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  • 7/10/2025
Mystery at Blind Frog Ranch Season 5 Episode 4

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Transcript
00:00Previously on Blind Frog Ranch...
00:03Wild!
00:07The team discovered a flooded cavern system.
00:10That's a cave. We're way back there, all the way towards the ranch.
00:13Leading to the keyhole chamber, where they believe the Aztec gold is hidden.
00:19But with the passageway blocked,
00:22Chad and Josh begin searching for another entrance into the flooded caverns below.
00:27Limestone.
00:28We absolutely could have an entrance to a cave here.
00:30Uncovering a series of ancient trail markers, pointing them towards the treasure.
00:35That looks exactly like a turtle.
00:36It really does.
00:37Is this not a bear guarding the cave?
00:39And a mysterious stone monument.
00:42Look how that's sacked up.
00:43I don't see how it's lasted this long.
00:45Surrounded by signs of Aztec weaponry...
00:48There's another one right here. Look at this.
00:50That's an arrowhead for sure.
00:51Meanwhile...
00:52That's the borehole we want to offset.
00:54Eric's plan to drill around the meteorite covering the keyhole chamber...
01:01...hits a deadly problem.
01:03Shut it down.
01:04Shut it down?
01:05Shut down that rig.
01:06This whole place is radioactive.
01:08You're a f***ing dead zone.
01:09Shut it down!
01:10Legends of ancient treasures...
01:15This has to be hundreds of years back.
01:18...and unexplained phenomena...
01:21What the hell is that?
01:22...meet at a 160-acre property in Northeast Utah, known as Blind Frog Ranch, where Dwayne Ollinger and his team are digging in search of long-lost Aztec gold.
01:34The Aztecs have discovered this.
01:36But the closer they get...
01:37Finally get the whole f***ing gold in my hand.
01:40...the more the land fights back.
01:42Come on, you guys.
01:43Go!
01:44Go!
01:45Now Dwayne will move heaven...
01:46There you go.
01:47...and earth...
01:48Find the hole.
01:49...until he gets to the bottom of this mystery...
01:52We've started this whole deal, and we're sure as hell going to finish it.
01:55...and solves what's lurking below...
01:57Holy f***!
01:58There's something in there!
01:59F***!
02:00God!
02:01...at Blind Frog Ranch.
02:06This should be it, right up here.
02:11That's where we found those artifacts.
02:13Yeah, that's where that big rock structure thing is right there.
02:16Chad and Josh are heading back to the stone monument they discovered, tracing the path of the turtle's gaze.
02:22A large rock formation that is surrounded with arrowheads from an ancient civilization.
02:27That's an arrowhead for sure.
02:29Oh, look at here.
02:30Another one?
02:31Another arrowhead.
02:32That's three.
02:33The profusion of worked arrowheads leads them to believe Aztecs and their descendants were using this area to make weapons.
02:41This site was important.
02:43It's not just a lone arrowhead that got lost.
02:46It could be like an armory.
02:49There is stuff all through here.
02:51I think we just need to keep looking around.
02:53I mean, there could be a cave.
02:54It could be a sign of there being an entrance underground here or something like that.
02:59It's just kind of a, it's like a big stone monument, right?
03:02And it looks like it's been manipulated.
03:05And there was a lot of rock here at one time.
03:08You could tell it was there.
03:10And yet, not all, it's gone.
03:12But it's actually totally gone.
03:14There's no rock here below it.
03:16So where did all the rock fall go?
03:17Where's the rubble at?
03:18We're looking for an entrance into this underground cave system that leads back to our ranch.
03:25Right here, there's another one.
03:26Right here.
03:27You got something?
03:28There's another one.
03:29Look at that.
03:30Yep, that's one for sure.
03:31Wow, look at that.
03:32I think it's obsidian.
03:33Really?
03:34Holy .
03:35That's wild, baby.
03:36Absolutely.
03:37I mean, obsidian's not found here in the Uintas.
03:38So I have no idea where it came from.
03:42Hey, right there.
03:43Hey, right there.
03:44Hey, right there.
03:45That's definitely an area.
03:46That's definitely an area.
03:47Oh, man.
03:48There's another one.
03:49There's another one.
03:50There's another one.
03:51There's another one.
03:52There's another one.
03:53Look at that.
03:54Yep, that's one for sure.
03:55Wow, look at that.
03:56I think it's obsidian.
03:57Really?
03:58Holy .
03:59That's wild, baby.
