>> SCOTLAND, THE END OF THE 13th CENTURY. A COUNTRY UNDER ATTACK. INVADED BY THE GREATEST ARMY IN CHRISTENDOM. DEFEAT SEEMS INEVITABLE. BUT FROM NOWHERE EMERGES A MAN WHO WILL BECOME SCOTLAND'S GREATEST HERO. >> HE'S SOMEONE WHO RISES FROM OBSCURITY AND BECOMES THIS NATIONAL SYMBOL OF PATRIOTISM OF SURVIVAL AND OF SCOTLAND. >> WILLIAM WALLACE, LATER KNOWN AS BRAVEHEART. HE IS AN INSPIRATIONAL LEADER WHO WILL GIVE HIS LIFE FOR SCOTLAND'S FREEDOM. >> AND HE'LL ALWAYS BE THERE BECAUSE HE SEEMS TO BE BUILT INTO THE VERY PSYCHE OF WHAT IT MEANS TO BE SCOTTISH. >> NEW RESEARCH ALLOWS US TO JOURNEY BACK TO THE LOST WORLD THAT BRAVEHEART FOUGHT FOR, A VIOLENT AGE WHEN MAGNIFICENT CASTLES WERE BUILT TO WITHSTAND A NEW GENERATION OF WEAPONS, WHERE KINGS BUILT HEAVILY FORTIFIED TOWNS. THIS IS ALSO A GOLDEN AGE OF CULTURE AND SOPHISTICATION. TRAVELING DOWN SECRET PATHWAYS THAT STILL LIE BENEATH MODERN SCOTLAND, WE REVEAL A WORLD THAT HAS NOT BEEN SEEN FOR 700 YEARS. >> AND THIS IS WHERE WE'VE GOT THIS FANTASTIC WEALTH OF MATERIAL. >> THIS IS THE LOST WORLD OF BRAVEHEART, THE WORLD HE DIED TO PROTECT. >> STIRLING, CENTRAL SCOTLAND. SEPTEMBER 11, 1297. TWO ARMIES FACE EACH OTHER ACROSS A VALLEY. IN THE SHADOW OF STIRLING CASTLE STAND THE ENGLISH, THE FINEST ARMY IN EUROPE, SENT BY KING EDWARD I. ON THE OTHER SIDE THE SCOTS, A RAPIDLY ASSEMBLED COLLECTION OF CLAN ARMIES. THEIR NATION'S INDEPENDENCE RESTS ON THE OUTCOME OF THIS BATTLE. THE SCOTS ARE OUTNUMBERED 5 TO 1. THEIR CAUSE SEEMS HOPELESS. NOW, ONE MAN STEPS FROM OBSCURITY AND INTO THE FRAY. HE IS WILLIAM WALLACE: "BRAVEHEART." >> HE'S COME OUT OF NOWHERE. HE'S NOT A MAN THAT THE HISTORY BOOKS WOULD EVER REALLY HAVE KNOWN WERE IT NOT FOR WHAT HAPPENED HERE IN 1297. >> THIS IS HIS COUNTRY. HE HAS THE WILL TO WIN. HE ALSO HAS LOCAL KNOWLEDGE ON HIS SIDE. >> THE REASON WHY WALLACE KNEW TO COME HERE AT STIRLING TO MEET THE ENGLISH ARMY IS BECAUSE THIS BRIDGE, THE STIRLING BRIDGE, IS THE MAIN CROSSING POINT IN SCOTLAND. AND THE RIVER FORTH CUTS CENTRAL SCOTLAND ALMOST IN HALF. AND THE BRIDGE, STIRLING BRIDGE, IS THE WAY THAT YOU WOULD GO NORTH OR SOUTH. >> THE RIVER CROSSING IS KEY. WHATEVER HAPPENS HERE WILL DECIDE THE BATTLE AND ENSURE BRAVEHEART'S PLACE IN HISTORY. BUT THIS STONE BRIDGE WAS BUILT LONG AFTER HIS DEATH. THE BRIDGE HE KNEW IS LONG GONE. AND TO UNDERSTAND THE CRUCIAL ROLE IT PLAYED, WE NEED TO KNOW WHAT THE ORIGINAL STRUCTURE LOOKED LIKE. A TEAM OF HISTORIANS HAS BEEN TRYING TO UNCOVER IT. ARMED WITH SIMPLE EQUIPMENT AND STORIES THAT HAVE BEEN HANDED DOWN THROUGH LOCAL FOLKLORE, THEY HAVE FOUND A SERIES OF CLUES. FIRST, STONE FOUNDATIONS, LONG HIDDEN BY THE FORTH'S PEATY WATERS. ONCE YOU KNOW WHERE THEY ARE, YOU CAN EVEN SPOT TELLTALE SIGNS AT THE SURFACE. >> IF YOU JUST LOOK OVER THERE YOU WILL SEE THE RIPPLES COMING FROM THE MASSIVE PIER THAT WE DISCOVERED HERE IN THIS POINT. THIS PIER IS ONE OF TWO LARGE PIERS, EQUALLY SPACED ACROSS THE RIVER. THIS IS THE ACTUAL ROUTE WHICH THE ANCIENT BRIDGE WOULD TAKE ACROSS THE RIVER. >> THIS APPEARS TO BE THE REMAINS OF AN 8-PIER STRUCTURE. IT MATCHES THE BRIDGE DEPICTED ON STIRLING'S TOWN SEAL, AN EMBLEM DATING BACK TO THE TIME OF THE BATTLE. RECORDS REVEAL THAT IT WAS BUILT BY THE ROMANS. AND THEIR ENGINEERING TECHNIQUES ARE WELL-DOCUMENTED. FOR EACH PIER THEY BUILT A WATERTIGHT "COFFERDAM" AND LINED IT WITH LARGE STONES, MORTARED TOGETHER. THEY THEN FILLED THE HOLLOW CORE WITH RUBBLE. BY MAKING THE PIERS TAPER TOWARDS THE TOP, THEY GAINED STABILITY. THE IMAGE ON THE SEAL SHOWS CLEARLY THAT THE SPANS WERE MADE OF WOOD. TO ACCOMMODATE HEAVY TRAFFIC, A HUGE QUANTITY OF TIMBER WOULD BE NEEDED. AND, IN MEDIEVAL SCOTLAND, WOOD IS A SCARCE COMMODITY. THE SHAPE OF THE PIERS AND THE COST OF THE WOOD MEANT THAT THE BRIDGE BETWEEN THE TWO ARMIES HAD TO BE NARROW. THIS NARROWNESS IS FUNDAMENTAL TO BRAVEHEART'S TACTICS. BECAUSE THE ENGLISH EXPECT HIM TO FOLLOW THE ANCIENT CODE OF CHIVALRY, THEY EXPECT HIM TO WAIT; TO LET THEM CROSS THE BRIDGE AND FORM UP FOR BATTLE. THEY'RE WRONG. HE WON'T PLAY BY THEIR RULES. >> ALL THE SCOTS HAVE TO DO, BUT THIS IS GOING TO BE HARD, IS TO ALLOW ENOUGH HORSEMEN TO COME OVER THIS NARROW WOODEN BRIDGE. ONLY TWO CAN GET ACROSS AT A TIME. THE SCOTS ARE BASICALLY PLAYING A WAITING GAME AT THIS POINT. >> BRAVEHEART ALLOWS AN ADVANCE GUARD TO CROSS-- 2,000 INFANTRY AND 100 MEN ON HORSEBACK. THEN HE MAKES HIS MOVE. SUMMONED BY THE BLAST OF A GREAT HORN, THE SCOTS STRIDE GRIMLY INTO BATTLE. >> [yelling] >> THEY'RE DEPLOYED IN TIGHT UNITS CALLED SHILTRONS. EACH ONE FORMS A MOVING WALL OF IRON