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(dramatic music)
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Lyon is the third largest city in France.
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During antiquity, it was the largest
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and the capital of the Gauls.
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It was then called Lugdunum,
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a city that would establish itself as a showcase
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for Rome abroad.
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With its theater, which could seat 10,000 people,
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five times as many as the Paris Opera House
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thanks to vaults constructed in Roman concrete.
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It was this technology that allowed the Romans
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to achieve such things.
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With its status as capital of the Gauls,
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Lyon and its Sanctuary of the Three Gauls
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symbolize the massive Romanization
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of the defeated Gallic tribes.
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When you went to the sanctuary,
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you weren't worshiping Jupiter,
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you were worshiping Rome and the emperor.
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A sanctuary that backed
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onto a huge amphitheater,
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which put on plays and gladiator shows.
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(crowd cheering)
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It had a seating capacity of 20,000.
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Mammoth scale work was needed
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to construct such a huge edifice.
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Lugdunum with its network of aqueducts
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of more than 200 kilometers long,
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one of the greatest technological feats of the Roman Empire.
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It was the second largest water supply system
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after that of Rome itself.
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The aqueducts were among the longest in the empire.
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The Romans also constructed underground.
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A unique structure as long as the Champs Elysees
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the so-called Fishbones.
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The Fishbones are inside an 80 meter slope
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and measure two kilometers.
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This engineering work is the only one of its kind
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in the world.
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Lyon owes its existence
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to Julius Caesar's conquest of the Gauls
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between 58 and 50 BC, during one of the longest
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and bloodiest military campaigns in history.
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So how were the formidable edifices and monuments
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of Lugdunum built, and for what reasons?
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(dramatic music)
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Lyon.
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At the confluence of the rivers Rhone and Saone.
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Today it's one of France's largest urban areas.
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A crossroads chosen by Rome to establish
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its first colony in Gaul here on the Fourvière Hill.
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Lugdunum was the showcase for Rome in Gaul.
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That's why the city was endowed
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with all the buildings and facilities
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worthy of any Roman metropolis.
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Its forum, circus, amphitheater, Odeon
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and most importantly, its theater,
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one of the first buildings to be constructed.
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Today, it's the most impressive of all the remains
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of ancient Lugdunum.
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Remains that were long forgotten,
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but which are now a reminder of the former glory
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of a city that was none other than the capital of the Gauls.
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It was a large city and given preferential treatment
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by the Roman authorities as soon as they founded it,
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so it became the very example of a Romanized town
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with the full panoply of typical Roman monuments.
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Its development was important,
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because it was supposed to represent the Romanization
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of all of the recently annexed Gauls.
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Why did the Romans decide
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to make Lyon so monumental?
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And how were its monuments constructed?
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To answer these questions,
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we must go back to the founding of Lugdunum.
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The history of Lugdunum began in Vienne in Gaul in 44 BC.
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A few years after Caesar's conquest,
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it was there that the Roman veterans of his legions
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were temporarily installed.
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(shouting)
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Romans that abandoned rebel Gauls
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were determined to kick out.
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(shouting)
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The Republic of Rome appointed one man
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to find these veterans and their families a refuge.
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The governor of Gaul, Lucius Munatius Plancus.
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His task, to found a colony,
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the first in these newly conquered lands.
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Plancus decided that the colony would lie
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30 kilometers to the north of the Roman town of Vienna,
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today's Vienne at the confluence of two rivers,
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the Rhone and the Soane,
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a strategic crossroads at the extremity
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of transalpine Gaul, already under Roman control.
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He had to control this crossroads,
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which gave fast and easy access
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to the northern provinces by river.
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The Romans called northern Gaul Gallia Comata,
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which means heavy Gaul,
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because that was where the people were considered
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to be a bit more barbarous than in the south.
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And so Lyon was the transition point
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between the civilized south and the north.
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(ominous music)
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43 BC.
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Lucius Munatius Plancus founded his new city.
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The colony was given defensive walls
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and a right-angled layout typical of Roman cities.
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With its cardo, the north-south road,
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and decumanus, the east-west road.
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This allowed them to organize circulation
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inside the city, and it dictated the sites
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of the public spaces like the forum
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and the surrounding dwellings.
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But how did they layout the right angles
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that would shape the new city?
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Roman surveyors used an ingenious topographical tool
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called a gruma.
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The principle was simple.
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At the top of a pole planted in the ground,
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two perpendicular arms with plumb lines at the ends.
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You line up the strings until one hides the other,
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which means you have a straight line.
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Then I move my string and line it up with the other
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perpendicular plumb line.
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Then I can trace the second perpendicular line.
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It was a very good system and pretty precise.
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It was on this basis of right angles
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that Lyon was laid out and began to grow.
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But the city was yet to be given its first known monument.
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The theater.
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With its 108 meter diameter and height of 30 meters,
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this gigantic structure stood out from the entire cityscape.
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It was a political symbol of Rome,
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the Empire of Rome and the civilization of Rome.
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In Roman cities the theater stood out architecturally
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as a showcase for Rome,
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but also for its dimensions and the huge number of people
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it could seat.
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This architectural giant
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could seat 10,000 people,
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five times more than the Paris Opera House.
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It comprised a stage at the foot of an ornate sculpted
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and decorated backdrop wall.
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Facing it were three seating sections.
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Below them, the orchestra,
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reserved for the most prestigious spectators,
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such as the emperor and the notables of the city.
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To what do we owe its existence?
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To what principles was it constructed,
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and with which materials?
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To find out, we need to go back
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to one of the most important moments
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in the history of Rome.
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(dramatic music, swords clashing)
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27 BC.
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After almost 20 years of political instability
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and civil war, the Republic of Rome became an empire
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under Julius Caesar's nephew, Augustus.
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A man would weigh like no other
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on the fate of the Roman colony.
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In a way, Augustus was the main figure
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in the history of the Roman Empire,
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because he was the one who first imposed the system
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of dynastic governance.
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What he put in place would define the next 400 years
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of Roman history.
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Augustus reorganized the empire
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and divided northern Gaul into three Gauls.
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Gallia Belgica, with its capital Durocortorum,
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today's Reims,
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Gallia Aquitania, with its capital Mediolanum Santonum,
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today's Saintes.
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And the largest, Gallia Lugdunensis,
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with its capital Lugdunum, Lyon.
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Augustus would give Lugdunum a special place
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by placing it at the heart of the new Gallic road system.
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This was a very important political move,
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making Lyon the heart of the road system,
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but also of the military and economic system
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of the three Gauls.
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Within the empire,
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Lugdunum now enjoyed a unique status.
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But here as in Rome, Augustus needed to impose adhesion
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to his new imperial ideology.
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To do so, he would rely on the only mass media
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available in antiquity, the theater.
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The theater was a genuine propaganda tool
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regarding the relationship of Lyon to Rome
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and in a more general sense, of Gaul to Rome.
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It was during the reign of Augustus
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that the first theater was constructed between 20 and 10 BC.
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It then culminated at the height
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of the first section of seating and numbered 4,000 places.
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A century later, its capacity would be increased to 10,000.
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And yet, like in the rest of Lyon,
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this monument had totally vanished from the cityscape.
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In the 19th century, all that was visible
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was the semicircular section of the Odeon wall.
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All the remains you see now had been buried.
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You have to imagine the site covered with
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vineyards and pasture with a theater buried beneath
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several meters of earth and rubble.
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It wasn't until the early 1930s
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that the great theater of Lyon was discovered
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after a series of important excavations.
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Excavations the like of which Lyon would never see again.
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They unearthed the original structure,
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that of a type of edifice never constructed before in Gaul.
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And the shape of the theater was due to its purpose,
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because here everything was based on one need, acoustics.
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It's like dropping a stone into a pond.
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The waves radiate out in circles,
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the same with sound.
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So it was imperative that the theater was semicircular.
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So how does it work?
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From the stage, the sound made by the actors
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is transmitted directly to the spectators.
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The constant slope of the seating
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allows for this transmission without any obstacles.
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The most surprising thing is the role
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of the smooth paving in the orchestra.
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If the actors spoke at the floor of the orchestra,
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the flat part in front of the stage,
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the sound bounced off it.
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And as it was quite close,
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the direct sound and reflected sound combined,
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thus increasing the volume.
