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[bugle plays]

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[classical music playing]

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[marc] something
inside this building

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Drove a wedge between
the british empire

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And its distant island
dominion, australia.

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It is one of the most
controversial artworks

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On this land.

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Because it's not
from this land.

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[dramatic music playing]

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In fact, this is arguably

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From the most contested
region on earth.

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And yet, for some reason,

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It's tucked in
this obscure corner

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Of the australian war memorial.

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It's almost like this mosaic

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Has something to hide.

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[echoing] hide...

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[theme music playing]

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[marc] in the days of
the british empire,

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Things were taken.

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They usually ended up
in museums

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And galleries
with polite plaques.

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My name is marc fennell,

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And this is
the not-so-polite story

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Of how they really
got there.

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[middle-eastern-style
music playing]

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[marc] welcome to jericho,
a palestinian city

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Deep in the jordan valley.

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Many say this is the oldest
city in the world.

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And this is me, failing at
a very ancient art.

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[marc] oh!

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Be careful of your fingers.

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-Yeah.
-[laughs]

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-I'm-- yes.
-Yes.

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-Like that?
-[man] yes.

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[hammering]

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Oh, nope?

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-[all laughing]
-no wonder.

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So, am I hired?

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[laughs]

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You-- good start.

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-Good start. Good start.
-Good start. [laughing]

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[marc] this is jericho's
mosaic centre,

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And these are
called "tessera."

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[osama] thousand of tessera
you have to have.

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Thousand. And this
is, of course,

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It's important for...

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For making mosaics.

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[marc] I'm here to meet
this man, osama hamdan.

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He's an archaeologist

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Who can turn
these pieces of rock

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Into this.

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[inspiring music playing]

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Elaborate, breathtaking mosaics

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Have been made here
for thousands of years,

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Painstakingly constructed

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From millions
of minuscule tesserae

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That I just failed
to make myself.

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[up-tempo music playing]

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[marc] osama's life,
like everyone's here,

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Has been shaped by
one of the most enduring

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Border disputes of our time.

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For decades,
both jewish zionists

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And palestinian nationalists

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Have claimed and fought over

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The same territory,

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Often with devastating results.

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[osama] yes,
I live in jerusalem,

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But I am originally
from palestine.

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Now, it's israel.

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Whether you want to
call it israel,

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Call it palestine,

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It's one land.

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For that, sometimes,
I call it holy land.

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[church bells ringing]

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[marc] but the reason I'm in
this holy land is this wall.

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And here it is.

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-Yes.
-Oh wow, it's amazing.

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[osama] yes, this is
shellal mosaics.

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I never saw the original one.

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You've never...
Of course not.

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You've never seen the original.

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[marc] into the side
of jericho's mosaic centre,

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Osama has built a replica

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Of something called
the shellal mosaic.

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It's a replica
because the real one

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Is in the walls of
the australian war memorial.

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And that real shellal mosaic

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Was actually the floor
of a christian church

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Made with over half a million
tiny tessera.

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It dates back to
the byzantine empire

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Which was a sort of evolution

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Of the roman empire
to the east.

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Whereas, osama's replica here

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Was made for
a very different purpose.

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It was a protest.

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I wanted to send a message.

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Where is our cultural heritage?

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People doesn't live
just from water and bread,

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They need something else.

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And I wanted to tell the story

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Of the shellal mosaic

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And the history of this place.

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And that is a history of war,

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Of redrawn borders,

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And a fledgling nation
inside the british empire.

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But for osama over in jericho,

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It's a story of a theft.

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They-- they didn't own it.
It's not theirs.

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[marc] so, who is
the "they" here?

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Who would dig up
an ancient mosaic,

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And why is it in australia?

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And what does any of this have
to do with the british empire?

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The fact that there's
a 6th-century byzantine mosaic

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In australia alone
is weird enough,

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But it actually gets stranger.

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[marc] so,
underneath the mosaic

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Were buried bones.

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And those bones?

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You will never guess
where they ended up.

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Meet reverend roger kay

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From st anne's
anglican church

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In sydney, australia.

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When he first took
the job here,

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He realised that this building

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Was holding something
of a mystery.

