
as to who might have created

the so-called Utah monolith.

And then, during the following months,
the mystery took another twist

as similar monoliths started popping up
all over the world.

Other people became inspired
by this monolith in the Utah desert

and started copycatting from that

and so another monolith appears in India.

Shortly after that one
shows up in Italy,

you get one showing up in Pittsburgh,

right outside of a candy shop.

There's one that shows up in San Francisco
that is made out of gingerbread.

In the end, between November of 2020
and may of 2021,

over 200 monoliths around the world
just appear.

I guess this is the thing now, right?

So, be prepared to see these everywhere.

While some road off
the worldwide monolith phenomenon

as a cultural ???

historians were quick to disagree

and claimed that something
more profound was occurring

that dates back to the dawn of History,

because curiously, about 6,000 years ago,

upright stones known as menhirs

that bear a striking resemblance
to the Utah monolith

were inexplicably erected all over Europe.

When we look at this menhir phenomena,

there's a time right around 4,000 BCE

where these sites pop up all
over the place, at least in Europe.

The most well-known are the ones
that are in the UK

and in France in Portugal and Spain,

but it's actually a much larger
and more expansive tradition.

They started creating these everywhere.

In Germany we have the Wotan's stone

and then, 400 miles away,

one of the oldest stones is the menhir
of Grandson.

Overall in Europe there are
over 35,000 standing menhirs still today,

in almost every country.

The number of ancient menhirs
located throughout Europe is staggering

and many historians have wondered,

why were so many monoliths created
during the same time period?

Travel and trade had been standard
for thousands of years.

People are observant
and they like to remember

and replicate and interpret
and represent.

So, if somebody's traveled
to, say, Rudston, in East Yorkshire

and then they go back to Germany

and they say, "I saw these amazing stones,
let's have a go at making them",

it's not impossible that people
may have just observed this

and then imitated it.

Is it possible that the phenomenon
surrounding the Utah monolith

was actually history repeating itself?

And that humans have actually
been imitating each other

by building monoliths
for thousands of years?

It's interesting that people don't want
to take credit in modern times

for creating these monuments

and that may give us some insight
into the mentality of the people

that built ancient monoliths.

They didn't carve their names in there

and it perhaps was not about them either,

it was about the human compunction
to make a piece of immortality.