Columbus Unearthed

**Columbus Unearthed** is the 10th episode of Season 2 on Expedition Unknown. This episode is a continuation of Secrets of Christopher Columbus.

## Plot Synopsis

The search for Christopher Columbus continues with finding his missing remains. Gates follows his five-century voyage across two continents to search for his final resting place believed to be at Columbus Lighthouse in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic or at Cathedral of Saint Mary of the See in Seville, Spain, both countries laying claim to his bones.

## Summary

Alain Norestin and Josh continue to search at En Bas Saline where they find a ceramic made by the Taino people from 700 to 800 years ago. Josh then goes to Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, which is one of the places that claim to have Columbus' bones. Josh stops on the way at a cave that has walls painted with pre-Columbian art by the Taino. Once in Santo Domingo, he goes to the Faro a Colon where he meets Leo Perez, a historian. He claims the mausoleum in the building contains the bones of Christopher Columbus. Carbon dating shows the bones are from the right time but they refuse to do DNA testing.

Josh goes to Santa Maria la Menor and encounters a Corpus Christi festival along the way. At the cathedral, he meets Jose Rodriguez, who works at the archdiocese of Santo Domingo. He tells the story of how two boxes of bones, Columbus' and his son Diego's, were shipped to the cathedral in 1541. At one point one box of bones was shipped to several places and then back to Spain but in 1877 another box with the inscription "Columbus, Admiral of the Seas" was found still at the cathedral in Santo Domingo and then taken to Faro a Colon. Josh is able to go into the floor where the bones were originally kept but doesn't find any fragments for DNA testing.

Josh heads to Valladolid, Spain where he meets Javier Burrieza Sanchez, a professor and Adrianne Williams, an archaeologist. They read Columbus' will which doesn't mention where he wanted to be buried. They go in a helicopter and find the old convent where he was first buried which is a bistro nowadays. They go into the basement and find fragments of animal bone but nothing else.

Josh then goes to Seville and to the Archive of the Indies, where he meets Consuelo Varela, a historian, and they see documents from the King and Queen of Spain to Columbus. Josh then goes to Cathedral de Seville, another place claiming to have the bones, but even though they made arrangements they are denied to access to film. Josh stops in Pamplona where he goes to the Running of the Bulls and then to meet Dr Miguel Batella at the University of Granada, which has DNA from the bones at the cathedral in Seville. Miguel shows Josh the little bit of DNA they recovered in the lab which is too small to be tested at this time.

## Final Words

"In the past two weeks, I have flown thousands of miles across the globe to shed light on the mysteries of Columbus. In looking for his lost flagship, the Santa Maria, reports that it has been found now seem premature. But there is evidence beneath the sea and on land of an entire era of history yet to be recorded. And in the search for Columbus' remains, I followed his five-century voyage across two continents. I've seen two coffins with his name on it and even held what could be a vial of his DNA."

"My professional hunch is that, after so many relocations, Christopher Columbus' remains are like scattered across the continents that he himself connected. But more than anything, I can't shake the feeling that I now know more than ever about Columbus and yet nothing at all. The man remains frustratingly out of focus. I see him as both hero and villain, who deserves the admiration for his daring mastery of the seas and condemnation for what he did when he crossed to the other shore. But without him, none of us who call the New World home would be here. Without his vision and tenacity, our own lives may have never come to be. As citizens of the modern world, we have to live with Columbus' legacy, learn from his mistakes, celebrate his triumphs and continue to explore new worlds beyond our own."

- Josh Gates

## Notes & Trivia

* Every photo of Christopher Columbus that we have is inaccurate because Columbus never sat for a portrait in his life.

## Quotes

* "This is a meat cone when it's hot outside, nothing takes the edge off like a big cone of meat."
* "You just hink, I could live here. And then you go, "oh no wait, it's 112 degrees."

## References

1. ↑ https://m.media-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BMTU3NDQ2NzM2Ml5BMl5BanBnXkFtZTgwNzYyOTU0NzE@.\_V1\_.jpg