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That also meant that the theater had to be of limited size,
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because if you were too far away,
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the sound and image would become out of sync.
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There are no records to show
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who ordered the construction of this monument.
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And as is often the case with Roman edifices,
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we don't know the name of the architects.
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The reason we don't know the names of architects
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is that they were not really considered to be
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very important people.
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They might even be slaves.
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And yet, they were particularly ingenious.
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Beginning with their choice of location for the theater.
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There's a meaning behind the topographical location
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pointing directly at Italy towards the rising sun.
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That's why this site was chosen.
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Etymologically, Lugdunum means hill of light,
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and the theater plays on this name.
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The theater was undoubtedly the biggest building
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up on the hill,
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the biggest in surface area, and the biggest in height,
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so you couldn't help but see it standing out
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from the landscape.
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It was colossal.
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While the architects chose this site
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to emphasize the monumental nature of the theater,
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they also made considerable gains
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by avoiding unnecessary work.
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By building the theater into the hillside,
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they made a lot of savings on a large part of the structure.
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The theater simply backed onto the hill
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with no need to construct all the rear sections
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like on flat land.
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They did have to excavate the hill, however,
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to make room for the theater,
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which allowed them to recuperate building materials.
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The excavated parts of the site served as a quarry
266
00:15:15,930 --> 00:15:18,483
to supply the construction of the theater itself.
267
00:15:21,740 --> 00:15:23,470
The Roman builders set the lower part
268
00:15:23,470 --> 00:15:25,503
of the seating directly on the hillside.
269
00:15:28,050 --> 00:15:29,730
But when the theater was enlarged,
270
00:15:29,730 --> 00:15:31,960
it was impossible to proceed in the same way
271
00:15:31,960 --> 00:15:33,060
for the upper seating.
272
00:15:34,690 --> 00:15:36,433
So what did they use for support?
273
00:15:38,050 --> 00:15:41,290
Their answer was an invention of engineering genius,
274
00:15:41,290 --> 00:15:43,193
the so-called hollow structure.
275
00:15:45,680 --> 00:15:48,100
This technique was invented in Italy
276
00:15:48,100 --> 00:15:50,950
and employed since the second century BC.
277
00:15:50,950 --> 00:15:53,270
It's known as hollow structure.
278
00:15:53,270 --> 00:15:57,003
The walls fan out and are joined together by vaults,
279
00:15:59,183 --> 00:16:01,093
and these vaults supported the seating.
280
00:16:02,960 --> 00:16:05,100
As astonishing as it may seem,
281
00:16:05,100 --> 00:16:07,540
the vast majority of this limestone seating
282
00:16:07,540 --> 00:16:09,663
therefore rests on empty space,
283
00:16:12,120 --> 00:16:15,623
space created by self-supporting semicircular vaults.
284
00:16:18,110 --> 00:16:20,480
The Roman invention of stone arches and vaults
285
00:16:20,480 --> 00:16:22,140
mark the advent of what we could call
286
00:16:22,140 --> 00:16:23,753
modern architecture.
287
00:16:25,680 --> 00:16:28,000
With large halls and spacious interiors,
288
00:16:28,000 --> 00:16:29,763
which weren't possible before that,
289
00:16:30,700 --> 00:16:32,520
when wall spans were limited by the size
290
00:16:32,520 --> 00:16:33,833
of the stone blocks.
291
00:16:36,730 --> 00:16:37,710
There are still traces
292
00:16:37,710 --> 00:16:39,100
of these revolutionary vaults
293
00:16:39,100 --> 00:16:40,833
among the remains of the theater.
294
00:16:42,240 --> 00:16:44,540
I'm standing in one of the theater's vaults.
295
00:16:46,797 --> 00:16:48,550
Their purpose was to support the masonry
296
00:16:48,550 --> 00:16:50,520
on which the large limestone blocks
297
00:16:50,520 --> 00:16:52,320
that formed the seating were placed.
298
00:16:58,030 --> 00:16:59,470
This masonry was composed
299
00:16:59,470 --> 00:17:01,420
of one of the strongest and most malleable
300
00:17:01,420 --> 00:17:04,260
construction materials ever invented,
301
00:17:04,260 --> 00:17:05,343
Roman concrete.
302
00:17:09,880 --> 00:17:13,643
A mixture of lime mortar and rubble stone found on site.
303
00:17:16,850 --> 00:17:18,940
This concrete would form the skeleton,
304
00:17:18,940 --> 00:17:21,123
the main structure of the grand theater.
305
00:17:25,104 --> 00:17:28,077
The advantage was, once the mortar had set,
306
00:17:29,200 --> 00:17:32,490
the wall was the equivalent of a single block, a monolith,
307
00:17:32,490 --> 00:17:33,833
a mass of set cement.
308
00:17:35,220 --> 00:17:37,600
It was incredibly solid compared to a brick wall,
309
00:17:37,600 --> 00:17:39,060
which could crack.
310
00:17:39,060 --> 00:17:40,620
These walls were formidable.
311
00:17:40,620 --> 00:17:43,300
It allowed them to build high, increase solidity,
312
00:17:43,300 --> 00:17:45,450
spread the forces exerted by the edifice,
313
00:17:45,450 --> 00:17:47,310
save on materials and thus free themselves
314
00:17:47,310 --> 00:17:49,960
from the natural topography of the construction site.
315
00:17:52,140 --> 00:17:53,500
The widespread use of this
316
00:17:53,500 --> 00:17:56,230
extraordinary invention was a direct consequence
317
00:17:56,230 --> 00:17:58,980
of the Roman conquests in the last two centuries
318
00:17:58,980 --> 00:18:00,093
before our era.
319
00:18:01,660 --> 00:18:04,143
Notably the capture of Carthage from Hannibal.
320
00:18:05,370 --> 00:18:07,870
Then that of Corinth in Greece.
321
00:18:07,870 --> 00:18:10,080
With these conquests, the Roman Republic
322
00:18:10,080 --> 00:18:13,053
would inherit thousands and thousands of slaves.
323
00:18:13,990 --> 00:18:17,600
Rome inherited a huge workforce, and what would it do?
324
00:18:17,600 --> 00:18:20,240
Cut lots of small plain blocks.
325
00:18:20,240 --> 00:18:23,020
Nothing beautiful or ornamental, just small blocks.
326
00:18:23,020 --> 00:18:25,260
Go on, go cut me some blocks.
327
00:18:25,260 --> 00:18:26,763
It was non-specialized labor.
328
00:18:28,970 --> 00:18:31,530
Small blocks, more small blocks,
329
00:18:31,530 --> 00:18:33,123
even more small blocks.
330
00:18:35,970 --> 00:18:38,040
The genius behind the theater Lyon
331
00:18:38,040 --> 00:18:40,400
was the combination of the hollow structure
332
00:18:40,400 --> 00:18:43,203
with the incredible material that was Roman concrete.
333
00:18:45,810 --> 00:18:48,420
To build the edifice, the workers first erected
334
00:18:48,420 --> 00:18:50,923
the cladding of the straight piles for the vaults.
335
00:18:52,000 --> 00:18:54,510
Inside, they poured the Roman concrete
336
00:18:54,510 --> 00:18:57,603
made of lime mortar and rubble stone obtained on the site.
337
00:19:00,120 --> 00:19:02,950
These piles then served as supports for the centering
338
00:19:02,950 --> 00:19:04,340
on which the arches of the vaults
339
00:19:04,340 --> 00:19:05,923
would also be set in concrete.
340
00:19:09,111 --> 00:19:11,640
Once set, they removed the wooden centering
341
00:19:11,640 --> 00:19:14,183
through small openings so it could be used again.
342
00:19:16,010 --> 00:19:18,893
The aim was to recycle the construction materials.
343
00:19:23,620 --> 00:19:25,580
Above this concrete structure,
344
00:19:25,580 --> 00:19:27,770
the theater was given a bright white covering
345
00:19:27,770 --> 00:19:29,193
of limestone blocks.
346
00:19:34,580 --> 00:19:37,210
The construction of the theater must've been a massive job
347
00:19:37,210 --> 00:19:40,020
made even harder by the gradient of the hill.