04:00Absolutely.
04:01I mean, obsidian's not found here in the Uintas, so I have no idea where it came from.
04:06Hey, right there.
04:07That's definitely an arrowhead.
04:08That's a, it's not a finished piece, but it's, it's part of an arrowhead for sure.
04:19It's like somebody was making it and then it broke.
04:21Oh, it broke.
04:22So then they just throw it.
04:23They trash it, exactly.
04:24Or unless they brought him here, but I wouldn't think it'd be like the best hunting.
04:27Right?
04:28Like, this hilltop isn't any good for hunting.
04:31There's no food.
04:32There's no water.
04:33What if they were guarding something?
04:35Guarding something.
04:36Guarding, yeah.
04:37And what do they guard?
04:38That's the thing too.
04:39Exactly.
04:40Yeah.
04:41What are they guarding?
04:42Why here?
04:45I think this was a defensive position.
04:47It's up high.
04:48It has weapons all over.
04:50I mean, they were guarding something here for sure.
04:52Well, we can get these gated to see how long ago they were here.
04:55Yes.
04:56And then, uh, figure out why they're here.
04:59The wind's kicking up, man.
05:01This is like any, any time we get close to anything, some weather happens.
05:04Let's keep looking around and see if we can find them.
05:07Oh, absolutely.
05:09So I spent some time last week reviewing all the core samples that we took from the energy
05:30zone.
05:31There's some good news and bad news.
05:32The bad news is we pulled the core and it had this distinct yellowish sort of stain
05:38to it.
05:39So I got out my Geiger counter and checked it.
05:41And sure enough, it was uranium and it's emitting radioactivity.
05:44While Chad and Josh were scouring for an entrance into the underground, Eric has been trying
05:51to breach the keyhole chamber from above.
05:54What do we got, guys?
05:55A 195 with Q104.
05:56All right, good.
05:57Attempting to size up the meteorite and drill into the chamber, Eric extracted a core sample
06:04containing a distinctive yellow material that proved to be highly radioactive uranium.
06:10Shut it down.
06:11Shut it down?
06:12Shut down that rig.
06:13After investigating the core sample, Eric has assembled the team to review his findings.
06:24So this is really dangerous.
06:26Going in through that uranium, I mean, it's going to kick up uranium dust.
06:30You're going to inhale it.
06:31The good news is with some really serious mitigative efforts and testing, ventilation shafts, things
06:39like that, we can make a plan to safely drill through that.
06:43Uranium is a naturally occurring radioactive metal that is used to generate nuclear energy
06:49and power atomic weapons.
06:51The element was used to create the little boy, the bomb that destroyed Hiroshima.
06:57Prolonged exposure to uranium can cause sickness and even death.
07:02I think this uranium may very well be the reason for the Aztec being attracted to the energy zone to begin with.
07:10Did they carve this keyhole cavern because of the energy that was being emitted?
07:17It almost seems like it was the reason that they came there.
07:21Yeah, I mean, what I see here is you guys have discovered two resources that are very rare in any culture.
07:27Meteorite and uranium.
07:29Ancient culture sees those.
07:31They're going to look unique and they're going to be attracted to them.
07:34I mean, uranium is yellow.
07:36Just that alone, they're going to go, what is this?
07:39This doesn't look like everything else.
07:42And meteorites?
07:43I mean, that's iron.
07:44And that's the only way really in nature that the ancient people were able to obtain actual iron.
07:50They didn't know how to smell back then.
07:52So, I mean, it just makes sense that of course people were attracted to this place.
07:57Absolutely.
07:58Many of the great ancient civilizations, such as the Egyptian Empire and the Shang Dynasty, were built around impacted meteorites.
08:09Meteorites also marked central sites of worship for the Roman and Greek empires, most notably being the Omphalo Stone at the Temple of Apollo in Delphi, Greece.
08:21But what were they doing with it? And what did it mean to them? That I don't know.
08:26Well, throughout history, the most important artifacts have been made from meteorites.
08:30I mean, it's the most prized possession of any culture or civilization that we know of.
08:36King Tut's knife was made of a meteorite.
08:39Meteorites have high iron content and were one of the few sources of iron available to ancient cultures,
08:46making them highly prized and vital in the creation of ancient deadly weapons.
08:55The sword of Tutankhamun discovered in King Tut's tomb was carved from meteoritic iron and decorated with a gold handle.