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So, you're interested in
the bones we've got

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Which came from shellal, yes?

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[marc] yes, I am.

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Is that actually the shellal
mosaic? Is that part of it?

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[roger] no, it is not. No.

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That was commissioned
by a local artist,

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And she was asked
to make a mosaic

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Under which they could
inter the bones

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Of whoever they found
in the sarcophagus

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Underneath the floor
of the mosaic in shellal.

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Who do they think those bones
actually belonged to?

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Well, at the time,
I think some people thought

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They belonged to st. George.

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[organ music playing]

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[marc] st. George,

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Who is a fairly big deal
in christianity.

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Amongst other things,
the patron saint

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Dedicated to protecting
England.

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Famously fought
the odd dragon.

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Now, it would be amazing

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If the st. George was buried
in this humble church

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In suburban australia.

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But the historic st. George
most likely died

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Two centuries before
the shellal church was built.

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So why are these remains here?

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This is weird.

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But, thanks to these bones
here in st. Anne's,

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We do know who decided
to dig up

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The shellal mosaic.

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And we do know when.

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[instrumental music playing]

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The great war. World war I.

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And a reverend named
william maitland woods.

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He was the army chaplain

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Who was with
the australian forces

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When they discovered
a mosaic

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Which they then decided
they would remove

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And bring back to australia.

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-All a little bizarre, but...
-[both laugh]

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[marc] bizarre is something
of an understatement here.

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So, people have raised
questions over the...

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People have raised questions
about this for a long time.

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And there's obviously
quite a body of thought

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Who thinks...

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We should never have had
these items in australia.

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[marc] so, we have both bones

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And an ancient church floor
from the middle east,

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Somehow in australia.

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Honestly, for me, though,
the main question is this.

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Who in the middle of a war zone

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Decides to dig up
a 6th century mosaic?

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And it all comes down
to one guy,

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This william maitland woods.

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[pensive music playing]

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Hello. How are you?

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Very good. Come with me.

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[marc] well this
is a bit fancy. Geez.

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[marc] this is historian
dr emily robertson,

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Who still vividly recalls

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The first time she saw
the shellal mosaic.

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And I was really struck with
how out of place it was

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Amongst all of the other
collection items.

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[marc] and so dr emily
started digging into

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This reverend
william maitland woods.

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Maitland woods is a really
interesting character.

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He was born in the uk.

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He was educated in oxford.

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And then he came to australia

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And he served as a chaplain

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With the queensland
mounted forces.

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So, was he
an archaeologist or...?

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No. He was
an amateur archaeologist.

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[marc] so, how does he end up
in the middle east?

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-How does that happen?
-Okay.

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So, he's serving
as a chaplain

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With the anzac
mounted division,

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And he's travelling
through the holy land.

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[marc] in world war I,

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Australian
and new zealand soldiers

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Were in the middle east

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Fighting off
the turkish ottoman empire

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Who were on the german side.

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[marc] how is it that australia
ends up in world war I?

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00:09:01,640 --> 00:09:03,300
[emily] that's
a great question.

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00:09:03,310 --> 00:09:06,240
Essentially, australia, as a
dominion of the british empire,

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00:09:06,310 --> 00:09:08,510
Was obliged to go to war.

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[marc] which explains
how in 1917,

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Australian
and new zealand soldiers

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Found themselves on a hill

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Near a palestinian town
called shellal.

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[emily] they were
digging trenches.

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So, this mosaic pops up.

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[marc] it had been damaged
in the war.

220
00:09:23,930 --> 00:09:26,730
So, maitland woods
convinced his higher-ups

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The mosaic needed
to be saved.

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[emily] he was given immediate
approval, essentially,

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To get a whole group of people
to dig up a mosaic.

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Is it weird to have

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An archaeological dig
in the middle of a war?

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Yeah, I think so.

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[marc] and this is
where it happens.

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Back in 1917,

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Under the watchful eye
of william maitland woods,

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Some 32 australian
and new zealand soldiers,

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They worked in searing heat,
a dust storm coming in...

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There was occasional enemy
fighters flying overhead.

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And they lifted up
this incredible mosaic.

