Four Great Megacities Of The Ancient World | Metropolis | Timeline

this channel is part of the history hit Network [Music] over 2000 years ago the first great European Capital Cities Rose around the shores of the Mediterranean [Music] more and more people lived in increasingly crowded conditions the Arts Commerce and Sciences flourished struggling for power and influence these cities tried to outshine each other by erecting magnificent buildings foreign people from different cultures and parts of the world were drawn to these cities seeking prosperity and happiness [Music] foreign s of Athens began 500 years before the birth of Christ no other city has shaped the Western World so much as Athens history's most famous philosophers lived and taught here the Fine Arts and Natural Sciences blossomed and it was the citizens of Athens who gave the world a new type of government democracy the Greek historian pozanius wrote about an extraordinary woman of that era frene was one of Athens most famous Italy or courtesans the Mistress of important men Scholars artists and politicians fell under her spell a wealth and Beauty were legendary but Pride led her into mortal Danger that's good for any angered the Gods but it was Mortals who would judge her [Music] in the 5th Century BC 300 000 people lived in Athens the city was at its peak then came a long period of decline and it was only in the 20th century that Athens regained its previous size today it has over 4 million inhabitants it's just after Sunrise architect Nicos toganidis is expecting a special delivery on the truck is a marble block weighing a ton for one of history's most exciting restoration projects foreign up the rocky slope of the Acropolis or Citadel which was the impregnable Center of ancient Athens [Music] then you'll love history hit our extensive library of documentary features everything from the ancient origins of our earliest ancestors to the daring mission to sink the Bismuth history hit has hundreds of exclusive documentaries with unrivaled access to the world's best historians we're committed to Bringing history fans award-winning documentaries and podcasts that you cannot find anywhere else sign up now for a free trial and timeline fans get 50 off their first three months just be sure to use the code timeline at checkout foreign is crowned by the city's most famous building the Parthenon which the Athenians built to celebrate their victory in 479 BC over the Persians 2 500 years later this Monument is being taken apart and reassembled to rectify the mistakes of 19th century Restorations [Music] the Parthenon was the most outstanding building of its time a two-story high gallery of columns supported the roof of this Temple erected by the citizens in honor of athene the goddess of victory [Music] in the huge entrance Halls stood her statue 12 meters high decorated with gold and Ivory today's workshops are exactly where the original workers Huts once stood after the restoration the Parthenon will still have its familiar look of a ruin the approach is to repair or complete the damaged parts and to use newly sculpted marble blocks only when absolutely necessary it's amazing in every Point as a we are studying and we are working all these years close to the monument we are discovering again the same techniques it's we are obliged to do the same things because we understand finally that it's the best way to do that piece by piece the Parthenon is being dismantled this is the only way the architectural sins of previous Restorations can be corrected today's Architects aim to make their work as historically accurate as possible their respect for the tremendous Technical and logistical achievements of the ancient Builders increases every day knowing all these facilities that you have in our hands papers computers whatever how difficult it is to organize and to control all these things I cannot imagine that period without paper imagine where they were drawing how they can communicate and to do this fine work it's incredible the Parthenon was built in 15 years beginning in 447 BC the Greek philosophers were laying the foundations of the modern Sciences Pythagoras had developed the basic principles of mathematics and Democritus would soon declare the atom to be the foundation of all things the Parthenon is proof of the superb building techniques of the ancient Greeks columns are tapered if extended the sides would eventually meet at a point several kilometers in the sky so none of the columns is truly vertical yet they are all executed precisely to the millimeter every stone has Secrets let's say from the architectural point of view and the proportions are special and also there are other things about the the function the the real function of the building how it's penetrating the water for instance the curvature of the floor probably it's one of these reasons the material that they use to connect the blocks between them the metal elements I mean the technique is similar than the than the metal work of these arachinius words for instance the ancient Builders achieved these perfect proportions using only geometric calculations Compass roller and Plumb line were their only tools foreign was the place to honor democracy with magnificent monuments it was put into practice at the foot of the hill in the Agora [Music] the Agora was the marketplace of ancient Athens in the city center archaeologists from the American School of classical studies have been working for the past 70 years they have Unearthed a densely built up residential area at the edge of the agara professor John Camp leads the excavations the purpose of the excavations is to uncover the center of ancient Athens that is where the public life took place and around the big Square which was the Agora proper they were all the public buildings you needed to run the city the Senate building the Archive Building the magistrates offices the Law Courts the mint pretty much everything you needed in an administrative way was somewhere near the square and our purpose is to expose the historic center of Athens the agara was the social and political meeting place of the Athenians people came to see and to be seen [Music] the history of Freeney begins on the agara [Applause] [Music] Trini has achieved wealth and status through her beauty and intelligence and rumors have spread that could prove dangerous to her [Music] foreign is used to curiosity but she has no inkling of the Scandal that is brewing she's being accused of a capital offense blasphemy she is rumored to have commissioned the sculptor Flex Italy's to create a statue of the goddess Aphrodite in her own likeness [Music] foreign [Music] the representation of nude bodies or even erotic scenes was not frowned upon by ancient Athenians but for an itera to be portrayed as the goddess of beauty would surely bring Divine wrath upon the city [Music] in ancient times the agarah was an open Square shaded by trees and surrounded by spacious arcades a restored version of such an arcade the two-story stowa of atalos now houses the American School of classical studies [Music] here in the shade the Athenian Merchants had their stalls and citizens gathered to exchange news and gossip [Music] foreign [Music] excavations are examined and archived here at the Institute [Music] the square itself was used for a variety of functions one day they might set up booths and have a market on another day they might be using it for an election another time it could be for athletic contests for military drill for festivals for for spectacles of All Sorts so it would be used for a variety of purposes uh every single day but not always the same purpose and then around it in the in the buildings is simply where the city was managed by the magistrates by the bully or the Senate of the 500 and by the boards and commissions the water Commissioners the green Commissioners all the people responsible for running this huge City had their their administrative offices somewhere right next to the square even in a large city-like Athens the agarah functioned as a Village Square direct communication between citizens was the basis for the development of democracy the archaeologists have found a deep well at the edge of the agara it was dug at the time the Parthenon was built foreign 's team has been studying this well for three years now they are gradually getting an idea of what this site May once have looked like [Music] behind the administrative buildings are joining the Agra narrow little streets led into a cramped densely built up residential area here live the common citizens close to the place that contributed so significantly to the development of democracy while there are certainly very rich houses and elegant Villas most of the houses we have near the agara are very poor and not very comfortable they have Clay floors their rooms are centered around a courtyard which would have provided some light and air but they would have been very dark from our point of view very badly furnished probably not too many windows because no way of closing them off and still letting the light in so I think that's one of the reasons it's such an outdoor public life as being home wasn't all that much fun foreign the artifacts are analyzed and classified in the institute's laboratory sometimes it's the small items that reveal a great deal about larger issues the purpose and significance of these small bowls was a puzzle at first they were found near the Hearth in the dwellings of humble Athenians alongside the burnt bones of small animals they may have been sacrificial bulbs for domestic religious rituals asking the gods for health happiness and success in business religion played a large part in Athenian daily life the visible proof of that was the Parthenon [Music] an elaborate freeze that once crowned the Parthenon illustrates the athenian's relationship with their gods it was originally painted but the colors wore away long ago the freeze shows the Magnificent annual procession of the Athenians to the Acropolis in honor of their Patron atheney panathinaya was a colorful procession up the Steep Hill where charioteers demonstrated their skill at maneuvering their Nimble chariots venerable Elders accompany the procession young men carried heavy ampharas of water the panathinaia involved sacrificing animals to the Gods such events were always a big celebration for everyone there were no priests in Democratic Athens Athenians related to their gods in a relaxed and confident way odds frequently descended from Mount Olympus taking on human form to mingle with Mortals and enjoy themselves licentiously but the gods demanded humility and absolute respect from Mortals [Music] the Athenians know that prax Italy's is working on a statue of Aphrodite the Goddess of beauty and the rumors actually seem to be true Freeney is the model for the image of the goddess [Applause] [Music] [Music] thank you if God's take on human form it's seen as an expression of their divinity but for a mortal woman to allow herself to be represented as a goddess is a crime [Music] by this presumption frini puts her life and Liberty at risk in Athens the well-to-do citizens were the chief patrons of artists such as praxitlis it was considered good form to support the Arts Greek culture flourished thanks to this Spirit of patronage even today the art of ancient Athens provides people with a livelihood reproductions of antique art objects are sold all over the world the art of casting in bronze lives on in this Athenian Workshop it was one of the earliest Technologies and has been practiced for over 4 000 years a tripodon a large bowl on three legs is being cast today a new mold is made for every casting and each of the many individual Parts requires a separate mold generations of fathers have passed down to their sons the composition of a special kind of Earth that makes it possible to produce these detailed casting molds Texas distance the mold for the underside of the bowl is ready with an ordinary spoon the bronze Caster is digging channels into which the liquid bronze will later be poured foreign [Music] the inside of the bowl is decorated with delicate reliefs this is the most difficult part because every detail must be correct before the moles are put together the bronze