1 00:00:02,377 --> 00:00:04,796 In 2010, construction on New York City's 2 00:00:04,880 --> 00:00:07,549 Freedom Tower comes to an abrupt halt 3 00:00:07,633 --> 00:00:10,886 after workers make a surprising discovery. 4 00:00:10,969 --> 00:00:13,639 Buried in the soil were what appeared to be 5 00:00:13,722 --> 00:00:16,600 curved planks of wood from a boat. 6 00:00:16,683 --> 00:00:18,060 When the original towers were built, 7 00:00:18,143 --> 00:00:20,896 it appears this wreck had gone entirely unnoticed. 8 00:00:20,979 --> 00:00:24,900 So the big question is, where did it come from? 9 00:00:24,983 --> 00:00:26,151 In Oxford, England, 10 00:00:26,235 --> 00:00:29,404 archaeologists uncover a disturbing site. 11 00:00:29,488 --> 00:00:33,075 A careful excavation uncovered up to 38 skeletons 12 00:00:33,158 --> 00:00:35,077 piled on top of one another. 13 00:00:35,160 --> 00:00:38,747 This site had all the hallmarks of a mass grave. 14 00:00:38,830 --> 00:00:39,915 So who were these men? 15 00:00:39,998 --> 00:00:42,793 And why were they killed in such a brutal manner? 16 00:00:42,876 --> 00:00:44,127 In Warsaw, Poland, 17 00:00:44,211 --> 00:00:48,549 excavations reveal a series of hidden wartime spaces. 18 00:00:48,632 --> 00:00:49,591 In one of the basements, 19 00:00:49,675 --> 00:00:51,843 a burnt library of Hebrew texts 20 00:00:51,927 --> 00:00:54,221 alongside religious objects were found. 21 00:00:54,304 --> 00:00:56,932 But how exactly were these spaces used, 22 00:00:57,015 --> 00:00:59,935 and what can they tell us about the lives of those 23 00:01:00,018 --> 00:01:02,604 who once passed through them? 24 00:01:02,688 --> 00:01:05,649 Below the busy streets of the world's cities 25 00:01:05,732 --> 00:01:09,403 exists a hidden realm of wonder. 26 00:01:09,486 --> 00:01:13,407 Sprawling ancient complexes, 27 00:01:13,490 --> 00:01:15,909 mysterious tombs, 28 00:01:15,993 --> 00:01:18,996 top-secret military bases, 29 00:01:19,079 --> 00:01:21,540 strange structures, 30 00:01:21,623 --> 00:01:24,042 and lost artifacts, 31 00:01:24,126 --> 00:01:27,629 buried beneath our feet and long forgotten, 32 00:01:27,713 --> 00:01:30,132 until now. 33 00:01:30,215 --> 00:01:34,720 Underground marvels are exposed to reveal what lies... 34 00:01:34,803 --> 00:01:37,556 Hidden Beneath the Cities. 35 00:01:46,898 --> 00:01:49,651 New York's bustling Lower Manhattan area 36 00:01:49,735 --> 00:01:53,655 is home to the city's historic Financial District. 37 00:01:53,739 --> 00:01:55,324 The Financial District is one of the most 38 00:01:55,407 --> 00:01:57,826 iconic neighborhoods in New York City. 39 00:01:57,909 --> 00:01:59,995 It's the location of St. Paul's Chapel, 40 00:02:00,078 --> 00:02:02,331 where George Washington attended a service 41 00:02:02,414 --> 00:02:04,416 after he took the presidential oath of office 42 00:02:04,499 --> 00:02:07,210 {\an8}for the first time on the balcony at Federal Hall 43 00:02:07,294 --> 00:02:11,632 {\an8}right nearby, which was serving as the US Capitol building. 44 00:02:11,715 --> 00:02:13,675 Just steps away, you'll find Wall Street, 45 00:02:13,759 --> 00:02:15,802 the economic center of the country, 46 00:02:15,886 --> 00:02:17,512 home to the New York Stock Exchange 47 00:02:17,596 --> 00:02:20,474 and some of the biggest banks in the world. 48 00:02:22,976 --> 00:02:24,311 This district is unfortunately 49 00:02:24,394 --> 00:02:25,520 burned into modern memory 50 00:02:25,604 --> 00:02:27,898 {\an8}because of the infamous September 11th terrorist attacks 51 00:02:27,981 --> 00:02:30,275 {\an8}in 2001, when two commercial airplanes 52 00:02:30,359 --> 00:02:31,360 {\an8}were deliberately flown 53 00:02:31,443 --> 00:02:34,154 {\an8}into the World Trade Center's Twin Towers. 54 00:02:40,285 --> 00:02:43,497 Nearly 3,000 people died in the tragedy 55 00:02:43,580 --> 00:02:47,167 that day, making it one of the most consequential dates 56 00:02:47,250 --> 00:02:49,127 in US history. 57 00:02:51,797 --> 00:02:53,674 The 9/11 attacks would forever change 58 00:02:53,757 --> 00:02:55,467 the country's political trajectory 59 00:02:55,550 --> 00:03:00,472 and lead to global conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan. 60 00:03:04,434 --> 00:03:06,895 A lot of America's political leaders were pretty determined 61 00:03:06,978 --> 00:03:11,733 to rebuild at Ground Zero where the towers had fallen. 62 00:03:11,817 --> 00:03:13,318 And in 2006, construction began 63 00:03:13,402 --> 00:03:17,572 on what was ultimately called the Freedom Tower. 64 00:03:17,656 --> 00:03:19,074 {\an8}This thing was going to be the tallest building 65 00:03:19,157 --> 00:03:22,536 {\an8}in New York City, and the symbolism was super clear. 66 00:03:22,619 --> 00:03:26,248 This was a sign of defiance from the United States 67 00:03:26,331 --> 00:03:28,959 that it would rise from the ashes of 9/11 68 00:03:29,042 --> 00:03:33,380 even stronger than it had been before. 69 00:03:33,463 --> 00:03:35,132 But in July of 2010, 70 00:03:35,215 --> 00:03:36,758 construction of the Freedom Tower 71 00:03:36,842 --> 00:03:38,885 suddenly grinds to a halt 72 00:03:38,969 --> 00:03:43,056 when workers make an unexpected discovery. 73 00:03:43,140 --> 00:03:45,434 Buried in the soil 22 feet deep 74 00:03:45,517 --> 00:03:50,564 were what appeared to be curved planks of wood from a boat. 75 00:03:50,647 --> 00:03:53,859 Eventually, an archaeological survey uncovered 76 00:03:53,942 --> 00:03:56,069 600 of these pieces. 77 00:03:56,153 --> 00:03:57,863 And what emerged from the soil 78 00:03:57,946 --> 00:04:02,617 was the wooden frame of a remarkable sailing vessel. 79 00:04:02,701 --> 00:04:06,913 {\an8}The ship was 50 feet long and 18 feet wide 80 00:04:06,997 --> 00:04:10,625 {\an8}and had what's called a shallow draft design, 81 00:04:10,709 --> 00:04:12,961 which means it was intended to sail 82 00:04:13,044 --> 00:04:17,382 in bays, lakes, and coastal waters. 83 00:04:17,466 --> 00:04:20,802 The boat was made from hickory, spruce, pine, and oak, 84 00:04:20,886 --> 00:04:24,306 but the knotty wood that was selected for the hull suggests 85 00:04:24,389 --> 00:04:27,142 that finishing the boat quickly was prioritized 86 00:04:27,225 --> 00:04:30,645 over finding high-quality construction materials. 87 00:04:30,729 --> 00:04:33,607 Iron fasteners were used to hold the planks together 88 00:04:33,690 --> 00:04:35,984 instead of durable wooden pegs. 89 00:04:36,067 --> 00:04:38,320 This is likely because the boat wasn't expected 90 00:04:38,403 --> 00:04:41,615 to have a long period of use. 91 00:04:41,698 --> 00:04:42,991 When the original towers were built, 92 00:04:43,074 --> 00:04:45,827 it appears this wreck had gone entirely unnoticed. 93 00:04:45,911 --> 00:04:47,662 In fact, the ship's hull had been bisected 94 00:04:47,746 --> 00:04:51,166 by one of the Twin Towers' massive subterranean walls. 95 00:04:51,249 --> 00:04:53,335 And because it had essentially been sealed up, 96 00:04:53,418 --> 00:04:57,255 the vessel and its artifacts were remarkably well preserved. 97 00:04:57,339 --> 00:04:59,007 The keel showed signs of wear and tear, 98 00:04:59,090 --> 00:05:02,177 probably from repeated landings in shallow rocky waters. 99 00:05:02,260 --> 00:05:03,595 But here's what's really neat: 100 00:05:03,678 --> 00:05:06,807 there were munitions found among the ship's remains, 101 00:05:06,890 --> 00:05:12,187 including 56 musket balls and 251 pieces of bird shot. 102 00:05:12,270 --> 00:05:15,440 If this vessel had ever had cannons or guns, 103 00:05:15,524 --> 00:05:17,776 they had been removed before it was buried. 104 00:05:17,859 --> 00:05:22,364 So the big question is: was this a military boat used in warfare? 105 00:05:22,447 --> 00:05:25,742 And if it was, where did it come from? 106 00:05:25,826 --> 00:05:27,828 Scientists look to answer those questions 107 00:05:27,911 --> 00:05:30,205 by analyzing the tree ring patterns 108 00:05:30,288 --> 00:05:32,332 on the boat's wooden planks. 