PIKES. THEY DRIVE INTO THE ENGLISH VANGUARD. >> THE SCOTS START TO PUSH THE HORSE BACK-- THERE'S NOWHERE FOR THEM TO GO. SO, EVERY KNIGHT HAD THE CHOICE: HE COULD EITHER BE IMPALED ON A SCOTTISH SPEAR, OR HE COULD DROWN IN THE RIVER FORTH. >> BRAVEHEART LEADS FROM THE FRONT WITH HIS MIGHTY SWORD. THE BATTLE IS BRUTAL AND SWIFT. THE SCOTS CUT A BLOODY SWATHE THROUGH THE PANICKING ENGLISH. >> SO IT BECAME ABSOLUTE CARNAGE AND HELL, AND IT MUST HAVE BEEN APPALLING FOR THEIR COMRADES ON THE OTHER SIDE, HELPLESS, WATCHING THEM DIE. >> WHAT'S LEFT OF THE ENGLISH ARMY FLEES. THEY ARE SO SHOCKED BY THE DEFEAT THAT THEY ABANDON SCOTLAND ALL TOGETHER. THE BATTLE IS NOT ENTIRELY ONE-SIDED. BRAVEHEART'S CO-COMMANDER, ANDREW MURRAY, IS FATALLY WOUNDED. HE DIES SOON AFTER. BUT STIRLING BRIDGE IS A MAJOR VICTORY, A TURNING POINT IN THE HISTORY OF SCOTLAND, AND IN THE LIFE OF ITS CHAMPION. WILLIAM WALLACE IS DECLARED GUARDIAN OF SCOTLAND-- LEADER OF HIS COUNTRY. >> WALLACE WAS CLEARLY AN EXTRAORDINARY MAN. I MEAN, HE GAVE BACK THE SCOTS THE CONFIDENCE TO BELIEVE THAT THEY COULD BEAT THE ENGLISH, AND GET THEM OUT OF SCOTLAND AND SCOTLAND WOULD BE FREE AND INDEPENDENT AGAIN. >> THE CENTURIES OF MYTHMAKING THAT TURNED WALLACE INTO BRAVEHEART HAVE OBSCURED THE TRUTH, AND MANY IMPORTANT HISTORICAL ACCOUNTS DETAILING HIS LIFE HAVE DISAPPEARED. >> DURING THE WARS OF INDEPENDENCE, A LOT OF THE DOCUMENTS WERE TAKEN TO LONDON. AND THEN DURING THE 17th CENTURY ONE OF THE SHIPS THAT WAS TAKING DOCUMENTS BACK TO EDINBURGH SANK, AND SO ALL THOSE DOCUMENTS ARE AT THE BOTTOM OF THE SEA SOMEWHERE. >> WITHOUT THIS KEY EVIDENCE, RESEARCHERS HAVE HAD TO DELVE DEEP INTO HISTORY-- AND EVEN UNDERGROUND-- TO FIND CLUES TO WHAT LIFE WAS LIKE IN MEDIEVAL SCOTLAND. YEARS OF INVESTIGATION ARE FINALLY YIELDING A CLEAR PICTURE OF BRAVEHEART'S LOST WORLD. THE FIRST STEP IS TO DISCOVER WHERE HE WAS BORN. ACCORDING TO LEGEND, THIS IS BRAVEHEART'S BIRTHPLACE. ELDERSLIE. IT'S NOW A SUBURB OF THE SPRAWLING CITY OF GLASGOW. ARCHAEOLOGIST DEREK ALEXANDER KEEPS RETURNING HERE, HUNTING FOR CLUES TO THE HIDDEN WORLD OF WALLACE'S CHILDHOOD. HE NEEDS EVIDENCE THAT WILL DATE THE SITE TO THE RIGHT PERIOD-- AROUND 1270. >> WHAT WE REALLY NEED TO DO IS GO BEHIND THIS HOUSE OVER HERE AND INTO THE GARDEN AND HAVE A LOOK AT THE EVIDENCE THERE. >> SEVERAL HISTORICAL MAPS MARK THIS PLOT AS "WALLACE'S HOUSE." EACH ONE SHOWS A DISTINCTIVE BOUNDARY LINE. DEREK THINKS THAT THIS CORRESPONDS TO A DITCH THAT RUNS BEHIND THE MODERN-DAY HOUSE. >> NOW WE THINK THE REMAINS OF THE ENCLOSURE MIGHT STILL SURVIVE IN BITS OF IT, BUT WE DON'T KNOW EXACTLY WHERE. BUT THE BEST WAY TO FIND OUT ABOUT THE DATE OF THIS SITE WOULD BE ACTUALLY TO LOOK IN THE DITCH, SO WE'RE GOING TO HAVE A LOOK. >> SINCE BRAVEHEART'S TIME, THERE HAVE BEEN SEVEN CENTURIES OF CONSTRUCTION AND DEVELOPMENT HERE. JUST ONE SMALL CORNER REMAINS UNTOUCHED. AND THIS IS WHERE DEREK BEGAN HIS SEARCH. >> NOW THESE STONES ARE PART OF A MODERN SORT OF GARDEN WALL FEATURE, YOU KNOW. SO WE EXCAVATED A TRENCH RIGHT ACROSS HERE. BUT WE GOT DOWN QUITE QUICKLY THROUGH LOTS OF MODERN RUBBISH, LOTS OF POTTERY AND GLASS AND THINGS LIKE THAT. BUT DOWN UNDERNEATH WAS AN EARLIER WALL RUNNING ALONG THE SAME LINE. >> AT ITS BASE, DEREK HAS UNCOVERED A BROAD TRENCH. IT'S LINED WITH WATERPROOFING CLAY. >> IT GOES ALL THE WAY ACROSS THE FULL WIDTH OF THE DITCH, SO IT WOULD HAVE EFFECTIVELY BEEN A MOAT. >> HE'S ALSO FOUND SIGNS OF A WOODEN FENCE. TOGETHER WITH THE MOAT THIS SUGGESTS A DEFENSIVE FORTIFICATION. BUT CRUCIALLY THERE'S ONE TINY CLUE THAT ENABLES DEREK TO DATE THE SETTLEMENT. >> WHAT WE FOUND WAS ONE SINGLE PIECE OF POTTERY. AND IT WAS A 13th CENTURY PIECE OF MEDIEVAL POTTERY, WHICH WAS OBVIOUSLY THE TIME OF WILLIAM WALLACE, WHICH IS WHAT WE ARE LOOKING FOR. SO THAT WAS FANTASTIC. >> THIS, AND EVIDENCE FROM OTHER SITES, REVEALS A MAJOR PART OF THE WORLD THAT BRAVEHEART KNEW. THIS WAS A LARGE, FORTIFIED SETTLEMENT, KNOWN AS A "FERMTOUN." SEVERAL FAMILIES SHARED LIVING QUARTERS, HALLS, FORGES AND STABLES. THERE WERE SMALLER COTTAGES FOR FARM LABORERS. ALL WERE CONSTRUCTED USING WELL-ESTABLISHED TECHNIQUES. >> THE QUALITY OF CARPENTRY AND JOINERY GENERALLY IS VERY, VERY HIGH. THESE ARE PEOPLE WHO WERE MASTER CRAFTSMEN IN USING WOOD. THE ROOFS THAT YOU COULD SEE AS YOU APPROACH IT WOULD PROBABLY BE LARGELY THATCHED, BIRCH BARK AND THINGS LIKE THAT. THERE MAY BE TILES BECAUSE THEY'RE ALREADY STARTING TO, TO USE TILES, ESPECIALLY AROUND THE AREAS LIKE THE SMOKE HOLES, AS YOU CAN IMAGINE SPARKS COMING OUT OF THESE FROM THE COOKING FIRES AND