has been heated for over two hours now the molten metal is poured into the molds [Applause] foreign foreign destroys it now we will see if the cast has been successful piece by piece The Foundry workers lift the separate parts out of the steaming molds there is still a great deal of delicate work to be done before the tripodon is completed tripadons played a special role in the ancient world they were handed out as prizes to the patrons of successful plays frini who financed a theater group also received such a prize the tripodons were placed on high stone pedestals in public view lining the street leading to the theater which is still called tripodon Street the vast majority of ancient bronze artworks have disappeared melted down by later generations many marble statues were burned to make lime textiles and almost all wood or leather artifacts have also been lost the ancient world was colorful and Traders brought exotic Goods to Athens from all over the world the market where today's inhabitants of the old city shop for their fresh fruit vegetables Meat and Fish the ancient Athenians ate more modestly very few could afford meat poorer people at it only when an animal was sacrificed for a special Festival small animals were kept in the house and supplied milk and eggs right there is but Athens was close to the Sea so at least there was plenty of fish which with bread and thick lentil soup formed a stable diet fruit and vegetables were very different from today's the melons were tiny apples rare and it was two Millennia before potatoes and tomatoes reached Europe but in addition to figs and olives Athenians were also fond of grasshoppers and cicadas which Aristotle praised as great Delicacies it's fairly clear that Athenian trading connections were very extensive a lot of their grain maybe most of their grain came from the Ukraine from the north side of the Black Sea they were importing wine from Asia Minor in the island of Rhodes Athenian coins have been found in Egypt they've been found practically as far away as Afghanistan and far to the West as well the coins obviously can pass from hand to hand but it's clear that Goods came in from all over the world Emperors were the universal containers for transporting goods in Antiquity hundreds were excavated at the Agora alone Athens was a trading power and democracy took up a great deal of citizens time but no one would lose money by taking part in political decisions the Potter who made these amphoras also received money when he went to vote [Music] outside the city gates with the city's Quarries in scorching heat thousands of slaves cut the marble for Adam's magnificent buildings it is estimated that there were three slaves to every free citizen of atoms foreign used to reconstruct the Parthenon is cut by a handful of workers using heavy equipment [Applause] the latest technology is used to cut the marble Specialists drill hole several meters into the Rock long steel cables set with diamond chips are threaded through the rock like a giant bandsaw to cut blocks weighing several tons but the ancient methods of getting marble for buildings such as the Parthenon have not been lost either [Applause] stone is still split the same way as it was two thousand years ago with heavy hammers iron chisels and a deep knowledge of the structure of marble thank you [Music] the gigantic blocks had to be transported many kilometers to the Acropolis carts pulled by several teams of oxen hauled the huge loads and while in the city Splendid monuments were being erected to the glory of democracy in the quarries those at the bottom of society were slaving under the most inhumane conditions slavery was certainly a fact of daily life and it's I think more a question of Manpower than anything but when we look at the records for the buildings on the Acropolis we find that free Athenians Greeks from other city-states and slaves all worked on the building together all doing exactly the same jobs and all being paid a daily wage and the the lot of a slave varied tremendously at the bottom end of the scale they worked in the Silver Mines and their lives must have been very hard and very short there were slaves who were public servants like accountants whose lives were not too bad and some slaves even ran some of the major banks in Athens slavery was taken completely for granted even in the enlightened democracy of Athens while Athenian citizens were primarily concerned with politics slaves guaranteed the commercial success of the city many slaves were well-trained artisans their work is the model for today's stone masons on the Acropolis New pieces for the Parthenon are chiseled from the blocks with utmost precision foreign become blunt the blacksmith provides new Sharp Tools like ephestus the god of fire and Forge he has mastered the interplay of fire and water to produce hard Steel [Music] the finest tools for the best stonemasons in Greece in the residential quarter around the agara buildings were constructed with much less care houses were small and cramped even though their inhabitants were not the rich of atoms here too archaeologists are uncovering shards of elaborately painted bowls and vessels when restored they provide an impressive image of Greek daily life foreign [Music] mostly reflects the aristocratic style of living and there were plenty of aristocrats and rich people even in Democratic Athens there are some parts that show sort of normal activities in shops and fish monitors cutting up fish and butchers and people working in workshops but generally the art is is sponsored by the aristocracy and they're going to be interested in feasting and hunting and partying and the things that Aristocrats like to do Athenian democracy had deprived the aristocracy of power every citizen had equal rights but not all citizens were equal many old aristocratic families heart back to a long tradition of privilege and still had considerable wealth and influence even in the democracy they were the ones who could afford these costly amphoras the best bars painters were famous throughout Greece and their work fetched high prices foreign [Music] Carries On The Art of the ancient masters with great passion the verse yeah foreign the secret lies in the paint liquid clay is used to paint the barses before firing [Music] only after they've been fired in the Kiln do the vases acquire their characteristic color [Music] but it isn't just the artistic or technical aspects of the painter's work that matter to him foreign the symposia of Athenian High Society were famous in those days Symposium meant simply drinking session [Music] Richard Athenians attended lavish feasts with music and dancing the symposia hosted by Freeney World legendary her guests were philosophers artists and politicians [Music] foreign [Music] this evening praxitalis is the center of attention he has announced that he will soon unveil his statue of Aphrodite [Music] the guest Vi at telling Tales while drinking games and riddles amuse the men and their courtesans [Music] in the course of the evening the drinking bowls reveal their secret foreign foreign foreign but this evening freny's Symposium is disrupted [Music] prax Italy's slave would not normally be allowed to intrude but the news he has rushed through the dark streets to tell is to appalling Hospital Diamond practice [Music] has a premonition of the catastrophe [Music] oh fantastically at the studio their worst fears are confirmed [Music] Intruders have broken in and smashed facility's work thus revealing frini's Secret [Music] now the whole city knows that freely intended to create the image of a goddess in her own likeness no mortal has ever dared to this [Music] [Applause] [Music] her act Disturbed the delicate balance between the worlds of the Gods and of Mortals to ensure the continued benevolence of the Gods on Mount Olympus the Athenians established holy places throughout their Realm they honored more than their Patron athene The Temple at Cape sunian was dedicated to Poseidon the god of the sea who protected shipping and trade with the colonies Athens had established commercial links from Sicily to the Black Sea there were even Greek settlements in Egypt [Music] but the gods were known to be capricious it was better not to rely only on them to safeguard their influence and repel enemies Athens maintained an enormous Navy [Music] [Laughter] foreign of the fleet were the trirems war galleys with three Banks of oars which were able to protect the heavily loaded cargo ships [Music] in the harbor at Perez 200 of these ships were waiting to be deployed [Applause] one of the Civic duties of Athenians was to crew these dreaded warships fully mobilized the Athenian Fleet required 40 000 oarsmen while the rich could pay for the upkeep of the fleet and send their slaves to Sea the poor had no choice but to do the rowing themselves [Applause] every tririm was manned by 170 oarsmen they were often crammed together for days on end and for heat below deck must have been Dreadful at the beginning of the 5th Century BC the great strategist the mysticalies convinced the Athenians to invest a large proportion of their National Assets in the fleet thus turning the city-state into a sea power [Music] AIDS Athens dominated the Eastern Mediterranean and the numerous Greek city-states but soon the old conflicts broke out again and Greece became embroiled in seemingly endless Wars once more Warfare was virtually a yearly occurrence and these are citizen armies so that virtually everybody must have fought quite frequently they were all eligible for military duty from age 18 to 59 they had large land armies and they had those huge fleets that required tens of thousands of rowers so I think most Athenians experienced War several times in the course of their lives it's it's done seasonally as to say if you're a farmer you're going to attend your Fields first and then go fight your neighbor when you're not trying to get in your crop but it was a part of daily life no question [Music] the theater provided distraction from daily cares [Music] under the guardianship of Mary Dionysus the god of wine playwrights pilloried often coarsely the abuses prevalent in their society dignitaries and politicians in their seats of Honor were often the targets of this public mockery [Music] theater was a democratic institution to which every Athenian had access there was room for more than 17 000 Spectators in the steeply tiered seating [Music] political decisions were made on the panics the place of the people's assembly an inconspicuous open space within sight of the Acropolis here the first parliament in history assembled the most famous orators of antiquity stood on these steps and addressed the citizens of Athens voting by show of hands took place on the panics the birthplace of democracy Athenians lived in an Information Society every citizen was obliged to learn to read and write during the excavations at the agara alone thousands of inscriptions on Stone were uncovered public appeals information for Citizens or funerary inscriptions like this stealer [Music] foreign democracy such as the Athenian one virtually the entire government would change every year except for a handful of officials and that means you need very very good record keeping because not all the projects are going to stop in a year and somebody has to keep track of the money so you have to say how much money you got when you became the grain commissioner how you spent that money and how much money you you passed on the following year to the next Green commissioner so essentially you have to have excellent record keeping because of this constant changing of the officials [Music] the Greek script has not changed in more than two thousand years this dealer was erected in memory of a young woman whose name is immortalized here beside her husbands no other culture is Left Behind so much written evidence as Athens so we know that Freeney did actually live however whether the details of her story are Truth or Fiction is still in doubt Court of Athens is in session Trina appears flanked by her lawyer iparitus and is met by her Accuser [Music] is each other [Music] not even her influential patrons have been able to prevent the legal proceedings [Music] opinion in the city has turned