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00:10:03,070 --> 00:10:05,430
[marc] they used glue,
canvas, and plaster

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00:10:05,430 --> 00:10:08,770
To keep the patterns in place
as they packed it into crates.

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63 crates to be sent to cairo.

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00:10:11,640 --> 00:10:14,370
And it was there that the
british war trophies committee

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Would decide their fate.

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And that is when
the real drama begins.

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So, what happens to it is
a very big fight

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Between the british
and the australians

242
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About where it should end up.

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The british wanted
all war trophies

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To go to the imperial
war museum in the uk,

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And the australians
were really worried

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That the british would take
their collection from them.

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-[trumpet music playing]
-huh...

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[marc] you see,
around the time

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Of the lifting of the mosaic,

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Australian soldiers were
already talking about

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One day building their own
future war museum.

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[trumpet music continues]

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[man] I have now the honour

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To declare the australian
national war memorial open.

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00:10:57,550 --> 00:10:59,890
["glory, glory hallelujah"
playing]

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And they had been told
to collect things

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00:11:02,190 --> 00:11:04,560
That were relevant to the war

258
00:11:04,560 --> 00:11:07,830
To perhaps go into
this future war museum.

259
00:11:07,830 --> 00:11:09,960
Wait, wait, wait, wait.
They were being told to,

260
00:11:09,960 --> 00:11:12,170
When they're at war,
collect things.

261
00:11:12,230 --> 00:11:13,370
-Absolutely.
-"'cause we..."

262
00:11:13,400 --> 00:11:14,870
"so we can put them
in a war museum."

263
00:11:14,870 --> 00:11:17,700
[emily] absolutely. So,
the australians were known

264
00:11:17,740 --> 00:11:20,840
As perhaps the most avid

265
00:11:20,880 --> 00:11:22,980
And sometimes ghoulish
collectors out of...

266
00:11:22,980 --> 00:11:24,580
That's a weird thing
for us to be famous for.

267
00:11:24,650 --> 00:11:25,910
-But yes, carry on.
-Yeah, well.

268
00:11:26,050 --> 00:11:27,750
It became an obsession.

269
00:11:29,450 --> 00:11:31,650
[marc] cue some very
furious letters

270
00:11:31,790 --> 00:11:33,950
Between australia
and great britain.

271
00:11:33,960 --> 00:11:35,320
[emily] this is from
the british side.

272
00:11:35,460 --> 00:11:36,390
So they wrote,

273
00:11:36,520 --> 00:11:37,620
"I am to remind you

274
00:11:37,760 --> 00:11:39,760
That it is open
to considerable doubt

275
00:11:39,900 --> 00:11:42,060
Whether this mosaic
can be regarded

276
00:11:42,130 --> 00:11:43,600
As a trophy of war

277
00:11:43,600 --> 00:11:45,800
As it was not captured
from the enemy."

278
00:11:45,930 --> 00:11:46,870
No, it wasn't.

279
00:11:46,870 --> 00:11:48,330
"and it is possible that

280
00:11:48,340 --> 00:11:50,000
It may ultimately be decided

281
00:11:50,070 --> 00:11:53,270
That the mosaic is to be
restored to palestine."

282
00:11:53,340 --> 00:11:54,410
So what are they saying here?

283
00:11:54,410 --> 00:11:55,610
So basically saying,

284
00:11:55,680 --> 00:11:58,550
"it's not a trophy.
You can't have it."

285
00:11:58,550 --> 00:11:59,680
They're essentially
saying that.

286
00:11:59,720 --> 00:12:00,950
[marc] so this is from

287
00:12:01,020 --> 00:12:03,150
The australian
department of defence.

288
00:12:03,280 --> 00:12:04,680
"britain already has a history

289
00:12:04,720 --> 00:12:06,620
In traditions and relics
and trophies

290
00:12:06,620 --> 00:12:07,820
Extending back for centuries.

291
00:12:07,960 --> 00:12:09,890
Whereas australia,"
it continues,

292
00:12:10,020 --> 00:12:11,620
"has none here other than

293
00:12:11,760 --> 00:12:13,630
What she draws from
the mother country."