09:04While in China, hammers were crafted from meteorites during the invention of kung fu over 4,000 years ago.
09:11And ancient Indonesians fashioned crisp daggers from meteorites, which they believed possessed magical properties.
09:19So why was the uranium with the meteorite?
09:23The yellow is a mineral called carnitite, which is uranium bearing ore.
09:28So wherever that meteor created fractures, water washed in and left uranium deposit behind.
09:35I wouldn't think everything under Blind Fog Ranch is going to have this big concentrated zone of uranium that spot happened to.
09:43Yeah, I mean, I haven't seen that distinctive yellow color anywhere on the ranch before.
09:48I think it would be smart to just go back and look at our samples that we've taken at the ranch over the years,
09:55just to see if there's any uranium in them.
09:57For all we know, there could be radioactive material all over the ranch.
10:01Yeah.
10:05Still good information, though.
10:06It is.
10:07I mean, it really is. Everything is.
10:09I worked on long-term projects.
10:11And if you hit a roadblock, you don't get to quit.
10:14If you do, you don't have a job anymore.
10:17And so you just figure it out and keep moving forward.
10:20So hitting that uranium is a blessing to me.
10:23It's a good thing. It's all information.
10:26You can use it for your benefit or you can ball about it and go home.
10:30I have never in my life seen a thing that looks like it's bad that did turn into an opportunity for me.
10:38It might kick your ass a little bit, but I guarantee you the blessings are so much bigger.
10:44We did get boned at the energy zone when we were drilling with the radiation.
10:47But we can't forget about the armory site right here.
10:50So this is where we found all of the arrowheads and the spearheads right here.
10:54And there could be another entrance or something that they were protecting.
10:57I agree, man. That armory is a huge deal.
11:00We go there. We found not just several arrowheads, but an obsidian arrowhead.
11:05So we've got to get an expert in here to check this out.
11:08Yeah, absolutely. I mean, I know Chris Bartel's an expert on projectile points,
11:12and he can give you guys some really good information.
11:15So I would definitely like to go dig deeper into that location.
11:19Yeah, we all look at that.
11:21It's very critical that we move forward on every lead we can.
11:25So now Chad's gonna find a way into those underwater tunnels,
11:29what they call an army.
11:30And Eric is gonna start running tests on our samples and see if there is uranium.
11:36Here's the deal. We gotta test those fragments and see if it is uranium.
11:40There's no stopping here, fellas. We're nowhere close to stopping.
11:44Good deal. I like it.
11:49Yeah, grab your seat, Chris.
11:52All right.
12:02Wow.
12:03So today we have Chris Bartel coming out to the ranch.
12:06We've been finding a lot of arrowheads, and he has a lot of experience
12:09on different arrowheads that he's found here and all over the world.
12:12Wow, that is an incredible piece.
12:14Yeah.
12:15Chris Bartel is a high-ranking private contractor
12:18who oversaw security at Skinwalker Ranch.
12:21He is also an expert in ancient artifacts and weaponry.
12:25The team is seeking his insight on identifying the arrowhead they recovered from the suspected armory.
12:32That is beautiful. This is obsidian.
12:35Obsidian is a volcanic glass that has been shaped into tools and weapons for thousands of years.
12:42Its unique molecular properties allow it to be honed down to an edge 500 times sharper than a steel blade,
12:51making it a deadly weapon in battle for ancient civilizations.
12:55This is a museum-quality piece that tells me that something is trying to tell a story here.
13:01Obsidian comes from volcanic activity.
13:04This is not from around here.
13:05This area right here doesn't have that volcanic rock.
13:08I have not seen obsidian out here at all.
13:11Yeah, I haven't either, actually.
13:13But the Aztecs definitely use obsidian for sure.
13:16So this either, this had been, either may have been traded back in the day or brought in by somebody else.
13:21But you're right, I haven't found any raw obsidian out here.
13:24Obsidian comes from volcanic activity and there's hardly any volcanoes here in Utah.
13:29So that means that someone had to bring this material here.
13:32But what we do know is the Aztecs extensively use obsidian in their weapons.
13:37And this was like, you know, deadly weapons. It comes like glass.
13:40The richest deposits of obsidian in the world happened to be in Mexico, where the Aztecs built their empire.
13:47Would obsidian been held in a higher regard as a material so that would have been more for ceremonial purposes?
13:52Correct.
13:53I've seen large obsidian blades that were specifically used for ceremonial purposes.