THE HEATING FIRES FALLING ONTO THE ROOF. THE NEXT THING IS THE WHOLE THING'S GONE UP IN SMOKE. >> VERTICAL POLES SLOT INTO A SILL BEAM TO FORM THE FRAMEWORK OF THE BUILDING. WOVEN TWIG PANELS-- CALLED "WATTLE"-- ARE SMEARED WITH MUD, KNOWN AS "DAUB." THESE WALLS OFFER AN EFFICIENT INSULATION AGAINST THE COLD SCOTTISH WINTER. ANOTHER FEATURE REINFORCES DEREK'S IDEA THAT THE WALLACE FAMILY LIVED IN A WELL-DEFENDED SETTLEMENT. AT THE END OF THE MOAT IS AN INTRIGUING STONE CIRCLE, 9 YARDS IN DIAMETER. DEREK THINKS IT'S THE FOUNDATION OF A TOWER. >> SO WE WOULD HAVE HAD THE DITCH RUNNING THAT WAY, THE DITCH RUNNING THAT WAY AND RIGHT IN THE CORNER HERE WE WOULD HAVE HAD THE CIRCULAR TOWER FEATURE. >> THESE TOWERS WOULD GIVE EXTRA PROTECTION AGAINST BOTH OUTLAWS AND THE WOLVES THAT ROAMED MEDIEVAL SCOTLAND. DEREK BELIEVES THE FERMTOUN WAS A FARM HEADQUARTERS. IT'S A CLUE TO THE WALLACE'S' WEALTH. >> THERE'S A TENDENCY TO THINK OF WOODEN BUILDINGS AS SOMEHOW PRIMITIVE OR INFERIOR. BUT WOOD BUILDING IS SOMETHING THAT'S ACTUALLY QUITE HIGH STATUS. SO THE WALLACE FAMILY-- THESE ARE PEOPLE WHO ARE ACTUALLY DEMONSTRATING THAT THEY'VE GOT ACCESS TO THIS. WHAT'S BECOMING A VERY, VERY SCARCE RESOURCE. >> SO THIS CONTRADICTS TALES THAT BRAVEHEART WAS A LOWLY COMMONER. INSTEAD, IT SEEMS HE CAME FROM A FAMILY WITH LAND AND MONEY: ARISTOCRATS. TO DISCOVER HOW THESE ARISTOCRATS LIVED WE FOLLOW CLUES UNDERGROUND AND DISCOVER THE GOLDEN AGE IN WHICH BRAVEHEART WAS RAISED. >> HOLLYWOOD PORTRAYED WILLIAM WALLACE AS "BRAVEHEART"-- A MAN BORN TO FIGHT. BUT HE HAD ANOTHER PAST. HIS FAMILY HAD INTENDED THAT HE WOULD JOIN AN ORDER OF MONKS, UNDER THE PROTECTION OF THE POPE. WHEN HE LEFT HIS CHILDHOOD FARM, THE WAY AHEAD MUST HAVE SEEMED CLEAR. YET HIS LIFE WOULD FOLLOW A VIOLENT PATH HE COULD NEVER HAVE IMAGINED. BY INVESTIGATING THIS JOURNEY WE CAN UNCOVER A WINDOW INTO BRAVEHEART'S LOST WORLD. AND IT REVOLUTIONIZES OUR VIEW OF MEDIEVAL SCOTLAND. THE JOURNEY TAKES US JUST A FEW MILES FROM HIS CHILDHOOD HOME TO PAISLEY ABBEY. MUCH OF THE ABBEY'S CENTURY'S OLD STONEWORK CAN STILL BE SEEN. IN WALLACE'S TIME, THIS WAS PART OF A CLUNIAC MONASTERY. AND THE CLUNIAC ORDER HAD A REPUTATION FOR WEALTH AND SPLENDOR. THEIR BUILDINGS WERE FAMED FOR THEIR MAGNIFICENCE. >> THE ABBEY AT PAISLEY HERE ITS FOUNDED BY THE STUART FAMILY BACK IN THE 12th CENTURY. AND THE STUARTS ARE THE PATRONS OF THE WALLACE FAMILY. SO IT'S THE KIND OF PLACE THAT WALLACE AND HIS FAMILY GENERALLY WOULD HAVE BEEN QUITE FAMILIAR WITH. >> WALLACE'S EDUCATION WOULD HAVE BEEN FUNDED BY HIS LORD, THE HEAD OF THE STUART CLAN. IT'S LIKELY THAT IT WOULD HAVE BEEN HERE AT PAISLEY AND THAT WALLACE WOULD BECOME PART OF THE MONASTIC ORDER. >> THE LIFESTYLE THERE IS VERY, VERY MUCH THAT OF THE MONASTIC REGIME. IT MEANS GETTING UP BEFORE DAWN IN THE MORNING, SERVICES IN THE CHURCH. BUT THEY WOULD ALSO HAVE A FAIRLY HEAVILY REGULATED ROUTINE OF LESSONS. THEY'D HAVE TO BE TRAINED IN SCRIPTURE, THEY'D HAVE TO BE TRAINED IN THEOLOGY AND JUST GENERALLY GETTING THE ALL-ROUND EDUCATION OF A LITERATE PERSON IN THE MIDDLE AGES. >> BACK IN THE 13th CENTURY, PAISLEY ABBEY WAS A WEALTHY AND INFLUENTIAL PLACE, ITS MONKS ANSWERABLE ONLY TO THE POPE IN ROME. THE ABBEY STOOD AT THE CENTER OF A LARGE MONASTERY. WITH CLOISTERS ATTACHED, IT WAS SURROUNDED BY A GREAT COMPLEX OF BUILDINGS. THERE WERE BARNS, STABLES, AND STOREHOUSES. THEY WERE RINGED BY A PRECINCT WALL. BUT THE MONKS DIDN'T LIVE IN ISOLATION. BENEATH THIS BUILDING AN ELABORATE SEWAGE SYSTEM HAS BEEN DISCOVERED. RESEARCH HAS REVEALED THAT IT SERVICED ALL OF THE MAJOR BUILDINGS. ALL THE WASTE OF EVERYDAY LIFE FLOWED THROUGH HERE. THE SEWER DEMONSTRATES THIS PLACE HAD EXTRAORDINARY CONNECTIONS WITH THE OUTSIDE WORLD. IT PROVIDES EVIDENCE OF A SOPHISTICATED SOCIETY THAT HAS BEEN HIDDEN FOR 500 YEARS. >> ORIGINALLY IT WOULD HAVE HAD A STREAM OF WATER RUNNING THROUGH IT TO FLUSH THE DRAINS FROM THE LATRINES UP IN THE ABBEY. >> WHEN THE DRAINS WERE FIRST RE-OPENED, THEY WERE BLOCKED WITH AROUND 550 YEARS OF COMPACTED SILT. OVER THE COURSE OF A FEW WEEKS, THIS SILT WAS PUMPED OUT. A TEAM OF ARCHAEOLOGISTS SPENT THREE MONTHS SIEVING THROUGH IT. THEY DISCOVERED HUNDREDS OF ARTIFACTS FROM BELT BUCKLES TO TUNING PEGS. >> SO HERE WE'VE GOT ONE ONLY SLIGHTLY USED CHAMBER POT. IT SURVIVED COMPLETE HAVING BEEN DROPPED DOWN THERE BY A MONK IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT PROBABLY. THEY'RE ALSO COLLECTING HUMAN URINE BECAUSE THEY USE IT FOR A VARIETY OF THINGS. IT'S USED FOR EXAMPLE AS A CLEANSER, BELIEVE IT OR NOT, AND A DISINFECTANT