All language subtitles for Bombing.Pompeii.2023.720p.WEBRip.x264.AAC-[YTS.LT]

♪ ♪

Downloaded from
YTS.LT

NARRATOR: In Pompeii

a specialist team is
searching the ancient soil.

Official YIFY movies site:
YTS.LT

FRANCO: We found
two very strong signals,

really very strong signals.

NARRATOR: They are
not on the hunt for

archaeological treasure here...

FRANCO: There is
a high likelihood

that it could be a bomb...

NARRATOR: But for a deadly
relic of the more recent past.

PAOLO: From the
instruments it seems that

there is a magnetic
response in that area.

LUIGI: Probably there
is an unexploded bomb.

(theme music plays).

NARRATOR: Pompeii,
the victim of one of

the ancient world's
greatest catastrophes.

In 79 CE, the nearby
volcano Mount Vesuvius

catastrophically erupted
and sent a cloud of hot ash

and gas some
20 miles into the air.

ALESSANDRA: You can
imagine how terrified

were the citizens of Pompeii

when they looked at
this enormous eruption.

FRANCO: This was a
cataclysmic event that

brought the town
to a complete stop.

A lot of people died.

NARRATOR: The entire
Roman city was buried beneath

millions of tons
of rock and ash.

FRANCO: This is why
it is so well preserved.

NARRATOR: Pompeii was
re-discovered in 1599.

It is the
world's most astonishing

archaeological time capsule.

ALESSANDRA: When the
eruptive column collapsed

all the material
emitted completely covered

the city of Pompeii

under more than
seven meters in thickness.

NARRATOR: Pompeii is a window
to life in the Roman world,

a magnet for
archaeologists intrigued by

the mysteries of this
ancient civilization.

Physicist Franco Porcelli
is a pioneering investigator.

His work fuses
geophysics with archaeology

to explore ancient mysteries.

Today, he and his team
are in Pompeii gearing up

for a unique mission,
using hi-tech equipment

to search for some
extraordinary remains.

FRANCO: Well of course,
we are in Pompeii,

you look under the ground

you discover something
of archaeological interest.

NARRATOR: Franco's team
has long standing experience

applying geophysics to
archaeological exploration.

In 2018, they investigated
Egypt's Valley of the Kings to

uncover a 3,300 year old secret.

FRANCO: We were testing
whether Tutankhamun's tomb

could be part of a larger tomb.

possibly belonging to Nefertiti.

NARRATOR: A controversial
theory had proposed that

the boy king was buried
in a tomb originally built for

his step mother, Queen Nefertiti

and that her
chamber might still be

hidden behind these walls.

The Egyptian
Antiquities Ministry

commissioned scientific
tests to get to the truth.

FRANCO: The Egyptian
government selected our project

from the
Polytechnic University of Turin

to scan Tutankhamun's tomb.

NARRATOR: His team used ground
penetrating radar technology to

scan for hidden voids behind the
walls of the boy king's tomb.

Their analysis
conclusively proved there

are no secret
chambers in the tomb.

Now, authorities at Pompeii have
called in Franco to search for

something that
could pose a real risk to

this world heritage site.

Franco works with
Gianluca Vitagliano,

an architect and expert on the
cultural heritage of Pompeii.

Together, they are on a
dangerous mission to find

evidence of a different
cataclysm that struck Pompeii

almost 2000 years after
the catastrophic eruption.

The investigation starts
at the House of the Fawn,

once one of Pompeii's
most luxurious villas.

GIANLUCA: There is
the reconstruction work

and this is a sign of how much

the ancient masonry
has been preserved.

All of this has
been reconstructed.

FRANCO: Of course.

NARRATOR: This modern
reconstruction reveals

more recent damage
to this ancient villa.

Gianluca finds evidence
of the cause of this damage.

GIANLUCA: And this is
the remains of a bomb

that exploded here.

FRANCO: This is
what we are looking for.

NARRATOR: The rusted
remains of a huge bomb reveal

a shocking episode in
Pompeii's secret history.

FRANCO: This is a
500 pound bomb. It was American.

NARRATOR: This bomb
was dropped on Pompeii by

an American aircraft
during the Second World War.

GIANLUCA: These
are the bomb marks.

NARRATOR: Restoration
teams have worked hard to

repair the damage here.

