1
00:00:18,620 --> 00:00:23,080
It's so exciting to be here.
I just love this part of the world,

2
00:00:23,080 --> 00:00:25,520
particularly just before dawn.

3
00:00:26,840 --> 00:00:29,200
I'm meeting my expert contact

4
00:00:29,200 --> 00:00:32,200
somewhere round here.

5
00:00:32,200 --> 00:00:34,480
This otherworldly place,

6
00:00:34,480 --> 00:00:36,520
in Ancient Anatolia,

7
00:00:36,520 --> 00:00:40,360
is a land where humanity
takes great leaps forward.

8
00:00:41,760 --> 00:00:43,480
So I've journeyed down to

9
00:00:43,480 --> 00:00:46,320
this region, right in the very south

10
00:00:46,320 --> 00:00:48,280
of modern-day Turkiye.

11
00:00:49,400 --> 00:00:51,320
I'm here to discover

12
00:00:51,320 --> 00:00:53,920
a dawning of civilisations.

13
00:00:59,480 --> 00:01:01,000
Across the globe...

14
00:01:02,200 --> 00:01:05,440
..archaeologists are
uncovering secrets...

15
00:01:05,440 --> 00:01:07,840
It's remarkable!

16
00:01:07,840 --> 00:01:10,680
..in the most stunning places...

17
00:01:10,680 --> 00:01:14,120
We have a very, very
lively history here.

18
00:01:14,120 --> 00:01:16,400
..revealing fascinating connections

19
00:01:16,400 --> 00:01:18,360
between past and present.

20
00:01:18,360 --> 00:01:20,240
So these are fresh out of the earth?

21
00:01:20,240 --> 00:01:21,680
Yeah, they are
fresh out of the earth.

22
00:01:22,960 --> 00:01:24,960
I'm crossing between continents

23
00:01:24,960 --> 00:01:26,800
and travelling through time

24
00:01:26,800 --> 00:01:28,600
on an epic adventure...

25
00:01:29,960 --> 00:01:32,880
..to unearth our ancient origins...

26
00:01:32,880 --> 00:01:33,960
Hello.

27
00:01:36,080 --> 00:01:38,360
Well, that's a pretty
timeless experience.

28
00:01:38,360 --> 00:01:41,240
..and rediscover long-lost stories

29
00:01:41,240 --> 00:01:43,720
that still impact our lives today.

30
00:01:43,720 --> 00:01:46,760
I've got access to
the very latest discoveries,

31
00:01:46,760 --> 00:01:49,760
to piece together
the truth of lost worlds.

32
00:01:49,760 --> 00:01:51,600
You just stepped back to

33
00:01:51,600 --> 00:01:52,840
the time of King Midas.

34
00:01:52,840 --> 00:01:55,040
It's just so beautiful!

35
00:02:06,080 --> 00:02:10,000
It's very exciting to get access
here just before dawn.

36
00:02:10,000 --> 00:02:11,800
And this is...
This is my friend, Necmi.

37
00:02:11,800 --> 00:02:14,080
Necmi! Hi, Bettany.

38
00:02:14,080 --> 00:02:16,480
Ah! Lovely to see you. So lovely

39
00:02:16,480 --> 00:02:18,680
to be here. How are you? I'm good.

40
00:02:22,520 --> 00:02:24,400
I'm crossing the Harran Plain,

41
00:02:24,400 --> 00:02:25,760
between the Tigris

42
00:02:25,760 --> 00:02:27,640
and Euphrates rivers,

43
00:02:27,640 --> 00:02:29,520
a cradle of civilisation

44
00:02:29,520 --> 00:02:32,440
known through history
as Mesopotamia,

45
00:02:32,440 --> 00:02:35,240
home to the enigmatic
Tas Tepeler,

46
00:02:35,240 --> 00:02:38,120
Stone Hills sites.

47
00:02:38,120 --> 00:02:40,760
Is it OK if we go and have a look?
Yes, of course.

48
00:02:43,040 --> 00:02:46,480
I've come to an extraordinary place.

49
00:02:46,480 --> 00:02:49,440
Karahantepe, the oldest

50
00:02:49,440 --> 00:02:51,160
monumental site

51
00:02:51,160 --> 00:02:54,680
ever discovered,
built when the world was emerging

52
00:02:54,680 --> 00:02:56,960
from the last Ice Age.

53
00:02:58,280 --> 00:03:00,160
Necmi, just so I've got this right,

54
00:03:00,160 --> 00:03:02,440
we're walking back through

55
00:03:02,440 --> 00:03:04,960
12,000 years of time.

56
00:03:12,520 --> 00:03:13,680
Yeah.

57
00:03:14,960 --> 00:03:16,680
12,000 years

58
00:03:16,680 --> 00:03:18,960
is a mind-blowing

59
00:03:18,960 --> 00:03:22,120
7,000 years older than

60
00:03:22,120 --> 00:03:24,320
the Great Pyramids of Egypt.

61
00:03:25,760 --> 00:03:28,200
The site was built
by hunter-gatherers,

62
00:03:28,200 --> 00:03:31,680
when almost all the five million
humans on Earth were nomads.

63
00:03:33,400 --> 00:03:35,840
But here, there aren't just

64
00:03:35,840 --> 00:03:38,160
stone homes.

65
00:03:38,160 --> 00:03:40,440
Karahantepe is dominated

66
00:03:40,440 --> 00:03:42,720
by sophisticated, permanent

67
00:03:42,720 --> 00:03:45,000
circular buildings, carved

68
00:03:45,000 --> 00:03:48,280
five metres down into the bedrock.

69
00:03:53,640 --> 00:03:54,800
Yeah.

70
00:03:58,480 --> 00:03:59,920
It's huge!

71
00:04:07,880 --> 00:04:10,160
One structure, only discovered

72
00:04:10,160 --> 00:04:12,480
in 2025, is currently

73
00:04:12,480 --> 00:04:15,560
the world's oldest rectangular room.

74
00:04:17,440 --> 00:04:19,360
There are benches,

75
00:04:19,360 --> 00:04:22,080
plastered walls and floors,

76
00:04:22,080 --> 00:04:24,360
round portal stones

77
00:04:24,360 --> 00:04:27,400
and this extraordinary chamber,

78
00:04:27,400 --> 00:04:31,800
filled by what may
be phallic columns.

79
00:04:31,800 --> 00:04:35,440
Mysterious T-shaped pillars,

80
00:04:35,440 --> 00:04:37,360
intricately carved,

81
00:04:37,360 --> 00:04:39,800
once held up enormous

82
00:04:39,800 --> 00:04:43,560
wooden roofs, engineered
to be cool in the summer

83
00:04:43,560 --> 00:04:46,880
and warm in the winter.

84
00:04:46,880 --> 00:04:49,960
I've never seen anything like them

85
00:04:49,960 --> 00:04:52,160
anywhere else in the world.

86
00:04:55,120 --> 00:05:00,360
Karahantepe upends the human story.

87
00:05:00,360 --> 00:05:02,720
Before, we thought humans

88
00:05:02,720 --> 00:05:08,600
invented farming and then
settled down in large groups.

89
00:05:08,600 --> 00:05:11,640
But this site proves our ancestors

90
00:05:11,640 --> 00:05:14,200
sought each other out much earlier,

91
00:05:14,200 --> 00:05:16,200
creating society

92
00:05:16,200 --> 00:05:18,400
with a deeper purpose.

93
00:05:20,280 --> 00:05:22,640
What was the reason they sat down

94
00:05:22,640 --> 00:05:25,040
together and said,
we're going to create this huge,

95
00:05:25,040 --> 00:05:26,880
monumental communal space?

96
00:05:58,240 --> 00:06:01,000
So a building like this,
it has a real point,

97
00:06:01,000 --> 00:06:03,280
in that it's bringing
people together for ritual,

98
00:06:03,280 --> 00:06:05,000
but it's almost like a massive

99
00:06:05,000 --> 00:06:07,200
team-building exercise. Yes. Yes.

100
00:06:13,920 --> 00:06:15,680
It's our common heritage. Yes.

