Digging for the Truth — Season 1, Episode 5: The Holy Grail

Episode synopsis

For all its fame, the Holy Grail remains shrouded in mystery. What exactly was it? Could it have survived to this day? Why has it inspired so many treasure seekers? To Christians, it is the holiest of objects, the cup from which Jesus drank at the Last Supper, also believed to be the chalice that Joseph of Arimathea used to catch Christ's blood as he died on the cross. Though now thought of as a goblet, the actual word ""grail"" comes to us from the Latin word gradalis--a flat dish or shallow vessel brought to the table during various courses of a meal. The story itself did not originate until medieval times, when it helped inflame the Crusaders' quest. Host and adventurer Josh Bernstein follows the Grail's trail from Holy Land to medieval French castles to a dark chapter in the Nazi saga, when Hitler financed a search for the Grail to unite a secret society of knights. On the way, Josh learns its true meaning and power.

About Digging for the Truth

Digging for the Truth was a History Channel television series. The first three seasons of the show focused on host Josh Bernstein, who journeyed on various explorations of historical icons and mysteries. Bernstein is the president and CEO of BOSS and has a degree in anthropology and psychology from Cornell University. The show airs every Monday night at 9:00 EST on the History Channel. The series premiered in January, 2005 and has since become the highest-rated series in the history of The History Channel, which was surprising given the previous show "Time Titans" from the production crew never made it past the pilot. The third season premiered on January 22, 2007, with a 2-hour special event on the quest for Atlantis. Bernstein announced on February 20, 2007, that he would be leaving The History Channel and Digging for the Truth, and would, as of April, join The Discovery Channel as an executive producer and host of a new prime-time series and specials. Hunter Ellis, host of Tactical to Practical and Man, Moment, Machine for The History Channel, then replaced Josh Bernstein as host.

More episodes from Season 1

• E1Who Built Egypt's Pyramids?
• E2Nefertiti: The Mummy Returns
• E3Pompeii Secrets Revealed
• E4Hunt for the Lost Ark
• E6The Iceman Cometh
• E7Quest for King Solomon's Gold
• E8Passage to the Maya Underworld
• E9The Lost Tribe of Israel
• E10Secrets of the Nazca Lines
• E11The Search for El Dorado
• E12Giants of Easter Island
• E13Mystery of the Anasazi