The Villa may
look like ruins now...

But after the American
bombing it was in tatters.

Pompeii was hit by many
bombs that were dropped

during World War II.

150 yards away, the
House of Epidius Rufus

was reduced to rubble.

Today, tell-tale
traces of bomb damage can be

found throughout Pompeii.

GIANLUCA: Franco, here we
are in the House of Triptolemus

which was completely
destroyed by the bombings.

All this has all been
lost while on the bottom

you can see this column.

NARRATOR: Some of the
worst bomb damage was here

in the ancient
House of Triptolemus.

Pompeii's greatest
archaeological treasures

bear witness to the bombing.

Gianluca and Franco
continue their investigation

at the beautiful
House of the Library.

GIANLUCA: We can see
that at least two bombs

have hit these rooms.

NARRATOR: Gianluca
searches for signs of damage

left by the first bomb.

GIANLUCA: All this has all
been lost while on the bottom

you can see this column.

We are inside the
crater from the explosion.

The bomb arrived from that side

and probably
penetrated up to here.

It must have
exploded here in this area.

Here a piece of
the wall is missing.

Above all, that
wall has been moved by

the force of the explosion.

NARRATOR: The bomb
exploded with huge force and

caused significant damage.

The room still bears
the scars almost 80 years

after World War II.

GIANLUCA: And here
is the other explosion.

The tomb must have
exploded further down.

NARRATOR: The facts are clear;

Pompeii was struck
by multiple bombs.

On August 24th, 1943,
1900 years after it was

devastated by the
eruption of Mount Vesuvius,

Pompeii was hit by
another firestorm.

Bombs started raining
down on the ancient city.

(explosions)

They exploded in the
streets wreaking havoc with

the priceless
Roman architecture.

In five weeks,
Allied aircraft dropped over

160 bombs on Pompeii.

(shattering)

Gianluca wants to understand

why this historical
treasure was bombed

while Franco's mission
is to check Pompeii for

any unexploded bombs.

Up to one in ten of
all bombs dropped during

the Second World War
failed to detonate.

And it's estimated that at least

ten unexploded
bombs remain here.

FRANCO: Because the trigger
that detonate these bombs

becomes more and
more fragile with time

and so actually the
danger of spontaneous

detonation increase with time

so it is an obligation
to find these bombs.

NARRATOR: The potential bombs
are too far from visitors to

pose a risk but
they should be detected,

excavated and
defused as soon as possible.

FRANCO: It has
become like a mission now,

it really motivates
my work here in Pompeii.

NARRATOR: The bombs that
dropped on Pompeii in 1943

carried between 500 and
4000 pounds of high explosive.

They either had a fuse
triggered by impact or

a mechanism that
delayed the detonation.

In these bombs a
small wind turbine spun

while the bomb fell

turning a screw designed
to break a glass vial and

release a stream of
acetone onto a membrane.

This set off the fuse so that

the bombs would
explode after a defined time.

Why might they have failed
to explode here in Pompeii?

Alessandra Pensa is a
geologist and an expert on

the stratigraphy of areas hit by
volcanic eruptions like Pompeii.

She's on a
mission to find out if

it is to blame for
unexploded bombs here.

Alessandra has
special access to investigate

the House of the Chaste Lovers.

She examines the layers of
rock exposed here for clues.

ALESSANDRA: Here we can
see a beautiful representation

of one of the most rare outcrops

representing both of the phases

characterizing the
eruption of the volcano.

NARRATOR: Pompeii's unique
stratigraphy is caused by

the eruption of Vesuvius.

It lasted for 18 hours.

The volcano first spewed out
a cloud of gasses and minerals.

It rose to form an almost
20 mile high column of ash

and then collapsed.

ALESSANDRA: During the fallout
phase we had the deposition

of about 12 to
15 feet of pumice deposit.

These pumice deposits are
at the base white in color

while at the top they
are becoming more grey.

NARRATOR: The collapsed
column formed a violent surge of

volcanic debris, ash and gas
known as a pyroclastic flow.

ALESSANDRA: On top of this phase

we have this
beautiful wave shape.

We have ash deposits that
reflect exactly the moment

where the eruption
column started to collapse.

NARRATOR: The material from
the pyroclastic flow covered

the soft pumice
and formed a layer up

to six-feet thick over Pompeii.