101
00:06:17,320 --> 00:06:19,880
I'm incredibly lucky to get access

102
00:06:19,880 --> 00:06:22,440
to the ongoing digs.

103
00:06:22,440 --> 00:06:25,800
I find carvings of wild animals,

104
00:06:25,800 --> 00:06:28,640
foxes, leopards,

105
00:06:28,640 --> 00:06:30,160
cranes.

106
00:06:31,800 --> 00:06:35,200
But it's not just animals depicted.

107
00:06:35,200 --> 00:06:37,120
Some human faces

108
00:06:37,120 --> 00:06:39,560
are emerging out of the earth,

109
00:06:39,560 --> 00:06:43,320
including a mysterious image -

110
00:06:43,320 --> 00:06:46,800
a dead person,
with their mouth sewn shut.

111
00:06:48,920 --> 00:06:51,600
I've done a scan of
one of my favourites.

112
00:06:51,600 --> 00:06:54,720
It's this
incredibly enigmatic

113
00:06:54,720 --> 00:06:57,880
composite figure.
So it's a man,

114
00:06:57,880 --> 00:07:00,360
carrying a leopard
on his back.

115
00:07:01,880 --> 00:07:03,720
We don't know why,
or what,

116
00:07:03,720 --> 00:07:05,520
or how this was created.

117
00:07:05,520 --> 00:07:08,360
It raises so many
fascinating questions

118
00:07:08,360 --> 00:07:10,720
about what mattered to these people

119
00:07:10,720 --> 00:07:12,480
and what their
worldview was.

120
00:07:14,880 --> 00:07:20,080
Representations of humans with
animals are a clear demonstration

121
00:07:20,080 --> 00:07:21,560
that people saw themselves

122
00:07:21,560 --> 00:07:23,840
as part of the natural world,

123
00:07:23,840 --> 00:07:25,200
not separate from it.

124
00:07:27,560 --> 00:07:29,560
But one sculpture

125
00:07:29,560 --> 00:07:33,000
stands out above all others.

126
00:07:38,240 --> 00:07:41,480
It's remarkable! Exactly.

127
00:07:42,720 --> 00:07:45,680
Over seven feet tall,

128
00:07:45,680 --> 00:07:48,600
this is the oldest life-size

129
00:07:48,600 --> 00:07:51,520
human sculpture ever found.

130
00:07:51,520 --> 00:07:54,680
Are we looking at a portrait
of a prehistoric person?

131
00:07:58,440 --> 00:08:00,200
His eyes are so compelling,

132
00:08:00,200 --> 00:08:02,560
aren't they? Yeah.

133
00:08:02,560 --> 00:08:05,240
I can hardly process this
because it's so hard to see

134
00:08:05,240 --> 00:08:08,800
the faces of women and men
from the Neolithic,

135
00:08:08,800 --> 00:08:11,960
and here is one of them,
staring back out at us.

136
00:08:14,440 --> 00:08:16,960
You have got to decode this for me!

137
00:08:16,960 --> 00:08:20,480
Because it's weird to me
because the ribs,

138
00:08:20,480 --> 00:08:22,360
they're so visible,

139
00:08:22,360 --> 00:08:24,200
it almost looks like
he's suffering from,

140
00:08:24,200 --> 00:08:27,160
I don't know, famine or...
Why have you got that?

141
00:08:30,440 --> 00:08:31,600
Death.

142
00:08:35,120 --> 00:08:36,240
Definitely!

143
00:08:40,000 --> 00:08:41,520
It's a reminder that

144
00:08:41,520 --> 00:08:44,440
we are creatures of the past,
the present and the future.

145
00:08:48,560 --> 00:08:49,720
Yeah.

146
00:08:52,680 --> 00:08:54,120
Definitely.

147
00:08:54,120 --> 00:08:56,680
Well, I'm feeling it.
I'm feeling it now. How nice!

148
00:08:58,400 --> 00:09:00,440
The statue's discovery, in 2023,

149
00:09:00,440 --> 00:09:03,520
shook the archaeological world...

150
00:09:04,880 --> 00:09:07,080
..and the revelations keep coming.

151
00:09:09,040 --> 00:09:10,600
Opposite

152
00:09:10,600 --> 00:09:12,800
was something extraordinary.

153
00:09:14,280 --> 00:09:17,920
We waste no time heading straight to

154
00:09:17,920 --> 00:09:21,160
the archaeological storeroom
in nearby Sanliurfa...

155
00:09:24,680 --> 00:09:28,520
..where another life-sized

156
00:09:28,520 --> 00:09:30,360
human figure is waiting,

157
00:09:30,360 --> 00:09:33,000
unearthed just two weeks before.

158
00:09:34,480 --> 00:09:37,040
This is like
every archaeologist's dream,

159
00:09:37,040 --> 00:09:39,400
to have a new bit of material

160
00:09:39,400 --> 00:09:43,640
that's almost 12,000 years old,
before the world sees it.

161
00:09:54,280 --> 00:09:56,560
The most incredible thing
has just happened.

162
00:09:56,560 --> 00:09:59,440
So we're in the Sanliurfa Museum,

163
00:09:59,440 --> 00:10:02,040
and inside this crate

164
00:10:02,040 --> 00:10:04,400
is one of the sculptures
that was discovered

165
00:10:04,400 --> 00:10:09,040
only a couple of weeks ago
at Karahantepe.

166
00:10:09,040 --> 00:10:11,760
You could cut the atmosphere
with a knife in this room.

167
00:10:21,960 --> 00:10:23,680
Well, it's true,

168
00:10:23,680 --> 00:10:25,920
because it's the story of us.
These are our ancestors. Yes.

169
00:10:27,880 --> 00:10:29,560
Yeah.

170
00:10:29,560 --> 00:10:31,360
I can tell you love your job.

171
00:10:40,000 --> 00:10:41,840
This is a young boy,

172
00:10:41,840 --> 00:10:45,040
almost 12,000 years old.

173
00:10:45,040 --> 00:10:47,600
It's quite an emotional experience,

174
00:10:47,600 --> 00:10:51,920
seeing this sculpture
for the first time,

175
00:10:51,920 --> 00:10:55,080
because it's just a direct message

176
00:10:55,080 --> 00:10:59,600
to us from the past,
from the Stone Age.

177
00:10:59,600 --> 00:11:02,680
He was sitting opposite
that powerful man

178
00:11:02,680 --> 00:11:05,280
who is half-dead, half-alive,

179
00:11:05,280 --> 00:11:09,640
built to explain to the people
of that Neolithic world

180
00:11:09,640 --> 00:11:11,840
about the cycle of life and death.

181
00:11:14,840 --> 00:11:17,120
It's the most beautiful thing.
It's actually making me cry!

182
00:11:17,120 --> 00:11:18,680
Oh, my gosh, it's so embarrassing!

183
00:11:18,680 --> 00:11:20,240
It's making me cry! It's just

184
00:11:20,240 --> 00:11:24,560
so beautiful and it's so special.

185
00:11:24,560 --> 00:11:26,760
And it just reminds us that...

186
00:11:27,800 --> 00:11:30,440
..we're connected to people

187
00:11:30,440 --> 00:11:33,240
across time and across space.

188
00:11:33,240 --> 00:11:36,000
And it's a huge, huge honour

189
00:11:36,000 --> 00:11:38,440
to be sitting here with him.

190
00:11:38,440 --> 00:11:41,000
So I'm just going to take a moment

191
00:11:41,000 --> 00:11:42,920
and take it all in.

192
00:11:46,080 --> 00:11:48,840
It's a unique, unique thing.

193
00:11:50,480 --> 00:11:53,760
This is the lost world,
coming back to life.

194
00:11:58,080 --> 00:11:59,880
He's crying as well!

195
00:11:59,880 --> 00:12:02,760
SHE LAUGHS

196
00:12:02,760 --> 00:12:04,400
Cok guzel.

197
00:12:04,400 --> 00:12:06,040
Cok, cok guzel.

198
00:12:06,040 --> 00:12:07,480
Very beautiful.

199
00:12:13,080 --> 00:12:14,680
The new statue

200
00:12:14,680 --> 00:12:16,960
shows just how much more there is

201
00:12:16,960 --> 00:12:19,240
still to discover.