348
00:19:40,020 --> 00:19:42,250
Most of the blocks arrived by water,
349
00:19:42,250 --> 00:19:44,780
but then they had to be hoisted up the hill,
350
00:19:44,780 --> 00:19:47,010
and this limestone has a density of seven,
351
00:19:47,010 --> 00:19:48,450
which means that one cubic meter
352
00:19:48,450 --> 00:19:49,863
weighs almost three tons.
353
00:19:52,980 --> 00:19:54,500
The reason Roman theaters
354
00:19:54,500 --> 00:19:57,500
like the one in Lyon were so numerous and imposing
355
00:19:57,500 --> 00:19:59,873
was because they served the imperial power.
356
00:20:02,340 --> 00:20:05,320
In this showcase of Rome, where plays, fables
357
00:20:05,320 --> 00:20:06,870
and lines were performed,
358
00:20:06,870 --> 00:20:09,620
the spectators were seated according to social ranking.
359
00:20:11,730 --> 00:20:14,310
Senators and city notables in the orchestra
360
00:20:14,310 --> 00:20:16,113
had seats nearest to the stage,
361
00:20:17,030 --> 00:20:20,160
while citizens, plebes, free men and slaves
362
00:20:20,160 --> 00:20:22,663
filled the less prestigious places higher up.
363
00:20:23,910 --> 00:20:26,150
Augustus wanted inequality.
364
00:20:26,150 --> 00:20:29,430
He didn't want people having the same status.
365
00:20:29,430 --> 00:20:32,763
That way, it was he who held the keys to social promotion.
366
00:20:33,923 --> 00:20:35,630
And for his system to work correctly,
367
00:20:35,630 --> 00:20:37,930
there needed to be rungs of a ladder to climb.
368
00:20:40,740 --> 00:20:42,120
Inside the theater,
369
00:20:42,120 --> 00:20:45,060
one feature embodied the power of the emperor.
370
00:20:45,060 --> 00:20:47,823
The stage wall, worthy of a palace.
371
00:20:50,180 --> 00:20:53,450
More than 30 meters high, three superimpositions
372
00:20:53,450 --> 00:20:55,520
of the different architectural orders
373
00:20:56,930 --> 00:21:00,380
and numerous niches containing statues of the gods,
374
00:21:00,380 --> 00:21:02,913
but also those of the emperor and his family.
375
00:21:06,940 --> 00:21:09,410
All that remains of this sumptuous wall today
376
00:21:09,410 --> 00:21:13,090
are a few bases and parts of the marble columns.
377
00:21:13,090 --> 00:21:16,620
One of the theater's roles was to arouse wonderment,
378
00:21:16,620 --> 00:21:18,720
and the decoration was part of this magic,
379
00:21:20,045 --> 00:21:21,800
because you were entering a different world,
380
00:21:21,800 --> 00:21:24,130
filled with pomp, the gods, the emperor,
381
00:21:24,130 --> 00:21:27,813
the imperial family, and important figures of the city.
382
00:21:30,420 --> 00:21:31,400
This theater,
383
00:21:31,400 --> 00:21:33,600
one of the most beautiful monuments of Gaul,
384
00:21:33,600 --> 00:21:36,850
still bears witness to its former pomp.
385
00:21:36,850 --> 00:21:39,360
The walls carry the traces of the marble cladding
386
00:21:39,360 --> 00:21:41,623
that covered them 2,000 years ago.
387
00:21:43,370 --> 00:21:45,270
But where is the rest of the monument?
388
00:21:47,010 --> 00:21:49,563
How could such an edifice fall into such ruin?
389
00:21:52,220 --> 00:21:53,813
And why was it dismantled?
390
00:22:04,599 --> 00:22:09,516
At the top of the theater is an unusual block of limestone.
391
00:22:11,739 --> 00:22:14,670
This block has two characteristics,
392
00:22:14,670 --> 00:22:17,653
an unusual decoration on the front and sides,
393
00:22:18,505 --> 00:22:20,780
and on the top, a hole with the diameter
394
00:22:20,780 --> 00:22:22,423
about 30 centimeters.
395
00:22:23,700 --> 00:22:25,933
This hole was made to hold a wooden pole.
396
00:22:28,400 --> 00:22:30,540
This block tells us that the Lyon theater
397
00:22:30,540 --> 00:22:31,873
once had a velarium,
398
00:22:35,220 --> 00:22:37,310
a system of ropes and canvas awning
399
00:22:37,310 --> 00:22:39,460
that sheltered the spectators from the sun.
400
00:22:43,150 --> 00:22:45,463
Unfurling the velarium was part of the show.
401
00:22:47,060 --> 00:22:49,810
The spectators were wowed by the technological prowess.
402
00:22:50,870 --> 00:22:52,970
What's more, it involved them in the show,
403
00:22:54,410 --> 00:22:56,903
because the awning of the velarium was colored,
404
00:22:59,110 --> 00:23:01,980
and these colors reflected down onto the characters
405
00:23:01,980 --> 00:23:02,813
in the play.
406
00:23:06,510 --> 00:23:08,100
Another of these characteristic blocks
407
00:23:08,100 --> 00:23:11,270
was discovered in a nearby Christian burial site
408
00:23:11,270 --> 00:23:13,823
where it had been reused as a sarcophagus.
409
00:23:18,630 --> 00:23:20,620
This block is extremely interesting,
410
00:23:20,620 --> 00:23:22,530
because it has the same decoration as the block
411
00:23:22,530 --> 00:23:24,530
that was part of the theater's velarium.
412
00:23:26,610 --> 00:23:29,940
This block was certainly reused as a sarcophagus
413
00:23:29,940 --> 00:23:33,110
after the semicircular theater wall had been dismantled
414
00:23:33,110 --> 00:23:36,110
to use the materials for other purposes.
415
00:23:36,110 --> 00:23:38,490
Sadly, we don't have a precise date,
416
00:23:38,490 --> 00:23:40,810
but the sarcophagus was probably made
417
00:23:40,810 --> 00:23:44,270
in the late fourth, fifth or sixth centuries,
418
00:23:44,270 --> 00:23:46,120
which is the only clue we have
419
00:23:46,120 --> 00:23:48,023
to the dismantling of the theater.
420
00:23:51,830 --> 00:23:53,710
Although we do not know the exact date
421
00:23:53,710 --> 00:23:56,330
of the dismantling of the theater Lyon,
422
00:23:56,330 --> 00:23:58,560
it is certain that it ended up as a quarry
423
00:23:58,560 --> 00:24:00,613
for the heirs of its original builders.
424
00:24:07,000 --> 00:24:09,253
In the heart of Lyon's Presqu'ile district,
425
00:24:10,090 --> 00:24:12,173
the Basilica of Saint Martin d'Ainay.
426
00:24:15,930 --> 00:24:18,550
To construct its 11th century facade,
427
00:24:18,550 --> 00:24:21,573
limestone blocks removed from Roman edifices were used,
428
00:24:22,600 --> 00:24:24,313
perhaps even from the theater.
429
00:24:25,310 --> 00:24:28,230
Inside, beneath the dome, stand four monumental
430
00:24:28,230 --> 00:24:31,093
granite columns of about one meter in diameter.
431
00:24:33,700 --> 00:24:35,620
These were originally nine meters tall
432
00:24:35,620 --> 00:24:37,503
and weighed 10 tons each.
433
00:24:40,820 --> 00:24:42,580
The first remarkable thing is that the stone
434
00:24:42,580 --> 00:24:44,493
used for these columns wasn't local.
435
00:24:45,330 --> 00:24:47,130
They're made of an extremely dense granite
436
00:24:47,130 --> 00:24:49,903
typical of the quarries in the Aswan region of Egypt.
437
00:24:53,040 --> 00:24:54,733
How did these two monolithic columns
438
00:24:54,733 --> 00:24:57,623
reach Lyon and finally end up in this church?
439
00:24:59,810 --> 00:25:02,460
All we know is that the Roman builders imported them.
440
00:25:05,800 --> 00:25:08,030
The use of monolithic blocks is very typical
441
00:25:08,030 --> 00:25:10,290
of Roman architecture in that every task
442
00:25:10,290 --> 00:25:11,933
was a genuine challenge.
443
00:25:13,620 --> 00:25:16,310
Extremely heavy and compact monumental materials
444
00:25:16,310 --> 00:25:19,510
were preferred so as to underline the remarkable nature
445
00:25:19,510 --> 00:25:20,713
of the architecture.