ALESSANDRA: This hard layer is
now called thunder, or tuono.

NARRATOR: The hard,
"Thunder," layer could be part

of the reason some bombs did not
explode when they fell here.

But only because it's
covered with a soft layer too.

(rumbling)

The famous 79 CE eruption
is not the only one to hit

Pompeii and leave layers.

Between 79 CE and World War II

Vesuvius has
erupted over 30 times.

This footage, from 1944,

captured the last
eruption of Vesuvius.

Some of these eruptions have
left deposits of soft pumice

on top of the hard layer.

The alternating soft and
hard layers of Earth here

played havoc with the dropped
bombs' detonation devices.

Bombs dropped by Allied aircraft

were designed either
to explode on impact

or to pierce the soil

and explode underground.

But Pompeii's alternating layers

of hard and soft soil could

force bombs on
an upward trajectory.

This would tip
the vial of acetone

into an upright position and

prevent the bomb from exploding.

Franco and his team begin
their work in an area just over

100 yards from the nearest
excavated sections of Pompeii.

It's surprising, but only
two-thirds of Pompeii's vast

163 acres has been excavated.

FRANCO: In the excavated region,
most likely the bombs exploded

because they hit the
structure of the houses.

We looked at areas
which are not excavated

and it appears that
we have some signals

which could have
been caused by bombs.

♪ ♪

NARRATOR: Gianluca
became intrigued by

the Allies' bombing
of Pompeii because

it was his job to
repair some of the damage.

GIANLUCA: In the last
20 years there have been

collapses in some
areas of Pompeii.

I found a rather strange thing,

that the collapses that
happened in the 90s, 2000s

coincided with the
areas that were bombed.

NARRATOR: In 2010,
the Schola Armaturarum,

the headquarters of
Pompeii's gladiators,

collapsed 67 years after
it was hit by Allied bombs.

Gianluca is now on
a mission to find out

why the ancient ruins were hit.

GIANLUCA: I started for
a moment to ask myself,

what actually happened?

The available documents
often were not very clear.

so I thought it was

useful to reconstruct

what had happened
during the months of bombing.

NARRATOR: In 1943,

Germany occupied much of Europe.

Italy was in league with them.

But in July that year the Allies

captured the island of Sicily.

They used it as a springboard,

to launch an assault on

the Italian mainland.

They first landed in the south.

Then a second larger force

headed straight for

the port town of Salerno

just 21 miles from Pompeii.

A radio report detailed
the fighting around Pompeii.

HALTON (over radio):
This is Matthew Halton of

the CBC speaking from Italy.

NARRATOR: It's the
words of a reporter

from the Canadian
Broadcasting Corporation.

HALTON (over radio): I
watched the battle from

the walls of the Roman
amphitheater outside Pompeii.

NARRATOR: He described the
reason why Pompeii was hit.

HALTON (over radio): There were
German positions on the edge of

the ruins which
had to be bombed,

and one bomb made a
direct hit on the Marine Gate,

the main entrance, so that
now you have to scramble into

the ancient city
through Roman rubble.

NARRATOR: Remarkable
newsreel footage reveals that

the ancient Roman amphitheater

was also struck in
the bombing raids.

GIANLUCA: It is said that
the damage to the amphitheater

and a large crater on the arena

was caused by the
presence of enemy troops.

NARRATOR: The Allies claimed
the Germans had guns in Pompeii.

Its ancient buildings
could provide cover and

the Germans may have
thought the Allies would

never bomb this historic site.

(explosion)

The advance of the Allies put
the ancient city in jeopardy.

It might have made sense for the
Germans to wheel in their guns.

But Gianluca's investigations
led to a different conclusion.

GIANLUCA: The research showed,

through the comparison
of aerial photographs,

that there was
nothing inside the arena.

There were no anti-air battery

or troops
positioned at that point.

NARRATOR: Gianluca's
research concluded that

the Germans were not
in the amphitheater.

Radio reports claiming that
the Germans were hiding guns

in Pompeii were fake news.

So why would the Allies unload
thousands of tons of bombs onto

a target of no
strategic importance?

(explosion)

Gianluca wants to find out if
there could be another reason

why the Allies bombed Pompeii.

Franco is also drawing
on historical research in

his hunt for unexploded bombs.