against the famous courtesan if the jury finds her guilty she faces the threat of banishment slavery or even death [Music] but Freeney knows what she's doing [Music] thank God assistant [Music] to everyone's surprise iparidis does not dispute the charge against Freeney how so he must slide anonymous [Music] and she herself provides the proof that her beauty is worthy of a goddess [Music] if ever there was a mortal woman who might lend her body to Aphrodite it is free foreign judicial system was one of the greatest achievements of Athenian democracy citizens had no obligation to any ruler or God only to themselves a demonstration of this is the propelia which is also being restored for 2500 years the properlya has been the gateway to the Acropolis and the Parthenon like the Parthenon the properlya is being renovated in a historically accurate way to this end every stone is being removed cleaned of old mortar and restored the architect tessos tanulas is overseeing the work first planned over 30 years ago his interests extend beyond architecture for him the properlya is a symbol of Athenian democracy what appears to be a temple is not dedicated to any God rather it is a place of leisure for the citizens of Athens the propeller is uh par Excellence a secular building I mean and this is a new idea in the ancient Greek architecture this is a building which was meant for the people it held the benches all around along all along the walls of the porches and the central building and also the rooms of the Wings which were never built or the pinakothiki which still is a room they were meant for sacrificial meals so they were for the people to be to enter them and to enjoy their architecture and luxury so there was a Temple's luxury in a secular building [Music] the first time in history a splendid building such as the propalea was not erected for gods or Kings but by citizens for the citizens of a free City it is a symbol of the self-confidence and pride of democratic Athens Freeney has been acquitted and prax italies can now complete the statue to praise and honor Aphrodite the historian posanias reports that the goddess was flattered by frina's Beauty and the gods were reconciled with Athens though the original is lost the statue is thought to be the first significant nude of a woman ever sculpted the rise of Athens to a leading position among Greek cities was due to democracy which led to an unparalleled blossoming of the Arts and Sciences in the fourth and 5th centuries BC [Music] the power of Athens extended far beyond Greece and throughout the Mediterranean [Music] but even in ancient times the influence of the Metropolis began to wane other cities took over its leading role cities such as Alexandria Carthage and Rome but none of those could dispute the place of Athens in history this was the Cradle of democracy over 2000 years ago the first great European Capital Cities Rose around the shores of the Mediterranean [Music] more and more people lived in increasingly crowded conditions the Arts Commerce and Sciences flourished struggling for power and influence these cities tried to outshine each other by erecting magnificent buildings people from different cultures and parts of the world were drawn to these cities seeking prosperity and happiness [Music] the entrance to the harbor of one of Antiquities mega cities Alexandria it was founded in 331 BC by Alexandra the great the Greek Commander had just conquered Egypt and wanted to establish a new Royal City in his own Honor on the western edge of the Nile Delta [Music] his Architects designed the city on a grid pattern to be built on unoccupied ground for decades Alexandria was the largest construction site of the ancient Mediterranean it attracted people from everywhere among them the most important thinkers of the time foreign became the cultural center of the ancient world [Music] today over 4 million people live in Egypt's second largest city the modern Metropolis has buried ancient Alexandria under concrete and asphalt [Music] only deep beneath the city and in the expanses of the Egyptian desert can evidence of Alexandria's mysterious past to be found [Music] foreign was stored in the legendary Library of Alexandria quest of the famous lighthouse one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World what Drew people to Alexandria from around the world one of these stories has come down to us the story of agnodiki who came from Athens to the young Metropolis to seek her Fortune [Music] the Stellar rise of Alexandria has preoccupied the French archaeologist jean-e pompeir for over 10 years he's the director of the center for alexandrian studies his research reveals that the ancient Metropolis was a city of gigantic dimensions the streets are wider than in any other City the economic way was more than 30 meters wide and so it's incredible size was if you compare with the ancient cities like Athens or Corinth it's it's like New York compared to Paris or London you know and even has heard the skyscraper like the lighthouse so the Greek who came from the old trees from the islands were very much impressed when they came to the city [Music] foreign the lighthouse with its gleaming White marble facade Rose 140 meters into the sky it was a conspicuous landmark and a symbol of Alexandria's power construction of the lighthouse began in 299 BC based on plans by sastritus of canidos after 20 years of construction the gigantic Tower was finally nearing completion it was a symbol of Hope for all those making the perilous Voyage to Alexandria it was a beacon for agnadiki II whose story is told by the Roman scholar hygienius foreign [Music] s of the lighthouse today not even its location is certain however there are many indications that this is where it stood today the harbor entrance is dominated by a building from the 15th century Fort Kate Bay foreign s on this Arab Citadel have recently begun they offer a rare opportunity to uncover the building's secrets did the ruins of the lighthouse provide materials to build the fort and deutschanger engine this is foreign 's team under the fort is a huge system which could supply enough water to last out a lengthy Siege the system is like a museum of architectural history there are Corinthian capitals and ancient columns do they include fragments of the lighthouse the site of kaibe is a mixed site of architectural pieces belonging to the lighthouse itself we could for instance reconstruct a very huge door more than 12 or up to 13 meters from the lentil to to the soil with very night jams and lintel of granite from Aswan we have some colossal statues which stood on in this place because we have found them parallels one to the other just in front of their bases so they are very big statues of the kings ptolemis and queens which were standing during Antiquity at the foot of the lighthouse most likely Fort Kate Bay stands on the spot once occupied by the mightiest Lighthouse of all time it guided Madonna's safely into Alexandria's Harbor for 1500 years until it was toppled by an earthquake what has remained is its Legend the best Builders of the times were brought to Alexandria to create this architectural Miracle among them was kratis brother of agnadike's mother foreign as a young engineer he had taken up Alexander the Great's call and followed him here agnodike has arrived from Athens having survived an arduous and dangerous sea voyage Wagner DK has a bold plan which she can realize only in Alexandria [Music] the very first traces of the city of Alexandria are found out at Sea on a small rocky island off the coast Nelson Island Professor Paulo Gallo after years of negotiation is the first scientist allowed to explore this Barren Island in a secure military zone here he expects to unearth important information on the origins of Alexandria his early findings seemed to justify his hopes the most striking feature of what we found it is that we found the only levels which are intact belonging to this period I mean in Alexandria itself it is very difficult to find periods of the first ptolemaic age in which all the things are still in Sito so there we found all the pottery and all the things that were abandoned at once much to Gallo's surprise this Outpost was abandoned shortly after Alexandria's founding and has remained uninhabited ever since just below ground level the foundations of a large building have emerged was this a temple a lighthouse or a military installation on the Steep Cliffs along the shore the archaeologists stumbled across the entrance to an underground Gallery part of an ancient system in the 17th century English Sailors sought shelter here is written how it looks 1658 [Music] and this is his portrait of a man of this period with the Barbies and the mustache two thousand years earlier Alexander the Great Soldiers made camp on the island we discovered houses belonging to soldiers of this period and for sure there was a military guards on there we found big bowls of caterpillars in the houses the island was strategically positioned facing canopus Egypt's most important Mediterranean Port until the founding of Alexandria from this island Alexander the Great could control the Egyptian Harbor but also speed up construction of his Royal City [Music] this military Garrison was occupied only during the short period during during about about almost between 30 and 40 years no more so after this was completely abandoned so we can understand from this that was abandoned because the strategical interest of the islet and of canopus itself and the harbor of cannabel was lost because the new Harbor that of Alexandria was already working [Applause] was the island perhaps also a kind of planning office for the city going up on the mainland foreign was an experimental City newer excavations show the complexity of the work undertaken by ancient engineers by now archaeologists from Dr umpire's team have become specialists in rescue digs on construction sites each time a point of entry to ancient Alexandria is uncovered a Race Against Time Begins for the archaeologists foreign sites are rapidly covered Over Again by the building contractors for them every day of archaeological excavation represents a financial loss the festival is [Music] foreign [Music] this area near the ancient Palace has been inhabited continuously since the founding of the city but it is difficult to interpret the sequence of historical eras still discoveries have been made here that show how far-sighted the Greek city planners were thank you systems and water pipes have been found they show the Progressive Way alexandrian Engineers solved the problem of a city that lacked spring water the first thing the Greeks laid down for the new Metropolis was a network of prefabricated clay pipes for the water supply [Music] as in modern Water Systems the mass-produced ancient pipes with their cone-shaped ends fitted exactly into one another [Music] tens of thousands of such pipes must have been laid below ground before work began on the roads the entire infrastructure the layout of roads and paths and the position of buildings must have been determined in detail from the start a masterpiece of planning water from the Nile and from natural reservoirs near the city flowed through canals to the city's ingenious network of water pipes come on 200 kilometers Inland is the region of fayum which in Antiquity was The Granary for the city of Alexandria in this fertile region time seems to have stood still [Music] to this day the ancient form of irrigation as simple as it is ingenious has been preserved powered by the water itself the wheel raises the precious liquid in its Scoops and empties it into canals foreign [Music] it had to be stored and distributed [Music] an underground system Isabel ivory from the center for alexandrian studies has been researching The Hidden water reservoirs of the city for years the El Nabi system is the best preserved it dates from the time of Arab rule in Alexandria [Music] provinces when the Arabs reached the city during the 8th Century A.D they built huge water systems a thousand years earlier the Greeks had solved the problem of water supply in a different but no less spectacular manner [Music] foreign foreign foreign only a few years after the city's founding in 331 BC the