446
00:25:25,490 --> 00:25:26,910
According to tradition,
447
00:25:26,910 --> 00:25:28,750
these columns came from one of the most
448
00:25:28,750 --> 00:25:30,683
important Roman edifices in Lyon.
449
00:25:35,370 --> 00:25:38,040
Situated at the foot of the Croix-Rousse Hill
450
00:25:38,040 --> 00:25:40,510
was a gigantic amphitheater capable of seating
451
00:25:40,510 --> 00:25:42,453
20,000 spectators.
452
00:25:47,150 --> 00:25:49,610
This huge ancient stadium backed onto
453
00:25:49,610 --> 00:25:52,070
the Sanctuary of the Three Gauls.
454
00:25:52,070 --> 00:25:54,770
A monument implanted by Augustus to symbolize
455
00:25:54,770 --> 00:25:56,703
Gallic submission to the empire.
456
00:25:59,220 --> 00:26:01,670
It was a sanctuary dedicated to the imperial cult
457
00:26:01,670 --> 00:26:03,570
for all the people of the three Gauls.
458
00:26:04,641 --> 00:26:06,050
It ensured a permanent link to Rome,
459
00:26:06,050 --> 00:26:08,550
and it was one of Augustus's most brilliant ideas.
460
00:26:11,650 --> 00:26:13,220
We don't know the exact location
461
00:26:13,220 --> 00:26:16,150
of the sanctuary, but we do know it contained
462
00:26:16,150 --> 00:26:19,453
a huge altar dedicated to Rome and its emperor,
463
00:26:21,170 --> 00:26:24,313
an altar most certainly flanked by two monumental columns,
464
00:26:26,810 --> 00:26:29,630
and all around, 60 statues representing
465
00:26:29,630 --> 00:26:31,283
the 60 Gallic tribes.
466
00:26:36,230 --> 00:26:38,850
Delegates would come every year in August,
467
00:26:38,850 --> 00:26:40,500
the month named after the emperor
468
00:26:41,920 --> 00:26:45,663
to swear an oath of allegiance, recognition and affiliation,
469
00:26:46,900 --> 00:26:49,393
so total adhesion to the imperial ideology.
470
00:26:53,480 --> 00:26:54,720
Every year, the delegates
471
00:26:54,720 --> 00:26:57,730
of the 60 Gallic tribes elected from among them
472
00:26:57,730 --> 00:27:01,463
and for the coming year a high priest of Rome and Augustus.
473
00:27:06,540 --> 00:27:09,543
One of them was a certain Gaius Julius Rufus.
474
00:27:11,470 --> 00:27:12,840
Early in the first century,
475
00:27:12,840 --> 00:27:14,730
he oversaw the construction of the city's
476
00:27:14,730 --> 00:27:16,593
most colossal Roman structure.
477
00:27:18,030 --> 00:27:19,510
Gaius Julius Rufus
478
00:27:19,510 --> 00:27:21,350
was one of the highest ranking delegates
479
00:27:21,350 --> 00:27:25,310
of the Gallic aristocrats, who alongside the Romans
480
00:27:25,310 --> 00:27:27,530
took part in taking Gaul further and further
481
00:27:27,530 --> 00:27:29,513
towards a form of Romanity.
482
00:27:35,330 --> 00:27:38,030
In the late 1950s, early 1960s,
483
00:27:38,030 --> 00:27:39,690
archeologist Amable Audin
484
00:27:39,690 --> 00:27:42,123
discovered a trace of this monumental structure.
485
00:27:46,770 --> 00:27:49,780
They were the ruins of the Amphitheater of the Three Gauls,
486
00:27:49,780 --> 00:27:51,880
a Lyon Colosseum with its arena
487
00:27:51,880 --> 00:27:53,933
financed by the Gallic high priest.
488
00:27:56,450 --> 00:28:00,133
Oval-shaped, it was constructed in 19 AD.
489
00:28:01,840 --> 00:28:05,320
At first, 81 meters long by 60 meters wide,
490
00:28:05,320 --> 00:28:08,550
it was enlarged during the second century,
491
00:28:08,550 --> 00:28:11,830
increasing its capacity to 20,000,
492
00:28:11,830 --> 00:28:14,793
almost as many as those in Arles and Nimes.
493
00:28:16,230 --> 00:28:17,750
It rested partially on the hill
494
00:28:17,750 --> 00:28:19,280
and partially on a hollow structure
495
00:28:19,280 --> 00:28:21,480
with Roman concrete vaults,
496
00:28:21,480 --> 00:28:23,430
a showcase that served as a gathering place
497
00:28:23,430 --> 00:28:26,360
for the delegates from the 60 tribes.
498
00:28:26,360 --> 00:28:28,650
They would make decisions of general interest.
499
00:28:28,650 --> 00:28:32,030
They would present petitions to the governor
500
00:28:32,030 --> 00:28:34,620
who would pass them on to the emperor.
501
00:28:36,458 --> 00:28:38,780
It was also a time for executions
502
00:28:38,780 --> 00:28:41,943
and for gladiatorial fights.
503
00:28:44,035 --> 00:28:45,250
(cheering)
504
00:28:45,250 --> 00:28:46,750
Gladiator fights,
505
00:28:48,160 --> 00:28:49,210
wild animals
506
00:28:50,150 --> 00:28:51,333
and executions.
507
00:28:56,660 --> 00:28:59,510
Yet another expression of Rome's power,
508
00:28:59,510 --> 00:29:02,100
but also a way of encouraging the total adhesion
509
00:29:02,100 --> 00:29:04,900
of the vanquished Gauls to the culture of their victors.
510
00:29:09,640 --> 00:29:12,660
I'm in the chapel dedicated to Nemesis,
511
00:29:12,660 --> 00:29:15,663
a goddess who is highly respected by the gladiators.
512
00:29:19,800 --> 00:29:22,790
What's more, it was the only room with direct access
513
00:29:22,790 --> 00:29:23,693
to the arena.
514
00:29:24,770 --> 00:29:27,380
So every gladiator had to come through here,
515
00:29:27,380 --> 00:29:30,210
stop to reflect a while before going out into the arena
516
00:29:30,210 --> 00:29:31,273
to face combat.
517
00:29:36,320 --> 00:29:38,180
To watch the fights and take part
518
00:29:38,180 --> 00:29:40,710
in the discussions of the council of the three Gauls,
519
00:29:40,710 --> 00:29:44,283
the delegates from the 60 Gallic tribes had reserved seats.
520
00:29:48,440 --> 00:29:51,660
These limestone blocks, weighing up to one ton,
521
00:29:51,660 --> 00:29:53,440
were moved from place to place
522
00:29:53,440 --> 00:29:55,490
with state-of-the-art hoisting equipment,
523
00:29:56,470 --> 00:29:58,590
such as the treadwheel crane,
524
00:29:58,590 --> 00:30:01,150
a machine which owed everything to a Roman invention
525
00:30:01,150 --> 00:30:03,513
that's still used today, the pulley.
526
00:30:05,590 --> 00:30:08,150
The most important Roman invention for construction
527
00:30:08,150 --> 00:30:09,403
was the block and tackle,
528
00:30:10,731 --> 00:30:12,330
a system of pulleys which enabled them
529
00:30:12,330 --> 00:30:14,900
to lift heavier and heavier weights
530
00:30:14,900 --> 00:30:16,620
with less and less labor,
531
00:30:16,620 --> 00:30:19,313
thus gaining in efficiency and profitability.
532
00:30:22,710 --> 00:30:25,010
Found during the archeological digs,
533
00:30:25,010 --> 00:30:27,090
the blocks were returned to their rightful places
534
00:30:27,090 --> 00:30:29,623
in the amphitheater during restoration work.
535
00:30:33,800 --> 00:30:37,280
On the first part of this block are the three letters,
536
00:30:37,280 --> 00:30:40,880
A, R, V, standing for the Arverni,
537
00:30:40,880 --> 00:30:42,043
present day Auvergne.
538
00:30:44,160 --> 00:30:45,470
Then there's B, I, T, C,
539
00:30:45,470 --> 00:30:47,890
standing for the Bituriges Cubi,
540
00:30:47,890 --> 00:30:50,066
present day Bourges.