FOR CLOTHING. >> EVIDENCE HERE EVEN REVEALS WHAT WALLACE HEARD WHEN HE CAME TO THE MONASTERY. THIS IS HANDWRITTEN NOTATION OF THE CHOIR'S MUSIC. >> IT'S A PIECE OF MULTI-PART MUSIC. IN FACT, IT'S THE EARLIEST KNOWN SURVIVING PIECE OF MULTI-PART MUSIC IN SCOTLAND. IT'S FOR THREE VOICES, AND I THINK WHAT'S REALLY MOST INTERESTING ABOUT THIS, WHAT'S WONDERFUL ABOUT THIS, IS THIS IS THE GENUINE VOICE OF THE MEDIEVAL MONASTIC CHOIR. >> THESE LEAD SEALS ONCE SECURED BALES OF CLOTH BROUGHT FROM MAINLAND EUROPE. IT'S PROOF THAT MEDIEVAL SCOTLAND WAS NO ISOLATED BACKWATER. THE REMAINS OF SPICES AND PLANTS SUGGEST ACCESS TO INTERNATIONAL TRADE ROUTES. >> THIS IS WHERE THERE'S EVIDENCE FOR THE CONNECTIONS WITH THE WIDER WORLD, FAR BEYOND EVEN EUROPE, SOME OF THESE THINGS COMING FROM THE NEAR EAST. SOME OF THEM COMING FROM INDONESIA AND PLACES SUCH AS THAT. >> ALL THE SILT AND ARTIFACTS HAVE NOW BEEN PUMPED OUT. BUT EXPERTS ARE STILL ASTONISHED BY WHAT HAS BEEN LEFT BEHIND. THE DRAIN ITSELF. PROTECTED FROM THE ELEMENTS FOR FIVE CENTURIES, IT'S A BEAUTIFULLY PRESERVED PIECE OF ENGINEERING HISTORY. >> THIS IS HIGH QUALITY STONEWORK, FIRST CLASS ENGINEERING. >> THE DESIGNS WERE CARRIED OUT BY MASTER MASONS, THE ELITE OF THE CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY. >> NOW THE QUALITY OF EACH INDIVIDUAL BLOCK HERE, THIS IS THE CRAFTSMANSHIP OF INDIVIDUAL MASONS, AND JUST TO SHOW YOU WHO DID IT THEY PUT THEIR OWN MARKS ON TO THE STONES SO THAT THEY WOULD BE PAID FOR THE PIECES OF WORK THEY HAD ACTUALLY DONE. >> HOLLYWOOD'S PORTRAYAL OF MEDIEVAL SCOTLAND WAS AS A PRIMITIVE, SAVAGE PLACE. BUT FROM WHAT INVESTIGATORS HAVE DISCOVERED HERE IN THE SEWER, WE KNOW BRAVEHEART LIVED IN A RICH CULTURE. >> THE MATERIAL FROM THE DRAIN IS FANTASTIC. IT HAS JUST COMPLETELY REVOLUTIONIZED OUR WHOLE WAY OF LOOKING AT ASPECTS OF MEDIEVAL LIFE IN SCOTLAND. >> IN MEDIEVAL SCOTLAND THE CHURCH WAS A POWERFUL FORCE. ITS MAIN STRONGHOLD WAS HERE, GLASGOW CATHEDRAL. THIS IS WHERE THE SCHOLAR WALLACE WOULD BEGIN HIS TRANSFORMATION INTO THE WARRIOR BRAVEHEART. HERE HE WOULD COME INTO CONTACT WITH ONE OF THE COUNTRY'S MOST IMPORTANT MEN: THE BISHOP, ROBERT WISHART. WISHART HAD BEEN APPOINTED TO THE SCOTTISH GOVERNMENT. IT WAS FROM HIM THAT WALLACE LEARNT OF HIS COUNTRY'S WORSENING POLITICAL AND MILITARY SITUATION. IN TURN WISHART CAME TO SEE WALLACE AS THE MAN WHO'D CARRY THE CHURCH'S BANNER INTO BATTLE. GLASGOW CATHEDRAL IS THE MOST MAGNIFICENT GOTHIC STRUCTURE SURVIVING IN SCOTLAND. BUILDING IT PRESENTED AN EXTRAORDINARY CHALLENGE. >> WHAT THEY'RE TRYING TO DO IS EMPHASIZE THE HEIGHT AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE. A HIGH BUILDING IS A SIGN OF IMPORTANCE, SOPHISTICATION, THE MONEY THAT HAS BEEN SPENT ON IT. THEY'RE MAKING A STATEMENT ABOUT THE POWER OF THE CHURCH AND THE GLORY OF GOD. >> THE CATHEDRAL'S CONSTRUCTION WOULD SPAN THREE CENTURIES. A DAUNTING TASK FOR STONE MASONS WITH LIMITED TOOLS AND MATERIALS. >> THEY DIDN'T REALLY HAVE PAPER, AND SO WHAT THEY'RE DOING IS THEY WERE TRACING OUT THE DESIGNS MAYBE IN SAND TRAYS. AND THEY'RE LAYING OUT THE DESIGN SO THEY CAN EXPRESS IT TO THE OTHERS AND SHOW THEM WHAT THEY ARE GOING TO BE CUTTING AND CONSTRUCTING. AND EVEN THE TOOLS FOR CUTTING THE STONE ARE FAIRLY SIMPLE. LARGE WOODEN MELDS, THE HAMMERS THAT ARE USED FOR DRIVING THE CHISELS. >> THEY HAVE TO FIND A WAY OF LIFTING STONE BLOCKS MORE THAN A HUNDRED FEET. >> THEY'VE ALSO GOT CRANES, POWERED BY WHAT REALLY LOOK LIKE GIANT HAMSTER RUNS POWERED BY PEOPLE. >> THE MAIN ENGINEERING CHALLENGE IS HOW TO SUPPORT THE IMMENSE WEIGHT OF THE CATHEDRAL'S SOARING TOWER. THE MASONS SOLVE THIS WITH A SERIES OF "VAULTS"-- STONE ARCHES THAT JOIN TOGETHER AND CARRY THE LOAD ABOVE. >> COLUMNS THAT SUPPORT THE VAULTING, THEY RISE UP THROUGH THE FLOOR, AND IT CONTAINS AND CARRIES THE WEIGHT OF THE SUPERSTRUCTURE OF THE CHURCH ABOVE. THE WHOLE THING IS TO MAXIMIZE THE SPIRITUAL EXPERIENCE IN THE PEOPLE WHO ARE VISITING IT. >> FIVE HUNDRED YEARS AGO, THIS PLACE LOOKED RADICALLY DIFFERENT FROM WHAT WE SEE TODAY. THE INSIDE WAS LIME-WASHED, WITH DETAILS PICKED OUT IN GARISH COLOR. IT WAS IN THIS STRIKING SETTING THAT BRAVEHEART WOULD SEEK AND WIN HIS BISHOP'S BACKING. >> THE BISHOP IS ONE OF THE RICHEST MEN IN SCOTLAND. HE CONTROLS THE REVENUES OF THE DIOCESE. HE IS ABLE TO PROVIDE MATERIAL SUPPORT FOR WALLACE AND HIS ARMY. >> THE BISHOP'S CONCERN WILL ALWAYS BE TO DEFEND THE INDEPENDENCE OF THE CHURCH. HE KNOWS THAT INDEPENDENCE IS UNDER THREAT: THERE WILL SOON BE WAR WITH ENGLAND. AND HE SEES IN BRAVEHEART A MAN WHO WILL