14:00Obsidian held immense significance in Aztec culture,
14:03not only serving as a sharp and durable material for tools and weapons,
14:08but it was also crafted into mirrors and used by sorcerers to seek visions of the future.
14:16From what I understand, you date arrowheads based on the bottom half of it.
14:20Right.
14:21So how do you think this is?
14:23This is probably the archaic period.
14:29So this is a couple thousand years old, most likely.
14:32Spanning from 8,000 to 1,000 BC, the archaic period in North America was characterized by a shift toward a wider range of food sources and advanced tool technologies used by the indigenous cultures.
14:49It was people here on this ranch 3,000 years ago.
14:52Yep.
14:53It's amazing.
14:54We're talking early hunter-gatherers that were out here.
14:57You know, they're, I mean, it's incredible history.
14:59And this is like, you know, this is the truth.
15:01This is undeniable.
15:02You can't just make this stuff up.
15:05I mean, to find them like they were made yesterday out here means that there's way more stuff to be discovered out here.
15:11Take a look at this.
15:12Oh, wow.
15:13It's a northern side-notch bird point.
15:14Nice.
15:15Look at this thing.
15:16Bird points like this were used typically to hunt small game, like birds or even rabbits.
15:29They're razor sharp.
15:30Actually, let me see that obsidian point you found.
15:32Ain't that something?
15:34Ain't that something?
15:36That almost matches.
15:37Oh, look at that.
15:38That is something.
15:39Look at that.
15:40I wonder if it's the same maker.
15:43Although the arrowheads are made of different materials, their identical design indicates a similar time period, likely 3,000 to 7,000 years ago.
15:54Amazing that you found that out here.
15:56The other interesting thing about this arrowhead is that the style of it matches an arrowhead made out of a different material,
16:02but the shape is exactly the same.
16:05It makes me wonder if both of these points were made by the ancestors of the Aztecs that lived in these caverns.
16:11So it's almost like some of this area, they're protecting it.
16:16It could very well be.
16:17I mean, these lands are protected for a reason, maybe for the cultural reasons, but maybe there's also hidden gold caches out here.
16:25That's evidence of occupation.
16:27So I'm interested to see what else you find there, especially if you get inside the caves.
16:31Chris, man, thank you for coming out, brother.
16:33Thanks.
16:34Thanks, man.
16:37Absolutely.
16:47This was where most of the arrowheads were coming out of, right here.
16:51It would probably be good for you to go through with the metal detector first, see if there's anything out of the ordinary here.
16:57Let me go ahead and set this up for you first.
17:09Yeah, let's hammer it out.
17:11This site we're calling the armory, there could be an entrance to a cave here, but we're finding all these artifacts, so we're going to do this by the book.
17:23So James is going to set up a search grid, and we're going to go through this area with a fine-toothed comb.
17:27All right.
17:28OK, that's the last one?
17:30Yep.
17:31We know that this underwater cavern system is running right below the armory.
17:36There has to be an entrance very close by to the armory here.
17:40All these artifacts, all these projectile points may lead us to that entrance.
17:45All right, so I'm going to grab my detector, and I'm going to get that thing fired up.
17:49All right, so we'll set up the prevenience screen.
17:54While Josh scans the area with his metal detector, James will start excavating the area by hand, using a wire grid called a prevenience screen to chart the discoveries.
18:06Yeah, I want to work this hillside.
18:15Oh, this detector will cover some ground, which is really nice.
18:17Good.
18:19We'll sniff it out.
18:30Boy, nothing.
18:32This area is clean right here.
18:35No metal.
18:43Nothing there.
18:48Oh, there we go.
18:50There's a signal.
18:51Let's see if I can get that to repeat.
18:52Yeah, yeah.
18:55That's a target right there.
19:08There we go.
19:11What the hell is that?
19:13I got something in the hole right here, James.
19:15Really?
19:17Holy crap.
19:19I think we got something.
19:31Come take a look at this, James.
19:34This looks like lead.
19:36At the armory, the team has been successful uncovering numerous projectile points, but Josh has just unearthed a mysterious piece of metal.
19:47What do you think?
19:48It does look like a...
19:49That looks...
19:50It's lead, right?
19:51I've seen these before.
19:52Yeah.
19:53It looks like it could be a fired round.
19:55That's interesting.
19:56Yeah.
19:57It obviously hit something, too.
19:59If we're talking a musket ball, Josh, we're talking the earliest settlers here.
20:06Muskets were commonly used on battlefields in the 16th century.