541
00:30:50,066 --> 00:30:52,130
And there are vertical lines that show the separation
542
00:30:52,130 --> 00:30:53,750
between seats.
543
00:30:53,750 --> 00:30:55,937
Three delegates of the Bituriges here,
544
00:30:55,937 --> 00:30:58,290
and one for the Arverni here,
545
00:30:58,290 --> 00:31:00,740
almost certainly with his colleagues to our left.
546
00:31:04,790 --> 00:31:06,480
It was due to these discussions
547
00:31:06,480 --> 00:31:09,840
which the walls of this amphitheater undoubtedly overheard
548
00:31:09,840 --> 00:31:12,750
that in 48 AD, the emperor Claudius,
549
00:31:12,750 --> 00:31:15,690
who was born in Lyon, spoke out for the Gallic elite
550
00:31:15,690 --> 00:31:17,933
to be incorporated into the Roman Senate.
551
00:31:21,740 --> 00:31:23,730
A historic speech given in Rome
552
00:31:23,730 --> 00:31:25,970
and reproduced on these bronze tablets
553
00:31:25,970 --> 00:31:28,370
discovered at the foot of the Croix-Rousse Hill.
554
00:31:31,880 --> 00:31:33,860
After Claudius became emperor,
555
00:31:33,860 --> 00:31:36,140
certain Gallic nobles submitted a petition
556
00:31:36,140 --> 00:31:39,253
demanding that they have the full rights of Roman citizens.
557
00:31:40,770 --> 00:31:42,070
What's remarkable about this,
558
00:31:42,070 --> 00:31:44,540
is that an emperor in the first century AD
559
00:31:44,540 --> 00:31:47,053
should stand up for the integration of foreigners.
560
00:31:50,400 --> 00:31:53,040
Like the Roman colony of Lugdunum,
561
00:31:53,040 --> 00:31:55,060
the Lyon amphitheater would forever change
562
00:31:55,060 --> 00:31:56,393
the face of the Gauls.
563
00:32:00,980 --> 00:32:04,140
Gauls for whom Lugdunum had been presented as a showcase
564
00:32:04,140 --> 00:32:06,310
for a new Romanity during the first
565
00:32:06,310 --> 00:32:07,833
and second centuries AD.
566
00:32:11,670 --> 00:32:14,380
Other than its theater, it had all the attributes
567
00:32:14,380 --> 00:32:15,803
of a modern Roman city.
568
00:32:17,510 --> 00:32:20,230
It's Odeon dedicated to the lyrical arts
569
00:32:20,230 --> 00:32:22,520
built in the late first century.
570
00:32:22,520 --> 00:32:24,400
It's circus for chariot races,
571
00:32:24,400 --> 00:32:26,740
the remains of which have never been discovered,
572
00:32:26,740 --> 00:32:29,133
but whose existence is confirmed in records.
573
00:32:31,030 --> 00:32:32,600
And its numerous mosaics,
574
00:32:32,600 --> 00:32:35,103
which testified to a wealthy city through trade.
575
00:32:37,420 --> 00:32:39,100
Lyon was undoubtedly one of the biggest cities
576
00:32:39,100 --> 00:32:40,160
in the empire.
577
00:32:40,160 --> 00:32:41,510
We know this from ancient texts,
578
00:32:41,510 --> 00:32:44,253
but also from the remains still present in Lyon today.
579
00:32:45,220 --> 00:32:47,180
It was probably one of the 10 largest cities
580
00:32:47,180 --> 00:32:48,653
in the entire Roman empire.
581
00:32:50,450 --> 00:32:52,340
You must imagine lots of merchandise,
582
00:32:52,340 --> 00:32:55,010
especially foodstuffs being shipped up the Rhone Valley
583
00:32:55,010 --> 00:32:56,733
to Lyon, where it was then sold.
584
00:32:59,000 --> 00:33:00,773
This made Lyon a commercial hub.
585
00:33:01,650 --> 00:33:03,680
It was a very active cosmopolitan city,
586
00:33:03,680 --> 00:33:05,293
which drew a lot of foreigners.
587
00:33:06,890 --> 00:33:08,050
A number of monuments
588
00:33:08,050 --> 00:33:11,710
of this cosmopolitan city remain on the surface,
589
00:33:11,710 --> 00:33:14,453
but also magnificent structures underground.
590
00:33:20,600 --> 00:33:22,663
Beneath the slopes of Croix-Rousse Hill,
591
00:33:25,380 --> 00:33:28,020
an underground maze of shafts and galleries
592
00:33:28,020 --> 00:33:29,637
as long as the Champs Elysees
593
00:33:31,250 --> 00:33:33,140
the Fishbones,
594
00:33:33,140 --> 00:33:36,490
a name which this feat of engineering owes to its shape
595
00:33:36,490 --> 00:33:40,060
with one main gallery and 32 secondary galleries
596
00:33:40,060 --> 00:33:42,893
placed like bones growing out of a backbone.
597
00:33:43,740 --> 00:33:45,950
The fish bones are inside an 80 meter slope
598
00:33:45,950 --> 00:33:48,270
and measure a total of two kilometers long.
599
00:33:48,270 --> 00:33:50,480
There are 400 meters of shafts.
600
00:33:50,480 --> 00:33:52,540
This engineering work is the only one of its kind
601
00:33:52,540 --> 00:33:53,563
known in the world.
602
00:33:55,700 --> 00:33:57,270
An underground superstructure
603
00:33:57,270 --> 00:33:58,893
unique in the Roman world.
604
00:34:00,880 --> 00:34:04,140
It was discovered in its entirety in the 1960s,
605
00:34:04,140 --> 00:34:06,440
during the digging of the Croix-Rousse tunnel.
606
00:34:09,430 --> 00:34:12,310
It has since fueled all kinds of fantasies,
607
00:34:12,310 --> 00:34:15,350
the hiding place for the treasure of the Templars,
608
00:34:15,350 --> 00:34:17,550
a secret military defense system.
609
00:34:17,550 --> 00:34:20,523
Today it's used to drain rainwater from the hill.
610
00:34:22,410 --> 00:34:25,680
In 2008, using carbon-14 dating,
611
00:34:25,680 --> 00:34:28,270
archeologists became certain that it was constructed
612
00:34:28,270 --> 00:34:31,383
by the Romans sometime in the early first century AD.
613
00:34:34,530 --> 00:34:37,200
We're now pretty much sure that it's a Roman structure
614
00:34:37,200 --> 00:34:39,280
built in several phases,
615
00:34:39,280 --> 00:34:41,090
but with the first phase quite early,
616
00:34:41,090 --> 00:34:43,730
probably during the reign of Augustus.
617
00:34:43,730 --> 00:34:45,210
It must've been extremely expensive
618
00:34:45,210 --> 00:34:46,530
and difficult to construct,
619
00:34:46,530 --> 00:34:48,893
and it remains a complete enigma to us today.
620
00:34:51,600 --> 00:34:53,800
It was thanks to this stonework shaft
621
00:34:53,800 --> 00:34:56,833
that the network was first discovered in 1959.
622
00:34:59,630 --> 00:35:01,580
The shaft measures two by two meters
623
00:35:01,580 --> 00:35:03,253
and is 25 meters long,
624
00:35:04,140 --> 00:35:06,340
half the length of an Olympic swimming pool.
625
00:35:09,772 --> 00:35:11,310
There are a total of 16 shafts
626
00:35:11,310 --> 00:35:13,167
like this one in the Fishbones.
627
00:35:16,900 --> 00:35:18,420
They were used to remove the rubble
628
00:35:18,420 --> 00:35:21,370
produced by the digging of the two kilometers of galleries.
629
00:35:23,660 --> 00:35:26,290
The network was linked to the surface.
630
00:35:26,290 --> 00:35:28,700
Were the shafts solely for the evacuation of rubble
631
00:35:28,700 --> 00:35:30,110
from the digging?
632
00:35:30,110 --> 00:35:31,463
That seems unlikely.
633
00:35:32,840 --> 00:35:34,560
There was clearly a need for communication
634
00:35:34,560 --> 00:35:37,410
between the surface and the underground network, but why?