202
00:12:19,240 --> 00:12:22,160
For archaeologists, the intriguing

203
00:12:22,160 --> 00:12:23,920
tips of T-pillars,

204
00:12:23,920 --> 00:12:26,960
poking above the earth,
are vital clues.

205
00:12:26,960 --> 00:12:30,120
If you explore
the landscape round here,

206
00:12:30,120 --> 00:12:33,840
you'll find hundreds and hundreds

207
00:12:33,840 --> 00:12:35,880
of these buried stones.

208
00:12:35,880 --> 00:12:38,560
So given that only 5% of the site

209
00:12:38,560 --> 00:12:40,600
has been excavated so far,

210
00:12:40,600 --> 00:12:43,800
who knows what extraordinary

211
00:12:43,800 --> 00:12:47,040
discoveries are lying underneath?

212
00:12:48,680 --> 00:12:53,000
Necmi thinks there are
many more stone circles

213
00:12:53,000 --> 00:12:55,200
waiting to be unearthed.

214
00:13:01,160 --> 00:13:03,880
Karahantepe is just one of dozens

215
00:13:03,880 --> 00:13:05,760
in the Tas Tepeler sites,

216
00:13:05,760 --> 00:13:07,200
covering an area of at least

217
00:13:07,200 --> 00:13:09,120
100 square kilometres.

218
00:13:11,800 --> 00:13:14,760
I'm heading next to
the most iconic...

219
00:13:17,440 --> 00:13:20,200
..Gobeklitepe,

220
00:13:20,200 --> 00:13:23,000
where I have privileged access

221
00:13:23,000 --> 00:13:24,600
to the newest dig site.

222
00:13:24,600 --> 00:13:27,320
I want to try to understand

223
00:13:27,320 --> 00:13:31,040
the meaning behind
the stone carvings.

224
00:13:31,040 --> 00:13:34,600
I am incredibly lucky to get in here

225
00:13:34,600 --> 00:13:37,920
because it's only just been
recently excavated, all of this.

226
00:13:39,480 --> 00:13:42,720
The people came into the building
through the roof,

227
00:13:42,720 --> 00:13:44,600
so from a hole up here,

228
00:13:44,600 --> 00:13:47,560
and then there'd have been
a ritual descent down on a ladder.

229
00:13:48,800 --> 00:13:50,560
The actual entrance

230
00:13:50,560 --> 00:13:52,640
from the roof is still here.

231
00:13:52,640 --> 00:13:55,040
So this is what's called
a portal stone.

232
00:13:56,240 --> 00:13:58,600
And once they arrive,
this whole room

233
00:13:58,600 --> 00:14:00,880
sort of seems to be
dedicated to foxes.

234
00:14:00,880 --> 00:14:03,160
So there's a beautiful fox here

235
00:14:03,160 --> 00:14:04,920
on this pillar, with his lovely

236
00:14:04,920 --> 00:14:07,480
bare, grimacing teeth.

237
00:14:07,480 --> 00:14:10,680
He's a male fox, of course.
There's another one here.

238
00:14:10,680 --> 00:14:12,000
Another boy fox.

239
00:14:13,400 --> 00:14:16,680
Next door, a striking wild boar

240
00:14:16,680 --> 00:14:18,080
has just been discovered.

241
00:14:19,520 --> 00:14:21,320
The red around his mouth and eyes

242
00:14:21,320 --> 00:14:23,120
reveal that these carvings

243
00:14:23,120 --> 00:14:25,400
were once brightly painted.

244
00:14:27,120 --> 00:14:29,520
There's lots of male imagery here.

245
00:14:29,520 --> 00:14:32,240
So, where are all the women?

246
00:14:32,240 --> 00:14:37,200
It could be that the women are being
represented in organic material,

247
00:14:37,200 --> 00:14:42,200
in plants and reeds
and wood carvings. And, of course,

248
00:14:42,200 --> 00:14:45,880
that just hasn't survived
down the millennia.

249
00:14:45,880 --> 00:14:50,120
It's a really, really
intriguing possibility.

250
00:14:53,240 --> 00:14:55,520
The way the animals are represented

251
00:14:55,520 --> 00:14:58,240
reads like a storybook,

252
00:14:58,240 --> 00:15:01,760
so I want to figure out
how the giant T-pillars

253
00:15:01,760 --> 00:15:04,880
fit into this mythical narrative.

254
00:15:04,880 --> 00:15:08,720
This, itself, this huge, huge
monolith, I mean, what is it...?

255
00:15:08,720 --> 00:15:11,040
It's almost six metres tall.
Six metres tall.

256
00:15:11,040 --> 00:15:12,200
And it must weigh...

257
00:15:13,840 --> 00:15:15,400
15 tons. And you'd think

258
00:15:15,400 --> 00:15:17,040
it's, again, telling a story,

259
00:15:17,040 --> 00:15:19,760
but this represents a human body.

260
00:15:19,760 --> 00:15:21,160
Body, yes. Yeah.

261
00:15:22,480 --> 00:15:24,200
Necmi confirms my hunch

262
00:15:24,200 --> 00:15:27,080
that these giants are people.

263
00:15:30,600 --> 00:15:31,840
Yeah.

264
00:15:34,160 --> 00:15:35,960
Can you see there's arms

265
00:15:35,960 --> 00:15:37,920
coming down?

266
00:15:37,920 --> 00:15:39,880
And then round here are the hands,

267
00:15:39,880 --> 00:15:41,720
kind of clutching the belly.

268
00:15:43,080 --> 00:15:45,360
And then this is like a loincloth,

269
00:15:45,360 --> 00:15:48,000
made of the pelt of a fox.

270
00:15:50,520 --> 00:15:53,280
The purpose of these
extraordinary giants, gathered in

271
00:15:53,280 --> 00:15:55,720
this communal space, is mysterious.

272
00:15:58,000 --> 00:15:59,760
Necmi has a theory.

273
00:16:08,800 --> 00:16:09,960
No.

274
00:16:25,640 --> 00:16:27,040
Ah-ha!

275
00:16:29,040 --> 00:16:31,600
I see what you mean.
So you sort of come here

276
00:16:31,600 --> 00:16:33,880
with awe and respect,

277
00:16:33,880 --> 00:16:36,560
and you have to behave, because

278
00:16:36,560 --> 00:16:39,040
you're surrounded by such grandeur.

279
00:16:45,800 --> 00:16:49,600
The hunter-gatherers of
Ancient Anatolia pooled ideas

280
00:16:49,600 --> 00:16:52,240
and experimented
with living together

281
00:16:52,240 --> 00:16:57,080
not just as disparate
nomadic groups, but as a community.

282
00:16:59,360 --> 00:17:01,920
So how do they construct

283
00:17:01,920 --> 00:17:04,640
such enormous megastructures, like

284
00:17:04,640 --> 00:17:08,880
no other anywhere else in the
Stone Age or Neolithic world?

285
00:17:13,800 --> 00:17:15,560
This is... Oh, I can see.
Can you see here...

286
00:17:15,560 --> 00:17:18,560
Yeah. ..that the whole area here,
it's just full of flint?

287
00:17:18,560 --> 00:17:20,400
Here's a blade, a broken blade.

288
00:17:20,400 --> 00:17:22,320
This is Neolithic.

289
00:17:22,320 --> 00:17:24,360
Lee Clare has been excavating

290
00:17:24,360 --> 00:17:27,560
at Gobeklitepe since 2013.

291
00:17:27,560 --> 00:17:30,400
He's keen to show me a crucial clue

292
00:17:30,400 --> 00:17:32,120
at the edge of the complex

293
00:17:32,120 --> 00:17:35,960
that explains where the
giant stones came from.

294
00:17:35,960 --> 00:17:38,320
So what are we actually looking for

295
00:17:38,320 --> 00:17:40,800
now, Lee? We're going now
to a quarry situation.

296
00:17:42,480 --> 00:17:44,920
If you look down here,
this is one of those

297
00:17:44,920 --> 00:17:46,760
extraction pits where they
were quarrying the stone.

