Josh Gates has a job that most of us dreamt about when we were eight years old, but the reality of filming Expedition Unknown Season 10 was less about wearing a fedora and more about dealing with brutal humidity, bureaucratic red tape, and the very real possibility of coming home empty-handed. People tune in for the "aha!" moments. They want to see a gold coin glinting in the mud. But if you actually watch this season closely, the real story isn't just about the treasure; it’s about how modern technology is finally catching up to ancient legends.
Season 10 felt different. It hit the Discovery Channel and Discovery+ airwaves during a weird time for television, yet it managed to pull off some of the most technically demanding shoots in the show's history.
Gates didn't just wander into the woods. He took us from the flooded tunnels of Egypt to the rugged wilderness of the American West. It’s gritty. It’s loud. Sometimes, it’s honestly a bit frustrating because history doesn't always want to be found.
The Logistics of Hunting Ghosts and Gold
When we talk about Expedition Unknown Season 10, we have to talk about the "Great Lakes' Shipwreck Mystery" episode. This wasn't just a boat ride. The team was looking for the Griffon, a ship that vanished in 1679. It’s basically the "Holy Grail" of Great Lakes shipwrecks.
Most people don't realize how dangerous the Great Lakes are. The water is cold enough to kill you in minutes, and the visibility is often garbage. Josh and his crew worked with deep-sea divers and sonar experts to scan the floor of Lake Michigan. They didn't find a chest of Spanish doubloons—because, well, it was a French ship in the 1600s—but they found structural evidence that keeps the hunt alive. That’s the thing about this show; it’s honest about the "maybe."
The production value took a massive leap this year. You can tell they invested more in LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) technology. In the episodes focused on the "Lost City of the Gospels," the tech allowed the team to see through layers of earth and vegetation that have sat undisturbed for two millennia. It’s like having X-ray vision for the ground.
Why Season 10 Stuck the Landing
There is a specific kind of energy Gates brings to the screen. He’s a member of The Explorers Club, which isn't just a fancy title—it means he actually knows his way around a compass. In the "Buried Secrets of Egypt" episodes, we saw him literally crawling through cramped, oxygen-deprived shafts.
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- He went back to Saqqara.
- The team investigated a tomb that hadn't been opened in 2,500 years.
- They used robotic cameras to go where humans couldn't fit.
It's tempting to think it's all scripted. It isn't. When they find a mummified remains or a piece of pottery, that genuine "holy crap" look on Josh's face is because he's a history nerd at heart. The 10th season leaned heavily into the Egyptian excavations because, frankly, that's where the most exciting physical finds were happening at the time of filming. Dr. Zahi Hawass, the legendary (and sometimes controversial) Egyptologist, makes his usual appearances, providing that layer of academic authority that balances out Josh’s wisecracking Indiana Jones vibe.
The El Dorado Obsession
One of the standouts of Expedition Unknown Season 10 was the "Hunt for El Dorado." We’ve all heard the myth. The city of gold. The jungle.
But Gates shifted the focus.
Instead of looking for a literal city made of solid 24-karat bricks, the expedition looked at the Muisca people and the ritual of the "Golden Man." They went into the Colombian Andes. The altitude alone would break most camera crews. They were looking for the actual site where the zipa (the leader) would cover himself in gold dust and dive into Lake Guatavita.
What’s fascinating here isn't just the gold. It’s the anthropology. The show managed to explain how a religious ritual was twisted by Spanish conquistadors into a fever dream of a golden city, leading to centuries of wasted lives and lost fortunes.
Technical Hurdles and Discovery+
The transition to streaming changed how we consume Expedition Unknown Season 10. With the Discovery+ launch, the episodes felt longer, more atmospheric. There was less pressure to cut to a commercial every five minutes, which allowed for more "process" shots.
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We saw more of the "Fixers." These are the local experts who make the show possible. Without them, Josh is just a guy in a button-down shirt lost in a jungle. In the season's trek through the jungles of Panama looking for Captain Morgan's lost treasure, the local guides were the real MVPs. They dealt with the snakes, the humidity, and the logistics of hauling heavy camera gear through terrain that hasn't seen a trail in decades.
Honestly, the "Captain Morgan’s Lost Gold" episode is a masterclass in managing expectations. You go in thinking you'll see a chest full of silver pieces of eight. You end up learning about 17th-century naval warfare and the brutal reality of privateering.
The Reality of the "Big Find"
A lot of people complain that Josh never finds "the big one."
That's a misunderstanding of what archaeology actually is. In Season 10, the "finds" were often incremental. They found a specific type of masonry. They found a coin that proved a trade route existed earlier than historians thought. These are the things that rewrite textbooks.
Take the "Lindbergh’s Lost Plane" episode. Finding a piece of a fuselage in the dense woods of the Northeast isn't as sexy as finding a pharaoh's crown, but it solves a human mystery. It brings closure.
- Research: Months of library work before the cameras even roll.
- Reconnaissance: Local scouts checking if the site is even accessible.
- The Shoot: Usually 10-14 days of grueling work for 42 minutes of television.
- Analysis: Sending samples to labs for carbon dating or DNA testing.
Unmasking the Myths of Season 10
There’s a lot of noise online about what happened in the "Dillinger’s Lost Loot" episode. Some viewers felt let down because they didn't dig up a suitcase full of Depression-era cash. But the episode actually disproved several long-standing myths about where John Dillinger hid his money.
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Eliminating a possibility is just as important as confirming one in the world of exploration. If you know the money isn't in a specific basement in Chicago, you can stop looking there. Season 10 was great at this "myth-busting" aspect. It took legends that had been passed down in bars and family reunions and applied actual science to them.
Actionable Insights for Fans and Aspiring Explorers
If you're watching Expedition Unknown Season 10 and feeling that itch to go find something yourself, don't just buy a metal detector and start digging in your neighbor's yard. There are better ways to engage with history.
Start by looking at the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) records or local historical archives. Most of the sites Josh visits are protected, and for good reason. Looting is a felony and it destroys the "context" that archaeologists need to understand a site.
If you want to follow in the footsteps of the Season 10 crew:
- Volunteer for a "Citizen Science" project. Many universities allow volunteers to help on sanctioned digs.
- Learn to use GIS software. Modern treasure hunting happens on a computer screen long before it happens in the dirt.
- Visit the smaller museums. The episodes in Season 10 often feature small, local museums that hold the keys to massive mysteries. These places need your support.
- Read the source material. Before Josh went to find the "Lost City of the Gospels," he read the ancient texts. He knew the geography of the Bible and the accounts of Josephus.
The legacy of this season isn't just about the entertainment value. It's about the reminder that the world is still full of blank spots on the map. Even with satellites and Google Earth, there are things buried just six feet under our feet that we don't understand yet.
To get the most out of your re-watch, pay attention to the background. Look at the tools the archaeologists are using. Notice the way the team respects the local cultures they interact with. That’s the real secret to the show’s longevity. It’s not just about the "stuff"—it’s about the story.
Whether it's chasing the ghost of a French explorer in the Great Lakes or shivering in a cave in the Holy Land, the journey is the point. Season 10 proved that as long as there are questions, Josh Gates will be out there trying to find a way to answer them, even if he gets a little muddy in the process.
Next Steps for Discovery: To dive deeper into the technical side of what you saw on screen, research the LiDAR scans of Angkor Wat or the robotic exploration of the Great Pyramid's shafts. These real-world scientific breakthroughs are the foundation for the episodes you see on Discovery. Check out the official Explorers Club website to see what real-world expeditions are currently being funded; many of them mirror the themes explored in this season of the show.