294
00:12:13,630 --> 00:12:15,230
-Mm-hm.
-"a nation is built

295
00:12:15,300 --> 00:12:17,030
Upon pride of race,

296
00:12:17,030 --> 00:12:19,300
And now that australia is
making history of her own,

297
00:12:19,430 --> 00:12:22,970
She requires every possible
relic associated with this

298
00:12:23,000 --> 00:12:25,700
To help her children
in that national spirit."

299
00:12:25,740 --> 00:12:28,640
It's interesting, like,
the letters,

300
00:12:28,710 --> 00:12:30,640
Reading the letters,

301
00:12:30,710 --> 00:12:33,980
You get a sense of a nation
that's trying to assert itself.

302
00:12:33,980 --> 00:12:35,250
And australians felt that

303
00:12:35,250 --> 00:12:37,320
They had sacrificed
their lives too.

304
00:12:37,350 --> 00:12:40,590
So underlying this
is also, we died.

305
00:12:40,720 --> 00:12:42,760
60,000 of us have died.

306
00:12:42,890 --> 00:12:45,660
You need to respect us
for the sacrifice that we made.

307
00:12:46,390 --> 00:12:48,730
[pensive music playing]

308
00:12:55,540 --> 00:12:57,570
[marc] while the shellal mosaic
was being held

309
00:12:57,710 --> 00:13:00,210
In this strange colonial
custody battle,

310
00:13:00,240 --> 00:13:02,540
The reverend
william maitland woods

311
00:13:02,580 --> 00:13:05,080
Seems to have taken things
into his own hands.

312
00:13:06,280 --> 00:13:10,080
So, when we started looking
into maitland woods,

313
00:13:10,120 --> 00:13:11,080
We found something,

314
00:13:11,150 --> 00:13:12,620
And I would like you

315
00:13:12,650 --> 00:13:14,290
To have a look at this.

316
00:13:14,320 --> 00:13:16,890
[marc] I've brought emily
to a totally different church.

317
00:13:16,890 --> 00:13:19,060
Yes, there's going to be
a few of them.

318
00:13:19,060 --> 00:13:22,000
This is st. James in the heart
of sydney, australia.

319
00:13:22,000 --> 00:13:24,560
Maitland woods, palestine.

320
00:13:25,770 --> 00:13:28,640
Is this a missing piece
of the shellal mosaic?

321
00:13:28,770 --> 00:13:31,240
No. It isn't.

322
00:13:31,370 --> 00:13:32,640
I'm sorry to tell you.

323
00:13:32,640 --> 00:13:34,940
It's not, it's a completely
different mosaic.

324
00:13:34,940 --> 00:13:36,610
So it's definitely
maitland woods.

325
00:13:36,740 --> 00:13:40,180
[emily] yes. So he dug it up
a year and nearly three months

326
00:13:40,250 --> 00:13:42,110
After he dug up
the shellal mosaic.

327
00:13:42,150 --> 00:13:44,520
How many of these pieces did
this guy send to australia?

328
00:13:44,520 --> 00:13:45,720
That's a great question.

329
00:13:45,720 --> 00:13:47,890
I'd love to know
the answer to that too.

330
00:13:49,120 --> 00:13:52,260
[marc] this piece...
The bones in st anne's...

331
00:13:53,230 --> 00:13:54,530
Maitland woods
was so determined

332
00:13:54,660 --> 00:13:56,000
To smuggle holy relics

333
00:13:56,000 --> 00:13:57,130
Before the british
could get them

334
00:13:57,170 --> 00:13:58,330
That he shipped what he could

335
00:13:58,400 --> 00:13:59,670
Through a network of friends,

336
00:13:59,670 --> 00:14:01,270
Soldiers, and clergy.

337
00:14:01,400 --> 00:14:04,540
That's why there are pieces
of this story everywhere.

338
00:14:04,670 --> 00:14:06,570
There may be
other pieces of mosaic

339
00:14:06,710 --> 00:14:07,970
That we don't know about

340
00:14:08,010 --> 00:14:10,680
That are still floating
around in australia.

341
00:14:12,010 --> 00:14:13,710
[marc] but given
the british were fighting

342
00:14:13,750 --> 00:14:15,720
To keep control of the mosaic,

343
00:14:15,850 --> 00:14:18,980
Just how did it end up in
the australian war memorial?