298
00:17:46,760 --> 00:17:49,120
You can see, actually, these grooves

299
00:17:49,120 --> 00:17:50,920
at the side of the pit here.

300
00:17:50,920 --> 00:17:53,280
Yes. And they would have been
sticking in, probably,

301
00:17:53,280 --> 00:17:56,840
big wood levers.
So each of these shafts,

302
00:17:56,840 --> 00:18:00,400
or channels, there'd have been
a massive tree trunk, basically,

303
00:18:00,400 --> 00:18:02,880
to help the stone out. I think
we can imagine it like that, yeah.

304
00:18:02,880 --> 00:18:06,120
Giving it a good whack
and levering out the stone,

305
00:18:06,120 --> 00:18:07,840
prising it out, splitting it

306
00:18:07,840 --> 00:18:09,640
and dragging it out
and off to the site. Yeah.

307
00:18:15,920 --> 00:18:18,800
We have a T-pillar
which is still in the quarry,

308
00:18:18,800 --> 00:18:22,160
was never moved, and was left there
11,000 years ago.

309
00:18:22,160 --> 00:18:25,800
So those giant, T-shaped pillars,

310
00:18:25,800 --> 00:18:28,840
which are actually
human beings of some kind,

311
00:18:28,840 --> 00:18:31,560
look, this is one
that's still in the quarry

312
00:18:31,560 --> 00:18:33,360
that they've decided to leave,

313
00:18:33,360 --> 00:18:35,240
but for why? It's hard to know.

314
00:18:35,240 --> 00:18:37,720
I mean, there's a big crack in it.
Crack. That's a possible reason.

315
00:18:37,720 --> 00:18:39,280
It cracked and they left it.

316
00:18:39,280 --> 00:18:40,720
It's been there now

317
00:18:40,720 --> 00:18:43,000
for 10,000 years. At least

318
00:18:43,000 --> 00:18:44,160
10,000 years... At least 10,000.

319
00:18:44,160 --> 00:18:45,880
..that will have been here.

320
00:18:45,880 --> 00:18:47,480
So much work, and then

321
00:18:47,480 --> 00:18:49,840
something's...stopped it. Yeah.

322
00:18:49,840 --> 00:18:53,240
This is one of the tallest we've got
here. I mean, if this had actually

323
00:18:53,240 --> 00:18:55,840
been finished and quarried
and taken to the site... Yeah.

324
00:18:55,840 --> 00:18:58,200
This is seven metres or so.
It's a massive thing.

325
00:18:58,200 --> 00:19:00,760
It's almost like a King Stone, or
something. Yeah, one of the central

326
00:19:00,760 --> 00:19:03,120
pillars, yeah. It's really tall.
One of the central pillars

327
00:19:03,120 --> 00:19:05,400
of these special buildings.
That's what that would have been...

328
00:19:05,400 --> 00:19:06,680
Yeah. ..had it been taken out.

329
00:19:06,680 --> 00:19:08,440
We've just got to remember
that as far as we know,

330
00:19:08,440 --> 00:19:10,800
there isn't the wheel now...
Of course. ..so they're doing

331
00:19:10,800 --> 00:19:13,920
all of this engineering, you know...
Exactly. ..kind of just

332
00:19:13,920 --> 00:19:15,360
with bare hands,

333
00:19:15,360 --> 00:19:16,600
basically. With their bare hands.

334
00:19:18,000 --> 00:19:19,920
I'm curious to know -

335
00:19:19,920 --> 00:19:21,560
if these hunter-gatherers

336
00:19:21,560 --> 00:19:24,680
were now settled, how did they
get enough food and water?

337
00:19:26,320 --> 00:19:28,920
You can just make out a row of pits

338
00:19:28,920 --> 00:19:30,480
carved into the natural bedrock,

339
00:19:30,480 --> 00:19:32,280
which are a series of cisterns.

340
00:19:32,280 --> 00:19:35,040
So water storage. Water storage.

341
00:19:35,040 --> 00:19:36,880
They were harvesting the rainwater

342
00:19:36,880 --> 00:19:38,320
for use in the settlement.

343
00:19:39,360 --> 00:19:41,720
And the people here transported

344
00:19:41,720 --> 00:19:44,800
this water
in a complex system of channels.

345
00:19:44,800 --> 00:19:48,480
That's really organised. I guess
if you've got so many people,

346
00:19:48,480 --> 00:19:50,320
you've got to have a system.

347
00:19:50,320 --> 00:19:52,160
I'm very glad I'm here with you,
I'd never have seen those!

348
00:19:52,160 --> 00:19:53,520
No, they're a bit hard to see...

349
00:19:53,520 --> 00:19:55,880
They're cool. ..but this is
one of those nice spots.

350
00:19:55,880 --> 00:19:58,240
They've got water,
but with hundreds of people

351
00:19:58,240 --> 00:20:00,160
living together
for the very first time,

352
00:20:00,160 --> 00:20:02,840
how did they get enough food

353
00:20:02,840 --> 00:20:05,360
to survive and time to dream up

354
00:20:05,360 --> 00:20:07,560
massive projects like this?

355
00:20:11,880 --> 00:20:13,480
My team have heard about

356
00:20:13,480 --> 00:20:15,440
live research, headed by

357
00:20:15,440 --> 00:20:17,960
archaeologist Fatma Sahin,

358
00:20:17,960 --> 00:20:20,840
that might explain
how the people of Tas Tepeler

359
00:20:20,840 --> 00:20:25,800
always had enough to eat
and the time to build.

360
00:20:25,800 --> 00:20:28,360
So we've just got
the coordinates. Yes.

361
00:20:28,360 --> 00:20:31,200
Satellite images.
From satellite? Yeah, satellite.

362
00:20:32,920 --> 00:20:34,600
We're heading to a new location

363
00:20:34,600 --> 00:20:38,120
that she's very excited to explore
for the first time.

364
00:20:40,480 --> 00:20:42,760
I'm in your hands. You tell me
whether it's left or right.

365
00:20:42,760 --> 00:20:44,800
Can you turn to the right, please?

366
00:20:44,800 --> 00:20:47,240
Is it off-road?
Yeah, off-road. Yeah. Right, OK.

367
00:20:49,080 --> 00:20:51,360
Fatma's found something

368
00:20:51,360 --> 00:20:53,760
interesting via satellite imagery.

369
00:20:53,760 --> 00:20:55,960
Now we are going to here.

370
00:20:57,160 --> 00:21:01,480
We have her coordinates
and continue the search on foot.

371
00:21:03,000 --> 00:21:04,160
So we have to get up to the...

372
00:21:06,080 --> 00:21:07,240
Perfect.

373
00:21:11,640 --> 00:21:13,840
Yeah, look. Along here?
Yeah, yeah, this is it.

374
00:21:15,040 --> 00:21:17,560
These remains of a 300-metre

375
00:21:17,560 --> 00:21:20,560
stone wall
are the clue that Fatma needs.

376
00:21:25,520 --> 00:21:27,240
Time to see if she's right.

377
00:21:34,560 --> 00:21:36,240
It's not long before we identify

378
00:21:36,240 --> 00:21:37,840
what we're looking for.

379
00:21:37,840 --> 00:21:40,520
Unmistakable shapes on the ground

380
00:21:40,520 --> 00:21:42,480
that can only be seen from the air,

381
00:21:42,480 --> 00:21:45,840
filmed for the very first time.

382
00:21:45,840 --> 00:21:47,080
It's like a massive

383
00:21:47,080 --> 00:21:48,360
funnel, isn't it? Yes, yes.

384
00:21:50,880 --> 00:21:54,040
That is such an engineered shape.

385
00:21:54,040 --> 00:21:56,280
Yes. So what is that doing?
What's the point of that funnel?

386
00:22:01,480 --> 00:22:03,760
So they're forcing animals

387
00:22:03,760 --> 00:22:05,320
to come in.

388
00:22:09,160 --> 00:22:10,920
It's like this mega trap.

389
00:22:12,400 --> 00:22:14,720
A complicated geometric shape. Yes.