20:11Crafted from soft lead, the musket balls would often deform as they collided with their target's flesh and bone.
20:25Look at that.
20:26I mean, it was fired up here at something.
20:28I mean, it probably just hit the dirt or a rock or whatever.
20:31That's amazing.
20:40Hey, fellas.
20:41Any luck?
20:42Check this out.
20:43Projectile.
20:44Another one.
20:45Look at that.
20:47You gotta go check out what Josh found.
20:51Check this out.
20:53Is this metal or what'd you find?
20:54That's the lead.
20:55Found that with the detector.
20:56Just right here.
20:59It's half of a spear.
21:01Yeah.
21:02A musket ball.
21:04Like old school.
21:05Yeah.
21:06It is.
21:07Did you see that?
21:08Hell yeah.
21:09Yeah.
21:10Isn't that cool?
21:11It sure is, isn't it?
21:13How do you think it is?
21:14I mean, it has to be pre-Civil War, but it could be, it can go back from there.
21:18I mean, hundreds of years.
21:20You know, I think what's most important, everything we found here is Native American.
21:24But this musket ball is European.
21:27I'm just wondering if somebody fired that at this site, or at someone.
21:31Exactly.
21:32It definitely hit something.
21:34Look at that .
21:36That's definitely a musket ball.
21:37Yeah.
21:38Could've been a battle.
21:39Yeah, some kind of battle.
21:40That means there's something of value here.
21:43I mean, something worth protecting.
21:46Something worth dying over.
21:47Definitely.
21:48Hey, I'm getting a signal here, guys.
21:53Really?
21:54Yeah.
21:55It's the same signature as the last one.
21:57It's, let me just, let me just kind of narrow it down.
22:01See where the signal's strongest.
22:06Right there.
22:07You see that line I drew in sand?
22:08Yeah, yeah.
22:09So that's our midpoint where I'm getting the best signal.
22:10Okay.
22:11Another one going this way.
22:16Anything?
22:17Nothing.
22:18Let's keep going.
22:19Let me see if it's still in the hole.
22:20Hang on, it's...
22:23Oh yeah, it's still there.
22:24Okay.
22:25It's still in the hole.
22:27Hey, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait.
22:28Right there.
22:29Right there.
22:33Yeah, look at this.
22:34It looks like it's intact.
22:35Oh, wow.
22:36Look at that.
22:37Look at that.
22:38Amazing.
22:39Look at that.
22:40Josh has uncovered another musket ball.
22:42But surprisingly, this one is unfired.
22:46That's identical.
22:47If you fired this and it hits somebody or something,
22:50it's going to look just like that.
22:52Yeah.
22:53Wow.
22:54Look at that.
22:55I just wonder what they were defending right here,
22:58you know?
22:59That's a good question.
23:03So we're seeing these projectile points
23:05and we're seeing these musket balls.
23:08One of the musket balls crushed on one side.
23:11That tells us that this thing was fired
23:13and came into contact with something.
23:15And it's all telling a story.
23:17I think there very well could have been a battle here,
23:20but what were they fighting over?
23:22The bigger the battle, the bigger the treasure.
23:23Exactly right.
23:24All right, fellas.
23:25Let's keep going.
23:26This is great news.
23:27Let's find some more .
23:28I'm going to get some gloves to crush that rock.
23:34Eric is inspecting dozens of samples he's been collecting from across Blind Frog Ranch,
23:52attempting to determine the extent of the uranium deposit's reach,
23:56fearing they may extend beyond the energy zone.
24:00I took a bunch of samples from all over the ranch.
24:10And I want to crush it and look at it under the microscope
24:12and see if there's any uranium in it.
24:14I'll check the sample for radiation with the Geiger counter,
24:17but I'll need to do a visual inspection first.
24:19This isn't exactly high-tech, but when you're out in the field,
24:33you have to be ready to improvise.
24:35So I've fabricated a rock crusher here.
24:43And so I'm crushing it down as much as possible to try to liberate anything that's in there.
24:48I'll look at it under the microscope and see what we've got.
24:51So we'll see.
24:56This is a sample from the South Cave.
25:07I'm seeing some hematite malachite in there.
25:09At least it's safe in this sample.
25:13There's nothing there.
25:14So far, eh, I haven't seen anything in it.
25:16Well, let me take a look at the next one here.
25:19I'm seeing small flakes of gold.
25:22There's one, two, three, four, five.