109 00:05:32,415 --> 00:05:35,168 The results are then compared with a master list 110 00:05:35,252 --> 00:05:39,422 of old growth trees in the eastern US. 111 00:05:39,506 --> 00:05:42,217 Using this method, the point of origin for the wood 112 00:05:42,300 --> 00:05:47,222 was determined to be near Philadelphia during the 1770s. 113 00:05:47,305 --> 00:05:50,725 This was the time of the American Revolutionary War. 114 00:05:50,809 --> 00:05:54,437 Philadelphia was the political center and de facto capital 115 00:05:54,521 --> 00:05:57,232 of the forces that were looking to free themselves 116 00:05:57,315 --> 00:05:59,234 from British rule. 117 00:05:59,317 --> 00:06:02,904 It was in Philadelphia on July 4, 1776, 118 00:06:02,988 --> 00:06:05,740 that the Continental Congress in Independence Hall 119 00:06:05,824 --> 00:06:08,451 formally adopted the Declaration of Independence 120 00:06:08,535 --> 00:06:10,120 of the United States. 121 00:06:10,203 --> 00:06:13,039 Incredibly, the wood from the Ground Zero vessel 122 00:06:13,123 --> 00:06:16,960 matches samples of timber taken from Independence Hall. 123 00:06:17,043 --> 00:06:19,045 Now the boat may have been deployed from Philadelphia, 124 00:06:19,129 --> 00:06:22,090 but there's evidence that it sailed a lot farther than that. 125 00:06:22,173 --> 00:06:23,758 The hull has holes in it, 126 00:06:23,842 --> 00:06:27,095 and those holes come from these mollusks called shipworms, 127 00:06:27,178 --> 00:06:29,222 people call them the termites of the sea. 128 00:06:29,306 --> 00:06:32,100 But here's the thing: the species of shipworm 129 00:06:32,183 --> 00:06:36,354 found on this vessel normally thrives in the warm salt waters 130 00:06:36,438 --> 00:06:37,939 of the southern seas, 131 00:06:38,023 --> 00:06:43,361 not the fresh waters of the Delaware and Hudson Rivers. 132 00:06:43,445 --> 00:06:45,947 The story of this boat's journey and service 133 00:06:46,031 --> 00:06:49,534 may be a complicated one, but there's a possibility 134 00:06:49,618 --> 00:06:53,455 it was never intended to be a military vessel. 135 00:06:53,538 --> 00:06:55,665 With its single mast and headsail, 136 00:06:55,749 --> 00:06:58,293 this boat is what's known as a sloop, 137 00:06:58,376 --> 00:07:02,464 and it may have initially been a privately owned merchant ship. 138 00:07:02,547 --> 00:07:07,385 As the war escalated, so-called privateers were commandeered 139 00:07:07,469 --> 00:07:11,139 by the Americans to help fight the Royal Navy. 140 00:07:11,222 --> 00:07:13,892 With the US Navy still in its infancy, 141 00:07:13,975 --> 00:07:17,145 these refitted vessels became an essential part 142 00:07:17,228 --> 00:07:20,940 of the American maritime war effort. 143 00:07:21,024 --> 00:07:24,653 In 1775, General George Washington commissioned 144 00:07:24,736 --> 00:07:28,657 a small fleet of schooners to attack British supply ships. 145 00:07:28,740 --> 00:07:32,619 Eventually, 1,800 privateers were authorized for combat 146 00:07:32,702 --> 00:07:34,329 by the Continental Congress. 147 00:07:34,412 --> 00:07:37,707 This boat may have been one of them. 148 00:07:37,791 --> 00:07:40,794 But how do you explain the damage from the shipworms? 149 00:07:40,877 --> 00:07:42,796 There's certainly historical precedent for privateers 150 00:07:42,879 --> 00:07:44,464 operating along the American coast 151 00:07:44,547 --> 00:07:46,383 and even throughout the Caribbean. 152 00:07:46,466 --> 00:07:49,344 In 1776, the Philadelphia privateer Hancock 153 00:07:49,427 --> 00:07:51,554 sailed to the West Indies and managed to overtake 154 00:07:51,638 --> 00:07:55,016 a large British vessel that was bound for London. 155 00:07:55,100 --> 00:07:57,018 Perhaps the Ground Zero ship had been deployed 156 00:07:57,102 --> 00:08:00,146 to a similar locale. 157 00:08:00,230 --> 00:08:01,189 It may have been built 158 00:08:01,272 --> 00:08:03,149 to terrorize the Royal Navy, 159 00:08:03,233 --> 00:08:05,652 but there's evidence that the Ground Zero ship 160 00:08:05,735 --> 00:08:09,322 may have later fallen into British hands. 161 00:08:09,406 --> 00:08:11,616 There were hundreds of artifacts excavated 162 00:08:11,700 --> 00:08:12,701 with the ship's remains, 163 00:08:12,784 --> 00:08:15,537 including shoe buckles and drinking canisters. 164 00:08:15,620 --> 00:08:18,707 But the most interesting artifact was a button. 165 00:08:18,790 --> 00:08:21,376 Just this one flat, pewter button, 166 00:08:21,459 --> 00:08:24,879 but it was stamped with the number 52 on it. 167 00:08:24,963 --> 00:08:27,298 That's a big deal, because it suggests that this was part 168 00:08:27,382 --> 00:08:30,343 of the British Army's 52nd Regiment-- 169 00:08:30,427 --> 00:08:33,054 that's a company that was active in the Revolutionary War 170 00:08:33,138 --> 00:08:36,516 between 1775 and 1778. 171 00:08:36,599 --> 00:08:39,853 Notably, the 52nd Regiment had taken part 172 00:08:39,936 --> 00:08:41,896 in the occupation of Philadelphia. 173 00:08:41,980 --> 00:08:43,982 So maybe this stray button 174 00:08:44,065 --> 00:08:46,317 fell off a British soldier's jacket 175 00:08:46,401 --> 00:08:47,694 while he and his battalion 176 00:08:47,777 --> 00:08:51,489 were seizing this ship from American sailors. 177 00:08:51,573 --> 00:08:53,742 The British would have seen this boat 178 00:08:53,825 --> 00:08:56,077 as particularly useful. 179 00:08:56,161 --> 00:09:00,331 A sloop could have more easily navigated the shallow waters 180 00:09:00,415 --> 00:09:01,750 within the West Indies, 181 00:09:01,833 --> 00:09:05,670 where the British were warring with the Spanish and the French 182 00:09:05,754 --> 00:09:07,672 over island resources. 183 00:09:07,756 --> 00:09:10,592 It could have provided this vessel 184 00:09:10,675 --> 00:09:12,927 with a dramatic second act. 185 00:09:13,011 --> 00:09:14,763 Island goods such as sugar 186 00:09:14,846 --> 00:09:17,891 were arguably more important economically to the British 187 00:09:17,974 --> 00:09:20,393 than the 13 American colonies were. 188 00:09:20,477 --> 00:09:23,104 The 1782 Battle of the Saints is an example 189 00:09:23,188 --> 00:09:25,732 of a massive naval battle with the French, 190 00:09:25,815 --> 00:09:27,692 where the British would have likely redirected 191 00:09:27,776 --> 00:09:30,612 many of their ships to the Caribbean. 192 00:09:30,695 --> 00:09:33,698 Service in these warmer waters would explain the presence 193 00:09:33,782 --> 00:09:37,535 of shipworms on this mysterious boat. 194 00:09:37,619 --> 00:09:39,120 The history of British naval warfare 195 00:09:39,204 --> 00:09:41,581 in the Caribbean Islands is well documented, 196 00:09:41,664 --> 00:09:42,874 but there are no historical records 197 00:09:42,957 --> 00:09:45,418 that link this ship to a southern voyage. 198 00:09:45,502 --> 00:09:47,796 A passage in a logbook or from colonial reports 199 00:09:47,879 --> 00:09:50,423 out of this area may one day prove this theory, 200 00:09:50,507 --> 00:09:54,260 but for now it's based on purely circumstantial evidence. 201 00:09:55,845 --> 00:09:58,306 Ultimately, the tree rings that mark the timbers 202 00:09:58,389 --> 00:10:00,475 of the ship are the clearest signifiers 203 00:10:00,558 --> 00:10:03,978 of the ship's origin and its mission. 204 00:10:04,062 --> 00:10:06,147 We know that our mystery ship was likely built 205 00:10:06,231 --> 00:10:09,651 in a Philadelphia shipyard in the 1770s. 206 00:10:09,734 --> 00:10:13,988 And in the summer of 1775, the Continental Congress 207 00:10:14,072 --> 00:10:17,784 reportedly approved the construction of 13 warships, 208 00:10:17,867 --> 00:10:19,577 one for each colony. 209 00:10:19,661 --> 00:10:24,165 Each of those was outfitted with between 24 and 32 guns. 210 00:10:24,249 --> 00:10:28,211 And included as part of that hastily assembled fleet 211 00:10:28,294 --> 00:10:32,423 were four merchant vessels that were converted into gunships. 212 00:10:32,507 --> 00:10:37,679 So it's entirely possible that the Ground Zero gunboat sailed 213 00:10:37,762 --> 00:10:42,559 alongside these first ships of the Continental Navy. 214 00:10:42,642 --> 00:10:45,520 The flat pewter button is the best evidence 215 00:10:45,603 --> 00:10:49,274 that the boat later encountered British aggressors. 216 00:10:49,357 --> 00:10:52,861 In 1777, American boats failed to stop 217 00:10:52,944 --> 00:10:56,531 the Royal Navy's approach along the Delaware River, 218 00:10:56,614 --> 00:10:59,534 and interestingly, historical records indicate 219 00:10:59,617 --> 00:11:03,121 that at least one American warship was captured 220 00:11:03,204 --> 00:11:06,166 by the British during the battle. 