He's focused his search on
Pompeii's unexcavated areas.

Now, he's analyzed
Allied aerial photographs

taken during the raids.

They help him to pinpoint

craters formed when

the bombs landed and exploded.

Such as the crater
filmed in the amphitheater.

FRANCO: The photos indicated
areas that were bombed.

We saw the craters of the

exploded bombs but
there were missing craters.

NARRATOR: Bombs from Allied
aircraft were dropped in pairs

so should have landed
and exploded together.

LUIGI: As the plane
dropped the bombs in couples

(explosions)

if you see that one of
the couples is missing

that is probably that
there is an unexploded bomb.

NARRATOR: Franco and his

colleague Luigi have analyzed

World War II aerial photos and

found some single craters

missing their pair.

These missing craters

could indicate unexploded bombs

still in the ground.

FRANCO: We have a
very neat historical photo

that clearly indicated an
area with missing craters.

We selected areas
that were suspicious.

NARRATOR: They created 3D images

of the suspicious areas and

confirmed anomalies in the soil.

These anomalies will be
the focus for their search.

But Vesuvius could make their
difficult task even harder.

♪ ♪

NARRATOR: A simple way to
detect unexploded bombs beneath

the soil is to
use a metal detector.

But Alessandra is
exploring the impacts of

the special properties
of the soil at Pompeii.

She investigates at the
foot of Mount Vesuvius.

ALESSANDRA: Whenever
volcanoes erupt, the magma that

is contained within
the magma chamber

comes out as ash,
crystals, pumice lapilli.

This material just
flows down from the volcano

and can cover
completely all the area around.

NARRATOR: Nearly a cubic mile
of ash and rock rained down from

Vesuvius during its eruption.

ALESSANDRA: This
volcanic material contains

minerals that are iron rich.

NARRATOR: Iron is
magnetic and can interfere

with metal detectors
that read magnetic fields.

Alessandra is exploring how
the iron in the soil at Pompeii

will affect Franco's search.

She uses a compass.

ALESSANDRA: We know
the Earth's magnetic field is

pointing north, as is
indicated by the arrow.

NARRATOR: The arrow of
Alessandra's compass is

made of magnetized metal.

It points north
because it's attracted by

the Earth's magnetic field which

is aligned on a
north/south axis.

But in Pompeii
Alessandra's arrow struggles to

find true magnetic north
because of the iron rich soil.

It's a warning that Franco's
Polytechnic team needs to use

its most sophisticated
geo-physical detection equipment

to find any unexploded bombs.

CHIARA: This
instrument is a magnetometer

that is measuring
the total magnetic field

and it's really
highly sensitive.

NARRATOR: In addition
to the magnetometer,

they also use
an electro-magnetometer

and electrical
resistivity tomography.

They hammer
72 electrodes into the soil.

This network will
detect changes in

the soil's
electrical conductivity

caused by unusual
objects buried in the ground.

ALBERTO: The final
objective is trying to relate

the anomalies of
electrical distribution

of electrical conductivity with
some archaeological target.

So we should be able
to distinguish between

archaeological
remains and the subsoil.

NARRATOR: The team also
uses ground penetrating radar.

ALBERTO: GPR has
better resolution

and is able to detect with high

accuracy the
archaeological remains.

It means that bombs that
have different properties

from the subsoil
could be detected.

NARRATOR: The
instruments are used together

to see through
Pompeii's volcanic soil and

find the hidden
unexploded bombs.

A geo-resistivity meter sends

electric pulses into the soil

to detect objects that

conduct electricity.

The magnetometer penetrates
over 30 feet into the ground,

to collect more data
than a simple metal detector.

While the
ground penetrating radar

scans the soil.

By combining these technologies

the team hopes to overcome

the challenges of the
volcanic soil of Pompeii

to reveal any buried bombs.

The kit has been calibrated,
tested and is now ready to go.

The team can start their search.

Gianluca and
Franco are investigating

why Pompeii was bombed.

The Allies' claims
of German artillery

on the site were false.

So they examine the Allies'
aerial reconnaissance photos

to find the real reason.

GIANLUCA: The number
of explosions and destruction

increases as it
gets close to the target

so probably the target
is at the west side of

the archaeological
site of Pompeii.

NARRATOR: The crater pattern
suggests the Allies aimed

not at Pompeii but at
a different target to

the west of the ancient site.

