The Lost Tomb of Attila the Hun

**The Lost Tomb of Attila the Hun** is the 2nd episode in Season 3 of Expedition Unknown.

## Plot Synopsis

Gates travels to Hungary to join three separate archaeological teams looking for the lost tomb of Attila the Hun. Legends and ancient texts lead the search from the bottom of the Danube to the mountain forests just outside of Budapest.

## Historical Context

"In the 5th century, Attila and his Hun army conquer more than 200,000 miles of prime European and Asian real estate through brutal attacks. Legend has it that Attila is not buried in one coffin but three nested inside each other and forged of gold, silver, and iron. Together, they form a priceless treasure and a maddening mystery, since the location of the burial has been lost for 1,500 years."

~ Josh Gates

## Summary

Josh starts his journey in Esztergom, Hungary and to Falcon Valley Archery Academy where he meets Dr Hidan Csaba, an expert on Attila. Josh tries shooting a bow from a moving horse - a Hun military technique. Josh then goes to Rackeve and meets underwater archaeologist, Attila János Tóth. Attila is supposedly buried underwater so they search the Danube with side-scan sonar. They see a small shipwreck and dive and find a World War II container.

Josh drives to Budapest and goes to the Grand Central Library where he meets Dr Borbála Obrusansku and he sees the oldest piece of Hungarian literature the Gesta Hungarorum. It's about King Arpad who was supposedly buried next to Attila in the city of Sicambria but the location of the city has been lost to history. Josh goes and meets Dr Imre Lanszki, a historian, and his assistant Miriam. Imre has found maps and manuscripts pointing to Sicambria and they take a helicopter there. On the ground, they find parts of stone and use a camera to go down into a hole where they find a chamber that looks manmade.

The next day, Josh heads to the Pillage Mountains and meets Levente Szörényi, a rockstar turned archaeologist. Levente shows him an archaeological sight he's investigating and Josh meets part of the crew including Tamás, head archaeologist, and Döme Kovacs, a researcher. Döme and Josh climb down into what may be a Roman mine and then go to a quarry where they are excavating. An archaeologist has found tools from the 5th century and Levente finds animal bones, relating to a possible sacrifice.

## Final Words

"Attila the Hun's tomb has yet to be found, and the mystery of its location persists exactly as he intended but we should not expect it to remain this way forever. Dedicated explorers appear to be closing in on the solution to this historic puzzle. They are toiling away in the murkiness of the Danube River, which is yielding up prizes from another warlord's reign. They are cracking long lost clues in historic manuscripts and scouring the forest floors for whisperings of a vanished capital. And deep in a forgotten mine, an actual rock star is devoting his resources to unravelling the meaning behind mysterious offerings. Attila the Hun was the scourge of empires. His exploits are the stuff of legend, and he knew that the only way to maintain power in death was to disappear, but nothing and nobody can remain hidden forever."

~ Josh Gates

## Notes & Trivia

* *This is where you can put notes and trivia, anything that is interesting or strange can be included here*

## Quotes

* "So after exactly four minutes of mostly verbal training, it's time to discover if I have what it takes to take out the Roman Empire. Spoiler alert: I don't."
* "The love of statuary seems to be a Hungarian obsession."
* "He's been described as the John Lennon of Hungary. If John Lennon had written a rock opera about Attila the Hun."
* "An independent researcher who looks like the librarian at Studio 54."
* "If you wanted to kill an American television host somewhere in Hungary and be sure to get away with it, this is your place."

## References

1. ↑ https://travel.home.sndimg.com/content/dam/images/travel/fullrights/2016/10/24/1/TEXU302H\_240117\_858452.1400447.JPG.rend.hgtvcom.966.644.suffix/1491593454767.jpeg