221 00:11:06,249 --> 00:11:08,960 You can imagine the newly commandeered gunship 222 00:11:09,043 --> 00:11:11,546 serving in the southern waters for a period of time 223 00:11:11,629 --> 00:11:14,215 before returning to British-occupied New York 224 00:11:14,299 --> 00:11:17,719 to be decommissioned and stripped for parts. 225 00:11:17,802 --> 00:11:21,723 By 1790, seven years after the Treaty of Paris 226 00:11:21,806 --> 00:11:24,225 had formally recognized the Americans' victory 227 00:11:24,309 --> 00:11:25,476 over the British, 228 00:11:25,560 --> 00:11:29,063 New York was working to expand its Manhattan shoreline. 229 00:11:29,147 --> 00:11:32,233 This mysterious gunboat from the Revolutionary War 230 00:11:32,317 --> 00:11:35,320 likely became part of the landfill. 231 00:11:37,989 --> 00:11:40,283 In the end, after being hidden from view 232 00:11:40,366 --> 00:11:41,951 for two centuries, 233 00:11:42,035 --> 00:11:44,996 the story behind the Ground Zero gunship's life 234 00:11:45,079 --> 00:11:50,710 during wartime remains a confounding secret. 235 00:11:50,793 --> 00:11:53,046 After the ship was pulled piece by piece 236 00:11:53,129 --> 00:11:54,756 out of the rubble from Ground Zero, 237 00:11:54,839 --> 00:12:00,011 it underwent a 14-year process of analysis and documentation. 238 00:12:00,094 --> 00:12:01,554 In the spring of 2025, 239 00:12:01,638 --> 00:12:05,016 the ship was brought to the New York State Museum in Albany, 240 00:12:05,099 --> 00:12:07,393 where it remains on exhibit today 241 00:12:07,477 --> 00:12:11,648 as part of the institution's permanent collection. 242 00:12:11,731 --> 00:12:13,399 From the Revolutionary War 243 00:12:13,483 --> 00:12:15,902 to the ruins of the World Trade Center, 244 00:12:15,985 --> 00:12:19,364 this vessel's greatest journey may be the unexpected link 245 00:12:19,447 --> 00:12:22,617 created between these two monumental moments 246 00:12:22,700 --> 00:12:25,536 in American history. 247 00:12:35,797 --> 00:12:37,465 In south central England, 248 00:12:37,548 --> 00:12:39,300 just 50 miles from London, 249 00:12:39,384 --> 00:12:43,012 lies the historic Oxford University. 250 00:12:43,096 --> 00:12:45,515 Teaching at Oxford University is believed 251 00:12:45,598 --> 00:12:49,477 to have begun as early as 1096, which would make it 252 00:12:49,560 --> 00:12:52,814 the oldest university in the English-speaking world. 253 00:12:52,897 --> 00:12:55,817 {\an8}Its alumni includes 31 British prime ministers, 254 00:12:55,900 --> 00:12:57,568 {\an8}and its relationship to the monarchy 255 00:12:57,652 --> 00:13:00,280 {\an8}goes back for centuries. 256 00:13:00,363 --> 00:13:01,656 The Oxford area began 257 00:13:01,739 --> 00:13:04,993 as a 9th century settlement under King Alfred the Great, 258 00:13:05,076 --> 00:13:09,872 {\an8}who established it as a fortified town called a burh. 259 00:13:09,956 --> 00:13:13,626 Its defensive ditches and walls were intended to provide defense 260 00:13:13,710 --> 00:13:15,628 against Viking raids. 261 00:13:15,712 --> 00:13:16,963 In the 17th century, 262 00:13:17,046 --> 00:13:18,923 King Charles I set up his headquarters 263 00:13:19,007 --> 00:13:23,011 at the university during the English Civil War. 264 00:13:23,094 --> 00:13:24,137 The university remains 265 00:13:24,220 --> 00:13:26,097 one of the most prestigious in the world. 266 00:13:26,180 --> 00:13:27,849 Much of the research at Oxford has helped shape 267 00:13:27,932 --> 00:13:31,853 our modern world from political philosophy to quantum computing. 268 00:13:31,936 --> 00:13:33,813 {\an8}It's an institution that remains at the forefront 269 00:13:33,896 --> 00:13:36,983 {\an8}of social and scientific studies. 270 00:13:37,066 --> 00:13:41,195 In January of 2008, a new student housing complex 271 00:13:41,279 --> 00:13:42,488 is set to be built behind 272 00:13:42,572 --> 00:13:45,700 the university's St. John's College. 273 00:13:45,783 --> 00:13:48,327 The city had requested that an archaeological survey 274 00:13:48,411 --> 00:13:52,165 be conducted at the site before construction began. 275 00:13:52,248 --> 00:13:54,208 And just hours into the excavation, 276 00:13:54,292 --> 00:13:58,880 something strange was found buried beneath the soil. 277 00:13:58,963 --> 00:14:00,798 It appeared to be an enclosure 278 00:14:00,882 --> 00:14:03,885 {\an8}approximately 400 feet in diameter. 279 00:14:03,968 --> 00:14:06,888 {\an8}But two months later, there was another find. 280 00:14:06,971 --> 00:14:08,556 And it was a shocker. 281 00:14:08,639 --> 00:14:11,851 Buried haphazardly just below the enclosure 282 00:14:11,934 --> 00:14:15,354 were human remains. 283 00:14:15,438 --> 00:14:18,900 A careful excavation uncovered up to 38 skeletons 284 00:14:18,983 --> 00:14:20,818 piled on top of one another. 285 00:14:20,902 --> 00:14:23,362 There were no coffins and no gravestones 286 00:14:23,446 --> 00:14:25,031 found inside the trench. 287 00:14:25,114 --> 00:14:27,575 So these people were apparently buried 288 00:14:27,658 --> 00:14:29,744 without any tradition or ceremony, 289 00:14:29,827 --> 00:14:33,372 sometimes face down, sometimes on their side. 290 00:14:33,456 --> 00:14:38,211 This site had all the hallmarks of a mass grave. 291 00:14:38,294 --> 00:14:39,462 An analysis of the remains 292 00:14:39,545 --> 00:14:41,589 determined that they were all male. 293 00:14:41,672 --> 00:14:43,883 But aside from the jumble of human bones, 294 00:14:43,966 --> 00:14:45,426 there were very few other clues 295 00:14:45,510 --> 00:14:48,137 to their identities buried inside the pit. 296 00:14:48,221 --> 00:14:50,264 No grave goods, weapons, 297 00:14:50,348 --> 00:14:53,267 or remnants of clothing like buckles or pins, 298 00:14:53,351 --> 00:14:56,604 which suggested these men were stripped before burial. 299 00:14:56,687 --> 00:14:59,190 And further to that, all of the skeletons 300 00:14:59,273 --> 00:15:03,736 showed horrific evidence of traumatic injuries. 301 00:15:03,820 --> 00:15:04,904 Some of the victims suffered 302 00:15:04,987 --> 00:15:06,781 cracked and broken skulls. 303 00:15:06,864 --> 00:15:10,618 Many of them had puncture wounds to the spine and to the pelvis. 304 00:15:10,701 --> 00:15:12,286 {\an8}Some of them had marks that showed they were attacked 305 00:15:12,370 --> 00:15:15,206 {\an8}on all sides, and at least a dozen of them 306 00:15:15,289 --> 00:15:17,458 {\an8}looked like they'd been stabbed in the back. 307 00:15:17,542 --> 00:15:19,001 Shockingly, one individual 308 00:15:19,085 --> 00:15:22,839 had been fully decapitated, and at least five other skeletons 309 00:15:22,922 --> 00:15:27,093 showed evidence of multiple failed decapitation attempts. 310 00:15:27,176 --> 00:15:29,053 What's more, several individuals appeared 311 00:15:29,137 --> 00:15:30,555 to have suffered severe burns 312 00:15:30,638 --> 00:15:33,558 on their heads, backs, and pelvic regions. 313 00:15:33,641 --> 00:15:35,893 All of this painted a disturbing picture of a scene 314 00:15:35,977 --> 00:15:38,688 that must have been unspeakably violent. 315 00:15:38,771 --> 00:15:40,064 So who were these men, 316 00:15:40,148 --> 00:15:43,985 and why were they killed in such a brutal manner? 317 00:15:44,068 --> 00:15:46,237 The enclosure is called a henge, 318 00:15:46,320 --> 00:15:48,781 likely a site for religious ceremonies, 319 00:15:48,865 --> 00:15:52,660 and its craftsmanship dates it to the late Neolithic period, 320 00:15:52,743 --> 00:15:55,204 around 4,000 years ago. 321 00:15:55,288 --> 00:15:56,998 But the human remains appear to be 322 00:15:57,081 --> 00:16:00,251 from a different era entirely. 323 00:16:00,334 --> 00:16:02,795 An examination of the remains placed the burial 324 00:16:02,879 --> 00:16:05,506 sometime in the early 11th century. 325 00:16:05,590 --> 00:16:08,509 During that time in England, the Anglo-Saxon monarchy 326 00:16:08,593 --> 00:16:12,013 was ruled by a king named Aethelred the Unready, 327 00:16:12,096 --> 00:16:13,890 and his nickname is a translation 328 00:16:13,973 --> 00:16:17,685 of an Anglo-Saxon word that means "poorly advised." 329 00:16:17,768 --> 00:16:19,645 He got the name because his reign was marked 330 00:16:19,729 --> 00:16:23,691 by ill-advised domestic and foreign policy decisions. 