390
00:22:14,720 --> 00:22:16,520
Obviously, perfect

391
00:22:16,520 --> 00:22:17,640
for trapping these animals.

392
00:22:19,040 --> 00:22:20,760
These stone animal traps

393
00:22:20,760 --> 00:22:23,040
have become known as kites

394
00:22:23,040 --> 00:22:25,320
because of their distinctive shape.

395
00:22:25,320 --> 00:22:28,400
Some are up to 3km long.

396
00:22:30,320 --> 00:22:31,880
Fatma believes that even

397
00:22:31,880 --> 00:22:34,160
relatively low straight walls -

398
00:22:34,160 --> 00:22:36,040
perhaps only three feet or so high -

399
00:22:36,040 --> 00:22:38,560
could guide a herd of gazelles

400
00:22:38,560 --> 00:22:41,480
towards waiting hunters,
hiding in pits.

401
00:22:42,840 --> 00:22:44,120
So they're knowing

402
00:22:44,120 --> 00:22:47,880
the migration paths... Yes.
..of, like, what, gazelle, or...?

403
00:22:47,880 --> 00:22:50,200
Gazelle. Yes, yes. OK.

404
00:22:59,400 --> 00:23:01,680
All that protein,

405
00:23:01,680 --> 00:23:04,480
that must be like a massive shift

406
00:23:04,480 --> 00:23:06,680
in how people are living
and their strength.

407
00:23:12,760 --> 00:23:14,080
It could be that

408
00:23:14,080 --> 00:23:16,120
other trapped wildlife -

409
00:23:16,120 --> 00:23:18,400
including goats, wild boar

410
00:23:18,400 --> 00:23:20,160
and even cattle -

411
00:23:20,160 --> 00:23:24,560
became the first
domesticated animals.

412
00:23:24,560 --> 00:23:27,720
You can get milk as well,
so it's encouraging people

413
00:23:27,720 --> 00:23:30,360
to settle down, to stop
being hunter-gatherers.

414
00:23:33,800 --> 00:23:36,400
So this is the beginning
of our world, this. Yeah.

415
00:23:36,400 --> 00:23:37,760
Yeah, yeah.

416
00:23:40,120 --> 00:23:42,000
Fatma told me on the way up... Yeah.

417
00:23:42,000 --> 00:23:44,560
..that there are 300 of these

418
00:23:44,560 --> 00:23:47,840
just in this area.

419
00:23:47,840 --> 00:23:51,200
Is that what allows places
like Gobeklitepe... Yeah.

420
00:23:51,200 --> 00:23:52,800
..Karahantepe... Yes, yes.

421
00:23:52,800 --> 00:23:55,320
..to be these
settled societies? Yes.

422
00:23:56,560 --> 00:23:59,560
It's literally rewriting history,
this. Yeah, yeah. Yeah.

423
00:24:04,680 --> 00:24:06,520
12,000 years ago,

424
00:24:06,520 --> 00:24:09,240
our ancestors
were beginning to settle down

425
00:24:09,240 --> 00:24:11,840
for the first time, in peace,

426
00:24:11,840 --> 00:24:15,360
starting to farm animals and crops.

427
00:24:15,360 --> 00:24:19,960
Domesticating lentils
and chickpeas and Einkorn wheat

428
00:24:19,960 --> 00:24:22,320
that made bread
a little bit like this.

429
00:24:22,320 --> 00:24:25,600
And not only that, but it
seems that in the morning,

430
00:24:25,600 --> 00:24:28,120
the women and men here would wake up

431
00:24:28,120 --> 00:24:32,520
and have a bowl of pistachio coffee.

432
00:24:32,520 --> 00:24:36,120
So these are definitely
my kind of tribe!

433
00:24:40,440 --> 00:24:42,200
I'm never going to forget

434
00:24:42,200 --> 00:24:45,720
the sights and discoveries

435
00:24:45,720 --> 00:24:48,400
and Stone Age beauty

436
00:24:48,400 --> 00:24:52,800
that I've witnessed down here
at the Tas Tepeler sites,

437
00:24:52,800 --> 00:24:56,520
and just the sheer ingenuity
and drive of people

438
00:24:56,520 --> 00:25:00,120
whose ideas have changed our world.

439
00:25:00,120 --> 00:25:02,680
And you really realise,
when you're down here,

440
00:25:02,680 --> 00:25:06,160
that none of that could have
happened without collaboration

441
00:25:06,160 --> 00:25:10,000
and without people being
at peace with each other

442
00:25:10,000 --> 00:25:12,200
and at peace with nature.

443
00:25:13,720 --> 00:25:15,680
But the journey's only just begun

444
00:25:15,680 --> 00:25:17,360
because I'm packing up my kit

445
00:25:17,360 --> 00:25:20,120
and I'm heading right up to another

446
00:25:20,120 --> 00:25:25,000
amazing ancient site
called Arslantepe.

447
00:25:38,440 --> 00:25:40,880
I've travelled to the outskirts of
the city of Malatya,

448
00:25:40,880 --> 00:25:43,160
in central-eastern Turkiye,

449
00:25:43,160 --> 00:25:44,840
in search of another leap forward

450
00:25:44,840 --> 00:25:46,120
in the human story.

451
00:25:50,000 --> 00:25:52,360
This man's the master of a craft

452
00:25:52,360 --> 00:25:56,040
that could have been forged right
here, in this part of Anatolia.

453
00:25:59,240 --> 00:26:02,200
Hi. Merhaba! Merhaba!

454
00:26:02,200 --> 00:26:05,520
It's so extraordinary to see this.
So how many generations

455
00:26:05,520 --> 00:26:07,760
have your family been doing this?

456
00:26:16,240 --> 00:26:18,720
Yusuf Bayyigit is one of
the few remaining masters

457
00:26:18,720 --> 00:26:21,600
working with traditional
sword-making techniques.

458
00:26:22,760 --> 00:26:25,240
He forges steel,

459
00:26:25,240 --> 00:26:28,040
which is an alloy of two elements,

460
00:26:28,040 --> 00:26:29,280
iron and carbon.

461
00:26:45,640 --> 00:26:48,760
Yusuf is proud
to preserve swordsmith skills

462
00:26:48,760 --> 00:26:51,640
developed in ancient times
in this very region,

463
00:26:51,640 --> 00:26:54,800
where - archaeological
evidence suggests -

464
00:26:54,800 --> 00:26:58,440
the use of metal alloys
was pioneered.

465
00:27:00,280 --> 00:27:03,000
You're keeping
the power of your ancestors

466
00:27:03,000 --> 00:27:06,520
and the power of history
alive with what you're doing here.

467
00:27:06,520 --> 00:27:12,040
Tesekkurler. Tesekkur ederim.
THEY LAUGH

468
00:27:16,000 --> 00:27:17,960
And this city also

469
00:27:17,960 --> 00:27:22,760
hides the secrets of an
extraordinary discovery

470
00:27:22,760 --> 00:27:26,160
that could explain the
origins of all of this.

471
00:27:35,920 --> 00:27:39,600
Archaeologist Marcella Frangipane
has been working

472
00:27:39,600 --> 00:27:41,520
in Malatya for 50 years.

473
00:27:41,520 --> 00:27:44,120
Here in Arslantepe,

474
00:27:44,120 --> 00:27:46,720
she made a staggering discovery.

475
00:27:58,840 --> 00:28:00,760
Ah... Ah!

476
00:28:00,760 --> 00:28:02,200
It was Marcella's

477
00:28:02,200 --> 00:28:05,360
first year at Arslantepe in 1976,

478
00:28:05,360 --> 00:28:06,760
when she and her colleague,

479
00:28:06,760 --> 00:28:09,040
Alba Palmieri, discovered

480
00:28:09,040 --> 00:28:10,560
what turned out to be

481
00:28:10,560 --> 00:28:14,160
the world's first-ever swords.

482
00:28:25,600 --> 00:28:26,640
Ah!

483
00:28:42,320 --> 00:28:44,240
Yes.

484
00:28:44,240 --> 00:28:46,600
To say to anybody
who visited, presumably,

485
00:28:46,600 --> 00:28:49,240
look at us, we're powerful,
we're in charge.