25:25I mean, too many to count.
25:28It's a decent-looking sample, but so far I'm not seeing any uranium.
25:35This is sample number one from the open pit.
25:37I'm seeing a couple small fragments.
25:38It's really hard to mistake that color.
25:39I'm seeing a couple small fragments.
25:40It's really hard to mistake that color.
25:44Oh, yeah.
25:45It's uranium.
25:47Or at least that's what I think it is.
25:48But I'm going to go ahead and check it with the Geiger counter.
25:49What the hell is this?
25:58I'm seeing a couple small fragments.
26:00It's really hard to mistake that color.
26:07Oh, yeah.
26:08It's uranium.
26:09Or at least that's what I think it is.
26:13But I'm going to go ahead and check it with the Geiger counter.
26:21Yeah, it's uranium.
26:24We got uranium at the energy zone.
26:26We got uranium at the open pit.
26:28What the hell is going on here?
26:39Oh, boy.
26:40I think we've got our match.
26:41It's uranium.
26:43Eric is inspecting dozens of samples he's been collecting from across Blind Frog Ranch.
26:48Within the samples, Eric has uncovered uranium in an unexpected location.
26:52The open pit mine, a series of large mine entrances which lied north of the keyhole chamber.
26:59We've got uranium at the energy zone.
27:01We got uranium at the open pit.
27:04So it's connected somehow.
27:07I got to think it's connected.
27:09The uranium could have been naturally deposited in two different places.
27:13But I've got a hypothesis I'd like to test.
27:16What if the uranium settled in both places because they both had meteorite impacts?
27:22We have a meteor impact site here at the energy zone.
27:28We have found uranium here.
27:30We have a fault here.
27:32And we have uranium at the open pit mine, too.
27:35So there's a connection there.
27:36We know that meteor impacts can create faults, actually.
27:40They can create zones of weakness.
27:42So did this uranium collect in the fault created by the meteors?
27:47Is it possible that multiple fragments of this meteorite hit along that flight path?
27:53Each impact could have created faults that later developed into caverns.
28:02So that would increase the odds of us finding an entrance that could lead us back to the keyhole cavern.
28:06With uranium detected at both the energy zone and the open pit mine, Eric believes several large fragments broke off the incoming meteorite, creating fault lines upon impact, stretching between the two locations.
28:24Over millions of years, water seeping down through these fissures in the earth could have carved massive caves leading all the way to the keyhole chamber.
28:41I mean, finding this both here on the ranch and at the open pit mine means there's continuity between the two.
28:49What I'd like to do is go back to that fault line that runs through Blind Frog Ranch north towards that open pit mine and take a look around for any other signs of meteorite impact.
28:59It's really cool. So I'm digging it, man.
29:03What are we looking for down here, though?
29:04Well, what I'm looking for here is fragments of meteorites made out of iron and nickel.
29:13To validate his theory that meteorite fragments created openings into the keyhole chamber, Eric has asked Chad to help him search for evidence of the impacts.
29:34See how the creek bed, it's kind of deep there, and then it shallows out here.
29:49As the soil erodes, any heavy material is going to get washed down into that creek bed, just like a funnel.
29:55There's like nothing here. Let's look over here by this outcrop.
30:05The reason Chad and I are exploring down in this creek bottom is everything that's in the rock around it eventually makes its way down into that creek bottom.
30:14I'm just picking up, like, noise here.
30:28Nothing here.
30:29What's up, man?
30:31Yeah, there's something right in here.
30:32Hear that?
30:33I heard it go off.
30:34Hear that?
30:35Yeah, there's something right in here.
30:37Hear that?
30:38I heard it go off.
30:39Hear that?
30:40Yeah, there's something right in here.
30:42Hear that?
30:43Hear that?
30:44Yeah, yeah.
30:45The signal on here is telling me it's iron.
30:51Let's take a scoop.
30:53We'll start shallow, and then get deeper and deeper, and then I'll run the scoop over the detector.
31:02Yeah, there's nothing in that one.
31:09Huh.
31:10Nothing there.
31:11Maybe a little deeper.
31:15There it is.
31:16Oh, there it is.
31:17Yeah, yeah.
31:18This is dark right here.
31:19Yeah, yeah.
31:20See that?
31:21Yeah.
31:22That's it.
31:23Oh, yeah.
31:24Yeah.
31:25Run it over again.
31:26Does it show what metal it is?
31:27It's iron.
31:28Iron.