331 00:16:23,774 --> 00:16:26,027 He probably wasn't the king you would have wanted 332 00:16:26,110 --> 00:16:30,323 in charge of the country during a particularly tumultuous time. 333 00:16:31,824 --> 00:16:35,203 Before Athelred's reign, a significant part of England 334 00:16:35,286 --> 00:16:37,371 had been occupied by Danish settlers 335 00:16:37,455 --> 00:16:40,833 after being conquered by one of the country's arch enemies: 336 00:16:40,917 --> 00:16:43,669 the Vikings from northern Europe. 337 00:16:43,753 --> 00:16:45,546 After decades of relative peace, 338 00:16:45,630 --> 00:16:48,299 the kingdom was suddenly suffering from a fresh wave 339 00:16:48,382 --> 00:16:51,135 of attacks from marauding Viking armies. 340 00:16:51,219 --> 00:16:54,138 King Aethelred made a highly questionable decision 341 00:16:54,222 --> 00:16:57,391 to pay off the Vikings with thousands of pounds of silver 342 00:16:57,475 --> 00:16:59,685 in exchange for peace. 343 00:16:59,769 --> 00:17:00,811 At the same time 344 00:17:00,895 --> 00:17:03,564 Aethelred had been paying off Viking armies, 345 00:17:03,648 --> 00:17:06,400 he'd also been hiring Danish mercenaries 346 00:17:06,484 --> 00:17:08,402 to defend the country's coastal borders 347 00:17:08,486 --> 00:17:10,404 from other Viking raiders. 348 00:17:10,488 --> 00:17:14,450 But in 997 CE, some of those mercenaries flipped 349 00:17:14,533 --> 00:17:19,997 on the king and began raiding England's southern counties. 350 00:17:20,081 --> 00:17:21,374 Searching for answers, 351 00:17:21,457 --> 00:17:24,710 researchers analyzed the remains at a subatomic level 352 00:17:24,794 --> 00:17:27,255 to determine their origin. 353 00:17:27,338 --> 00:17:29,549 A laboratory analysis of 13 victims 354 00:17:29,632 --> 00:17:32,093 revealed a diet high in fish, which would have been 355 00:17:32,176 --> 00:17:34,637 more common for a seafaring community. 356 00:17:34,720 --> 00:17:37,765 Further to this, tooth enamel from the skulls was examined 357 00:17:37,848 --> 00:17:39,767 to help trace the geology and climate 358 00:17:39,850 --> 00:17:42,103 these individuals might have been raised in. 359 00:17:42,186 --> 00:17:45,940 The results indicated the people in the pit were not Anglo-Saxon. 360 00:17:46,023 --> 00:17:48,276 These men had come from a colder climate consistent 361 00:17:48,359 --> 00:17:50,278 with northern Europe. 362 00:17:50,361 --> 00:17:52,697 So was this mass grave the final resting place 363 00:17:52,780 --> 00:17:54,865 for a group of Vikings? 364 00:17:57,702 --> 00:17:58,869 All of the men were determined to have been 365 00:17:58,953 --> 00:18:00,746 between 16 and 35 years old. 366 00:18:00,830 --> 00:18:02,707 The areas where the bones would have attached 367 00:18:02,790 --> 00:18:05,418 to the victims' musculature revealed that they were 368 00:18:05,501 --> 00:18:07,837 not only in great physical condition, 369 00:18:07,920 --> 00:18:10,631 but many were unusually tall. 370 00:18:10,715 --> 00:18:14,594 In addition, some skeletons exhibited battle scars. 371 00:18:14,677 --> 00:18:17,513 All of this strongly suggested that this was a group 372 00:18:17,597 --> 00:18:20,516 of military men from northern Europe. 373 00:18:20,600 --> 00:18:22,935 One could imagine a Viking raiding party 374 00:18:23,019 --> 00:18:25,563 making an incursion into this area of Oxford 375 00:18:25,646 --> 00:18:28,482 only to be defeated by Anglo-Saxon armies. 376 00:18:28,566 --> 00:18:31,986 In this scenario, about 38 Viking raiders could have been 377 00:18:32,069 --> 00:18:33,154 captured and executed 378 00:18:33,237 --> 00:18:36,115 before being buried in the pit at Oxford. 379 00:18:36,198 --> 00:18:39,785 These men would have met a grisly fate. 380 00:18:39,869 --> 00:18:41,829 One year after the remains were discovered 381 00:18:41,912 --> 00:18:45,166 on Oxford's campus, just over 80 miles away 382 00:18:45,249 --> 00:18:46,834 in the town of Dorset, 383 00:18:46,917 --> 00:18:50,421 archaeologists dug up another mass grave. 384 00:18:50,504 --> 00:18:54,675 And the similarities to the Oxford site were striking. 385 00:18:54,759 --> 00:18:56,844 The grave in Dorset contained the remains 386 00:18:56,927 --> 00:19:02,767 of 54 military-aged men from the late 10th or early 11th century. 387 00:19:02,850 --> 00:19:04,268 And once again, the men were determined 388 00:19:04,352 --> 00:19:07,688 to have originated from northern Europe. 389 00:19:07,772 --> 00:19:09,690 But unlike the Oxford grave, 390 00:19:09,774 --> 00:19:14,278 every single one of these males at Dorset was decapitated. 391 00:19:14,362 --> 00:19:16,530 When we consider that both Oxford and Dorset 392 00:19:16,614 --> 00:19:19,700 were under the control of the Anglo-Saxon kingdom, 393 00:19:19,784 --> 00:19:22,662 maybe the men found in both of these grave sites 394 00:19:22,745 --> 00:19:26,999 were considered a threat and summarily executed by the state. 395 00:19:27,083 --> 00:19:29,460 So it is possible that these are the bones 396 00:19:29,543 --> 00:19:34,048 of a Viking raiding party, but there's no historical account 397 00:19:34,131 --> 00:19:36,050 of any massacre that fits the bill. 398 00:19:36,133 --> 00:19:40,930 So we do have to be open to other possibilities. 399 00:19:41,013 --> 00:19:44,058 Historical records suggest the Viking mercenaries 400 00:19:44,141 --> 00:19:46,018 who had betrayed King Aethelred 401 00:19:46,102 --> 00:19:49,563 had themselves become marked men. 402 00:19:49,647 --> 00:19:52,817 After the king's use of the mercenaries backfired, 403 00:19:52,900 --> 00:19:54,527 Aethelred issued a royal decree 404 00:19:54,610 --> 00:19:58,030 that would have far-reaching and bloody consequences. 405 00:19:58,114 --> 00:20:00,574 The king claimed that he had uncovered a Danish plot 406 00:20:00,658 --> 00:20:04,078 to overthrow his kingdom and called for what he referred to 407 00:20:04,161 --> 00:20:08,833 as a "just extermination" of all Danes in England. 408 00:20:08,916 --> 00:20:12,545 His decree led to the infamous St. Brice's Day massacre, 409 00:20:12,628 --> 00:20:17,258 which saw countless Danes slaughtered across the country. 410 00:20:17,341 --> 00:20:19,093 This was an incredibly dark day 411 00:20:19,176 --> 00:20:20,594 in the history of England. 412 00:20:20,678 --> 00:20:23,055 And the age of the bones in the Oxford grave 413 00:20:23,139 --> 00:20:27,351 certainly lines up with the date of the king's proclamation. 414 00:20:27,435 --> 00:20:29,812 It suggests these men were likely executed 415 00:20:29,895 --> 00:20:34,150 as part of a countrywide sweep of Danish enemy combatants. 416 00:20:34,233 --> 00:20:36,610 Perhaps they were from a garrison of mercenaries 417 00:20:36,694 --> 00:20:38,112 stationed outside of Oxford 418 00:20:38,195 --> 00:20:40,906 that had once been in the king's employ. 419 00:20:40,990 --> 00:20:43,409 Arguably, the St. Brice's Day massacre 420 00:20:43,492 --> 00:20:47,288 was retribution for their treachery. 421 00:20:47,371 --> 00:20:49,915 There's documentation of a high-ranking earl 422 00:20:49,999 --> 00:20:54,128 named Pallig Tokeson, who served as one of the king's mercenaries 423 00:20:54,211 --> 00:20:56,964 before joining up with a Viking garrison. 424 00:20:57,047 --> 00:20:59,967 After Aethelred's decree, Pallig's wife was reportedly 425 00:21:00,050 --> 00:21:03,137 murdered during the St. Brice's Day massacre. 426 00:21:03,220 --> 00:21:06,307 So, turncoat mercenaries and their associates 427 00:21:06,390 --> 00:21:08,809 were clearly on the king's hit list. 428 00:21:08,893 --> 00:21:12,146 So, are these skeletons Danish settlers 429 00:21:12,229 --> 00:21:13,689 that were rounded up and massacred? 430 00:21:13,773 --> 00:21:17,985 Are they Viking raiders that were defeated and then executed? 431 00:21:18,068 --> 00:21:22,156 Or are they mercenaries who double-crossed the king 432 00:21:22,239 --> 00:21:24,617 and got dispatched by a mob? 433 00:21:24,700 --> 00:21:26,577 We don't know! 434 00:21:26,660 --> 00:21:29,079 Documented evidence from the king himself 435 00:21:29,163 --> 00:21:33,501 could point to a horrifying story behind the mass grave. 436 00:21:33,584 --> 00:21:35,544 After the St. Brice's Day massacre, 437 00:21:35,628 --> 00:21:39,507 a letter from Aethelred reported that a number of Danes in Oxford 438 00:21:39,590 --> 00:21:43,886 had escaped a violent mob by taking refuge in a local church. 439 00:21:43,969 --> 00:21:47,389 The mob responded by setting the church on fire. 440 00:21:47,473 --> 00:21:49,558 Those Danes who weren't killed in the fire 441 00:21:49,642 --> 00:21:52,770 were hunted down and slaughtered. 