635
00:35:38,530 --> 00:35:40,160
Then there's the question of its connection
636
00:35:40,160 --> 00:35:42,760
to the Sanctuary of the Three Gauls.
637
00:35:42,760 --> 00:35:44,423
Was this just a coincidence?
638
00:35:45,310 --> 00:35:46,910
And if they were connected, why?
639
00:35:51,540 --> 00:35:53,030
To construct the network,
640
00:35:53,030 --> 00:35:55,640
laborers started by digging the galleries,
641
00:35:55,640 --> 00:35:58,683
which they then reinforced with semicircular vaults.
642
00:36:02,120 --> 00:36:03,830
The galleries were then laid with mortar
643
00:36:03,830 --> 00:36:05,113
mixed with rubble stone.
644
00:36:06,280 --> 00:36:07,850
It seems as if they were intended
645
00:36:07,850 --> 00:36:09,570
as some kind of storage space,
646
00:36:09,570 --> 00:36:12,603
like a gigantic underground Fort Knox of antiquity.
647
00:36:16,910 --> 00:36:19,010
They used the typical Roman vaulting system
648
00:36:19,010 --> 00:36:20,680
for these underground galleries,
649
00:36:20,680 --> 00:36:22,090
which is somewhat puzzling,
650
00:36:22,090 --> 00:36:23,970
because the vaults are absolutely perfect
651
00:36:23,970 --> 00:36:26,020
and employ the same system as for the theater
652
00:36:26,020 --> 00:36:27,573
and other edifices in the city.
653
00:36:30,370 --> 00:36:32,180
Inside these vaulted galleries,
654
00:36:32,180 --> 00:36:34,083
another detail catches the eye,
655
00:36:35,970 --> 00:36:38,263
the particularly thick and solid floors.
656
00:36:42,810 --> 00:36:45,890
It's what's known as a hedgehog sub-base,
657
00:36:45,890 --> 00:36:48,900
essentially made up of rubble, bits of granite and nice,
658
00:36:48,900 --> 00:36:51,500
which were used a lot in Roman construction in Lyon.
659
00:36:53,570 --> 00:36:56,393
And the sub-base is covered in a layer of concrete.
660
00:36:59,340 --> 00:37:02,090
The total thickness of the sub-base and concrete apron
661
00:37:02,090 --> 00:37:03,773
is about 80 centimeters.
662
00:37:05,620 --> 00:37:07,920
That may have been to make the structure more solid,
663
00:37:07,920 --> 00:37:10,040
but also perhaps for the storage
664
00:37:10,040 --> 00:37:12,843
of particularly heavy materials or objects.
665
00:37:17,636 --> 00:37:19,090
Heavy materials like those used
666
00:37:19,090 --> 00:37:20,560
in the Lyon mint,
667
00:37:20,560 --> 00:37:22,610
the only place to strike coins in the empire
668
00:37:22,610 --> 00:37:23,573
outside of Rome.
669
00:37:26,922 --> 00:37:30,600
A mint striking gold and silver coins like in Rome
670
00:37:32,270 --> 00:37:35,433
to pay the Roman soldiers stationed in Gaul and Germania.
671
00:37:40,320 --> 00:37:42,700
To protect this mint, Lyon was sent
672
00:37:42,700 --> 00:37:45,210
an elite force of 500 men,
673
00:37:45,210 --> 00:37:46,683
an urban cohort.
674
00:37:50,150 --> 00:37:52,690
Lyon's importance is very much emphasized
675
00:37:52,690 --> 00:37:55,020
by the presence of an urban cohort.
676
00:37:55,020 --> 00:37:57,447
In other words, a garrison to protect the city.
677
00:37:57,447 --> 00:38:01,470
And it's also the only provincial city apart from Carthage
678
00:38:01,470 --> 00:38:03,903
which has any urban cohorts.
679
00:38:07,370 --> 00:38:09,300
Were the Fishbones used to protect
680
00:38:09,300 --> 00:38:11,963
the stock of coins struck in the Lyon mint?
681
00:38:13,010 --> 00:38:15,300
The only certainty is that they were connected
682
00:38:15,300 --> 00:38:18,350
to the Rhone River via which the heaviest materials
683
00:38:18,350 --> 00:38:20,193
were brought in and out of Lugdunum.
684
00:38:22,270 --> 00:38:23,690
The fact that the Fishbones,
685
00:38:23,690 --> 00:38:27,270
clearly some kind of storerooms are so deep down
686
00:38:27,270 --> 00:38:28,933
remains something of a mystery,
687
00:38:29,790 --> 00:38:32,460
but because it's difficult to reach such a depth,
688
00:38:32,460 --> 00:38:34,560
there was obviously some reason behind it.
689
00:38:42,090 --> 00:38:43,600
While struggling to find the reason
690
00:38:43,600 --> 00:38:47,000
behind the Fishbones, underground and protected,
691
00:38:47,000 --> 00:38:49,850
they provide one of the most moving relics of Roman Lyon.
692
00:38:52,870 --> 00:38:55,400
These fingerprints left by a child
693
00:38:55,400 --> 00:38:57,600
possibly visiting the works,
694
00:38:57,600 --> 00:39:00,463
but also this graffiti left in the fresh mortar.
695
00:39:03,570 --> 00:39:05,880
Here we have one of the clearest pieces of graffiti
696
00:39:05,880 --> 00:39:07,148
in the network,
697
00:39:07,148 --> 00:39:10,815
(speaking foreign language)
698
00:39:14,191 --> 00:39:18,233
It was scratched into the mortar just after it was laid.
699
00:39:18,233 --> 00:39:20,300
Bituias was certainly the name of one of the laborers
700
00:39:20,300 --> 00:39:21,813
who constructed this gallery.
701
00:39:24,960 --> 00:39:26,050
How many men did it take
702
00:39:26,050 --> 00:39:28,450
to build this gigantic underground structure,
703
00:39:28,450 --> 00:39:30,123
unique in the Roman world?
704
00:39:31,450 --> 00:39:33,420
History cannot tell us,
705
00:39:33,420 --> 00:39:35,660
but it does testify to the flourishing life
706
00:39:35,660 --> 00:39:37,803
of the former capital of the Gauls.
707
00:39:45,140 --> 00:39:47,100
During the first century AD,
708
00:39:47,100 --> 00:39:49,743
the population of Lugdunum continued to rise.
709
00:39:50,850 --> 00:39:54,223
Historians estimate that it was around 30,000 inhabitants.
710
00:39:56,310 --> 00:40:00,530
Aristocrats, citizens, plebes, freed men, slaves.
711
00:40:00,530 --> 00:40:02,183
Their water needs were colossal.
712
00:40:03,510 --> 00:40:04,860
Why did they need so much water?
713
00:40:04,860 --> 00:40:06,860
Notably for the public baths and fountains,
714
00:40:06,860 --> 00:40:09,810
but especially the baths, which used vast amounts of water.
715
00:40:10,980 --> 00:40:12,700
To meet Lyon's needs,
716
00:40:12,700 --> 00:40:16,070
Roman engineers constructed a network of four aqueducts
717
00:40:16,070 --> 00:40:18,810
with a combined length of 220 kilometers
718
00:40:18,810 --> 00:40:21,520
between the reign of Augustus and that of Hadrian
719
00:40:21,520 --> 00:40:22,993
in the early second century.
720
00:40:24,970 --> 00:40:28,840
Their total flow rate was 40,000 cubic meters a day,
721
00:40:28,840 --> 00:40:32,733
20 times more than the aqueduct of Lutetia, today's Paris.
722
00:40:35,286 --> 00:40:38,330
The water supply was the second largest after Rome
723
00:40:38,330 --> 00:40:41,330
and its aqueducts were among the longest in the Roman world.
724
00:40:42,498 --> 00:40:43,580
So it's incredible that the Romans
725
00:40:43,580 --> 00:40:45,920
had better water supply in Lyon
726
00:40:45,920 --> 00:40:48,613
than Lyon itself had until the 19th century.
727
00:40:50,510 --> 00:40:51,880
How were the Roman engineers
728
00:40:51,880 --> 00:40:54,213
able to achieve such a technological feat?
729
00:40:55,370 --> 00:40:57,060
And with what means did they get around
730
00:40:57,060 --> 00:40:58,883
the numerous obstacles in their way?