486
00:28:51,360 --> 00:28:53,760
Dating the archaeological layers,

487
00:28:53,760 --> 00:28:56,840
Marcella and her team
realised these swords

488
00:28:56,840 --> 00:28:59,920
were a thousand years older

489
00:28:59,920 --> 00:29:02,760
than any previously discovered.

490
00:29:05,320 --> 00:29:07,600
Tesekkur ederim...

491
00:29:07,600 --> 00:29:10,120
Luckily for me, two are still kept

492
00:29:10,120 --> 00:29:11,720
in a nearby storeroom.

493
00:29:13,720 --> 00:29:16,000
It's just such a privilege
to be so close to them.

494
00:29:16,000 --> 00:29:17,200
Is it possible to touch them?

495
00:29:23,360 --> 00:29:25,240
I just have to stop for a second

496
00:29:25,240 --> 00:29:28,600
because not only
am I holding something

497
00:29:28,600 --> 00:29:31,800
which must be over 5,000 years old,
this... Yes.

498
00:29:31,800 --> 00:29:36,120
5,200. 5,200 years old.

499
00:29:36,120 --> 00:29:38,400
And you can feel the weight

500
00:29:38,400 --> 00:29:40,600
and the chill of the blade.

501
00:29:41,960 --> 00:29:44,560
The secret behind
their incredible longevity

502
00:29:44,560 --> 00:29:46,840
lies in their creation,

503
00:29:46,840 --> 00:29:50,000
from another metal alloy.

504
00:30:09,440 --> 00:30:11,840
So what you're saying -
this is a natural metal

505
00:30:11,840 --> 00:30:13,760
that has copper and arsenic
mixed together,

506
00:30:13,760 --> 00:30:17,120
that is amazing for
weapons like this.

507
00:30:17,120 --> 00:30:19,440
It makes them stronger.
It's easier to work.

508
00:30:30,360 --> 00:30:32,000
This is huge.

509
00:30:32,000 --> 00:30:33,600
The copper alloy is sourced

510
00:30:33,600 --> 00:30:36,800
from mountains many
hundreds of miles away.

511
00:30:38,480 --> 00:30:40,840
So this is telling us
two really important things.

512
00:30:40,840 --> 00:30:45,280
Their understanding of
the chemical profile of the metal

513
00:30:45,280 --> 00:30:48,600
that they're using to create these
stronger swords,

514
00:30:48,600 --> 00:30:51,480
and they're having contact
with cultures

515
00:30:51,480 --> 00:30:54,760
and societies and communities
way beyond their borders,

516
00:30:54,760 --> 00:30:57,800
who are bringing them
the raw materials to make this. Yes.

517
00:30:57,800 --> 00:31:01,200
So that's a big shift in
the story of humanity. Absolutely.

518
00:31:03,400 --> 00:31:05,880
It's a beautiful thing
in and of itself,

519
00:31:05,880 --> 00:31:09,680
and it's a clue to our story, too.

520
00:31:09,680 --> 00:31:11,360
And it's still sharp,

521
00:31:11,360 --> 00:31:15,240
after 5,200 years!

522
00:31:17,640 --> 00:31:20,280
The swords are so impressive.

523
00:31:20,280 --> 00:31:23,320
New tech, multiplying possibilities

524
00:31:23,320 --> 00:31:24,920
for the human experience.

525
00:31:32,400 --> 00:31:34,240
And in what is the world's

526
00:31:34,240 --> 00:31:36,680
first palace, you even have

527
00:31:36,680 --> 00:31:38,400
these fabulous images

528
00:31:38,400 --> 00:31:40,360
of imposing characters

529
00:31:40,360 --> 00:31:43,000
identified as the world's first

530
00:31:43,000 --> 00:31:46,240
king and queen, with crowns of

531
00:31:46,240 --> 00:31:47,960
flickering flames,

532
00:31:47,960 --> 00:31:49,960
holding giant keys

533
00:31:49,960 --> 00:31:52,640
to keep their treasures safe.

534
00:31:52,640 --> 00:31:55,440
CAT MIAOWS

535
00:32:00,000 --> 00:32:01,920
It's just incredible to think

536
00:32:01,920 --> 00:32:04,280
that that copper arsenic alloy

537
00:32:04,280 --> 00:32:07,320
was being imported from places
as far away as

538
00:32:07,320 --> 00:32:10,080
the Black Sea
and possibly even the Caucasus.

539
00:32:11,480 --> 00:32:14,360
It's a reminder that as a species,

540
00:32:14,360 --> 00:32:16,440
we are hyperconnected.

541
00:32:16,440 --> 00:32:21,400
We benefit from the work and
ideas and efforts of people

542
00:32:21,400 --> 00:32:25,280
who live miles away from us
and whom we've never met,

543
00:32:25,280 --> 00:32:30,280
but it's those networks
that make all of our lives better.

544
00:32:35,560 --> 00:32:39,000
It's time to leave
Arslantepe and Malatya

545
00:32:39,000 --> 00:32:41,560
and hit the road on my
journey through time.

546
00:32:43,560 --> 00:32:46,360
I'm heading over 300 miles west

547
00:32:46,360 --> 00:32:49,360
and forward 2,500 years...

548
00:32:50,840 --> 00:32:53,960
..to an era when humanity
started writing down stories

549
00:32:53,960 --> 00:32:56,160
that are still with us today.

550
00:32:59,640 --> 00:33:03,200
A huge number of these
world-famous myths,

551
00:33:03,200 --> 00:33:07,560
celebrating fabled
heroines and heroes,

552
00:33:07,560 --> 00:33:10,400
have very real roots

553
00:33:10,400 --> 00:33:13,800
right here, in Ancient Anatolia.

554
00:33:19,840 --> 00:33:21,880
The first stop on my myth hunt

555
00:33:21,880 --> 00:33:24,440
is the ancient city of Gordion.

556
00:33:27,320 --> 00:33:29,680
A legendary site, visited by one of

557
00:33:29,680 --> 00:33:32,480
the most famous men in history,

558
00:33:32,480 --> 00:33:34,160
Alexander the Great.

559
00:33:39,560 --> 00:33:44,920
Ancient historians wrote about
the story of the Gordian Knot,

560
00:33:44,920 --> 00:33:46,960
which was this huge,

561
00:33:46,960 --> 00:33:51,000
tightly-bound knot
that was almost impossible to undo.

562
00:33:51,000 --> 00:33:53,480
But the story went that
whoever could unravel it

563
00:33:53,480 --> 00:33:56,320
would end up controlling
the whole of Asia.

564
00:33:56,320 --> 00:33:59,160
And it was displayed here,
in this room.

565
00:33:59,160 --> 00:34:03,560
Alexander the Great, we're told,
came here, took one look at it

566
00:34:03,560 --> 00:34:05,400
and realised there was
a really simple solution,

567
00:34:05,400 --> 00:34:09,800
that all he had to do
was to slice it through.

568
00:34:09,800 --> 00:34:13,360
And archaeologists think
that actually happened,

569
00:34:13,360 --> 00:34:15,640
and the knot really was here,

570
00:34:15,640 --> 00:34:17,400
displayed on a plinth,

571
00:34:17,400 --> 00:34:21,080
and then Alexander
left the severed knot

572
00:34:21,080 --> 00:34:25,680
to prove that he was now
King of the World.

573
00:34:29,120 --> 00:34:33,800
But the city of Gordion
has much deeper roots - founded

574
00:34:33,800 --> 00:34:37,880
over four centuries before Alexander
the Great's visit by a family

575
00:34:37,880 --> 00:34:42,280
who spawned
an equally famous legend.

576
00:34:42,280 --> 00:34:45,840
It's one of the greatest
myths of all time.

577
00:34:45,840 --> 00:34:48,360
The story of King Midas,

578
00:34:48,360 --> 00:34:51,360
who fervently wished
that everything he touched

579
00:34:51,360 --> 00:34:54,280
would turn to gold,
but didn't realise

580
00:34:54,280 --> 00:34:57,520
the dreadful consequences
of his desire.