population of Alexandria had increased to half a million but its Architects had anticipated the growth of the settlement and had designed a road system built on a grid which could handle a high volume of traffic [Music] Alexandria date back to when the city was founded they are the same size they were over 2 000 years ago magnificent palaces and temples lined The Avenues in those days but how did ordinary alexandrians live from Warsaw university has managed to excavate the remains of residential buildings from the city's beginnings each honor was assigned the same was allotted the same a lot of land roughly 25 by 25 meters to build his house on it and we think that this system that backs that goes back to the time of Alexander the Great was retained at least for four centuries in Alexandria a well-to-do family lived on about 600 square meters of land enough for a spacious Villa surrounded by Gardens and Stables [Music] discoveries such as this house with its Greek Mosaic are rare but everyday items from Alexandria are even rarer [Music] Alexandria's Greco-Roman Museum houses the few remaining artifacts from that time including the precious tanagara figurines they were always found in the graves of young women For Whom the figurines were probably companion toy and lucky charm [Music] ancient Alexandria was not only the most modern city of its time but also the center of knowledge only here can agnodiki fulfill her greatest wish to study medicine and become a doctor even in Alexandria this was Unthinkable for a woman a taboo agnodike must break if she wants to achieve her goal in Cosmopolitan Alexandria the image of women was shaped by Greek ideals the proof is in the details of the tanagraph figurines the elaborate painting has survived the centuries the figurines show alexandrian women followed Greek fashion in their clothes and hair foreign but did they follow Greek conventions in other respects as well in Alexandria the Greeks had encountered a ferionic tradition whereas in Greece a woman's life was intended to be passed within the confines of the home Egypt boasted some powerful female rulers you could find all the races of the people of the world also languages were spoken in auxilia and even in the library you could find papieri books between brackets within written in alien language of the word and translated from Egyptian to Greek from aramaiah and Hebrew to Greek and so on so it's it was the Melting Pot of antiquity like every Big City Alexandria was from the outset a major Center of production one effect of living so closely together was the division of labor and specialization people sold their goods and bought their food on the street the only meal that ordinary people usually had at home was the evening meal breakfast was generally bread dipped in wine [Applause] where fishermen bring their catch to shore today the slaves of 2 300 years ago unloaded the merchant ships [Applause] goods from all over the Mediterranean were loaded and unloaded here Alexandria Harbor was Egypt's gate to the world at the beginning of the 19th century ancient Alexandria had been almost completely forgotten then by pure chance the driver of a cab made an astonishing Discovery it brought to light the history hidden beneath the city and gave a fascinating insight into this Greek settlement in Egypt I thought early one morning he hitched up his horse and went to work on the streets of Alexandria in one of the narrow Lanes the road suddenly gave way beneath him and revealed the entrance to a long forgotten world the City of the Dead the catacombs of com El shakatha 20 meters beneath the bustle of the modern port city lies an extensive network of caves carved out of the Rock here the people of Alexandria buried their dead [Music] this sarcophagus is decorated with Greek Vine leaves and with Egyptian gods it expresses the peaceful coexistence between the newly arrived Greek settlers and the indigenous Egyptians this coexistence was fostered by General Ptolemy who assumed power here after the death of Alexander the Great heirs continued this policy and thus ptolemaic culture came into being Cosmopolitan and dedicated to progress Alexandria became a center of knowledge [Music] this is why agno DK2 has come to Alexandria but because official Avenues are close to her she is resorting to a dangerous ruse she must become a man [Music] her uncle kratis tries to change her mind but she will not be deterred by his warnings [Music] foreign [Music] agnodike is bold but she is also keenly aware of the danger she must face if she is to enter the world of knowledge to which only men have access [Music] knowledge is power that was the Insight of the ptolemaic rollers their legacy was some Splendid monuments for Dr Emperor the Temple of tapasaris is an impressive example of The Magnificent buildings that must once of graced Alexandria [Music] taposaurus is in the westernmost part of Alexandria it indicates the size of the area ruled by the ptolemies [Music] the whole region was a flourishing commercial district with a harbor warehouses Vineyards and small workshops foreign strategic because we are here at the end of the territory of Alexandria there was a wall what they called the Arab wall here to prevent any people to enter this area without paying the Customs so they had to go through a gate there on the lake and even all the ships sitting on this Lake had to go through a small bridge and to pay also the customs to enter Alexandria territory this area was heavily populated the temple was surrounded by its own town with its own infrastructure next to the temple District were extensive residential areas and Artisans workshops producing Goods of all kinds foreign to this day the shards of hundreds of thousands of ampharai still lie here so this is only a very small part of the Big Dam and you can see as uh some bottom of pampras and it's appointed to stand into the sand to stand in the king to stand in the ships where they were transported to exportation this is a handle the parentals you see a very strong one with the figure and print of the port free maker you can see it when I did it so thousands of fun for us made by many many people who participated to this production mass production for Mass exploitation to acceleria and to the rest of the returning [Music] in ancient times mass production probably looked much like this in a remote Inland River Valley thousands of ampharai are still produced today [Music] the process has not changed people still get their clay from the river [Music] [Music] even today people cannot imagine daily life without ampharai which are used to keep food cool or to transported [Music] just as in the workshops around ancient Alexandria there are no machines here everything is made entirely by hand [Music] a chance Discovery revealed how so many play vessels could be produced at once [Music] these are the remains of an enormous amphora Kiln destroyed by an explosion until recently it was hidden under a mountain of shards in this Kiln more than 600 ampharai could be fired simultaneously you have a lot of questions with such Akin and I think that they have a lot of problems so you can see the the eye of the dumps they have broken a lot of farm for us because I think it was very difficult to control to check up the firing more than two and a half meters high cones like these are still used in the Hinterlands of Alexandria today they're lit once a week to fire all the pottery on hand clay was the universal material of antiquity it was cheap freely available easy to shape and durable foreign as they did in ancient times the men feed the fire and keep it burning all night long whether it was ampharai or water pipes this early mass production of everyday items was one of the prerequisites for the development of large cities [Music] agnodike's transformation is now complete [Music] but will the deception work [Music] the Library of Alexandria the goal of agnodique his dreams [Music] here the greatest minds of her time teach and conduct research Archimedes Euclid or eratosthenes who had discovered that the Earth was not flat but a sphere the library was renowned throughout the ancient world 700 000 Scrolls the collected knowledge of antiquity were stored here [Applause] [Music] the ptolemies went to unusual lengths in their pursuit of knowledge every ship that docked in Alexandria had to hand over to the library all its written materials and received copies in return [Music] Treasure Trove of knowledge opens up before agnodike no one here could know that not a single scroll Will Survive the library and its Treasures were destroyed by fire in the 3rd Century A.D however there is one place where Papyrus strolls from that time have been preserved at the edge of the desert for the past 20 a French Italian team has been Excavating the remains of a ptolemaic city here what in Alexandria is hidden beneath numerous layers of History here lies directly under the desert sand the extraordinary feature of teptunis is not the ruins the extremely dry desert climate has preserved thousands of written documents dating back to the founding of Alexandria it is an El Dorado for the Papyrus specialist Professor galazi who leads the Dig ital Egypt and also in English and in Europe but the ingredients in Europe is impossible to find Papaya uh as it's impossible to find papyrus in Alexandria because the humidity destroyed all this kind of material in this small village the sand the desert Reserve all for that is one of the early place of the Egypt where is possible yet now to find papari and my mission find about 3 000 papyrus the discoveries made in tiptunis suggest what Treasures must once have been stored in the Library of Alexandria these papyri already provide unrivaled insight into life in ancient times give us a view of daily life we have the receipt or the taxes that allows to ignore the name of the owner of the building we have the account of the foods both by the family sometimes we have official Acts of a burn or dead of marriage we have a contract so if you joined all these texts all this information you can really have exact view of the life in this Village two thousand years ago there were no libraries in the provinces the Neptune is papyri come from private dwellings offices or temples [Music] with its geometric layout and its broad processional Avenue neptunis has similarities to the capital Alexandria [Music] and as in Alexandria there are signs of an intermingling of cultures [Music] Greek columns deep in the Egyptian Hinterland this house may have been the home of a rich Merchant who made his fortune by trading along the Caravan routes even in Egypt the Greeks of the ptolemaic period retained their Greek lifestyle they had a special Temple dedicated to the God Hermes and their daily lives in the desert were sweetened by luxurious public baths which even boasted heated floors The Fragile papari must be treated on site to ensure their preservation after centuries in the sand they revealed their long-held secrets to the scientists [Music] are written in Greek but also in demotic the everyday Egyptian script Papyrus 2 was a mass-produced product much like modern note paper and it was necessary to joint together the sheets of Papyrus and to form a role of Papyrus normally a roll of 20 ships it was along about 3 meter 20 centimeter and when some person needs to use a small part of Papyrus cut a part of the role and use most of the tabtune is papari record ordinary everyday events their sales contracts tax notices or lease agreements but the Library of Alexandria housed the writings of all the great Scholars of the time there were works on mathematics geometry and astronomy as well as historical Works maps and pioneering Medical treatises all waiting for agnadiki [Music] but the library also guarded some Secrets which were to be withheld from most people foreign [Music] ophilus taught in Alexandria his unusual research methods were not meant to be publicly known driven by curiosity agnodike dares to mingle with the doctor's circle of students foreign [Music] was the founder of modern Anatomy he gained his insights from the dissection of human cadavers [Music] but even in the city of knowledge such a practice was strictly taboo [Music] to cut open a corpse instead of