731
00:41:11,630 --> 00:41:13,640
40 kilometers southwest of Lyon
732
00:41:13,640 --> 00:41:16,630
is a tunnel dug by the Romans to allow the aqueduct
733
00:41:16,630 --> 00:41:18,273
to cross a rocky outcrop.
734
00:41:24,640 --> 00:41:26,923
These are marks left by Roman pickaxes.
735
00:41:29,250 --> 00:41:31,270
There are also places where they were able
736
00:41:31,270 --> 00:41:32,743
to hang their oil lamps.
737
00:41:37,480 --> 00:41:38,950
This place is filled with life,
738
00:41:38,950 --> 00:41:41,100
and is a very moving testimony to the laborers
739
00:41:41,100 --> 00:41:43,933
who dug the tunnel during the Roman period.
740
00:41:51,070 --> 00:41:53,150
Inside the tunnel, the water channel
741
00:41:53,150 --> 00:41:54,663
is pretty much intact.
742
00:41:57,520 --> 00:41:59,530
The tunnel through which the aqueduct runs
743
00:41:59,530 --> 00:42:02,053
was solidified with a vault of Roman concrete.
744
00:42:07,660 --> 00:42:09,460
They proceeded section by section.
745
00:42:10,420 --> 00:42:12,630
They used wooden centering over a length
746
00:42:12,630 --> 00:42:15,460
of two to three meters, then moved it further on
747
00:42:16,450 --> 00:42:18,780
once the piles and the vaulting of that section
748
00:42:18,780 --> 00:42:19,623
were completed.
749
00:42:22,560 --> 00:42:25,370
A Roman invention, opus signinum,
750
00:42:25,370 --> 00:42:28,430
a coating of mortar mixed with broken tiles and pottery
751
00:42:28,430 --> 00:42:30,563
made the channel completely watertight.
752
00:42:33,395 --> 00:42:36,110
One of the main characteristics of opus signinum
753
00:42:36,110 --> 00:42:37,810
is the presence of broken pottery,
754
00:42:39,520 --> 00:42:42,563
ground down to dust or slightly larger fragments.
755
00:42:44,116 --> 00:42:46,766
It was this pottery which made the mortar watertight,
756
00:42:47,940 --> 00:42:50,740
allowing water to flow through the channel with no loss.
757
00:42:54,309 --> 00:42:55,620
The great Was this material
758
00:42:55,620 --> 00:42:57,900
was readily available everywhere,
759
00:42:57,900 --> 00:43:02,273
and it could be made of broken tiles, bricks, or pottery.
760
00:43:06,460 --> 00:43:08,100
Water flowed along this channel
761
00:43:08,100 --> 00:43:11,120
thanks to gravity by following the most constant
762
00:43:11,120 --> 00:43:14,613
downward gradient possible of about one meter per kilometer.
763
00:43:16,230 --> 00:43:18,890
Well, the idea is that the aqueduct starts
764
00:43:18,890 --> 00:43:21,880
somewhere that's higher than where it finishes.
765
00:43:21,880 --> 00:43:25,140
So the trick was to actually create a channel
766
00:43:25,140 --> 00:43:28,820
that had a constant gradient of that sort
767
00:43:28,820 --> 00:43:31,680
all the way from the source of the aqueduct
768
00:43:31,680 --> 00:43:33,393
to the finishing point.
769
00:43:36,910 --> 00:43:39,640
To follow the most constant gradient possible,
770
00:43:39,640 --> 00:43:42,683
Roman engineers carried out extensive work on the ground.
771
00:43:45,360 --> 00:43:47,830
Firstly, in locating water sources,
772
00:43:47,830 --> 00:43:50,080
then tracing the best route for the aqueduct.
773
00:43:51,210 --> 00:43:54,223
Their goal to limit the amount of heavy labor required.
774
00:43:56,810 --> 00:43:58,970
The surveyors looked for two things.
775
00:43:58,970 --> 00:44:01,220
One, the shape of the terrain and how to obtain
776
00:44:01,220 --> 00:44:03,230
the longest possible straight lines,
777
00:44:03,230 --> 00:44:04,670
and two, the parts of the route
778
00:44:04,670 --> 00:44:06,670
where they might need to build a bridge.
779
00:44:09,430 --> 00:44:10,850
But how were they able to maintain
780
00:44:10,850 --> 00:44:12,850
this constant downward gradient?
781
00:44:12,850 --> 00:44:15,770
The Roman surveyors, who were often called soldiers,
782
00:44:15,770 --> 00:44:18,653
used an ingenious tool called the chorobates.
783
00:44:22,100 --> 00:44:24,410
It acted like a modern day spirit level
784
00:44:24,410 --> 00:44:27,963
with a beam, two rods and two plumb lines.
785
00:44:31,550 --> 00:44:33,410
With the chorobates, they could calculate
786
00:44:33,410 --> 00:44:35,810
the height difference between two distant points
787
00:44:36,713 --> 00:44:38,620
and thus establish the most suitable gradient
788
00:44:38,620 --> 00:44:39,493
for the aqueduct.
789
00:44:43,330 --> 00:44:45,320
It was a simple tool, but handling it
790
00:44:45,320 --> 00:44:47,770
took a lot of skill on the part of the surveyors.
791
00:44:49,370 --> 00:44:51,510
And after that, they could dig the foundations
792
00:44:51,510 --> 00:44:53,143
and start erecting the edifices.
793
00:44:56,930 --> 00:44:58,710
Skill on the part of the surveyors,
794
00:44:58,710 --> 00:45:00,100
but also of the builders
795
00:45:01,360 --> 00:45:04,020
to which these bridges to cross rivers and valleys
796
00:45:04,020 --> 00:45:06,640
and maintain the sacrosanct constant gradient
797
00:45:06,640 --> 00:45:08,440
bear witness.
798
00:45:08,440 --> 00:45:11,090
And always with the same principle, the arch,
799
00:45:11,090 --> 00:45:12,513
to save on materials.
800
00:45:14,010 --> 00:45:16,370
Works constructed with Roman concrete,
801
00:45:16,370 --> 00:45:18,750
but with meticulous cross-link cladding,
802
00:45:18,750 --> 00:45:19,813
just like in Rome.
803
00:45:23,260 --> 00:45:25,520
The construction of an aqueduct in a Roman city
804
00:45:25,520 --> 00:45:27,003
was a symbol of civilization.
805
00:45:28,510 --> 00:45:32,220
Don't forget that Lyon was the capital of a Roman province,
806
00:45:32,220 --> 00:45:35,260
and therefore considered a very important city,
807
00:45:35,260 --> 00:45:37,010
and that justified the presence of such a vast
808
00:45:37,010 --> 00:45:39,023
sophisticated water supply system.
809
00:45:41,890 --> 00:45:43,490
On the piles of these arches,
810
00:45:43,490 --> 00:45:45,513
one detail catches the eye.
811
00:45:47,510 --> 00:45:49,760
These layers of bricks that run through them.
812
00:45:51,870 --> 00:45:53,123
What was their purpose?
813
00:45:56,510 --> 00:45:59,360
They marked a first full level during the construction.
814
00:46:00,730 --> 00:46:03,190
Then the builders laid the casing on top
815
00:46:03,190 --> 00:46:05,090
and placed the cladding on the outside
816
00:46:06,320 --> 00:46:08,640
before pouring in the Roman cement
817
00:46:08,640 --> 00:46:10,653
made of mortar and rubble stone.
818
00:46:15,740 --> 00:46:17,740
But for the water to reach Lyon,
819
00:46:17,740 --> 00:46:19,783
the biggest challenge lay elsewhere,
820
00:46:21,660 --> 00:46:25,130
in the region's rugged terrain with numerous deep valleys,
821
00:46:25,130 --> 00:46:27,680
including those immediately surrounding the city
822
00:46:27,680 --> 00:46:29,753
higher even than Fourvière Hill.
823
00:46:34,220 --> 00:46:38,550
You would have to pile up 15 bondegard
824
00:46:38,550 --> 00:46:42,470
to actually fill the gap represented by the valley.
825
00:46:42,470 --> 00:46:44,670
So clearly a bridge was out of the question.