GIANLUCA: We expect to
find a greater number of bombs

dropped in that area.

NARRATOR: On
September 9th, 1943,

the Allies landed at Salerno,

to establish a second foothold

in the country.

But they encountered fierce

resistance and were pushed back.

To protect their forces on land

the Allies pummeled the coast

with their naval guns

and launched wave after wave

of bombing raids.

Pompeii lay dangerously close

to the aerial attack.

Gianluca and Franco want
to know if the Allied bombers

were focused on a
particular target near Pompeii.

GIANLUCA: Look, here we
can see the path of the bombs,

in this area and in this one.

And they seem to be
converging in this zone.

NARRATOR: The photo suggests

the bombers had targeted sites

a mile west of Pompeii.

GIANLUCA: That is, the
main targets of the air raids

were right next to Pompeii
towards Torre Annunziata.

NARRATOR: The town
of Torre Annunziata was

an important hub for
German military re-supply.

The allies identified a
critical road junction,

railway line, and a
factory producing steel.

These were all
legitimate military targets and

they were all within
striking distance of Pompeii.

GIANLUCA: Combining
these inspections and

all the documents I've recovered

a significant
fact comes to light.

This [the bombing]
served to cut the supplies

from the German troops.

NARRATOR: Gianluca's
research confirms

the Allies' strategy was clear.

And it worked.

Torre Annunziata's supply lines
were severed by the bombing and

the German
counteroffensive was stopped.

But Pompeii was
struck by around 160 bombs,

how could the Allies have
missed their targets so badly?

♪ ♪

NARRATOR: The first site
Franco and his team search is

on the west edge of
the archaeological park,

close to the Marine Gate,

the main entrance
to the ancient city.

FRANCO: This is the
area with the highest

density of missing craters

and so that is why
it's very interesting.

NARRATOR: The area is well away
from Pompeii's excavated areas

and any visiting tourists.

As the team scans,
one of the magnetometers

picks up a tell-tale signal.

FRANCO: There
seem to be something.

Something made of iron.

NARRATOR: Franco's team's
survey engineer Paolo Dabove

quickly checks the data.

It's a promising discovery.

PAOLO: Analyzing the
real time information

that we can get
from the instruments

it seems that something happens

and there is a magnetic
response in that area.

FRANCO: Very strong...
really very strong signals.

NARRATOR: Nigel Pollard is
an historian and archaeologist,

and an expert in
war-damaged sites.

He works with the
team to investigate

why Pompeii was bombed.

He examines evidence at the
American Air Museum in Duxford,

in the United Kingdom.

NIGEL: These are quite
typical of the American bombs

that were dropped on
the archaeological site.

You've got two 500 pound bombs

and one 1,000 pound bomb.

NARRATOR: Around
1400 tons of Allied bombs

were dropped near Pompeii.

NIGEL: Just about every kind
of bomb in the Allied armory,

was used against the
targets close to Pompeii.

NARRATOR: The Allies bombed the
ancient site nine times between

August 24th and September 26th.

They were targeting
nearby infrastructure.

But missed by at
least 330 yards.

How could the bombers miss
so badly with so many bombs?

Nigel has special access
to explore the type of bomber

used in the air raids.

NIGEL: This is a
superbly preserved

example of the
B-17 Flying Fortress bomber.

About 12,000 of these were made.

NARRATOR: Up to
88 B-17's flew raids in

the skies around Pompeii.

NIGEL: The B-17 was
designed for high-altitude,

long-range bombing.

B-17 had a range of
nearly 4,000 miles and

could carry a bomb load over

that distance of
about 4,000 pounds.

NARRATOR: It was
critical that the B-17 dropped

its entire pay load.

Landing an aircraft
with unexploded bombs

on board was dangerous.

Any bumps or sudden
jolts could trigger

a catastrophic explosion.

NIGEL: Typically
these bombers would try to

either drop their
bombs on target ideally

or if absolutely necessary,

jettison those
bombs into the sea

or somewhere
near the target area.

NARRATOR: The bombers that
flew in from the west to bomb

Torre Annunziata
dropped most of their bombs.

But they could have
jettisoned the rest on Pompeii,

before flying back to base.

(bombs wailing)

Was this the only
reason Pompeii was bombed?