burying it with dignity was to go against the will of the Gods [Music] agnodike is suddenly in great danger if she has discovered her survival is by no means certain [Music] [Music] Professor galazi's discoveries generally shed light on matters that are less Sensational but in no way less human this is the information concerning a priest meeting with the date the name of the person invited in the meeting and the information that the member of the association and the person that was invited in the meeting drink some beer the face of Alexandria has changed many times since his founding the Greeks were succeeded by the Romans then the Arabs ruled the city for a Time in the 1920s the ancient Metropolis took on a Mediterranean look nowadays progress has arrived in the form of newly constructed Office Buildings on historic soil the emperor's team is on its way to yet another rescue dig a modern shopping mall is being built to save time and against all agreements the developer has buried half the excavation site under a concrete slab overnight the archaeologists have little time to explore the area still accessible and yet it was here that they made a significant discovery [Music] in a pile of rubble they came across the Torso of a marble statue the precious find has been examined and treated in the research Center's workshops [Music] much to the team's surprise it turned out to be the marble statue of a Roman Emperor Alexandria had been the queen of the ancient capitals for 300 years when a new Metropolis Rose to power across the sea Rome seized control over the entire Mediterranean region in 31 BC the Romans subjugated the realm of the ptolemies they changed the Greek city radically by building their own on top of it and imposed their culture on Alexandria [Music] Joey Roman Boulevard was built directly over a ptolemaic residential area unlike the Greeks the Romans took the country by force the intermingling of cultures ended abruptly the Romans would tolerate No Other rulers they reduced the glittering Metropolis to a provincial town in their empire [Music] foreign foreign [Music] plan has failed she must return to Athens [Music] but fate gives her story an unexpected twist at the Lighthouse construction site part of the scaffolding has collapsed and buried some laborers working for karates he too has been injured [Music] look at it [Music] the accident at the Lighthouse gives agnodiki the opportunity to demonstrate her competence Big Brother [Music] her help is valued in this hour of need [Music] agno DK will be allowed to stay in Alexandria and finish her studies [Music] as a woman with the same rights as male students [Music] stories told that she returned to Athens and worked successfully as a doctor for many years foreign [Music] rule lasted only 300 years it was the ptolemies who transformed Alexander the Great's Vision into reality they made Alexandria the cultural center of the ancient world and a stronghold of knowledge and a Sciences [Music] Alexandria was also Antiquities most modern city with a perfect infrastructure incomparable buildings and unique technological achievements Alexandria was far ahead of its time not until the modern period did city planners again dare to attempt such immense Urban projects over 2000 years ago the first great European Capital Cities Rose around the shores of the Mediterranean [Music] more and more people lived in increasingly crowded conditions the Arts Commerce and Sciences flourished struggling for power and influence these cities tried to outshine each other by erecting magnificent buildings foreign people from different cultures and parts of the world were drawn to these cities seeking prosperity and happiness [Music] foreign [Music] city of Carthage a city of merchants and Traders and home to one of the greatest seafaring peoples of all time beginning in the 12th century BC the Phoenicians forefathers of the carthaginians came from the east by ship and gradually settled all along the North African Coast their thirst for adventure and their Spirit of exploration are legendary they sailed around Africa and some say they even reached the Americas [Music] the port of Carthage in 180 BC [Music] this is where the story of Margot begins he's about to embark on a dangerous voyage that will decide his future foreign it is also the story of the wealth of Carthage and the merchants who ruled over the Mediterranean a story of slavery and freedom and the Power of Love Money and the gods and the story of a city whose success and good fortune inspired envy and hatred where Carthage once stood there are now fashionable Villas Carthage has become a suburb of Tunis nothing testifies to the former might of the city [Music] Tunes is a city of contrasts here Africa meets Europe the present collides with the past modern Tunis is the capital of Tunisia but there is no way it can rival the importance of ancient Carthage that city was the Hub of Mediterranean trade and a meeting place for people from all over the world Carthage was the New York of the ancient world in 814 BC Phoenician seafarers and Merchants founded Punic Carthage as a trading Outpost from here they could control all of the Western Mediterranean the port of Carthage attracted shipping from the entire Mediterranean region [Music] [Music] outside the city Gates stands a Roman aqueduct it carried water 130 kilometers from the Atlas Mountains to the new city that the Romans built centuries later on the ruins of Punic Carthage [Music] the settlers then were Veterans of the Roman Legions rewarded for their years of service with Parcels of land a huge Aqueduct demonstrated Rome's claim to North Africa it shows the special significance of this region throughout history [Music] the water also supplied the great Roman baths one of the city's meeting places the size of the baths testifies to the city's former greatness and to the luxury its people enjoyed Roman Carthage was a Center of Trade and the main port in North Africa and it provided Rome with wheat from the Hinterlands from Carthage the Romans ruled their lands in Africa but long before the Romans arrived this was home to the carthaginians few traces of them have survived [Music] Professor fetty Shelby has been trying for years to uncover the secrets of the Punic carthaginians his excavations reveal little of the city's daily life but they are eloquent about its horrific demise the destruction is [Music] Colleen foreign and most mysterious remains of culture are the Steely they are Stone pillars that were erected on holy sites and burial grounds they bear puzzling signs and inscriptions thousands of Steely are kept in the storerooms of the national museum of Carthage thank you foreign [Music] they are Priceless evidence of a distant past there are more than two thousand years old [Music] the unique script is a direct precursor of the Greek and Latin alphabets Phoenician seafarers brought this alphabet to Carthage from their Homeland [Music] foreign about to embark on a long and dangerous Journey would pray for help and dedicate a stealer to turn it the goddess of Carthage signs of whose presence were throughout the city [Music] of a young Punic man was found in one of the mausoleums of old Carthage [Music] he lived two thousand two hundred years ago show no sign of the malnutrition that was common among sailors was well fed healthy and strong in the laboratory of the national museum of Carthage Anthropologist attempts to coax his story from these bones [Music] perhaps this man was one of the city's many merchants foreign [Music] Port was the Heart of the City and a Marketplace for goods from all over the world the hall here could buy daily necessities and precious goods from distant lands anything was possible in Carthage you could get rich if you were clever or bold [Music] Margot will navigate a ship sailing into the Atlantic and down the coast of Africa looking for new mineral deposits with the help of the Gods Margot hopes to add to the city's Fame and wealth [Music] [Music] the sea was full of dangers many set sail never to be seen again even if you could steer clear of the shallows and weather the storms they were still Pirates and slave traders to contend with [Music] margot's family could have lived here these dwellings were built several stories high and were crowded tightly together [Applause] if Margot had grown up here he would have played in these alleys and like many boys of his age dreamed of becoming as famous as Seafarer as the great Admiral Hano in the 6th Century BC Hannah had sailed through the Straits of Gibraltar and steers South along the west coast of Africa in search of new sources of tin and gold whether or not he succeeded has not come down to us but he saw mountains spitting out fire and giant hairy creatures as proof he brought back a gorilla skin is the person Oriental [Music] the climate requires a particular style of architecture the old quarter of Tunis today may not look much different from ancient Carthage Dutch archaeologist Royal doctor is interested in the everyday life of the ancient trading City how was Punic Carthage organized first he must get an idea of the city's layout he's trying to find the ancient city walls many before him have searched in vain [Music] [Applause] there should be Clues on the plans of previous excavations [Music] streets which abruptly change direction for no apparent reason may have done so because they ran into the ancient city walls this is where he hopes to find them here archaeologists have already dug 10 meters down into the history of Carthage these steps take Royal doctor past the Byzantine and Roman eras down into the remains of the Punic City are these stones from carthage's Old City walls they were built to protect the inhabitants from raids by North African tribes at the peak of carthage's power over 100 000 people lived here they all needed food and water there was no River nor adequate Springs of drinkable water inside the city walls carthaginian Builders came up with a simple yet ingenious solution foreign unlike the Romans the carthaginians had no aqueducts perhaps they worried that they could easily be destroyed during a war the carthaginians used systems giving them a secure water supply even during a Siege the heavy winter rains filled systems throughout the city Carthage of old was home to 100 000 people a true Metropolis for his day and all those people had to be fed foreign place then would have looked much like this one in the old Center of Tunis carthaginian fishermen sold their catch here animals for Slaughter came from the surrounding area many City dwellers would have kept poultry to feed their family the region was fertile a Punic treaties on agriculture has survived the Romans found it so important that they even translated it into Latin the ancient Punic seafarers also knew about agriculture they waited out the stormy winter months on land sowing the grain that would become their provisions on board grain and bread were their principal Foods a woman bending over an oven watched by her child as she bakes bread [Music] but above all carthaginians were sustained by the Sea by fishing and trade [Music] the sea was their true Homeland and the source of their prosperity [Music] their merchant ships were protected by the carthaginian Navy its galleys were famed and feared [Music] if you could have looked down on the ancient city you'd have seen an unusual circular structure it was the naval Port carthage's best kept secret [Music] all is left are a few remnants of the walls and the port circular basin Greek and Roman historians wrote or struck accounts of the naval Port they claimed that it could disgorge entire fleets in an instant the Romans realized that they would have to discover the port secret if they wanted to conquer Carthage [Music] is foreign the island in the center of the port was the seat of the admiralty this was the driving force behind carthaginian sea power that dominated the Mediterranean [Music] carthage's warships protected the shipping routes and Commercial outposts the Navy was commanded from the city but the ships acted independently at Sea [Music] carthaginian power came from the experience of the rowing Crews and the navigational skills of the captains they gave it their all as the punishment