826
00:46:47,130 --> 00:46:48,950
To cross these deep valleys,
827
00:46:48,950 --> 00:46:51,610
The Roman engineers used an ingenious system
828
00:46:51,610 --> 00:46:53,733
based on that of communicating vessels.
829
00:46:55,600 --> 00:46:56,433
The siphon.
830
00:46:59,100 --> 00:47:01,470
Key to this system was a flush cistern,
831
00:47:01,470 --> 00:47:04,533
which sent water under pressure into lead pipes.
832
00:47:09,740 --> 00:47:12,460
This is the aqueduct channel
833
00:47:12,460 --> 00:47:14,703
where the free flowing water arrived.
834
00:47:16,170 --> 00:47:18,353
It's accumulated here in this tank,
835
00:47:19,716 --> 00:47:22,810
and then it was released under the built up pressure
836
00:47:24,100 --> 00:47:25,100
into the lead pipes.
837
00:47:28,800 --> 00:47:30,200
Now why lead pipes?
838
00:47:30,200 --> 00:47:33,120
Because nothing else could hold the pressure.
839
00:47:33,120 --> 00:47:37,540
And also not one lead pipe, but a number of lead pipes
840
00:47:37,540 --> 00:47:41,300
to divide the pressure so that they didn't all burst
841
00:47:41,300 --> 00:47:42,700
when they got to the bottom.
842
00:47:44,340 --> 00:47:46,750
Once under pressure in the lead pipes,
843
00:47:46,750 --> 00:47:49,510
the water crossed the valley and its momentum enabled it
844
00:47:49,510 --> 00:47:52,913
to climb up the other side to another slightly lower tank.
845
00:47:54,070 --> 00:47:56,380
This second tank regulated the flow
846
00:47:56,380 --> 00:47:58,610
before the water was released into the channel
847
00:47:58,610 --> 00:48:00,403
and onto its final destination.
848
00:48:02,011 --> 00:48:04,910
I have to say that out of pride for Leon,
849
00:48:04,910 --> 00:48:08,760
we actually have a total of nine siphons at Lyon,
850
00:48:08,760 --> 00:48:12,900
and in the whole Roman world there are only about 30.
851
00:48:12,900 --> 00:48:17,381
So we have one third of all the siphons in the Roman world
852
00:48:17,381 --> 00:48:18,214
are at Lyon.
853
00:48:18,214 --> 00:48:22,160
So a lot of people know Lyon as the capital of the Gauls,
854
00:48:22,160 --> 00:48:24,363
but we call it the capital of the siphons.
855
00:48:27,750 --> 00:48:29,550
Capital of the siphons.
856
00:48:31,670 --> 00:48:33,740
One figure testifies to that.
857
00:48:33,740 --> 00:48:37,483
10,000 tons, the quantity of lead used for their pipes.
858
00:48:39,690 --> 00:48:41,940
That's almost the weight of the Eiffel Tower.
859
00:48:43,270 --> 00:48:45,970
This figure alone embodies the height of Lugdunum
860
00:48:45,970 --> 00:48:47,283
in the second century,
861
00:48:49,250 --> 00:48:52,483
before a terrible event marked the beginning of its decline.
862
00:48:57,629 --> 00:49:00,296
(ominous music)
863
00:49:01,300 --> 00:49:03,123
197 Ad.
864
00:49:05,540 --> 00:49:07,240
Battle raged at the gates of Lyon.
865
00:49:09,700 --> 00:49:11,480
A battle that opposed two claimants
866
00:49:11,480 --> 00:49:13,223
to the title of emperor of Rome.
867
00:49:15,400 --> 00:49:18,510
The battle of 197 was the climax of a civil war
868
00:49:18,510 --> 00:49:21,133
in which Lyon sided with the eventual loser.
869
00:49:23,940 --> 00:49:25,450
Lugdunum, which had sided
870
00:49:25,450 --> 00:49:27,383
with the vanquished was ransacked.
871
00:49:31,790 --> 00:49:34,570
Archeologists have found traces of this ferocious battle
872
00:49:34,570 --> 00:49:35,963
hidden in the soil of Lyon.
873
00:49:40,160 --> 00:49:44,140
These are very well-preserved arrowheads and a pilum
874
00:49:44,140 --> 00:49:46,210
now kept at the Center of Restoration
875
00:49:46,210 --> 00:49:48,517
and Archeological Studies in Vienne.
876
00:49:49,994 --> 00:49:51,730
This is a fine example of a pilum.
877
00:49:51,730 --> 00:49:53,300
Why is the metal shank so long?
878
00:49:53,300 --> 00:49:55,250
Because on impact with the target, it would break,
879
00:49:55,250 --> 00:49:57,410
making it unusable for the enemy.
880
00:49:57,410 --> 00:49:59,510
So it's very rare to find one intact.
881
00:49:59,510 --> 00:50:01,090
We usually just find small parts of them,
882
00:50:01,090 --> 00:50:02,603
so this is a very rare find.
883
00:50:04,720 --> 00:50:06,320
Among the traces of the battle
884
00:50:06,320 --> 00:50:09,713
in the Lyon soil were these hastily made arrowheads.
885
00:50:13,500 --> 00:50:15,440
This is the type of weapon made during a siege
886
00:50:15,440 --> 00:50:17,790
when you needed to make a lot of them very fast
887
00:50:18,860 --> 00:50:20,543
to keep the invading army at bay.
888
00:50:21,920 --> 00:50:23,690
It's consistent with the siege and capture
889
00:50:23,690 --> 00:50:26,090
of the city in 197.
890
00:50:26,090 --> 00:50:27,030
It's an interesting find,
891
00:50:27,030 --> 00:50:28,970
because it confirms the violent nature of the events
892
00:50:28,970 --> 00:50:30,760
that took place at the gates of Lyon
893
00:50:30,760 --> 00:50:32,133
and then inside the city.
894
00:50:33,856 --> 00:50:35,760
(swords clashing)
895
00:50:35,760 --> 00:50:37,860
This decisive battle marked the beginning
896
00:50:37,860 --> 00:50:39,870
of a transformation for Lyon,
897
00:50:39,870 --> 00:50:42,410
with the gradual abandoning of Fourvière Hill
898
00:50:42,410 --> 00:50:45,393
for the banks of the Saone and the Presqu'ile district.
899
00:50:51,580 --> 00:50:52,980
The abandonment was gradual,
900
00:50:52,980 --> 00:50:55,453
but complete by the end of the fourth century.
901
00:50:58,573 --> 00:50:59,940
And the hill then saw the development
902
00:50:59,940 --> 00:51:01,483
of religious communities.
903
00:51:02,650 --> 00:51:04,070
The urban population decreased,
904
00:51:04,070 --> 00:51:05,440
the city shrink further and further
905
00:51:05,440 --> 00:51:07,429
into the reduced city walls,
906
00:51:07,429 --> 00:51:09,550
and these reduced walls ring what is now
907
00:51:09,550 --> 00:51:10,873
the Presqu'ile district.
908
00:51:15,900 --> 00:51:17,270
During the Middle Ages,
909
00:51:17,270 --> 00:51:20,600
the former capital of the Gauls was methodically dismantled,
910
00:51:20,600 --> 00:51:21,533
then forgotten.
911
00:51:24,120 --> 00:51:26,060
But the remains of its edifices
912
00:51:26,060 --> 00:51:28,597
constructed between the late first century BC
913
00:51:28,597 --> 00:51:30,370
and the second century AD
914
00:51:30,370 --> 00:51:32,683
still testify to its ancient glory,
915
00:51:34,660 --> 00:51:37,340
like its theater, which now hosts the festival,
916
00:51:37,340 --> 00:51:38,490
Les Nuits de Fourvière,
917
00:51:39,759 --> 00:51:40,592
its Odeon,
918
00:51:42,220 --> 00:51:45,260
its 20,000 capacity amphitheater,
919
00:51:45,260 --> 00:51:48,630
its aqueducts and their ingenious siphons,
920
00:51:48,630 --> 00:51:49,820
and the Fishbones,
921
00:51:49,820 --> 00:51:52,220
that mysterious underground superstructure
922
00:51:52,220 --> 00:51:54,820
and reminder that Lugdunum has yet to reveal
923
00:51:54,820 --> 00:51:55,803
all its secrets.
924
00:52:01,208 --> 00:52:03,958
(dramatic music)
72380
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