(explosion)

Chiara and Alberto investigate
the two very strong signals.

They check the
magnetometer's data,

and cross-reference it
against the GPR readings.

Something they didn't
expect comes to light.

FRANCO: We don't know
what it is but it's a

straight feature,
70 meters long.

70 meters is what we scanned,
it could be longer than that.

NARRATOR: The
purple lines indicate

the areas they have scanned.

The yellow dots
identify the magnetic anomalies

deep within the soil.

Whatever the team has found here

is too long to be

an unexploded bomb.

But its length gives them a clue
to what the structure might be.

They suspect it could be a
long-lost buried Roman road.

FRANCO: Well of course,
we are in Pompeii,

you look under the ground

you discover something
archaeological interest.

NARRATOR: Scanning Pompeii
will always be surprising;

this land is full of treasures.

The chance discovery
is a promising sign

their equipment and
methodology works well and

that it can help archaeologists
in future excavations here.

The team moves to
another suspicious area.

This site lies in the north east

of the archaeological park just

160 yards from Pompeii's
fully excavated remains

and tourist areas.

The evidence from the
aerial photography suggests

another missing crater
could be located here.

GIANLUCA: The needle
of the instrument is

oscillating slightly
to the positives.

(beeping)

NARRATOR: One of
its magnetometers

detects something...

FRANCO: Our instruments
don't tell us that it

is definitely a bomb, okay?

But if it is in the
area that was heavily bombed

then there is a high likelihood
that it could be a bomb.

♪ ♪

NARRATOR: In Duxford,
Nigel has special permission to

board the B-17.

He believes the
interior could provide clues

to why so many
bombs fell on Pompeii.

He explores the mechanisms used
to store and drop the bombs.

NIGEL: Here we are
in the B-17's bomb bay.

You can see the bombs
down here beneath us.

A short relatively, uh,

deep bomb bay.

And looking forward, we can see
the main cockpit compartment.

And then right at the
very front of the aircraft,

we can see the
bombardier's position.

NARRATOR: The bomb droppers,
known as bombardiers,

sat below the pilot inside
a huge plexiglass compartment

designed to help
them sight their target.

NIGEL: Here we're looking at the
business end of our B-17 bomber.

Through the plexiglas, you
can see the Norden Bombsight.

This is the position
from which the bombardier,

the bomb aimer, would
have aimed his bombs at

the target using that sight.

NARRATOR: The bombardier
used the Norden Bombsight to

drop their bombs on the
target with greater precision.

It was cutting edge
technology for its time.

The Norden Bombsight was
the Allies' secret weapon.

It cost over
$1 billion to develop and

featured a revolutionary
analogue computer that

constantly recalculated
the impact point of the bomb.

The machine could even take
control of the plane's autopilot

and make corrections to
keep it steady in the wind.

As long as the
bombardier kept the target

locked in their crosshairs

the Norden promised to deliver

a bomb dropped from 20,000 feet

to within 75 feet of the target.

NIGEL: This is a
very sophisticated

piece of equipment.

The Americans went into the
Second World War thinking that

they could bomb very,
very precisely in daylight

using the Norden sight.

NARRATOR: So what went wrong?

In Pompeii,

Franco and his team analyze

the suspicious signal

at their second site.

(beeping)

FRANCO: Our instruments
tell us there is a large

mass made of iron.
It could be anything.

It could be a bomb.

NARRATOR: The data gathered
by the radar and magnetometers

indicates the
metallic object they've found

is just three feet
below the surface.

The magnetic signal
could indicate a large,

unexploded bomb.

The bombs dropped on
Pompeii could carry up

to 4,000 pounds
of high explosives,

enough to level a city block.

And if it's a bomb
with a time-delayed fuse

the vial of acetone
designed to trigger it...

May still be intact.

If they're not careful and
break the vial the bomb could

finally explode with
devastating consequences.

(shattering)

FRANCO: In order to
ascertain what it really is

a specialized unit
for bomb clearance

will find out
whether the strong signals

are really an
unexploded ordnance or not.

NARRATOR: The specialist
team arrives on site and

cordons off the area.

(beeping)

They detect the exact point.

Now they bring in an
excavator to start the dig.

Until they make
visual contact with the object

they won't know what it is.

Everyone watches carefully.

The operation is
very delicate...