442 00:21:52,853 --> 00:21:55,689 After that, we can assume that the bodies were stripped 443 00:21:55,773 --> 00:21:59,026 of their clothing before being unceremoniously buried 444 00:21:59,109 --> 00:22:02,613 within the remnants of the ancient enclosure. 445 00:22:02,696 --> 00:22:04,865 The king's story could be interpreted to mean 446 00:22:04,949 --> 00:22:08,786 that the men in this mass grave were not enemy combatants, 447 00:22:08,869 --> 00:22:11,997 but rather members of the local Danish population 448 00:22:12,081 --> 00:22:14,542 living in or around Oxford. 449 00:22:14,625 --> 00:22:15,876 Following the king's decree, 450 00:22:15,960 --> 00:22:18,546 maybe these individuals were rounded up and butchered 451 00:22:18,629 --> 00:22:22,550 by members of Oxford's Anglo-Saxon community. 452 00:22:22,633 --> 00:22:24,468 The king's story of the burning church 453 00:22:24,552 --> 00:22:27,388 correlated directly with the charred remains 454 00:22:27,471 --> 00:22:29,223 found at the Oxford site. 455 00:22:29,306 --> 00:22:32,476 And the haphazard wounds found on many of these individuals, 456 00:22:32,560 --> 00:22:35,062 including the blows to the back of the head, 457 00:22:35,145 --> 00:22:38,399 are all indicative of a frenzied mob. 458 00:22:38,482 --> 00:22:42,319 It's a stunning example of ferocious anti-Danish sentiment 459 00:22:42,403 --> 00:22:45,239 that had escalated into state-sanctioned murder 460 00:22:45,322 --> 00:22:48,409 after Aethelred's decree. 461 00:22:48,492 --> 00:22:51,495 The mass grave is one of the most significant finds 462 00:22:51,579 --> 00:22:53,664 in Oxford's recent history, 463 00:22:53,747 --> 00:22:56,417 but the full details of what happened here 464 00:22:56,500 --> 00:22:59,753 may never fully be known or understood. 465 00:22:59,837 --> 00:23:02,131 Though many questions remain unanswered, 466 00:23:02,214 --> 00:23:05,384 the discovery could provide a chilling example 467 00:23:05,467 --> 00:23:07,761 of what happens when a country's leaders 468 00:23:07,845 --> 00:23:10,556 give its people a license to kill. 469 00:23:21,108 --> 00:23:23,068 On the banks of the Vistula River, 470 00:23:23,152 --> 00:23:26,447 in east central Poland, lies Warsaw, 471 00:23:26,530 --> 00:23:29,366 a city shaped by centuries of expansion, 472 00:23:29,450 --> 00:23:33,704 invasion, destruction, and rebirth. 473 00:23:33,787 --> 00:23:36,540 Warsaw's roots trace back to the 10th century, 474 00:23:36,624 --> 00:23:39,752 {\an8}but by the late 1200s, the community shifted north 475 00:23:39,835 --> 00:23:44,465 {\an8}to a village called Warszawa, which was protected by a castle. 476 00:23:44,548 --> 00:23:48,719 By the 14th century, Warsaw had walls, a council, 477 00:23:48,802 --> 00:23:50,930 and the stature of a growing town. 478 00:23:51,013 --> 00:23:54,391 In the 15th century, it was crowned the capital of Mazovia, 479 00:23:54,475 --> 00:23:57,811 and soon after, the capital of Poland itself. 480 00:23:57,895 --> 00:23:59,271 {\an8} I think what a lot of people don't realize 481 00:23:59,355 --> 00:24:02,316 {\an8}is that Warsaw was one of the world's biggest hubs 482 00:24:02,399 --> 00:24:03,817 {\an8}for the Jewish people. 483 00:24:03,901 --> 00:24:05,736 By the early 20th century, Warsaw had grown 484 00:24:05,819 --> 00:24:07,571 to a city of 1.3 million people, 485 00:24:07,655 --> 00:24:10,950 and that included 400,000 Jewish people. 486 00:24:11,033 --> 00:24:13,619 That made it the largest Jewish community in Europe. 487 00:24:13,702 --> 00:24:14,662 And if you look worldwide, 488 00:24:14,745 --> 00:24:17,790 it was number two only to New York City. 489 00:24:17,873 --> 00:24:19,917 But after the German invasion of 1939, 490 00:24:20,000 --> 00:24:23,504 Jews in occupied Poland were systematically targeted. 491 00:24:23,587 --> 00:24:25,005 They were stripped of their property, 492 00:24:25,089 --> 00:24:26,757 they were fired from their jobs, 493 00:24:26,840 --> 00:24:28,258 they were forced to wear armbands, 494 00:24:28,342 --> 00:24:31,303 they were barred from going to school, going to synagogue, 495 00:24:31,387 --> 00:24:32,638 they were forced into labor, 496 00:24:32,721 --> 00:24:37,851 and they were even forbidden to walk on certain streets. 497 00:24:37,935 --> 00:24:39,853 In October 1940, 498 00:24:39,937 --> 00:24:45,192 375,000 Jews were forced into the Warsaw Ghetto, 499 00:24:45,275 --> 00:24:48,278 a district of just 1.3 square miles, 500 00:24:48,362 --> 00:24:53,492 surrounded by a 10-foot wall topped with barbed wire. 501 00:24:53,575 --> 00:24:59,206 At its height, more than 450,000 people were crammed inside. 502 00:24:59,289 --> 00:25:01,208 {\an8}And by mid 1942, 503 00:25:01,291 --> 00:25:06,630 {\an8}more than 80,000 people had died in the ghetto. 504 00:25:06,714 --> 00:25:09,049 In 2022, archaeologists working 505 00:25:09,133 --> 00:25:12,553 within the former Warsaw Ghetto unearthed the first clue 506 00:25:12,636 --> 00:25:17,057 to a far more complex story waiting underground. 507 00:25:17,141 --> 00:25:19,351 The first thing they found was a small glass 508 00:25:19,435 --> 00:25:21,729 that had been buried for 80 years. 509 00:25:21,812 --> 00:25:23,897 Further excavations uncovered the cellars 510 00:25:23,981 --> 00:25:26,066 of pre-war tenement houses 511 00:25:26,150 --> 00:25:29,903 that once stood between Mila and Muranowska Streets. 512 00:25:29,987 --> 00:25:33,574 {\an8}From these basements came at least 3,000 objects. 513 00:25:33,657 --> 00:25:36,535 {\an8}Cups, bottles, pans, an iron, 514 00:25:36,618 --> 00:25:38,996 candlesticks, even a handbag; 515 00:25:39,079 --> 00:25:42,499 everyday possessions of middle class residents. 516 00:25:42,583 --> 00:25:45,461 One of the houses had a reconstructed cellar, 517 00:25:45,544 --> 00:25:48,630 a concrete room with electrical and water fittings 518 00:25:48,714 --> 00:25:51,675 and corridors branching out beneath the rubble. 519 00:25:51,759 --> 00:25:54,094 In another location, they found religious objects 520 00:25:54,178 --> 00:25:59,308 and everyday items dating back to the 19th century. 521 00:25:59,391 --> 00:26:01,727 The site was first identified in 2019 522 00:26:01,810 --> 00:26:05,606 through geophysical surveys, but later work in 2021, 523 00:26:05,689 --> 00:26:07,107 including a bunch of techniques-- 524 00:26:07,191 --> 00:26:09,526 electrical resistivity tomography, 525 00:26:09,610 --> 00:26:12,237 ground penetrating radar, handheld LIDAR-- 526 00:26:12,321 --> 00:26:14,615 all of that confirmed 527 00:26:14,698 --> 00:26:18,535 that much of the underground infrastructure had survived. 528 00:26:18,619 --> 00:26:20,120 These excavated cellars 529 00:26:20,204 --> 00:26:24,291 are the physical remnants of how people reshaped their world 530 00:26:24,374 --> 00:26:27,127 under impossible conditions. 531 00:26:27,211 --> 00:26:29,880 But how exactly were these spaces used 532 00:26:29,963 --> 00:26:32,883 and what can they ultimately tell us about the lives 533 00:26:32,966 --> 00:26:35,969 of those who once passed through them? 534 00:26:36,053 --> 00:26:39,598 In the Warsaw Ghetto, resistance took on many forms, 535 00:26:39,681 --> 00:26:41,975 and some evidence suggests these spaces 536 00:26:42,059 --> 00:26:46,480 served a deeper purpose in the struggle to endure. 537 00:26:46,563 --> 00:26:47,481 In one of the basements, 538 00:26:47,564 --> 00:26:49,650 a burnt library of Hebrew texts 539 00:26:49,733 --> 00:26:52,444 alongside religious objects were found. 540 00:26:52,528 --> 00:26:55,322 Handwashing cups, a Torah pointer, 541 00:26:55,405 --> 00:26:57,491 and fragments of the Talmud. 542 00:26:57,574 --> 00:27:01,286 Finds like these reflect a wider pattern of spiritual resistance 543 00:27:01,370 --> 00:27:04,331 in the ghetto, where people fought to preserve belief 544 00:27:04,414 --> 00:27:07,668 and dignity amid starvation and terror. 545 00:27:07,751 --> 00:27:11,004 So, is it possible this cellar functioned as a hidden space 546 00:27:11,088 --> 00:27:15,843 for prayer, study, or cultural activities? 547 00:27:15,926 --> 00:27:17,803 Even under the most brutal conditions, 548 00:27:17,886 --> 00:27:20,347 Jewish life in the ghetto persisted. 549 00:27:20,430 --> 00:27:22,599 Children studied in hidden classrooms, 550 00:27:22,683 --> 00:27:24,685 adults gathered for secret lectures, 551 00:27:24,768 --> 00:27:28,105 and confiscated books were quietly recirculated. 