TAKE UP THE CAUSE OF FREEDOM. IN THE SPRING OF 1296, THE ENGLISH ARMY MASSES ON THE SCOTTISH BORDER. THE COUNTRY AND ITS CHURCH IS AT RISK. IN THE ROYAL TOWN OF LANARK, TWO MURDERS WILL CHANGE THE COURSE OF SCOTTISH HISTORY FOREVER. >> IN THE SPRING OF 1296, BRAVEHEART SEES THE ENGLISH ARMY SWEEP ACROSS THE SCOTTISH BORDER. THE WARS OF INDEPENDENCE HAVE BEGUN. THE ENGLISH TARGET THE WEALTHY MERCHANT TOWNS AND CASTLES BEING BUILT ACROSS SCOTLAND. >> THE ENGLISH CROWN IS IN DEBT UP TO ITS EYEBALLS. AND SCOTLAND IS PERCEIVED AS BEING A WEALTHY SOCIETY THAT CAN BE TAXED. >> ENGLAND'S KING EDWARD IS ALSO FIGHTING A WAR IN EUROPE. AS WELL AS MONEY, HE NEEDS MEN. >> AND YOU CAN IMAGINE THE KIND OF RUMORS GOING ROUND. YOU KNOW, WHAT EDWARD IS ACTUALLY TRYING DO IS GET ALL THE CREAM OF SCOTTISH SOCIETY ALL THE BEST MEN IN SCOTLAND OUT OF THE COUNTRY, SEND THEM OVERSEAS WHERE THEY'LL BE KILLED FIGHTING IN HIS WAR. >> TOWN AFTER TOWN FALLS TO EDWARD'S ARMY. THE SCOTS BARELY PUT UP A FIGHT. >> WHAT WE'VE GOT TO BEAR IN MIND IS THAT THIS OCCUPATION CAME ON THE BACK OF A VERY, VERY SHORT WAR. THERE'D BEEN A BRUTAL AND BLOODY SACK OF BERWICK WHEN EDWARD I OF ENGLAND HAD TAKEN IT. BUT THAT WAS INTENDED AS A TERROR TACTIC. AND SO IT WORKED-- NO OTHER SCOTTISH BOROUGH RESISTED EDWARD'S ARMY AS IT ADVANCED AROUND THE COUNTRY. >> THEN THE ENGLISH SET THEIR SIGHTS ON THE THRIVING TOWN OF LANARK. NEW RESEARCH ENABLES US TO CONSTRUCT WHAT THIS SETTLEMENT LOOKED LIKE IN BRAVEHEART'S TIME. IT'S THE STAGE FOR NOT ONE, BUT TWO MURDERS: THE EVENTS THAT FINALLY TRIGGERED HIS REBELLION. >> IT HASN'T CHANGED MUCH SINCE THE TIME OF WALLACE. THERE WAS ORIGINALLY A STREAM RAN RIGHT DOWN THE MIDDLE. AND THE REASON IT'S SET BACK LIKE THIS IS THIS IS THE OLD MARKETPLACE OF THE TOWN. NOW, ALTHOUGH THE BUILDINGS ARE MODERN, THE OUTLINE HASN'T CHANGED VERY MUCH. AND THE STREET WAS WIDE LIKE THIS BECAUSE THERE WOULD HAVE BEEN STALLS WITH PEOPLE SELLING THINGS ON MARKET DAY. >> LANARK WAS GIVEN THE SPECIAL DESIGNATION OF BEING A ROYAL BOROUGH. THIS MEANT THAT IT WAS PLANNED AND LAID OUT ON VERY STRICT GUIDELINES. SIDE STREETS, KNOWN AS VENNELS, LED AWAY FROM THE MARKETPLACE, MAKING A UNIFORM GRID. >> THE KING OR THE KING'S AGENT WOULD HAVE COME ALONG AND ACTUALLY MARKED OUT ON THE GROUND, CUTTING SMALL DITCHES FOR EXAMPLE, AND MARKING OUT WITH ROPES THE DIMENSIONS OF THESE INDIVIDUAL BURGAGES, AS THEY'RE REFERRED TO. >> THE CREATION OF ROYAL TOWNS LIKE LANARK WAS A HUGE SUCCESS. THEY ATTRACTED MERCHANTS AND CRAFTSMEN FROM ACROSS EUROPE, BRINGING LARGE REVENUES TO THE KING. >> SO THIS WAS A CROWDED, NOISY, SMELLY, VIBRANT, DYNAMIC ENVIRONMENT. >> AT THE TOP OF THE MAIN STREET, BEYOND THE OLD TOWN WALL, STANDS THE CHURCH OF ST. KENTIGERN. ACCORDING TO FOLKLORE, THIS IS WHERE WILLIAM WALLACE MET HIS SWEETHEART, MARION BRADEFUTE. AND LEGEND HAS IT THAT THEY WERE MARRIED HERE. >> WALLACE'S MARRIAGE AND HIS COMING TO LANARK TO BE WITH MARION MARKS A VERY IMPORTANT TIME IN THE HISTORY OF SCOTLAND. AND BASICALLY THE STRUGGLE TO REGAIN SCOTLAND'S INDEPENDENCE WAS STARTED IN THIS TOWN BY WALLACE. >> ACCORDING TO ONE SOURCE, MARION WAS MURDERED BY THE ENGLISH SOLDIERS, AND THIS IS WHAT SPURRED WALLACE INTO ACTION. >> THIS IS WHERE LEGEND AND HISTORY MIXES TOGETHER VERY, VERY NEATLY. THERE'S A POWDER KEG WAITING TO EXPLODE. AND SOME CIRCUMSTANCE, PERHAPS THE DEATH OF MARION, PERHAPS JUST BEING PUSHED AROUND ONCE TOO OFTEN BY A MEMBER OF THE GARRISON, TRIGGERS SOMETHING IN WALLACE. >> WALLACE HEADS STRAIGHT FOR LANARK'S CASTLE AND ITS GARRISON OF ENGLISH SOLDIERS. THE ACTUAL LOCATION OF THE CASTLE HAS LONG BEEN UNCERTAIN. BUT HISTORIAN DAVID ROSS BELIEVES THIS CONICAL MOUND WAS THE SITE WHERE BRAVEHEART TOOK HIS REVENGE. >> I'M DOWN IN THE DITCH HERE. AND THIS DITCH WAS ACTUALLY PART OF THE DEFENSE OF THE OLD CASTLE OF LANARK. THE CASTLE WAS ACTUALLY BUILT ON TOP OF THIS MOUND THAT RUNS UP BEHIND ME HERE. IT WOULD HAVE BEEN WOOD MOSTLY. >> THE CASTLE WAS SITED ON A "MOTTE"-- A NATURAL MOUND BUILT UP WITH EARTH TAKEN FROM THE DEFENSIVE DITCH DUG AROUND IT. A TIMBER PALISADE WAS BUILT AROUND THE TOP AND LINED WITH "FIGHTING PLATFORMS." INSIDE WAS THE SHERIFF'S TOWER. A "FLYING BRIDGE" CONNECTED THE MOTTE TO THE COURTYARD BELOW, KNOWN AS THE "BAILEY." THIS AREA CONTAINED THE SOLDIERS' ACCOMMODATION, STABLES, AND STOREHOUSES. >> TIMBER CASTLES CAN BE VERY QUICK TO BUILD. IT'S-- IT'S ONE OF THE GREAT ATTRACTIONS OF THEM, AND ALTHOUGH THEY'RE VERY QUICKLY BUILT, THEY'RE ACTUALLY VERY STRONG. >> OVERLOOKING THE TOWN, THE CASTLE'S 70 FOOT MOUND WAS MORE THAN JUST