If there is an
unexploded bomb underground,

any sudden movements
could trigger it to explode.

So they dig just
inches at a time.

A sensitive task for a
heavy machine like this.

The team checks every layer.

(beeping)

After a few more inches
the excavator reaches

something under the ground.

♪ ♪

NARRATOR: The investigation
into why Pompeii was bombed is

nearing a conclusion.

Nigel thinks the
Nordern bomb aiming mechanism

might be the culprit.

NIGEL: As
leading-edge technology this

Nordern bomb site
was really expensive.

They made claims in their
publicity to the US Air Force

and the US Navy
that this thing could

drop a bomb into
a pickle barrel.

NARRATOR: But this
cutting edge wartime technology

was developed and
tested in Southern California,

where the skies are
clear blue for most of the year.

When the sophisticated bombsight
was used in real operations,

in Europe's cloudy skies,
the visibility wasn't so good.

When the bombers flew
their missions near Pompeii

the bombardier lined
up the intended target

using the Norden's viewfinder.

The Norden then
calculated velocity,

altitude and range
to release the bombs.

But the bombardier's initial
view of the target could have

been compromised by cloud cover,

so some bombs were
dropped too early and

instead of hitting the
highway and railway junctions,

they hit Pompeii.

(explosions)

NIGEL: Even the
cutting edge of technology

wasn't enough to save Pompeii.

They caused some
really severe damage.

NARRATOR: The accidental
bombing of Pompeii was

an embarrassment to the Allies.

They may have blamed
German gun positions to

cover up their mistake.

(explosions)

At Pompeii, the
excavator carefully pulls

the mysterious
object from the ground.

FRANCO: It's a piece
of reinforced concrete

so we are going to remove it.

and then if there is still a
signal we will see what to do.

NARRATOR: After
further investigation,

the team discovers
that the signal came from

metal bars in the concrete.

In an ancient site like Pompeii,

digging anywhere
can yield surprises.

The team's original
data suggests there is

more to be found here.

FRANCO: There is
still a strong signal,

so we're going
to continue diggin.

NARRATOR: The data
suggests a metal object lies

vertically beneath the surface.

The signal is just what the team
expect for an unexploded bomb

buried within Pompeii's
peculiar subterranean strata.

The specialist team takes
extra care and digs by hand.

But Franco takes no chances.

FRANCO: We found something, but
for safety reasons we have to

call a specialized
army unit, just in case.

NARRATOR: The Italian Army's
bomb disposal unit arrives.

Major Gian Luca Marino is
keen to check the data with

geophysicist Chiara Colombero.

CHIARA: Good morning.

MAJOR MARINO: Good morning.

CHIARA: So what
we expect are quite

localized bipolar anomalies.

I see it, it takes a well
trained eye, but I see it.

MAJOR MARINO: The hole
is here it looks very similar.

NARRATOR: The object
seems to be deeper down.

MAJOR MARINO: Look at this
shadow, it's not a crater.

CHIARA: Okay.

MAJOR MARINO: You see it?

CHIARA: Yes.

MAJOR MARINO: It is
something deeper in the groun.

CHIARA: Okay.

NARRATOR: Excavating
the mysterious object is

a dangerous task.

Everyone not directly
involved is ordered to

stand at a safe distance.

The team extracts a
long thin metal pole.

FRANCO: They found a pipe.

The top of it was
60 centimeters below ground

and then it was
stuck for an additional

12 feet vertically
into the ground.

Clearly the strong signal
was due to this metallic pipe.

NARRATOR: It's a
bittersweet result for Franco;

disappointment that he has
not found an unexploded bomb,

but relief that the team's
work has not been in vain.

FRANCO: Whether it is
reinforced concrete or a pipe.

at least we know that this
part of the park is now safe.

Safe for archaeologists,
safe for visitors

and this is what
really motivates our work.

NARRATOR: Unexploded bombs
might still lie below Pompeii.

But, as archaeologists move in
to investigate unexcavated areas

of the vast site,
they can rely on

Franco's pioneering geo-physical
technology and methodology to

ensure they don't accidentally
trigger a deadly explosion.

Pompeii, struck
almost 2,000 years ago by

one of nature's most
cataclysmic forces and

struck again by Allies in

World War II
is safe for the future.

Captioned by
Cotter Media Group.