for failure could be crucifixion captains regularly return to the home port for repairs to damage ships support is he is foreign archaeologists have excavated one of the ramps from which ships could be launched at such frightening speed [Music] but that was only one of the secrets of this ingeniously designed port [Music] hidden behind the rectangular commercial Port was the circular Naval Port it was not visible from the sea and the entrance was also gated so to anyone watching the carthaginian warships seem to vanish Into Thin Air whenever they entered port foreign watches anxiously for his ship he should have returned from his voice long ago [Music] [Applause] the town of calibia here too life depends on the sea and the treasures brought home by its seafarers calibia was a Punic settlement and like Carthage was destroyed by the Romans the land and sea are unchanged but today people travel by plane and most goods are transported by large freighters all the same colibia is still an important port providing many people with their livelihood early in the morning fishermen Gather in the cafe after selling their catch directly next to the Fishing Harbor is the shipyard here they still build ships out of wood in ancient times they were made from The Cedars that grew in Lebanon home of the Phoenicians they were the ancestors of the Punic carthaginians over 3000 years ago they built the first seaworthy vessels and set out to explore the Mediterranean foreign they were masters of their materials and produced ships that defied wind and waves the Phoenicians were Nomads of the sea they came from the Royal city-state of tire on the coast of present-day Lebanon and sailed West establishing trading outposts all along the African Coast foreign thanks to its strategic position Carthage grew steadily in importance eventually overshadowing all other Phoenician settlements both militarily and commercially together foreign strong points was their ability to absorb the influence of foreign cultures the few surviving sculptures show unmistakable Greek and Egyptian traits the carthaginians were open to new ideas a characteristic that explains their enormous success as a trading Nation [Music] foreign keeps a handful of treasures they survived both the Roman soldiers and the grave robbers of later centuries jewelry is the most intimate evidence of a long-vanished past unique the gold is evidence of the wealth of Punic settlements and cities this Punic City on the sea east of Carthage was also destroyed by the Romans puzzling that unlike other cities Kirkland was not built over by the Romans but for this reason it provides a unique opportunity to learn more about the structure of a Punic City and the structure of Punic Society helicopters are not allowed to fly here so Frenchman Flew Over the site on a motorized paraglider the pictures he has taken are unique [Music] thank you from above a remarkably regular layout is revealed the houses are small there are no palaces or Monumental buildings no remnants of grand statues no memorials to Kings or generals no triumphal arches glorifying Grand Deeds [Music] City there are no Kings in either kekwon or Carthage government in Carthage lay in the hands of the safety who Merchants nominated from their own ranks as representatives for a limited period this system prevented striving for personal power is the chef foreign a kind of democracy seems to have been practiced in Punic Society the form of the carthaginian state was even admired by the Greeks the inventors of democracy we know much about the city's management and the structure of Punic Society from the Steely they are an important source of information the short inscriptions are mostly appeals to the gods the donors are also identified by name and professional it was only the wealthy who could afford to commission Steely they never mentioned the city is poor or its slaves no City in Antiquity could have functioned without slaves their muscles were the engines of the ancient world [Music] through poverty but also by being kidnapped or taken prisoner of war foreign ship has been seized by Pirates he has survived the attack but has been sold to a slave trader instead of returning home Laden with riches the once free man has become a slave without any rights abandoned by the Gods [Music] thank you where will Margot be taken [Music] French for the good cape in ancient times this was a fateful Place full of Terror and immense suffering here slaves and condemned criminals hewed the blocks of stone with which Carthage was built 15 meters underground there is an extensive network of caves carved out by the slaves the traces of their chisels can still be seen on the walls the cave served as both Quarry and prison foreign [Music] [Music] had forfeited his life [Music] Margot knows full well that he is at the mercy of the guards and that he will only leave the caves as a Deadman foreign yet only a Day's Journey separates Margot from freedom and his old life for ships leave here every day with stone for the walls of Carthage role doctor's Quest has paid off [Music] he and his assistants have succeeded in uncovering the remains of the Punic City wall it was a wall of massive proportions foreign okay the wall doctor has found served as a line of defense but in quite a modern way it also divided the city into different spheres into residential and Commercial districts a dirty smelly Industries such as tanneries and metal fabrication were relegated to a position outside the city walls a whole industrial district developed there foreign [Music] [Music] it was only in modern times that calcium was again used to produce high quality Steel could the carthaginians have discovered this process 2 000 years ago along with other investigative methods analyzes by computer tomography in Amsterdam May provide an answer CAT scans produce sectional views of the nozzles and reveal the carthaginian's wide-ranging expertise in metallurgy the images confirm the Bold hypothesis the carthaginians actually did develop a multi-phase process for manufacturing high quality Iron this process was only rediscovered in the 19th century at the start of the Industrial Revolution in one of the nozzles the scientists even discover a valve for directing the flow of air damage is button thus offline Industries [Music] foreign [Music] was good but over time even the best iron crumbles into rust not so this well-preserved handle in bronze an amalgam of copper and Tin there are no tin deposits in all of North Africa and this was an important raw material tin for example came from the British Isles carthaginians controlled the trade of this and other metals and kept their sources Secret [Music] they even forged their travel logs to mislead rivals foreign [Music] Casters Of Carthage were masters of their craft and created objects of great Beauty the city's Artisans produce whatever took the fancy of their customers including copies of foreign artifacts in the souks of Tunis Artisans still work as they did some 2000 years ago without machines preserving skills from antiquity small workshops like this also existed in Carthage but even then there must have been big manufacturers producing Goods intended for export Artisans ship owners captains and Merchants with their extensive trade connections all contributed to the general prosperity [Music] there was also the trade in Tyrion purple a dye made from sea snails which was held dearer than gold the purple dye was as famous as the proverbial business Acumen of the city's merchants [Music] carthaginian Merchants were respected even in Rome later Pliny the Elder would call their Phoenician ancestors the inventors of trade knows that his own family is too put by his freedom beriklit is margot's owner [Music] and Billy klit's Last Hope is NABA a rich Uncle he has the power and the money to find Margot and free him for her [Music] [Music] the path to Margaux leads through the slave market where is he now how much will it cost to free him [Music] the gold opened the door to margot's Freedom [Music] four to five days journey Inland from Carthage once stood the city of duga an important stop on the Caravan route into the continent's interior from the heart of Africa came slaves Ivory and gold these ruins are from a later date as in Carthage the Romans built a new city on top of the ruins of a Punic settlement [Music] archaeologists from Freiburg in Germany are searching for traces of Punic duga beneath the Roman layer foreign the archaeologists have found the walls of our district of Artisans workshops from Punic times most of the amphora shards found here were produced locally but from time to time shards of Roman emperors are Unearthed through Carthage duga was linked to the Mediterranean trade routes Steward the carthaginians into the interior of the continent is foreign these were good conditions for a city and so duga became an important center the Punic numidian ruler massinisa had a majestic Mausoleum constructed here a sign of the Region's wealth for a time masinisa was an ally of Carthage but in a struggle for power he switched to the Roman side [Music] everybody I throw money now a Roman coin a few years before the destruction of Carthage in 146 BC more and more such coins appeared in duga an indication that the Romans had succeeded in winning over Duggar to their side the Romans fought with weapons and with the power of the word they spread rumors that the carthaginians sacrificed their children to the gods here at the sanctuary known as the tofit [Music] foreign [Music] the sight of such bloody rituals have archaeologists found evidence of child sacrifice or was it merely clever Roman propaganda [Music] foreign s have in fact been found beneath the Steely they contain the ashes and charred bones of sacrificial animals and those of children for some researchers this is evidence of bloody Human Sacrifice but for Professor Shelby it is far from being proof [Music] Asia this is for morning sweet Ness mortality easy the character and yet child sacrifice cannot be ruled out entirely it was known in other ancient cultures [Music] perhaps Carthage resorted to human as well as to animal sacrifice to appease the Gods in hard times [Music] thank you [Music] miriklit's efforts have released Margot from slavery now he is being taken back into the company of free men [Music] the priests praised to turn it imploring her to support and favor Margot [Music] foreign [Music] however pragmatic the carthaginians may have been in Daily Life religion was very important to them these are burial chambers of Rich carthaginians here various burial objects have been found small figurines oil lamps sacrificial vessels foreign the necropolis at kekwon outside the city proper the carthaginians cut their graves out of solid rock [Music] the graves were already robbed in Antiquity but the scattered bones of carthaginians can still be found here [Music] [Music] the walls of the burial Chambers are decorated with images reflecting their religious beliefs a Cockerel drawn in purple the Cockerel is known in Egyptian mythology as the symbol of the soul the Breath of Life it is on its way to the city of Souls which closely resembles a Punic City [Music] gods and Spirits dominated the daily life of carthaginians the god Bal Haman was the patron of Carthage and the guarantor of success and happiness and signs of his consort tanit goddess of fertility and prosperity [Music] the priest leaves Margot purified and strengthened condemned to slavery after a shipwreck Margo can once again take his place as a free citizen of Carthage [Music] they hope that with tanit's protection he will return safely from new voyages to distant lands foreign [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] perhaps they belong to a rich Merchant and his wife such as Margot and beriklit [Music] in Rome the die is cast Carthage must be destroyed the Roman Empire equips a huge War Fleet and sends its Legions across the sea to Africa in the spring of 146 BC the decisive blow is struck and the city stormed Dreadful scenes took place in these streets Citadel the tree um foreign the Romans raised Carthage to the ground and cursed the city for all eternity never again would people live here our immense must have been their hate or