A DEFENSIVE FEATURE. >> IT WOULD HAVE BEEN QUITE IMPOSING, THIS PLACE. BECAUSE IT CAN BE SEEN FOR MILES AROUND UP HERE ON TOP OF THE MOUNDS. AND OF COURSE THE ENGLISH WOULD HAVE BEEN FLYING BANNERS TO SHOW THAT THE PLACE WAS UNDER ENGLISH OCCUPATION. >> IT MAY HAVE LOOKED IMPRESSIVE, BUT LANARK'S TIMBER FORT WAS BY NO MEANS IMPREGNABLE. ON A SUMMER NIGHT IN 1297, BRAVEHEART DID THE UNTHINKABLE-- SOMEHOW HE ENTERED THE CASTLE AND TOOK ON THE ENGLISH COMMANDER, SHERIFF HESELRIG. >> AND WALLACE CAME HERE IN RETALIATION FOR THE MURDER OF HIS WIFE. AND SOMEWHERE WITHIN THE BUILDING THAT STOOD HERE, HE CAME FACE TO FACE WITH A MURDERER, AND HE SAID "I AM WALLACE-- DIE HESELRIG!" >> AS HE FLED THE TIMBER FORT, HE SET IT ON FIRE, BURNING IT TO THE GROUND AND DESTROYING IT FOREVER. THE MURDER OF SHERIFF HESELRIG WAS THE FIRST OF BRAVEHEART'S DEEDS TO BE RECORDED AS FACT. >> THIS MISTY MAN OF LEGEND SUDDENLY STEPS FULLY-GROWN ONTO THE PAGES OF OUR HISTORY BOOKS. >> NEWS OF BRAVEHEART'S UPRISING SPREAD LIKE WILDFIRE ACROSS BRITAIN. >> YOUNG MEN OF A LIKE MIND STARTED TO FLOCK TO WALLACE'S BANNER. THE SCOTTISH WAR OF INDEPENDENCE WAS ABOUT TO BEGIN. >> DURING THE SUMMER OF 1297, WILLIAM WALLACE, BRAVEHEART, WAGES A GUERRILLA WAR AGAINST THE OCCUPYING ENGLISH FORCES. THEN, IN A PITCHED BATTLE AT STIRLING BRIDGE, HE STOPS THEM IN THEIR TRACKS. >> IT WAS A GREAT VICTORY FOR THE SCOTS. POLITICALLY, THE SCOTTISH GOVERNMENT WAS ABLE TO EXPEL THE EDWARDIAN ADMINISTRATORS. AND SCOTLAND, AN INDEPENDENT SCOTLAND, SEEMED IN THEIR GRASP AT THAT POINT. >> THE NATURE OF THE WAR HAS CHANGED. IT IS NO LONGER ABOUT HALTING THE INVADERS' ADVANCE. IT IS ABOUT DRIVING THEM OUT. >> OBVIOUSLY WINNING THE BATTLE WAS VERY, VERY IMPORTANT. BUT WHAT WALLACE HAD TO DO NOW WAS TO RE-SECURE SCOTLAND FOR THE SCOTS, AND TO DO THAT HE NEEDED TO GET THE ENGLISH OUT OF SCOTLAND'S CASTLES. >> CASTLES DOMINATED THE SCOTTISH LANDSCAPE. STRONGHOLDS OF MILITARY POWER, WEALTH AND GOVERNMENT. TIME HAS TAKEN ITS TOLL ON THESE ONCE GREAT FORTRESSES. BUT NOW WE FIND THE CLUES TO HOW THEY LOOKED IN THE AGE OF BRAVEHEART. TAKING CASTLES WOULD BE CRUCIAL TO HIS STRATEGY. EACH WOULD PRESENT ITS OWN CHALLENGE. THE FIRST, LOCH LEVEN, MAY NOT APPEAR TO BE A MIGHTY FORTRESS. BUT SINCE 490 A.D., BUILDERS HAVE CHOSEN THIS SITE FOR ITS NATURAL DEFENSES. IT SITS ON AN ISLAND, IN THE MIDDLE OF A LAKE. LEGEND HAS IT THAT ITS CAPTURE TOOK ALL THE COURAGE FOR WHICH BRAVEHEART WOULD BECOME FAMOUS. HE LEADS HIS MEN FROM THE FRONT. >> AND WALLACE HIMSELF SWAM OUT TO THE CASTLE AND MANAGED TO TAKE THE GARRISON'S BOAT. NO MEAN FEAT BECAUSE THE WATER HERE IS DEEP AND VERY COLD. HE MANAGED TO ROW BACK TO SHORE. HE TOOK HIS 18 MEN ON BOARD, AND THEY CAME OUT HERE. THE WATER CAME RIGHT UP TO THE WALLS IN THESE DAYS, AND OBVIOUSLY YOU COULD BE PICKED OFF BY ARCHERS. >> THE WALLS SURROUNDING THE CASTLE ARE JUST 15 FEET HIGH. THE ENGLISH GARRISON RELIED TOO HEAVILY ON THE PROTECTION OF THE LAKE. THEY SIMPLY WEREN'T PREPARED FOR BRAVEHEART'S GUERRILLA TACTICS. >> WE'RE TOLD THEY SLAUGHTERED 30 OF THE GARRISON, BUT THEY DID SPARE THE WOMEN AND CHILDREN. BUT THE EXTRAORDINARY THING FOR ME IS TO BE ABLE TO COME HERE SEVEN CENTURIES ON AND TOUCH THE STONEWORK, THE VERY STONEWORK THAT WALLACE AND HIS MEN SCRAMBLED OVER. >> BUILDING THIS STONEWORK WOULD HAVE PRESENTED A HUGE CHALLENGE. >> I SUPPOSE MOST PEOPLE MUST LOOK AT OLD CASTLES LIKE THIS AND JUST LOOK AT THE STRENGTH OF THEM WITHOUT ACTUALLY THINKING ABOUT HOW THEY WERE CONSTRUCTED. >> THE WALLS ARE 8 FEET THICK-- A DOUBLE LAYER OF MORTARED STONE FILLED WITH RUBBLE. CLEARLY, A HUGE WEIGHT OF ROCK WAS TRANSPORTED ACROSS THE LAKE, CUT TO SHAPE, THEN LIFTED INTO PLACE. BUT ALL RECORDS RELATING TO THE CASTLE'S CONSTRUCTION HAVE BEEN LOST. AND SEVEN CENTURIES OF SCOTTISH RAIN HAVE ERODED AWAY ANY PHYSICAL CLUES. >> THE MIND BOGGLES AT JUST THE ENGINEERING PROBLEMS THEY HAD TO OVERCOME TO BUILD SOMEWHERE AS COMPLEX AS THIS. >> TO UNDERSTAND THESE PROBLEMS, WE NEED TO INVESTIGATE ANOTHER CASTLE; THE BEST PRESERVED OF BRAVEHEART'S TIME. IT'S CALLED BOTHWELL. BOTHWELL WAS ONLY HALF-BUILT WHEN THE INVADING ENGLISH OVERRAN IT IN 1297. BUT A YEAR LATER, AWESOME STONE DEFENSES WOULD PRESENT BRAVEHEART'S ARMY WITH THEIR GREATEST CHALLENGE. TODAY, THESE SAME DEFENSES PROVIDE US WITH THE CLUES TO HOW SCOTLAND'S GREAT CASTLES WERE BUILT. >> THIS IS BOTHWELL CASTLE, PROBABLY THE MOST SPECTACULAR THIRTEENTH CENTURY CASTLE EVER TO BE BUILT IN SCOTLAND. IT WAS BUILT BY WILLIAM MURRAY. AND IT IS AN ABSOLUTELY MAGNIFICENT SIGHT. >> WILLIAM MURRAY, KNOWN AS "THE RICH," WAS THE UNCLE OF ANDREW MURRAY-- BRAVEHEART'S CO-COMMANDER, KILLED AT STIRLING BRIDGE. THIS MEANT THAT BRAVEHEART WOULD HAVE HAD A PERSONAL MOTIVE FOR WANTING TO RECAPTURE THE CASTLE FROM THE ENGLISH. >> AND AS YOU CAN SEE THE CASTLE LITERALLY GROWS OUT OF THE BEDROCK. THE CASTLE IS BUILT OF THIS ABSOLUTELY BEAUTIFUL RED SANDSTONE. >> FROM THESE SURVIVING STRUCTURES, WE CAN NOW RECREATE THIS MEDIEVAL WORLD. THE CASTLE'S CENTERPIECE WAS A MIGHTY TOWER KNOWN AS THE DONJON. IT WAS A MASSIVE PIECE OF ENGINEERING, SPLIT INTO 4 LEVELS. THE BASEMENT STORED FOOD AND WEAPONS. THE GROUND FLOOR WAS TAKEN UP WITH A MAJESTIC BANQUETING HALL. AND ABOVE THAT WAS THE COMMON HALL, FOR THE SERVANTS. MURRAY'S PRIVATE CHAMBER WAS AT THE TOP. THIS WAS A MEDIEVAL PENTHOUSE WITH EN SUITE BATHROOM AND A LARGE WINDOW OFFERING A MAGNIFICENT VIEW. PROOF OF BOTHWELL'S SOPHISTICATION STILL SURVIVES ON THE OUTER WALL. >> WELL, WE'RE LOOKING AT A COUPLE OF MEDIEVAL TOILETS. THEY TOOK SEWERAGE AND EXCREMENT AWAY FROM THE INTERIOR OF THE CASTLE AND SHOT IT OUT. >> BUT IT'S ON THE INNER WALL THAT WE FIND THE EVIDENCE OF HOW THESE MEDIEVAL CASTLES WERE BUILT. >> HIGH UP ON THE WALLS, WE CAN SEE SOME INDENTATIONS WHICH WERE USED WHEN THEY WERE CONSTRUCTING THE CASTLE. >> KNOWN AS PUTLOG HOLES, THESE INDICATE WHERE THE SCAFFOLDING WAS ACTUALLY BUILT INTO THE THICK WALLS. JUST BELOW THEM ARE SMALLER DIMPLES. THESE SHOW WHERE THE MASONS USED CALIPERS OR CRAMPS TO LIFT THE HEAVY BUILDING BLOCKS NEARLY 90 FEET. >> THERE WAS PROBABLY A MASTER MASON WHO WAS IN OVERALL CHARGE OF WORK ON SITE. BUT HE MAY HAVE BEEN TAKING A LOT OF HIS INSTRUCTIONS FROM HIS PATRON. >> MURRAY EMPLOYED THE BEST MASONS IN SCOTLAND. THEY TOOK THEIR INSPIRATION AND TECHNIQUES FROM ACROSS EUROPE. EACH MASON CARVED HIS PERSONAL MARK INTO THE WORK THAT HE COMPLETED. THEY BUILT AN ENORMOUS 60-FOOT WALL UP TO 15 FEET THICK, ADORNED WITH ARROW SLITS AND TOPPED WITH DEFENSIVE BATTLEMENTS. IT WAS INTENDED TO WITHSTAND BOMBARDMENTS FROM NEW SIEGE WEAPONS LIKE THE TREBUCHET. AS THE WALL WAS COMPLETED, THE COURTYARD FILLED WITH CHAPELS, KITCHENS, SLEEPING HALLS, AND STABLES. IN EFFECT, IT WAS A SELF-CONTAINED, FORTIFIED TOWN. WHEN BRAVEHEART CAME TO TAKE IT, BOTHWELL PRESENTED A FORMIDABLE CHALLENGE. BUT WE NOW KNOW THAT WILLIAM MURRAY'S DREAM WAS TO BUILD A FORTRESS EVEN MORE IMPRESSIVE. >> OUT AT THE FRONT OF THE CASTLE WE HAVE THESE GRASS-COVERED REMAINS. THEY LOOK A BIT LIKE ANOTHER PART OF THE CASTLE THAT WAS RUINED, PURPOSELY DESTROYED. BUT ACTUALLY EXCAVATION HAS SHOWN THAT THEY WERE NEVER COMPLETED, AND WHAT WAS INTENDED AT THIS POINT-- THIS WOULD HAVE BEEN A MASSIVE DOUBLE-TOWERED GATEHOUSE. >> USING THESE FOUNDATIONS, WE CAN BRING MURRAY'S DREAM TO LIFE FOR THE FIRST TIME. THIS MASSIVE PENTAGONAL CASTLE WOULD HAVE COVERED ALMOST 2 ACRES. IT WOULD HAVE BEEN THE MOST MAGNIFICENT CASTLE EVER BUILT IN SCOTLAND, LARGE ENOUGH TO HOUSE A POWERFUL GARRISON. BUT MURRAY DIDN'T SURVIVE TO COMPLETE HIS VISION. HE WAS KILLED IN THE FIRST WAVE OF ENGLISH INVASION. EVEN SO, THE PARTIALLY COMPLETED BOTHWELL WAS SO WELL-BUILT THAT BRAVEHEART'S ARMY FOUNDERS AGAINST ITS MIGHTY DEFENSES. THEY FALL BACK ON THE ONE SURE-FIRE WAY OF TAKING A CASTLE: SIEGE. THEY CUT OFF THE SUPPLY LINES AND SURROUND BOTHWELL AND SPEND 14 LONG MONTHS STARVING THE ENGLISH OUT. BOTHWELL WAS SO IMPORTANT TO THE WAR EFFORT THAT IT WAS WON AND LOST SEVERAL TIMES OVER THE NEXT FEW YEARS. CAPTURING AND KEEPING THE CASTLE WAS SUCH A DRAIN ON RESOURCES THAT IT BECAME A LIABILITY. THE SCOTS WERE DRIVEN TO TAKE DESPERATE AND EXTRAORDINARY MEASURES TO STOP BOTHWELL BEING USED AGAINST THEM AGAIN. >> WE CAN SEE HERE THE MIGHTY REMAINS OF THE GREAT DONJON. THE SCOTS DID THIS THEMSELVES. THEY CAST DOWN THIS PART OF THE DONJON TO DENY IT TO THE ENGLISH SO THEY COULD NEVER REOCCUPY IT. >> BUT THERE IS ONE CASTLE MORE IMPORTANT TO BRAVEHEART THAN ALL OTHERS. STIRLING, THE SYMBOL OF SCOTLAND'S INDEPENDENCE. CENTURIES OF WAR HAVE DESTROYED THE ORIGINAL STRUCTURE. BUT NOW WE CAN REVEAL HOW IT MAY HAVE LOOKED SEVEN HUNDRED YEARS AGO. >> THE 13th CENTURY WAS THE GOLDEN AGE OF SCOTTISH CASTLES. A NEW GENERATION OF BUILDINGS WAS CHARACTERIZED BY FORMIDABLE DEFENSES AND GRAND RESIDENCES. ABOVE THE SITE OF BRAVEHEART'S FAMOUS VICTORY AT STIRLING BRIDGE STANDS THE MOST IMPORTANT OF THEM ALL. >> STIRLING CASTLE WAS STRATEGICALLY THE MOST IMPORTANT CASTLE, BECAUSE WHOEVER CONTROLLED THAT ONE CONTROLLED THE NORTH OF SCOTLAND. >> IF BRAVEHEART IS TO EXPEL THE ENGLISH FROM SCOTLAND, THIS IS THE ONE CASTLE HE MUST TAKE. BUT SO FAR THE