581
00:35:00,880 --> 00:35:04,680
The legend is a cautionary tale,
a dire warning about

582
00:35:04,680 --> 00:35:06,880
the dangers of greed and avarice.

583
00:35:10,080 --> 00:35:12,640
This foolish king came to realise

584
00:35:12,640 --> 00:35:15,720
his golden touch was a curse

585
00:35:15,720 --> 00:35:21,160
when his food and, in some accounts,
his daughter, turned to gold.

586
00:35:23,440 --> 00:35:25,440
So he travelled across his vast

587
00:35:25,440 --> 00:35:27,960
empire, in search of a cure.

588
00:35:31,800 --> 00:35:33,760
The Euphrates River.

589
00:35:33,760 --> 00:35:36,760
Cok guzel. Cok guzel. Cok guzel.

590
00:35:36,760 --> 00:35:39,320
I agree, it is very, very beautiful.

591
00:35:39,320 --> 00:35:41,120
Tesekkurler.

592
00:35:45,760 --> 00:35:48,520
King Midas was eventually
freed from his curse

593
00:35:48,520 --> 00:35:51,040
by coming to bathe
here in this river,

594
00:35:51,040 --> 00:35:55,600
the Pactolus, or Sakarya,
as it's now called,

595
00:35:55,600 --> 00:35:58,720
cleansing himself
of the golden touch.

596
00:36:03,520 --> 00:36:06,680
You know how you hear
those fairy tales of rivers

597
00:36:06,680 --> 00:36:09,000
running with gold? Well,

598
00:36:09,000 --> 00:36:11,000
here, this is a reality.

599
00:36:11,000 --> 00:36:13,440
So this is the River Pactolus,

600
00:36:13,440 --> 00:36:18,200
and it brings tiny, tiny dusts
of gold down from the mountains.

601
00:36:20,760 --> 00:36:25,160
Legend says it was Midas
washing off the golden touch

602
00:36:25,160 --> 00:36:28,200
that filled the Pactolus
with gold dust.

603
00:36:28,200 --> 00:36:31,120
And that gold would later launch

604
00:36:31,120 --> 00:36:33,920
the narrative
of another household name.

605
00:36:36,440 --> 00:36:39,280
One of the most famous
of all legends

606
00:36:39,280 --> 00:36:43,880
tells the story of a super-rich man
who lived in a city around here,

607
00:36:43,880 --> 00:36:46,280
so I want to find out
how much of it is true.

608
00:36:48,920 --> 00:36:51,840
On the banks of the Pactolus
is the capital city

609
00:36:51,840 --> 00:36:56,080
of the next great empire of
Ancient Anatolia, the Lydians.

610
00:36:59,240 --> 00:37:00,960
The Lydians flourished

611
00:37:00,960 --> 00:37:03,720
in the 6th and
7th centuries BCE.

612
00:37:03,720 --> 00:37:05,520
Their most celebrated king

613
00:37:05,520 --> 00:37:07,200
was a man called Croesus,

614
00:37:07,200 --> 00:37:10,360
who got rich from
the golden Pactolus,

615
00:37:10,360 --> 00:37:13,160
inspiring history
to coin the phrase

616
00:37:13,160 --> 00:37:15,720
"as rich as Croesus".

617
00:37:15,720 --> 00:37:18,480
The capital of his kingdom
was right here...

618
00:37:19,960 --> 00:37:21,480
..at this

619
00:37:21,480 --> 00:37:24,480
magnificent place, Sardis.

620
00:37:30,840 --> 00:37:32,280
Hey, dogs!

621
00:37:33,600 --> 00:37:38,120
There's a man here called Teoman,
who's been working at the site

622
00:37:38,120 --> 00:37:41,720
since 1969, so he's going to be the
perfect guy. I think this is him.

623
00:37:41,720 --> 00:37:45,160
Hi. Lovely to see you.
Nice to meet you.

624
00:37:45,160 --> 00:37:48,440
I'm Bettany, Teoman. Come on. Hello!

625
00:37:48,440 --> 00:37:49,960
So there's the...

626
00:37:51,200 --> 00:37:52,880
..map. Great! Yeah.

627
00:37:52,880 --> 00:37:55,280
It's such a huge site, isn't it?

628
00:37:59,320 --> 00:38:00,760
Incredible...

629
00:38:00,760 --> 00:38:04,840
Teoman knows where I can find
emerging evidence for the lived

630
00:38:04,840 --> 00:38:06,640
experience of Croesus
and the Lydians.

631
00:38:09,720 --> 00:38:10,840
Yeah.

632
00:38:21,280 --> 00:38:22,960
Perfect! Great tips.

633
00:38:22,960 --> 00:38:25,160
Thank you. Lovely to meet you.
Yeah. Thank you.

634
00:38:30,600 --> 00:38:32,960
We're heading into
the remains of the Lydian city

635
00:38:32,960 --> 00:38:35,840
to search for evidence
of their riches.

636
00:38:39,680 --> 00:38:41,880
They're even finding houses
down here.

637
00:38:52,840 --> 00:38:55,200
Even in these ordinary homes,

638
00:38:55,200 --> 00:38:57,840
there's incredible evidence

639
00:38:57,840 --> 00:39:00,320
of the Lydians' fabulous wealth,

640
00:39:00,320 --> 00:39:03,400
and one of the clues is right here.

641
00:39:05,120 --> 00:39:07,560
This is the remains of an oven.

642
00:39:07,560 --> 00:39:10,840
But what the team are
also finding in here

643
00:39:10,840 --> 00:39:15,240
are these massive spits
for roasting meat,

644
00:39:15,240 --> 00:39:18,720
and that is really, really
significant because normally,

645
00:39:18,720 --> 00:39:21,400
these are only discovered
in religious contexts.

646
00:39:21,400 --> 00:39:23,280
So in places like temples,

647
00:39:23,280 --> 00:39:25,560
where the meat is roasted
for the gods.

648
00:39:25,560 --> 00:39:27,640
But here, it looks like Lydians

649
00:39:27,640 --> 00:39:31,320
are enjoying roast meat
possibly every day of the week.

650
00:39:32,600 --> 00:39:34,320
And there's something else

651
00:39:34,320 --> 00:39:37,800
that's being uncovered in here,
which I think is super cool.

652
00:39:37,800 --> 00:39:42,120
So the archaeologists are finding
lots of these little black rocks,

653
00:39:42,120 --> 00:39:44,520
which are called Lydian Stone,

654
00:39:44,520 --> 00:39:46,520
and they were used by the people
who lived here

655
00:39:46,520 --> 00:39:50,320
to scratch gold on
to test how pure it was,

656
00:39:50,320 --> 00:39:54,160
and that gave the world the phrase
"a touchstone".

657
00:39:56,520 --> 00:39:58,960
The more you explore Sardis,

658
00:39:58,960 --> 00:40:01,840
the more you see
signs of great wealth.

659
00:40:01,840 --> 00:40:04,200
These monumental burial mounds

660
00:40:04,200 --> 00:40:06,760
are even taller
than those at Gordion.

661
00:40:08,200 --> 00:40:10,480
This one, the tomb of Alyattes,

662
00:40:10,480 --> 00:40:13,160
is the largest tumulus in the world,

663
00:40:13,160 --> 00:40:16,080
built for Croesus's own father.

664
00:40:16,080 --> 00:40:18,640
And archaeologists
have uncovered evidence

665
00:40:18,640 --> 00:40:20,920
of metal processing,

666
00:40:20,920 --> 00:40:23,360
furnaces and crucibles.

667
00:40:23,360 --> 00:40:27,000
Sardis produced
high-purity gold and silver

668
00:40:27,000 --> 00:40:29,520
for Croesus's bursting treasury.

669
00:40:29,520 --> 00:40:33,840
But these riches would sow the seeds
for Croesus's downfall

670
00:40:33,840 --> 00:40:36,080
and the destruction of his empire.

671
00:40:43,800 --> 00:40:45,800
I'm in Ancient Sardis,

672
00:40:45,800 --> 00:40:48,960
home of the historical king Croesus.

673
00:40:48,960 --> 00:40:51,760
Coming here, you can so see

674
00:40:51,760 --> 00:40:54,440
how this was once
one of the richest cities on Earth.