was it fear and yet just 100 years after the sack of Carthage the Romans themselves built a city on these ruins it was to become the capital of the Roman province of Africa it was carthage's extraordinary Commercial Success that had so enraged the Romans only after Rome had annihilated her rival and Arch Enemy could she rise to Greatness and so the destruction of Carthage has entered history as one of Mankind's greatest tragedies Carthage became a memorial and a legend a magical place that has cast its spell on people throughout the ages over 2000 years ago the first great European Capital Cities Rose around the shores of the Mediterranean [Music] more and more people lived in increasingly crowded conditions the Arts Commerce and Sciences flourished [Music] struggling for power and influence these cities tried to outshine each other by erecting magnificent buildings foreign people from different cultures and parts of the world were drawn to these cities seeking prosperity and happiness [Music] Rome during the second Century A.D the Roman Empire was at its height and the city held a million inhabitants [Music] no city was richer more powerful or more ruthless and none was so bloodthirsty Monumental buildings testified to the power and greatness of the Roman Empire Rome was the center of the ancient world foreign [Applause] [Music] the Eternal City with its Eternal chaos even two thousand years ago the Romans complained about the noise and the traffic Ox carts were prohibited from driving through the city during the day instead they robbed people of sleep at night [Music] the Coliseum was the largest Arena of its time and could hold 50 000 Spectators when it was inaugurated in 80 A.D the festivities ran for 100 days [Music] during the festival 52 000 Gladiators lost their lives they demonstrated to people and Emperor alike that only courage in the face of death would make you truly great and Victorious the capital of the Roman Empire was also the capital of crime murder manslaughter and fraud were everyday events [Music] on the streets of Rome drusus captain of the city cohort is in charge of Law and Order he pursues murderers and thieves and unscrupulous Traders such as petronius who are not above Shady deals foreign slips into the Roman underworld [Music] harsh punishment awaits anyone who cheats the emperor [Music] right next to the Coliseum archaeologists are Excavating Imperial Rome they are not interested in palaces and Villas but in simple buildings the realm of Ordinary People such as drucis and petronius these sites have been excavated before but as the ruins held neither marble statues nor Rich murals the archaeologists weren't very interested and the sights were filled in again but these days excavations have a different purpose archaeologists are trying to understand how people lived at the time gradually the fines are pieced together to form a picture of everyday life which was amazingly like life in a big modern city you have to look closely at the pieces to coax their story from them this necklace is not made of precious jewels its simple costume jewelry perhaps it was a young man's gift to his beloved German archaeologist Richard neuidecker is looking for signs of everyday life in antiquity he's interested in these buildings the insuli the world's first large tenement blocks they were four to seven stories high some even higher living space was at a premium in Rome here noideka knows how this city once looked what happened on its squares and in its alleys modern Rome was built on the debris of Millennia what was once the ground floor of this ancient tenement block Now lies eight meters below ground these rooms are almost 2 000 years old they housed people who had come to Rome to seek their Fortune [Music] is [Music] foreign [Music] the lack of living space and the price of land forced people to live in narrow cramped houses they were dark and noisy and stank horribly but the tenants were still forced to pay exorbitant rents [Music] is [Music] [Music] the poor had to share accommodation with strangers communities forged of necessity [Music] the cityscape of ancient Rome had many such high-rise tenement blocks separated by narrow alleys [Music] this is the beat for druses and the men of the city cohort they are Rome's policemen respected and feared foreign [Music] is heading for the market at trajan's Forum an Informer has revealed that one of the Traders has been watering the wine which is routine but has also been cheating on the tax owed to the emperor drewsis intends to find this villain and send him to the Coliseum as lion fodder [Music] the history of Rome is Written in Blood Legend has it that the city began with a crime with the murder of a man by his brother [Applause] on the banks of the river Tiber Rome was founded in 753 BC says the legend the tale begins with the Trojan hero Aeneas his two descendants Romulus and Remus were abandoned on the banks of the river the twins would have starved to death if they had not been adopted by a she-wolf foreign over founding a city Romulus killed his brother and named the new settlement after himself in fact Rome began as an Etruscan peasant Village The Village grew to become the capital of a huge Empire extending from Britain to North Africa from the Atlantic Ocean to the Black Sea [Music] wherever the Roman Legions went Roman Builders erected Splendid cities here the elite of the conquered land copying their Roman Masters lived in affluence foreign but in the city of Rome itself everything was bigger and more impressive [Music] the Imperial palaces on the Palatine Hill here life passed in luxury and extravagance the Roman lifestyle set the example for the entire Empire but how could Ram afford all this these shards reveal how Rome financed all this extravagant luxury Rome was known as the city of the Seven Hills Monte testacio was Rome's eighth Hill Jose remasal has founded a rewarding excavation site for himself and his group of archaeologists Rome produced prodigious quantities of waste Monte testacio was nothing more than a gigantic tip for the archaeologists it's nothing but shards all the way down foreign Antiquity millions of shattered ampharas were dumped here over a long period with the contents of these ampharas the provinces paid their tribute to the emperor the vessels were filled with the provisions needed to feed the million people then living in Rome foreign s tell the history of Roman trade and of the tributes from the provinces and how the capital was supplied with food important foreign the archaeologists are working on a huge puzzle the shapes of the fragments and their inscriptions revealed that most of the ampharas contained olive oil from the province of hispania bayetica in southern Spain today's Andalusia not far from Monte to Statue were Rome's docks on the Tiber here the ampharas were unloaded from cargo vessels foreign behind the docks was the quarter where this endless stream of goods was stored some of the warehouses are still standing today squeezed into the narrow space between the Tiber and modern Rome the area is not open to the public but Jose remusal knows its importance this is what remains of a vast Trade Center which once supplied the city with all manner of goods [Music] in these vaults wholesalers stored grain oil and wine and other commodities foreign [Music] [Music] phenology from Spain came the popular garum which most of us would find a bit on the nose it was a fermented fish sauce that served as a spice for many Roman dishes workers repacked this expensive delicacy into smaller vessels for the retail trade [Music] wine ampharas were used over and over but ampharas for oil were smashed they would have been too hard to clean because [Music] but as trade and profits boomed so did swindling smuggling and fraud [Music] [Applause] [Music] these warehouses belong to patronius he deals in anything that can bring a profit mostly oil and wine but it's best not to ask too closely where he gets his Goods [Music] for some years now petronius has forced his clerk to fiddle the accounts and falsify documents huh [Music] [Music] quits calories [Music] catronius has no idea that druses is already closing in on him [Music] Monte testacio is testimony to the fact that on Rural Estates countless slaves worked till they dropped Maya labor enabled a small Roman upper class to leave the soft life Roman tax officials rigorously controlled the flow of tax revenues most of what they recorded on wax tablets and Schuster Papyrus has been lost forever but valuable in about the tax system can be gained from Monte to statue's Pottery shards foreign an elaborate network of Roads connected the Roman provinces but most of the tribute arrived by sea olive oil and fish sauce from Spain wine and grain from Sicily and North Africa provinces tribute kept Rome viable exact accounts were recorded tax officials marked every Emperor with their seal the contents of each amphora were carefully noted so that nothing could be pilfered [Music] for a long time petronius has been a thorn in the Century's flesh but until now druses has lacked proof the refused now Deuces has definite information someone has denounced Petronas for failing to pay taxes the seals on the Emperors give him away these tires habit cranky murimus nearly storm convenient comfortable is probably kiss [Music] petronius is caught red-handed all he can do is flee [Music] from Austria he could have left Rome forever he Port was located 30 kilometers from the city Gates docking at Austria were ships from every corner of the Mediterranean though some never reached their destination as is shown by a sensational Discovery in Pisa [Applause] perhaps the port was already patrolled in Antiquity as it surely attracted anyone seeking to start a new life abroad two thousand years ago Pisa was a Mediterranean Port just like Austria but today Pisa is 10 kilometers Inland in 1998 construction workers discovered this Roman Port during excavations for a new railway station pumps prevent the excavation site from flooding as the archaeologists have to work below groundwater level [Music] the muddy ground kept the air away from the Timbers thus preserving entire Roman ships and their cargos [Music] um [Music] [Music] for the archaeologists this discovery in Pisa was uniquely lucky the conditions have rarely been so ideal for preserving materials such as wood that readily decay [Music] along with ampharas from the ship's cargo the archaeologists discovered objects preserved in mud that had been found nowhere else a piece of leather perhaps from a Sailors kit put that a little bit off [Music] in the mud of the harbor the archaeologists have begun to release the hull of another ship they owe their Discovery to a tragic accident the ship must have reached Port safely when it capsized and sank in a storm foreign the archaeologists found a brush probably used by a young sailor to scrub the deck just before the storm hit once the ships have been cleaned it's a Race Against Time as the Timbers crumble when exposed to air engineers and archaeologists secure the hulls with the framework of Steel through plastic pipes under a fiberglass covering the wood is soaked with resin solution to preserve it when this work is finished the ships await transport to the museum workshops planks from the ships and the docks were also retrieved scarring indicates a ship may have rammed the dock in a storm and sunk before its cargo could be unloaded um materials most tribute payments were brought to Roman ships like these the only way to transport such large loads they delivered Goods to all the big ports of the Roman Empire the most important of these was ostia the port for Rome but natural disaster must have overcome them their cargos might have been intended for the market at trajan's Forum in Rome [Music] Ricard noideka believes that the market played a special role in Roman Life Emperor trajan ordered the construction of a trading center in the year 110 A.D it was a project so huge the part of one of the city's Hills even had to be removed [Music] 150 shops offered Romans whatever their hearts desired fresh vegetables from the region wheat from North Africa spices from Asia the finest tableware expensive cosmetics and precious jewelry from distant provinces [Music] does probably come here is [Music] on the ground floor with the shops those at the front were open to the street but were shut with boards at night to prevent theft and burglary the markets were patrolled by guards here a better class of shopkeepers leased their premises it was a desirable area for a store so the rents were probably high foreign stories housed offices of the city Administration here poor people could register for free food however only male Romans enjoyed this privilege other Romans who did not have to worry about surviving from day to day could apply to have the public water supply connected to their homes [Music] and uh fantastic foreign foreign public areas were always extremely important to Roman society because life took place not indoors but on the street this was true of all Roman cities a tragedy has preserved one of them in its entirety Pompeii Pompeii lies at the foot of Mount Vesuvius one of the world's most dangerous and unpredictable volcanoes [Music] no one knows when Vesuvius will erupt again but three million people still live in the shadow of the volcano [Music] British archaeologist Rick Jones came to Pompeii to research how a Roman city functioned in antiquity our anglo-american project in Pompeii is trying to study how the city that was destroyed in 1879 came to be like that how the whole mix of big houses of rich and poor of medium-sized houses of workshops and bars came to be created over a period of some several centuries maybe five centuries and to examine that within the space of one complete block of the city Pompeii was a small City set in the countryside amid Gardens and Vineyards still many aspects of day-to-day existence must have been similar to those in Rome so Pompeii can serve as a model of life in every Roman City Pompeii is a time machine which will take you on a journey into the Roman past nowhere else is the everyday life of ancient times so palpable [Music] the city's last day was virtually Frozen in mid-action [Music] in the year 79 A.D Mount Vesuvius broke apart spat fire rained ashes and obliterated the city The Colonnade of a luxurious Villa foreign the head of this family ran a bakery these millstones ground grain into fine expensive flower or into coarse flower considered good enough for the poor and to slaves [Music] the stable with the animals that turned the millstones they perished in the hot and poisonous gases as did all those who could not flee the city in time oh [Music] generations of archaeologists have excavated Pompeii but there are still new discoveries to be made with the help of more than a hundred staff Rick Jones is currently exploring a whole block of Pompeii their common goal is to reconstruct life as it once was in this ancient city [Applause] these are the remains of an evening meal at which wild boar was served but only wealthy households had kitchens with their own stove the poor bought their meals on the street or in cheap taverns [Applause] there were hundreds of these taverns in ancient Rome congregating there were denizens of the underworld and those with nothing more to lose least of all their good name [Music] petronius cannot return home because the police are after him so he has come here believing he will be safe yep [Music] [Applause] [Music] oh my God [Laughter] [Music] now petronius has made enemies but someone on the run from the city cohort can't afford to make enemies previous excavations in Pompeii concentrated primarily on its last day but now scientists are digging deeper to find out more about the ways the city evolved the houses were continually rebuilt changing over time like the people [Applause] the archaeologists are searching specifically for small items the surgeon's house was first excavated in 1926 his surgical instruments were given to a museum long ago now the history of the building and the changes in society are being examined more closely what we're finding is that the the rich in simple terms got richer and the poor got poorer we see a process by which the um the bigger houses got bigger more luxurious more well appointed with mosaics and fountains whereas the poor are squeezed into smaller spaces into upstairs spaces into tighter plane all round whether it within the big house as the servants and slaves or within the bars below the street archaeologists uncover a lead pipe which brought fresh spring water to public fountains and to some Villas but only wealthy households were connected to this water supply the masses of slaves enjoyed none of the luxuries typical of the Roman lifestyle Roman cities functioned because slaves did the heavy work and because Roman Engineers devised Technologies which made life more comfortable the houses of the rich had running water bathrooms and underfloor Heating foreign but much greater demands were placed on Builders and city planners in Rome than in Pompeii people who lived in Rome suffered from the problems of any big city the sheer scale of it is something that is only really paralleled in modern times and so they had many of the problems of congestion of expensive accommodation of difficulties of sleeping at night because of the noise all those things that were would go with people being crammed together in a tight Urban space Rome was greedy for water drinking water for private and public welds water for decorative fountains in upper-class houses and water for the numerous public baths [Music] eight aqueducts brought millions of liters of water into the city every day the arch was a Roman invention as was cement it was these lightweight arches that made the aqueducts possible but eventually even the finest Spring Water ends its run as stinking sewage the stench pervaded all of Rome even the Forum Roman here there were temples honoring the gods here the Senate conferred and created policies and high society used to meet from ramanam is the entrance to the city's underworld today is close to tourists the famous cloaca Maxima all of Rome's sewage both the refuse and the human waste flowed through here more than two thousand years ago Rome already had a sewage system nevertheless large quantities of sewage and rubbish ended up in the streets back then oil lamps burned in the niches of these dark tunnels they provided a feeble light for the work of Maintenance Crews the sewers frequently blocked and had to be cleaned regularly 600 meters of the kawaka Maxima are still part of today's system in spite of his aqueducts and sewerage system rum suffered from a lack of hygiene is [Music] so the city's water supply was also a source of disease this was centuries before organisms were known to cause disease so people resorted to home remedies cabbage for instance was said to be a cure even for cancer [Music] Vietnamese is the health centers of Roman cities were the hot spring baths only wealthy Romans could afford doctors most came from Greece like Galen he started his Roman career as Doctor to the Gladiators and later became the emperor's personal physician many Romans had already finished work by lunchtime and spent the rest of the afternoon at the baths they practiced Sports enjoyed the baths or had a massage here they were able to leave the dusty streets and hectic pace of City Life Behind [Music] the Roman Museum of archeology houses the largest collection of artworks and everyday objects from ancient Rome in the Laboratories Specialists work tirelessly to preserve this heritage the marble for these statues often came from far away some of it from North Africa wealthy Romans commissioned these Works to decorate their homes but it was not the artists and Artisans who were admired it was the buyers beautiful objects gave the owners a higher social status and they enjoyed flaunting it everything can be found in the Museum's storerooms from the simplest objects for daily use to magnificent artifacts from The Emperor's Palace [Applause] these objects are eloquent about the city splendor but also about people whose lives were spent in the shadows is estimento the Romans were fond of surrounding themselves with the Beautiful Things even objects for daily use were created with an artistic sense questions the humblest cooking utensils were decorated [Music] money everyone in Rome knew that anything could be bought with money even votes and official positions traitors and informers thank you thank you Rome never slept night was the time for delivering everything which would be needed the following day but those who Moved Through Rome's dark streets at night had to be wary and not just of gangs of robbers [Music] [Music] drusus knows that arresting Patronus is only a question of time and money [Music] [Applause] [Music] something something [Music] [Applause] IUS Antonius [Music] [Laughter] [Music] among the last drinkers the arrest causes only a slight stir but for petronius it is the beginning of a nightmare from which there will be no Awakening the Colosseum above was the arena down here stretches a Labyrinth of narrow alleys and Tiny Chambers until recently not all their functions were known [Music] the architectural historian Heinz Jurgen Vester has studied this complex minutely he has concluded that the structures beneath the floor of the Arena were part of an elaborate stage Machinery that could suddenly release starving Lions Panthers and tigers into the arena [Music] with more than 100 performances per year the Coliseum had to come up with more and more Sensational acts to keep the public interested um what appeared miraculous to The Spectators was really hard work performed by a skilled stage crew below the Arena's wooden floor while the crowds roared in their seats above teams of soldiers slaves and animal Tamers were busy below running the stage machinery nowhere else could Romans get so close to their emperor for him the behavior of the crowds was a barometer of public sentiment at times he could even be booed people and Emperor watched the same spectacle despite the cruelty of combatants being stabbed or mauled to death for the audience it was merely another entertainment [Music] is foreign foreign [Music] men and women fight for their lives [Music] foreign [Music] has cheated the emperor and can expect no mercy with murderers and Temple robbers he waits to make his entrance [Music] [Applause] [Music] with their bare hands these hapless prisoners must fight lions and bears for public amusement [Applause] many Gladiators were highly trained professional fighters who could achieve recognition and even wealth some of them became celebrated Stars adored by a fanatical public that is as long as they manage to stay alive [Music] the Coliseum the law was kill or be killed [Applause] Salve Glory Captain drewsis does not want to miss this spectacle especially as it's his day off he's looking forward to exciting games and Unforgettable fights that will be talked about for days not unlike sporting events in today's world [Music] [Applause] but there were some criticism as well this is how the philosopher and politician Seneca condemned it man once sacred to his own kind is now murdered for amusement as if it were again people find the killing of one man at the hands of another a welcome spectacle [Music] [Applause] [Music] visitors from all the provinces gathered at the world's largest Arena to see the famous Gladiators fight each other Rome was mighty and it was merciless the Roman Empire lasted a thousand years its Center was the great city of Rome with all the advantages of big city life there were problems as well the first city in history with a million inhabitants struggled with problems such as traffic congestion housing shortages and crime problems which routinely appear where a great number of people live together they existed then as they do now and they will most likely exist in the future [Music]

Channel: Timeline - World History Documentaries

Views: 3,362,914

Keywords: History, Full Documentary, Documentaries, Full length Documentaries, Documentary, TV Shows - Topic, Documentary Movies - Topic, 2017 documentary, BBC documentary, Channel 4 documentary, history documentary, documentary history, ancient history, rome, carthage, alexandria, ancient rome, ancient athens, history of ancient world

Id: Td2P0A187Xw

Length: 207min 12sec (12432 seconds)

Published: Sun Dec 04 2022