SCOTS HAVE BEEN UNABLE TO BREACH STIRLING'S AWESOME NATURAL DEFENSES . >> IT'S PROBABLY THE BEST LOCATION FOR A CASTLE IN SCOTLAND, AND YOU CAN SEE HERE JUST WHY IT WAS SO GOOD. THIS IS THE EDGE OF A VOLCANIC SILL THAT PROBABLY BEGAN TO TAKE SHAPE WHAT, 350 MILLION YEARS AGO, SOMETHING LIKE THAT. >> THE CASTLE ROCK'S SHEER SIDES DROP 250 FEET TO THE PLAIN BELOW. THEY MAKE STIRLING A SUPERB MILITARY BASE. BUT IT IS MUCH MORE THAN JUST A FORTRESS. STIRLING REPRESENTS SCOTLAND'S INDEPENDENCE. TO UNDERSTAND THIS SYMBOLIC POWER, WE HAVE TO FIND OUT HOW IT LOOKED IN BRAVEHEART'S TIME. AND BY DOING THAT, WE WILL DISCOVER PERHAPS THE MOST SURPRISING PURPOSE BEHIND THE BUILDING OF THESE CASTLES. STIRLING'S PHYSICAL QUALITIES MADE IT THE PERFECT RESIDENCE FOR SCOTLAND'S KINGS. >> THIS WAS AN EXTREMELY IMPORTANT ROYAL CASTLE. YOU CAN SEE HOW THE BUILDINGS PERCH RIGHT ON THE VERY EDGE OF THE CASTLE ROCK. THAT WAS PROBABLY THE MOST PRESTIGIOUS PART OF THE WHOLE CASTLE, SO, WE THINK THAT IT MUST ALWAYS HAVE BEEN THE SITE FOR THE ROYAL LODGINGS. >> THE ROYAL FAMILY HAD LIVED HERE FOR OVER 200 YEARS. >> AND IT WAS VERY IMPORTANT TO THE KINGS TO MAKE SURE THAT THEIR BUILDINGS WERE ABSOLUTELY IN THE HEIGHT OF FASHION. >> WE NOW KNOW THAT THE FASHION OF BRAVEHEART'S TIME MEANT STIRLING LOOKED VERY DIFFERENT FROM HOW IT DOES TODAY. >> MASONRY WAS NEVER MEANT TO BE SEEN AS NAKED MASONRY. IT WAS ALWAYS COVERED OVER WITH A LIME RENDER, AND IT'S VERY LIKELY THAT SEVERAL OF THE ELEMENTS WOULD HAVE BEEN PICKED OUT IN QUITE RICH COLORS. >> IT WAS A FASHION THAT COULD BE SEEN FROM MILES AROUND. THIS IS WHAT CASTLES WERE FOR. AS A ROYAL CASTLE, STIRLING DEMONSTRATES IT BETTER THAN ANYWHERE ELSE. >> WE'VE GOT A TENDENCY TO THINK ABOUT CASTLES AS GREAT FORTRESSES-- YOU'RE CONSTANTLY IN A STATE OF ARMED PREPAREDNESS FOR SIEGE. BUT THESE PLACES ARE STATUS SYMBOLS. IT'S A WAY OF DEMONSTRATING YOUR WEALTH AND YOUR SOPHISTICATION. AND YOU'RE PROCLAIMING THAT YOU ARE SOMEBODY THAT MATTERS. >> WHEN BRAVEHEART COMES TO TAKE THE CASTLE, HE HAS ALREADY STRUCK THE CRUCIAL BLOW. ALMOST THE ENTIRE ENGLISH GARRISON HAD BEEN CUT DOWN BY HIS ARMY AT STIRLING BRIDGE. THE FEW SOLDIERS THAT REMAINED ARE SHORT OF SUPPLIES AND SO TERRIFIED BY BRAVEHEART'S UNEXPECTED VICTORY THAT THEY SURRENDER WITHIN DAYS. NOW BRAVEHEART CONTROLS STIRLING-- HE IS ABLE TO CHASE THE REST OF THE ENGLISH OUT OF SCOTLAND. AND YET WITHIN THE YEAR, STUNG BY DEFEAT, KING EDWARD OF ENGLAND BRINGS HIS FORCES BACK TO FIGHT. LESS THAN 10 MILES FROM STIRLING, NEAR THE TOWN OF FALKIRK, HE COMES FACE-TO-FACE WITH BRAVEHEART. THIS TIME IT IS THE ENGLISH KING'S RADICAL NEW WEAPON THAT DETERMINES THE OUTCOME OF THE BATTLE. >> I MEAN, TO BE FAIR TO HIM, FOR THE FIRST TIME I THINK REALLY IN BRITISH HISTORY IT'S THE LONGBOW, THE ENGLISH LONGBOW THAT DEFEATS THE SCOTS. BUT IT WAS THIS HAIL OF ARROWS THAT THE SCOTS COULD DO NOTHING ABOUT. >> BRAVEHEART SURVIVES, BUT HIS FALL FROM POWER IS AS RAPID AS HIS DRAMATIC ASCENT THE YEAR BEFORE. >> AFTER THE DEFEAT AT FALKIRK, WALLACE LET GO OF THE GUARDIANSHIP. HIS LEADERSHIP RESTED ON HIS MILITARY SUCCESS, AND OBVIOUSLY HE DIDN'T FEEL THAT HE COULD LEAD THE COUNTRY IF HE COULDN'T WIN AT FALKIRK. >> BUT BRAVEHEART DOESN'T GIVE UP HIS FIGHT. HE GOES OVERSEAS TO SEEK SUPPORT FOR SCOTLAND'S INDEPENDENCE. >> THE FOLLOWING YEAR HE WENT IN TO FRANCE TO GET TRY TO GET HELP FROM THE FRENCH AND ALSO FROM THE POPE. >> BUT BY 1304 THE SCOTTISH CASTLES HE HAD FOUGHT SO HARD FOR WERE FALLING BACK INTO ENGLISH HANDS. BRAVEHEART RETURNS HOME TO FIGHT ON THE FRONTLINE, BUT WITHIN MONTHS HE SUFFERS BETRAYAL BY A FRIEND AND IS CAPTURED BY THE ENGLISH. A COURT IN LONDON FINDS HIM GUILTY OF TREASON. WALLACE IS DRAGGED THROUGH THE STREETS TO SMITHFIELD, WHERE HE IS HUNG, DRAWN AND QUARTERED. IT IS A SLOW AND AGONIZING DEATH. >> WHERE WALLACE REALLY SCORES, I THINK, IS AFTER HIS DEATH. HIS TERRIBLE, GRUESOME AND AWFUL DEATH. AND THAT UNDYING SPIRIT OF FREEDOM THAT HE NEVER, EVER GAVE UP ON. >> IT WOULD TAKE ANOTHER 42 YEARS FOR THE SCOTS TO FINALLY WIN THE WARS OF INDEPENDENCE. BUT BRAVEHEART'S EXAMPLE HAD INSPIRED A NATION. >> YOU CAN'T COMPARE ANYONE ELSE IN SCOTTISH HISTORY TO HIM. HE'S SOMEONE WHO RISES FROM OBSCURITY AND BECOMES THIS NATIONAL SYMBOL OF PATRIOTISM, OF SURVIVAL AND OF SCOTLAND. >> WILLIAM WALLACE'S LOST WORLD WAS THE BIRTHPLACE OF SCOTTISH INDEPENDENCE. AS BRAVEHEART, HE GAVE EVERYTHING TO PRESERVE HIS NATION'S IDENTITY. SEVEN HUNDRED YEARS ON, THAT NATION STILL HONORS HIS NAME. >> CAPTIONED BY FEATURE SUBTITLING & TRANSLATION www.featuresubtitling.com