675
00:40:57,280 --> 00:41:00,840
And what's more,
something was created here

676
00:41:00,840 --> 00:41:02,760
that revolutionised

677
00:41:02,760 --> 00:41:05,320
the story of mankind.

678
00:41:05,320 --> 00:41:07,640
The gold panned from
the River Pactolus

679
00:41:07,640 --> 00:41:10,320
was used to produce the world's

680
00:41:10,320 --> 00:41:13,840
first-ever gold coins.

681
00:41:15,200 --> 00:41:16,600
It's hard to overstate

682
00:41:16,600 --> 00:41:18,440
the impact of coined money.

683
00:41:18,440 --> 00:41:21,040
It gives agency to ordinary people

684
00:41:21,040 --> 00:41:23,480
as economic actors.

685
00:41:23,480 --> 00:41:26,640
The world
would never be the same again.

686
00:41:31,040 --> 00:41:35,440
But the legend of Croesus
tells us that just like Midas,

687
00:41:35,440 --> 00:41:38,080
he was a king not content with
his vast wealth,

688
00:41:38,080 --> 00:41:42,320
and he'd pay a heavy price
for his foolishness.

689
00:41:46,000 --> 00:41:49,360
The wealth of his empire
brought Croesus into conflict

690
00:41:49,360 --> 00:41:53,840
with the other great
regional power of the age, Persia.

691
00:41:56,040 --> 00:41:59,320
Croesus consulted
the Oracle at Delphi,

692
00:41:59,320 --> 00:42:02,520
a High Priestess, who delivered
prophecies from Apollo.

693
00:42:06,640 --> 00:42:09,000
The famously cryptic Oracle

694
00:42:09,000 --> 00:42:12,320
prophesied that
if Croesus attacked Persia,

695
00:42:12,320 --> 00:42:15,320
then a mighty power would fall.

696
00:42:15,320 --> 00:42:19,760
The only catch was that
she didn't specify which empire.

697
00:42:19,760 --> 00:42:21,440
THUNDER RUMBLES

698
00:42:21,440 --> 00:42:25,760
Croesus heard
only what he wanted to hear.

699
00:42:25,760 --> 00:42:28,240
Emboldened by the prophecy,

700
00:42:28,240 --> 00:42:31,160
he went to war.
But within two years,

701
00:42:31,160 --> 00:42:33,520
the Lydian king had to retreat,

702
00:42:33,520 --> 00:42:35,880
with the Persians laying siege

703
00:42:35,880 --> 00:42:38,080
to the city of Sardis itself.

704
00:42:39,720 --> 00:42:44,080
The ancient Acropolis, the fortified
citadel, is right the way up there,

705
00:42:44,080 --> 00:42:46,760
so you can completely understand

706
00:42:46,760 --> 00:42:50,040
why Croesus and his people
thought that nobody would be able

707
00:42:50,040 --> 00:42:51,640
to attack them there,

708
00:42:51,640 --> 00:42:53,040
but they were wrong.

709
00:42:58,400 --> 00:43:00,840
The best account of
the sack of Sardis

710
00:43:00,840 --> 00:43:03,760
comes from one of the world's
first historians,

711
00:43:03,760 --> 00:43:05,600
born right here in Anatolia,

712
00:43:05,600 --> 00:43:07,000
Herodotus.

713
00:43:09,360 --> 00:43:15,000
The Lydian cavalry were confronted
with Persians mounted on camels.

714
00:43:15,000 --> 00:43:18,400
Their horses completely panicked
and then stampeded.

715
00:43:20,400 --> 00:43:24,000
The conquering Persians ordered
all Lydians to be slaughtered,

716
00:43:24,000 --> 00:43:25,880
apart from Croesus.

717
00:43:25,880 --> 00:43:29,240
Herodotus described it
as a "calamity".

718
00:43:29,240 --> 00:43:33,000
Then Croesus did what any good king
at the time would do -

719
00:43:33,000 --> 00:43:36,800
he threw himself on a burning pyre.

720
00:43:36,800 --> 00:43:41,200
But then we're told
the gods and goddesses of Sardis -

721
00:43:41,200 --> 00:43:43,480
Apollo and
his twin sister, Artemis -

722
00:43:43,480 --> 00:43:46,080
sent a massive storm

723
00:43:46,080 --> 00:43:48,280
to extinguish the flames.

724
00:43:53,000 --> 00:43:56,800
Herodotus, sometimes known as
The Father of History,

725
00:43:56,800 --> 00:43:59,640
could muddle fact and myth,

726
00:43:59,640 --> 00:44:03,640
but brilliantly, archaeologists
working here think they've found

727
00:44:03,640 --> 00:44:06,760
physical evidence
to support his account.

728
00:44:06,760 --> 00:44:08,560
In here? Yeah.

729
00:44:09,800 --> 00:44:11,160
See? Oh!

730
00:44:29,200 --> 00:44:33,880
So we come right down to
the level of Croesus's city, here.

731
00:44:33,880 --> 00:44:38,200
So these massive fortifications
are just some of the walls

732
00:44:38,200 --> 00:44:39,680
that protected Sardis.

733
00:44:41,560 --> 00:44:44,200
At the top of that wall,
archaeologists found

734
00:44:44,200 --> 00:44:46,400
the remains of two young men.

735
00:44:47,520 --> 00:44:49,120
One of them's skull

736
00:44:49,120 --> 00:44:50,400
has been smashed

737
00:44:50,400 --> 00:44:52,040
with a blunt instrument

738
00:44:52,040 --> 00:44:53,760
and also cut with

739
00:44:53,760 --> 00:44:56,080
a sabre and a sword.

740
00:44:56,080 --> 00:44:58,560
The other is clutching a slingshot,

741
00:44:58,560 --> 00:45:00,240
still, in his hand.

742
00:45:00,240 --> 00:45:02,000
And next to these bodies,

743
00:45:02,000 --> 00:45:03,160
there were coins,

744
00:45:03,160 --> 00:45:05,760
and one of the coins was so close

745
00:45:05,760 --> 00:45:07,480
to one of the soldiers' mouths,

746
00:45:07,480 --> 00:45:09,080
there's a real possibility

747
00:45:09,080 --> 00:45:10,800
that he'd been carrying it

748
00:45:10,800 --> 00:45:12,720
in his mouth for safety

749
00:45:12,720 --> 00:45:15,560
and, you know, maybe a desperate bid

750
00:45:15,560 --> 00:45:18,840
to take some of his
Lydian wealth with him.

751
00:45:20,680 --> 00:45:24,600
The war spelt the end for Croesus
and his great Lydian Empire,

752
00:45:24,600 --> 00:45:26,880
and within a couple of centuries,

753
00:45:26,880 --> 00:45:29,600
the gold in the Pactolus ran out.

754
00:45:29,600 --> 00:45:32,120
But their astonishing invention,

755
00:45:32,120 --> 00:45:34,760
coined money, spread across

756
00:45:34,760 --> 00:45:36,280
the Persian Empire

757
00:45:36,280 --> 00:45:38,640
and then on through continents

758
00:45:38,640 --> 00:45:41,000
to change the world.

759
00:45:43,360 --> 00:45:45,960
It's fascinating,
digging into the past,

760
00:45:45,960 --> 00:45:48,800
to see where fantasy and fact meet.

761
00:45:52,280 --> 00:45:55,760
It is incredible to travel here,

762
00:45:55,760 --> 00:46:00,880
to witness the majestic wealth
of Ancient Anatolia,

763
00:46:00,880 --> 00:46:05,360
and also, the wealth of myths
and legends that belong here.

764
00:46:05,360 --> 00:46:09,760
Because if you think about it,
stories really matter to us.

765
00:46:09,760 --> 00:46:15,480
We use our imaginations to
understand the world and ourselves,

766
00:46:15,480 --> 00:46:18,200
and tales from the distant past

767
00:46:18,200 --> 00:46:22,280
can give us a moral compass,
a touchstone

768
00:46:22,280 --> 00:46:25,600
for how we all choose
to live our lives today.