552 00:27:28,188 --> 00:27:31,024 In some ghettos, leaders organized trade schools, 553 00:27:31,108 --> 00:27:34,069 hoping that practical skill in carpentry, tailoring, 554 00:27:34,152 --> 00:27:37,865 and metalwork might offer a chance at survival. 555 00:27:37,948 --> 00:27:42,202 By 1940, as many as 600 underground prayer groups 556 00:27:42,286 --> 00:27:43,704 existed in Warsaw. 557 00:27:43,787 --> 00:27:45,664 They gathered in cellars or in attics 558 00:27:45,747 --> 00:27:48,542 with lookouts posted at the door. 559 00:27:48,625 --> 00:27:51,336 In these hidden spaces, prayer served two roles. 560 00:27:51,420 --> 00:27:54,631 It was a way to connect with God and practice the religion, 561 00:27:54,715 --> 00:27:56,300 but it was also an act of defiance. 562 00:27:56,383 --> 00:28:02,848 It was a refusal to let the Nazi regime break their spirit. 563 00:28:02,931 --> 00:28:04,433 Less than half a mile away, 564 00:28:04,516 --> 00:28:06,894 the post-war discoveries of a hidden cache 565 00:28:06,977 --> 00:28:10,230 shows how underground spaces were vital for preserving 566 00:28:10,314 --> 00:28:14,318 Jewish life, culture, and resistance. 567 00:28:14,401 --> 00:28:18,739 In 1939, historian and activist Emanuel Ringelblum 568 00:28:18,822 --> 00:28:21,366 began collecting Jewish testimonies 569 00:28:21,450 --> 00:28:24,870 through his work with self-aid organizations. 570 00:28:24,953 --> 00:28:29,082 But after the Warsaw Ghetto was sealed in November 1940, 571 00:28:29,166 --> 00:28:34,922 his efforts expanded into a wide-reaching organized network. 572 00:28:35,005 --> 00:28:37,257 The archivists gathered things like diaries, 573 00:28:37,341 --> 00:28:41,261 testimonies, underground newspapers, ration cards, 574 00:28:41,345 --> 00:28:45,182 tram tickets, and even menus from ghetto cabarets. 575 00:28:45,265 --> 00:28:48,018 Together, these fragments created a vivid portrait 576 00:28:48,101 --> 00:28:50,687 of daily life under Nazi rule. 577 00:28:50,771 --> 00:28:53,106 Refugees arriving in Warsaw added reports 578 00:28:53,190 --> 00:28:55,275 from across occupied Poland, 579 00:28:55,359 --> 00:28:57,903 making the collection one of the most detailed records 580 00:28:57,986 --> 00:29:01,031 of Jewish life during the Holocaust. 581 00:29:01,114 --> 00:29:02,783 Determined to preserve the truth 582 00:29:02,866 --> 00:29:04,117 for future generations, 583 00:29:04,201 --> 00:29:07,287 the group took great risk to bury the archive. 584 00:29:07,371 --> 00:29:09,456 And when it was recovered after the war, 585 00:29:09,539 --> 00:29:13,168 they had preserved some 35,000 documents. 586 00:29:13,251 --> 00:29:16,046 It remains one of the most important testimonies 587 00:29:16,129 --> 00:29:18,799 of the Holocaust. 588 00:29:18,882 --> 00:29:21,301 The Ringelblum Archive shows how underground spaces 589 00:29:21,385 --> 00:29:23,804 could preserve culture and belief. 590 00:29:23,887 --> 00:29:26,098 But in the cellars uncovered in 2022, 591 00:29:26,181 --> 00:29:28,475 the evidence is less clear. 592 00:29:28,558 --> 00:29:31,603 The artifacts hint at prayer or study, 593 00:29:31,687 --> 00:29:34,606 but as conditions in the ghetto deteriorated, 594 00:29:34,690 --> 00:29:37,943 they probably served a more basic function. 595 00:29:40,487 --> 00:29:43,407 In the Warsaw Ghetto, hidden passageways and spaces 596 00:29:43,490 --> 00:29:47,244 kept goods, information, and people moving, 597 00:29:47,327 --> 00:29:49,663 leading some to suspect that these cellars 598 00:29:49,746 --> 00:29:54,209 played a more material role in the struggle to survive. 599 00:29:54,292 --> 00:29:56,753 Excavations at the site revealed a cellar 600 00:29:56,837 --> 00:30:00,674 altered from its original design with concrete block walls 601 00:30:00,757 --> 00:30:02,426 and a reinforced ceiling, 602 00:30:02,509 --> 00:30:07,472 along with traces of pipes and an electric cable. 603 00:30:07,556 --> 00:30:10,475 Given the extent of these modifications, 604 00:30:10,559 --> 00:30:13,478 could this space have been part of the smuggling 605 00:30:13,562 --> 00:30:16,606 and communication networks that sustained daily life 606 00:30:16,690 --> 00:30:18,942 inside the ghetto? 607 00:30:19,026 --> 00:30:21,695 From that room, a corridor extended west 608 00:30:21,778 --> 00:30:24,990 and then south, linking multiple cellars. 609 00:30:25,073 --> 00:30:27,034 These connections formed a concealed route 610 00:30:27,117 --> 00:30:28,869 that would have allowed multiple people 611 00:30:28,952 --> 00:30:33,123 and perhaps goods to move discreetly within the ghetto. 612 00:30:34,583 --> 00:30:37,377 Couriers were a lifeline between Jewish communities. 613 00:30:37,461 --> 00:30:39,671 Many were young women from youth movements 614 00:30:39,755 --> 00:30:43,675 who maintained underground networks across occupied Poland. 615 00:30:43,759 --> 00:30:46,511 They traveled under false names with forged papers, 616 00:30:46,595 --> 00:30:49,222 carrying mail, newspapers, money, 617 00:30:49,306 --> 00:30:51,391 and information into the ghettos. 618 00:30:51,475 --> 00:30:55,896 They also smuggled in weapons, guns, grenades, and ammunition 619 00:30:55,979 --> 00:31:00,317 hidden in food parcels or on their bodies. 620 00:31:00,400 --> 00:31:03,278 Roughly 170 miles southwest 621 00:31:03,361 --> 00:31:04,905 at Auschwitz-Birkenau, 622 00:31:04,988 --> 00:31:08,075 a similar kind of network became the foundation 623 00:31:08,158 --> 00:31:12,829 for one of the Holocaust's most daring revolts. 624 00:31:12,913 --> 00:31:15,582 Róza Robota was a member of the Jewish Underground 625 00:31:15,665 --> 00:31:17,417 assigned to a clothing detail 626 00:31:17,501 --> 00:31:21,171 where the belongings of murdered Jews were sorted. 627 00:31:21,254 --> 00:31:24,174 Her unit operated beside Crematorium 4. 628 00:31:24,257 --> 00:31:27,886 That's the area where the Sonderkommando Jews worked. 629 00:31:27,969 --> 00:31:29,429 That's the name given by the Nazis 630 00:31:29,513 --> 00:31:33,433 to a group of Jewish prisoners who were forced to participate 631 00:31:33,517 --> 00:31:38,271 in the extermination process-- removing bodies, cutting hair, 632 00:31:38,355 --> 00:31:42,234 searching for hidden values, and running the crematoria, 633 00:31:42,317 --> 00:31:47,114 all while knowing that they, too, were soon going to be 634 00:31:47,197 --> 00:31:49,991 lying among those bodies. 635 00:31:50,075 --> 00:31:52,035 In the spring of 1944, 636 00:31:52,119 --> 00:31:54,830 the underground turned to Róza Robota for help 637 00:31:54,913 --> 00:31:58,291 smuggling explosives from a munitions factory. 638 00:31:58,375 --> 00:32:01,461 She enlisted three young Jewish women 639 00:32:01,545 --> 00:32:04,089 who worked in the gunpowder section. 640 00:32:04,172 --> 00:32:07,092 They hid small amounts in matchboxes, 641 00:32:07,175 --> 00:32:11,471 scraps of cloth or paper, and on their bodies. 642 00:32:11,555 --> 00:32:15,517 Over time, nearly 20 others joined the effort. 643 00:32:17,102 --> 00:32:19,896 Robota passed the powder to the Sonderkommando, 644 00:32:19,980 --> 00:32:21,898 and they secretly stockpiled enough of it 645 00:32:21,982 --> 00:32:25,819 to build crude grenades from food tins packed with nails, 646 00:32:25,902 --> 00:32:30,824 stones, and glass, sealed with plaster and makeshift fuses. 647 00:32:30,907 --> 00:32:32,993 On October 7, 1944, 648 00:32:33,076 --> 00:32:35,495 the Sonderkommando launched a revolt. 649 00:32:35,579 --> 00:32:37,664 Their explosives killed several guards 650 00:32:37,747 --> 00:32:39,833 and destroyed parts of the crematorium 651 00:32:39,916 --> 00:32:42,002 and the adjacent gas chambers. 652 00:32:42,085 --> 00:32:43,336 In the reprisals that followed, 653 00:32:43,420 --> 00:32:47,340 around 450 prisoners were executed. 654 00:32:47,424 --> 00:32:49,676 Smuggling networks that supplied groups 655 00:32:49,759 --> 00:32:51,011 like the Sonderkommando 656 00:32:51,094 --> 00:32:53,847 showed us how crucial secret supply lines were 657 00:32:53,930 --> 00:32:58,518 to Jewish resistance, both in the ghettos and in the camps. 