31:29So this could be it, huh?
31:30Yeah.
31:31This could be a fragment?
31:32Right off the bat, it has kind of a look of a meteorite fragment.
31:35See how it's kind of shiny like that?
31:38And it doesn't really look like anything else around here.
31:41It's showing iron, so that's probable that it is some kind of meteorite.
31:44Yeah.
31:45And we can do a final test with an XRF gun.
31:47If it shows nickel, then we know definitively that it is.
31:51That means that a meteorite could have came in here and it just split up.
31:54And small fragments of it should be, you know, placed here and there, basically.
31:59Uh, this is a good sign.
32:04Everything down in the bottom of this wash has been eroded from the slopes here, basically.
32:09So this represents thousands and thousands of years of material.
32:12Wait a minute.
32:13Wait a minute.
32:14Chad.
32:15I got something here.
32:16Holy.
32:17What is that?
32:18Look at this.
32:19It looks like a shatter cone.
32:21Do you see how it sort of, it's small here and it's like a cone shaped thing?
32:30This is the result of a meteorite impacting this bedrock.
32:35The shock waves go through it and it just forms these cones.
32:38And that's the same as, uh, in the energy zone.
32:41Yeah.
32:42It's like we have a meteor.
32:43We found this shatter cone and that definitely tells us that there was some type of big explosion
32:50here.
32:51Most likely from a meteor that impacted the energy zone.
32:55The presence of a shatter cone half a mile north of the energy zone is startling proof
33:01that Eric is correct.
33:03There are now signs of multiple cavern entrances that exist along the meteorite fault line leading
33:10to the keyhole chamber they've been trying to access.
33:17We don't have time to hike it today, but we've got to go back to that open pit line.
33:21Each one of these impacts could be a way into that cavern system.
33:25This is a great defensive site right here.
33:32There was a skirmish taking place here for good reason.
33:35This area was being heavily defended.
33:38Throughout human history, every culture has sought advantages against their enemies.
33:43Defending the high ground is a strategic tactic that forces intruders to fight uphill and provides
33:50an advantage when firing projectiles.
33:52While excavating the underground city of Derinkuyu, archaeologists uncovered innovative
33:58defense mechanisms, such as rolling stone doors used to seal the entrances and exits,
34:04as well as small hatch-like openings used to ambush intruders from below.
34:11The Aztecs themselves were famous for using the waters of Lake Texcoco
34:16as one of the world's most massive defense systems.
34:19So if this was a defensive position, there's gotta be an opening to the underground treasure chamber
34:25where soldiers or warriors could come up to fight off invaders.
34:29Roger, how are you, sir?
34:35Good, how are you doing?
34:36Welcome.
34:38Good to see you.
34:39Good to see you.
34:40With the discovery of the musket balls at the armory,
34:43Chad has invited historian Roger Blumquist to the ranch.
34:47Check this out.
34:49He's hoping Roger can determine their origin to decipher what took place at the armory.
34:54How old do you think it is?
34:56I mean, it has to be pre-Civil War, but it could be, it can go back from there, I mean, hundreds of years.
35:02So what do we got today?
35:03Yeah, Roger, why we had you come out is to check out some of these weapons that we found at our armory.
35:09And we call it an armory because we found a lot of arrowheads plus musket balls.
35:14We think there could have been some kind of war or maybe they're protecting something in that area,
35:19something worth a lot of value.
35:21Okay, now armory, is that a hole in the ground or is that a cave or?
35:25So they have a flat rock platform that they were actually looked like they were tooling at.
35:31And then we found this ordinance along with it.
35:34What's interesting is the lead that you found.
35:38This hasn't been fired.
35:39You still have the sprue mark in it from when it was cast.
35:42Sprue marks are small protrusions left behind after the casting process.
35:48In order to improve accuracy, sprue marks were removed before firing.
35:54The fact that it was dropped and not fired, it speaks to urgency.
36:00If you're in a battle, there's more of a chance that you drop it and not retrieve it.
36:05Gotcha.
36:06Than if you were hunting.
36:07If you were hunting, you would have more time to go, oh, I dropped a ball.
36:10And they're so hard to get that I'm going to stop and pick it up and take it with me.
36:14They appear to be the same caliber.
36:16So it could have been the same hunter or soldier.
36:19What I'm looking for here is rifling marks to decide whether it came out of a musket or out of a rifle.
36:26Rifles, as we know, are more accurate because it spins the ball.
36:30It's like John Elway with a football.