658 00:32:58,602 --> 00:33:01,813 We know that one of the excavated cellars was first used 659 00:33:01,897 --> 00:33:03,815 by smugglers to store goods, 660 00:33:03,899 --> 00:33:06,067 but as German control intensified 661 00:33:06,151 --> 00:33:08,069 and anger swelled in the ghetto, 662 00:33:08,153 --> 00:33:13,867 these same underground spaces took on new and shifting roles. 663 00:33:13,950 --> 00:33:16,703 On April 19, 1943, 664 00:33:16,786 --> 00:33:20,874 around 750 members of two Jewish resistance groups 665 00:33:20,957 --> 00:33:24,336 fought German forces with smuggled guns, grenades, 666 00:33:24,419 --> 00:33:26,213 and homemade petrol bombs 667 00:33:26,296 --> 00:33:31,384 in what became known as the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising. 668 00:33:31,468 --> 00:33:33,053 The corridors found in the cellars 669 00:33:33,136 --> 00:33:36,264 lead toward what is now Anielewicz Mound. 670 00:33:36,348 --> 00:33:38,725 That's a place named for Mordechai Anielewicz, 671 00:33:38,808 --> 00:33:41,728 who was the commander of the Jewish Combat Organization 672 00:33:41,811 --> 00:33:44,814 who led the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising. 673 00:33:44,898 --> 00:33:48,068 People's testimonies state that up to 300 people 674 00:33:48,151 --> 00:33:50,612 sheltered in a bunker on Mila Street, 675 00:33:50,695 --> 00:33:52,364 spread across several properties 676 00:33:52,447 --> 00:33:56,201 between Mila and the now vanished Muranowska Street-- 677 00:33:56,284 --> 00:33:58,578 that's a street that the Germans destroyed 678 00:33:58,662 --> 00:34:00,830 during the 1943 uprising. 679 00:34:00,914 --> 00:34:03,416 So is it possible that these basements 680 00:34:03,500 --> 00:34:07,754 are surviving traces of that stronghold? 681 00:34:07,837 --> 00:34:09,256 Months before the uprising, 682 00:34:09,339 --> 00:34:13,134 when German troops entered the ghetto in January 1943 683 00:34:13,218 --> 00:34:14,886 to round up deportees, 684 00:34:14,970 --> 00:34:19,182 members of the Jewish Combat Organization under Anielewicz 685 00:34:19,266 --> 00:34:21,893 launched a sudden attack. 686 00:34:21,977 --> 00:34:23,061 Most were killed, 687 00:34:23,144 --> 00:34:26,231 but their resistance disrupted deportation orders, 688 00:34:26,314 --> 00:34:28,984 which were essentially death sentences, 689 00:34:29,067 --> 00:34:32,112 and gave thousands a chance to scatter. 690 00:34:32,195 --> 00:34:35,949 In the wake of the incident, survivors dug new bunkers 691 00:34:36,032 --> 00:34:39,744 determined to be ready for the next time. 692 00:34:39,828 --> 00:34:42,038 That's when the Jewish Combat Organization moved 693 00:34:42,122 --> 00:34:44,874 its headquarters to 18 Mila Street, 694 00:34:44,958 --> 00:34:48,420 a smuggler-owned bunker with six rooms, six exits, 695 00:34:48,503 --> 00:34:51,631 hatches, and a ventilation system. 696 00:34:51,715 --> 00:34:55,302 This bunker became key to the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising 697 00:34:55,385 --> 00:34:57,137 beginning in April. 698 00:34:57,220 --> 00:35:00,265 But on the 8th of May, Nazis discovered the bunker. 699 00:35:00,348 --> 00:35:03,351 They spread gas inside and circled the exits, 700 00:35:03,435 --> 00:35:08,398 prompting many to take their own lives instead of surrendering. 701 00:35:08,481 --> 00:35:11,109 In the end, families suffocated or burned 702 00:35:11,192 --> 00:35:14,279 in the very bunkers built to protect them. 703 00:35:14,362 --> 00:35:16,656 Thousands were killed in the ghetto, 704 00:35:16,740 --> 00:35:20,076 and thousands more were deported to Treblinka. 705 00:35:20,160 --> 00:35:23,455 Yet the uprising's legacy reached far beyond 706 00:35:23,538 --> 00:35:24,998 its immediate defeat. 707 00:35:25,081 --> 00:35:28,335 It showed that even with almost no hope of survival, 708 00:35:28,418 --> 00:35:31,504 resistance could still be an act of dignity, 709 00:35:31,588 --> 00:35:34,090 a refusal to let the oppressor decide 710 00:35:34,174 --> 00:35:38,094 the terms of life and death. 711 00:35:38,178 --> 00:35:40,972 The full extent of Anielewicz's Bunker 712 00:35:41,056 --> 00:35:42,807 has yet to be uncovered. 713 00:35:42,891 --> 00:35:46,686 But the cellars on Mila Street reveal how ordinary basements 714 00:35:46,770 --> 00:35:48,605 were reshaped in crisis 715 00:35:48,688 --> 00:35:53,443 to become spaces of resistance, refuge, and survival. 716 00:36:04,704 --> 00:36:08,208 Southeast of mainland France, Corsica rises 717 00:36:08,291 --> 00:36:11,044 as the Mediterranean's fourth largest island-- 718 00:36:11,127 --> 00:36:16,883 a rugged crossroads between France, Italy, and Sardinia. 719 00:36:16,966 --> 00:36:20,512 Corsica's recorded history begins around 560 BCE 720 00:36:20,595 --> 00:36:23,640 when Greeks founded Alalia on the east coast. 721 00:36:23,723 --> 00:36:26,893 {\an8}Carthaginian rule followed in the early 3rd century BCE 722 00:36:26,976 --> 00:36:28,228 {\an8}until Rome conquered the island 723 00:36:28,311 --> 00:36:33,775 {\an8}in a series of campaigns between 259 and 163 BCE. 724 00:36:33,858 --> 00:36:36,319 From the mid 6th century CE, 725 00:36:36,403 --> 00:36:38,738 the island fell under Byzantine influence 726 00:36:38,822 --> 00:36:42,117 and then papal rule in the 8th century. 727 00:36:42,200 --> 00:36:45,537 {\an8}In 1077, the papacy granted the Bishop of Pisa 728 00:36:45,620 --> 00:36:47,914 {\an8}authority over Corsica, and as a result, 729 00:36:47,997 --> 00:36:51,251 more than 300 churches were constructed on the island 730 00:36:51,334 --> 00:36:53,545 in the following two centuries. 731 00:36:53,628 --> 00:36:54,713 {\an8} In the Middle Ages, 732 00:36:54,796 --> 00:36:58,091 {\an8}Corsica and Sardinia lay between rival powers. 733 00:36:58,174 --> 00:37:00,927 {\an8}A papal bid to unite them under Aragon failed, 734 00:37:01,010 --> 00:37:04,764 and by the 16th century, Genoa controlled Corsica. 735 00:37:04,848 --> 00:37:08,059 In 1768, Genoa surrendered the island to France, 736 00:37:08,143 --> 00:37:11,187 and within a year, French forces secured it. 737 00:37:11,271 --> 00:37:13,273 That same year, 1769, 738 00:37:13,356 --> 00:37:17,235 Napoleon Bonaparte was born in Corsica's capital, Ajaccio, 739 00:37:17,318 --> 00:37:20,071 a moment that tied Corsica's turbulent story 740 00:37:20,155 --> 00:37:22,574 to the fate of Europe itself. 741 00:37:24,367 --> 00:37:26,661 In 2021, archaeologists working 742 00:37:26,745 --> 00:37:28,288 in the center of Ile-Rousse 743 00:37:28,371 --> 00:37:33,209 uncover something extraordinary beneath the modern streets. 744 00:37:33,293 --> 00:37:36,463 They found a necropolis of more than 40 graves 745 00:37:36,546 --> 00:37:40,300 spanning between the 3rd and 6th century CE. 746 00:37:40,383 --> 00:37:43,052 That basically spans the ultimate decline 747 00:37:43,136 --> 00:37:46,055 of the western Roman Empire. 748 00:37:46,139 --> 00:37:48,767 We've identified three main types of graves. 749 00:37:48,850 --> 00:37:50,977 Some are simple, rectangular cut pits 750 00:37:51,060 --> 00:37:53,897 where the dead are laid to rest and covered with earth. 751 00:37:53,980 --> 00:37:57,275 Others reuse fragments of roof tiles arranged 752 00:37:57,358 --> 00:38:00,320 to form sort of a rough enclosure. 753 00:38:00,403 --> 00:38:03,490 But the third type is the most distinctive of all: 754 00:38:03,573 --> 00:38:05,992 burials inside amphorae. 755 00:38:06,075 --> 00:38:09,329 Now, amphorae are jars that are used to transport wine 756 00:38:09,412 --> 00:38:11,831 and olive oil and brine and stuff like that. 757 00:38:11,915 --> 00:38:13,666 But here they're used for burials. 758 00:38:13,750 --> 00:38:16,169 In one case, two vessels were even fitted together 759 00:38:16,252 --> 00:38:18,671 to hold a single individual. 760 00:38:18,755 --> 00:38:21,174 Jar burials appear across the Mediterranean, 761 00:38:21,257 --> 00:38:24,427 but the Ile-Rousse necropolis breaks the mold. 762 00:38:24,511 --> 00:38:27,347 Unlike the more common child amphora burials, 763 00:38:27,430 --> 00:38:30,099 adults were interred in these jars. 764 00:38:30,183 --> 00:38:32,727 Corsica in late antiquity was shaped 765 00:38:32,811 --> 00:38:36,356 by shifting empires and powerful trade routes. 766 00:38:36,439 --> 00:38:40,026 At Ile-Rousse, the origins of imported amphorae 767 00:38:40,109 --> 00:38:43,071 raised questions about who these people were 768 00:38:43,154 --> 00:38:45,615 and where they may have came from. 769 00:38:45,698 --> 00:38:47,659 {\an8} From the 4th to 7th centuries, 770 00:38:47,742 --> 00:38:52,205 {\an8}Corsica imported wine, oil, and brine in amphorae, 771 00:38:52,288 --> 00:38:55,375 shipped from Carthage or present-day Tunisia. 