36:33Okay.
36:34As opposed to a musket that it just loves it out there.
36:36So the fact that I can't see riflings on here, it could predate rifling and be from a smoothbore musket.
36:44Muskets were muzzle-loaded guns used by infantry troops from the 16th to 19th centuries.
36:51Muskets were so inaccurate that the guns were equipped with bayonets to allow soldiers to engage in close-quarter combat.
36:59Eventually, they were replaced by the rifle, which had deep grooves cut into the barrel, which created spin and increased the accuracy of the bullet.
37:10So early Spanish coming over would have had smoothbore barrels.
37:15But then again, so did some of the Mormon battalion members in the mid-1800s because the Mormons were looking to take over Utah.
37:21In 1857, as the Mormons expanded their presence in Utah, President James Buchanan launched the Utah Expedition, ordering U.S. troops into the territory to police Mormon activities and enforce federal law.
37:37Fearing persecution, the Mormons, led by Brigham Young, started to stockpile muskets to fend off the advancing U.S. soldiers.
37:46Before the 1800s, it would have been pure lead, and then after the 1800s, they started putting in other things, tins and things like that to strengthen it.
37:56But by the feel of it, this musket ball feels like it's pure lead.
38:01Because of the difficulty of procuring lead, this was almost as valuable up here as gold was.
38:07But just like with modern warfare, that if you're leaving a battlefield, you don't want to leave your ammunition behind because you need to cover your retreat.
38:14So it's not likely that they would have left this behind if they could have helped it.
38:19So the fact that you're finding this up where there could have been a settlement is very likely a sign of a hasty retreat.
38:26Interesting.
38:27Okay.
38:28So that'd been like the first wave of the Spanish coming in following the Aztecs.
38:33So you know exactly what I'm talking about.
38:34Exactly.
38:35Yep, yep.
38:36The Aztecs brought the gold back up to Utah.
38:38There's no reason why the Spanish wouldn't follow them, and they wouldn't mount multiple expeditions to come up and get that gold.
38:45Earlier this year, James' visit to Mexico City yielded several maps outlining the Spanish conquistadors' pursuit of the Aztec gold from Mexico to Utah.
38:59This Spanish musket ball is evidence they made it to Blind Frog Ranch and possibly fired upon the armory.
39:08I wonder if the Spanish were chased off by whatever Native Americans were here, protecting whatever gold was brought up by their Aztec brothers.
39:17With all of the conflicts between the Native Americans and the Spanish, the Native Americans did what they could to sabotage the Spanish efforts.
39:25So between killing them, collapsing mines, hiding caches, burying the gold under the surface of the earth where the Native Americans could find it but the Spanish couldn't, that happened all over the place.
39:37Do you think the Spanish found the Aztec gold?
39:40A treasure that big would not have gone unnoticed or unrecorded. It would have been worldwide news.
39:46So do you think they could have been protecting the entrance to the keyhole chamber here?
39:51Well, that's the question now, isn't it?
39:53It's entirely possible that that's what they were there for, was to guard that entrance.
39:58So Roger's confirming what we suspected. There was a battle here.
40:03Our best guess is that the Native Americans fought off the Spaniards that were looking for Montezuma's gold.
40:09The fact that people may have died to protect this area, it makes me think there has to be a tunnel that connects the armory to the Aztec keyhole chamber.
40:18These warriors were to rush to this point to protect their gold, so there has to be an entrance around this monument.
40:25We are close to finding that gold. The armory may be the most important discovery yet.
40:31There is something worth defending and dying over here.
40:35Well, that tells us one thing for sure.
40:38That gold is still here.
40:44Next time on Blind Frog Ranch.
40:47Holy .
40:48An old friend.
40:50Here we go.
40:51This is another entrance right here.
40:52This is another entrance, brother.
40:53Shows them a path into the underground.
40:56Hey, whoa, whoa!
40:58With explosive results.
41:00Shot it, shot it, shot it!
41:01Whoa, whoa!
41:02Whoa!
41:03And stakes rise.
41:06If we drain the pond, we'll be able to get an entrance into there.
41:10As Dwayne starts the biggest, most daring project ever at Blind Frog Ranch.
41:17We'll put that dam right across there to the other boy.
41:19Hoping they can access a tunnel to the treasure.
41:22You're right on the edge over here, buddy.
41:24Dwayne, the force's coming down!
41:26Whoa, whoa, whoa!
41:27Stop!

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