772 00:38:55,458 --> 00:38:58,503 Finding those same containers reused for burials 773 00:38:58,586 --> 00:39:00,839 suggests a direct link to North Africa 774 00:39:00,922 --> 00:39:04,384 and the powers that ruled there. 775 00:39:04,467 --> 00:39:06,553 It's possible there's a connection to the Vandals, 776 00:39:06,636 --> 00:39:09,973 a Germanic people who captured Carthage in 439 CE, 777 00:39:10,056 --> 00:39:12,642 the richest city of Roman North Africa. 778 00:39:12,725 --> 00:39:15,228 From that new capital, they built a maritime empire 779 00:39:15,311 --> 00:39:17,063 spanning the western Mediterranean 780 00:39:17,146 --> 00:39:18,398 and secured the island of Corsica 781 00:39:18,481 --> 00:39:21,734 as part of their conquest of Roman-ruled islands. 782 00:39:21,818 --> 00:39:24,320 Given this, maybe the dead at Ile-Rousse were settlers 783 00:39:24,404 --> 00:39:26,656 or officials tied to Vandal rule. 784 00:39:26,739 --> 00:39:29,576 It's possible, but archaeological evidence 785 00:39:29,659 --> 00:39:32,245 for Vandal burials is limited, 786 00:39:32,328 --> 00:39:33,913 and it's regionally inconsistent. 787 00:39:33,997 --> 00:39:37,417 So it's difficult to draw any firm connection 788 00:39:37,500 --> 00:39:41,337 to the amphora burials in Corsica. 789 00:39:41,421 --> 00:39:44,215 The austerity of these burials may point 790 00:39:44,299 --> 00:39:46,426 to a community under pressure, 791 00:39:46,509 --> 00:39:50,263 where necessity shaped how the dead were laid to rest. 792 00:39:50,346 --> 00:39:53,600 In times of epidemic or sudden mass mortality, 793 00:39:53,683 --> 00:39:56,185 communities came under immense pressure, 794 00:39:56,269 --> 00:40:00,440 often forcing changes to established burial customs. 795 00:40:00,523 --> 00:40:03,151 Amphorae may have offered a quick solution 796 00:40:03,234 --> 00:40:07,113 if deaths came too fast for formal rights. 797 00:40:07,196 --> 00:40:09,616 Could some of the unusual interments on Corsica 798 00:40:09,699 --> 00:40:11,451 reflect emergency burials 799 00:40:11,534 --> 00:40:16,080 improvised in the face of a catastrophe? 800 00:40:16,164 --> 00:40:17,457 In the mid 6th century, 801 00:40:17,540 --> 00:40:21,544 plague swept across the Mediterranean and Europe. 802 00:40:21,628 --> 00:40:22,795 Beginning in Egypt and reaching 803 00:40:22,879 --> 00:40:26,132 Constantinople in 542 CE, 804 00:40:26,215 --> 00:40:29,302 it returned in waves for more than two centuries, 805 00:40:29,385 --> 00:40:31,471 killing millions. 806 00:40:31,554 --> 00:40:34,974 In the imperial capital, cemeteries overflowed, 807 00:40:35,058 --> 00:40:38,895 so mass pits and trenches were dug, and when even those filled, 808 00:40:38,978 --> 00:40:43,149 bodies were stacked in towers or cast into the sea. 809 00:40:43,232 --> 00:40:44,651 But what we see at Ile-Rousse 810 00:40:44,734 --> 00:40:47,487 is nothing like the chaos of a plague pit. 811 00:40:47,570 --> 00:40:48,780 The graves are generally laid out 812 00:40:48,863 --> 00:40:51,157 in an orderly east-west orientation, 813 00:40:51,240 --> 00:40:52,575 and while certain plague cemeteries 814 00:40:52,659 --> 00:40:56,162 display careful alignment and adherence to Christian norms, 815 00:40:56,245 --> 00:40:58,831 burial responses to mass death vary; 816 00:40:58,915 --> 00:41:00,500 meaning the use of amphorae in Corsica 817 00:41:00,583 --> 00:41:04,253 may point to a very different logic altogether. 818 00:41:04,337 --> 00:41:07,840 Beyond the amphorae, the use of salvaged materials 819 00:41:07,924 --> 00:41:11,094 in some burials may offer the clearest clues 820 00:41:11,177 --> 00:41:13,304 to the cemetery's character. 821 00:41:13,388 --> 00:41:16,015 At Ile-Rousse, some graves were framed 822 00:41:16,099 --> 00:41:17,684 with broken roof tiles, 823 00:41:17,767 --> 00:41:20,186 sometimes mixed with amphora sherds-- 824 00:41:20,269 --> 00:41:23,523 a layout reminiscent of building tombs 825 00:41:23,606 --> 00:41:26,609 where reused tiles formed a simple casing around the body. 826 00:41:26,693 --> 00:41:30,154 But here, the construction is far more rudimentary 827 00:41:30,238 --> 00:41:31,864 using low-quality terracotta, 828 00:41:31,948 --> 00:41:34,826 kind of salvaged from ruined buildings nearby. 829 00:41:34,909 --> 00:41:36,327 So you kind of get the impression 830 00:41:36,411 --> 00:41:38,538 that this was an imperfect solution, 831 00:41:38,621 --> 00:41:41,833 kind of making do with what was available. 832 00:41:41,916 --> 00:41:43,876 In Corsica, the North African amphora 833 00:41:43,960 --> 00:41:48,047 found at the site were among the island's most common imports. 834 00:41:48,131 --> 00:41:50,425 But once they served their original purpose, 835 00:41:50,508 --> 00:41:52,343 they were simply reused. 836 00:41:52,427 --> 00:41:53,886 Vessels were broken apart, 837 00:41:53,970 --> 00:41:57,056 sections cut and refitted into a type of coffin. 838 00:41:57,140 --> 00:42:00,435 Rather than discard what trade had made plentiful, 839 00:42:00,518 --> 00:42:03,563 the community seemingly turned everyday containers 840 00:42:03,646 --> 00:42:06,691 into material for burial. 841 00:42:06,774 --> 00:42:11,070 Nearly 400 miles east on the Croatian island of Hvar, 842 00:42:11,154 --> 00:42:13,114 excavations in a town of the same name 843 00:42:13,197 --> 00:42:15,616 uncovered a late antique necropolis 844 00:42:15,700 --> 00:42:19,829 from the late 4th to early 5th century CE. 845 00:42:19,912 --> 00:42:22,582 In an area covering just 700 square feet, 846 00:42:22,665 --> 00:42:25,418 archaeologists documented 20 graves 847 00:42:25,501 --> 00:42:28,755 holding the skeletal remains of 32 people. 848 00:42:28,838 --> 00:42:31,632 Burials at the site range from simple earthenware 849 00:42:31,716 --> 00:42:35,178 and amphora graves to tile-lined tombs, 850 00:42:35,261 --> 00:42:39,348 along with a single masonry tomb holding 12 skeletons, 851 00:42:39,432 --> 00:42:43,436 a striking parallel to the mixed forms seen at Ile-Rousse. 852 00:42:43,519 --> 00:42:44,479 The finds at Hvar 853 00:42:44,562 --> 00:42:46,439 show how 4th and 5th century communities 854 00:42:46,522 --> 00:42:48,983 used amphora and roof tiles in burials, 855 00:42:49,067 --> 00:42:51,277 combining everyday materials in ways that reflect 856 00:42:51,360 --> 00:42:54,113 local adaptation in funerary practice. 857 00:42:54,197 --> 00:42:56,949 They also reveal new insights into ceramic production 858 00:42:57,033 --> 00:42:59,285 and trade networks through imported wares, 859 00:42:59,368 --> 00:43:02,705 some of which are the first documented in the Adriatic. 860 00:43:02,789 --> 00:43:05,625 This reflects a broader Mediterranean practice 861 00:43:05,708 --> 00:43:07,543 known as enchytrismos: 862 00:43:07,627 --> 00:43:11,130 burying people inside terracotta containers. 863 00:43:11,214 --> 00:43:13,091 That was common from the 3rd century onward, 864 00:43:13,174 --> 00:43:14,801 particularly in coastal towns 865 00:43:14,884 --> 00:43:16,928 where there were a lot of terracotta jars, 866 00:43:17,011 --> 00:43:20,932 but by the 5th century, it was very common for child burials 867 00:43:21,015 --> 00:43:25,728 to be done this way in early Christian cemeteries. 868 00:43:25,812 --> 00:43:28,773 That's what makes Ile-Rousse so interesting. 869 00:43:28,856 --> 00:43:31,609 You have adults and infants buried together, 870 00:43:31,692 --> 00:43:34,487 {\an8}and so far, not a single grave good. 871 00:43:34,570 --> 00:43:36,739 {\an8}It's a departure from the familiar pattern 872 00:43:36,823 --> 00:43:40,159 {\an8}that could reflect nothing more than pragmatic reuse 873 00:43:40,243 --> 00:43:41,994 {\an8}of abundant containers. 874 00:43:42,078 --> 00:43:45,331 {\an8}Or it may signal beliefs about life and death 875 00:43:45,414 --> 00:43:47,667 {\an8}that remain beyond our reach. 876 00:43:47,750 --> 00:43:50,419 {\an8} The necropolis at Ile-Rousse is one of the few 877 00:43:50,503 --> 00:43:53,548 {\an8}anchors of this region's ancient past. 878 00:43:53,631 --> 00:43:58,010 {\an8}It preserves a vital record and just as clearly shows 879 00:43:58,094 --> 00:44:01,430 {\an8}how partial the story here remains.