344
00:14:19,020 --> 00:14:21,090
-Hey, ryan, how are you?
-Hey. Good. Nice to meet you.

345
00:14:21,160 --> 00:14:22,220
-Nice to meet you too.
-Should we go?

346
00:14:22,290 --> 00:14:23,160
Yes.

347
00:14:23,230 --> 00:14:24,220
[marc] ryan johnston is

348
00:14:24,230 --> 00:14:25,490
The former head of art

349
00:14:25,490 --> 00:14:27,560
For the
australian war memorial.

350
00:14:27,700 --> 00:14:28,900
[marc] from what I can gather,

351
00:14:28,900 --> 00:14:30,430
There was a bit of
a political stoush

352
00:14:30,570 --> 00:14:33,300
Over who gets to keep these
mosaics, is that right?

353
00:14:33,340 --> 00:14:35,300
Yes, so it went back and
forward with britain

354
00:14:35,300 --> 00:14:36,570
For quite a long time.

355
00:14:36,610 --> 00:14:38,900
So, the reverend immediately
had part of it

356
00:14:38,940 --> 00:14:41,570
Smuggled out of palestine
with a colleague of his

357
00:14:41,640 --> 00:14:43,910
Who was returning to australia.

358
00:14:43,910 --> 00:14:46,710
[marc] so there are real pieces
of the shellal mosaic

359
00:14:46,750 --> 00:14:49,520
That were smuggled
all around australia.

360
00:14:49,520 --> 00:14:50,780
But in the end,

361
00:14:50,820 --> 00:14:52,390
Britain actually relented,

362
00:14:52,390 --> 00:14:54,650
And they gave up
the shellal mosaic.

363
00:14:54,660 --> 00:14:56,620
[ryan] it was then
transferred to canberra

364
00:14:56,660 --> 00:14:58,660
When the war memorial
was being built

365
00:14:58,660 --> 00:14:59,930
To be included

366
00:15:00,060 --> 00:15:01,860
In one of
the foundational walls

367
00:15:02,000 --> 00:15:03,600
In the lower level
of the memorial.

368
00:15:03,730 --> 00:15:07,470
Was that legal? For them
to take the mosaic?

369
00:15:07,500 --> 00:15:09,440
That's a really great question.

370
00:15:09,470 --> 00:15:12,740
Um, what I would say
is that I think

371
00:15:12,870 --> 00:15:14,040
It's a good rule of thumb

372
00:15:14,110 --> 00:15:16,280
Not to take things
that don't belong to you.

373
00:15:16,280 --> 00:15:18,280
Um, and if you are a museum

374
00:15:18,280 --> 00:15:20,680
That discovers you have things
in your collection

375
00:15:20,720 --> 00:15:22,620
That shouldn't really be there,

376
00:15:22,750 --> 00:15:24,620
Um, you should at least
offer to give them back.

377
00:15:25,950 --> 00:15:28,750
[marc] ryan isn't alone
in that view.

378
00:15:30,390 --> 00:15:32,990
I'm in jerusalem
meeting with dr jon seligman,

379
00:15:33,030 --> 00:15:35,960
From the israel
antiquities authority.

380
00:15:36,100 --> 00:15:37,560
-Well, this is amazing.
-Yes.

381
00:15:37,630 --> 00:15:39,900
[wonderous music playing]

382
00:15:44,440 --> 00:15:45,570
-Can I show you this?
-[jon] yeah, sure.

383
00:15:45,710 --> 00:15:47,410
Okay, so this is
what is hanging

384
00:15:47,540 --> 00:15:49,310
In australia at the moment.

385
00:15:49,310 --> 00:15:50,840
Okay.

386
00:15:50,880 --> 00:15:52,640
[marc] all of this,

387
00:15:52,680 --> 00:15:54,480
Part of their justification
for taking it

388
00:15:54,520 --> 00:15:56,380
Is that they said that
they were saving it.

389
00:15:56,450 --> 00:15:57,650
-Okay.
-That if it had stayed here,

390
00:15:57,790 --> 00:15:59,120
It would've been damaged,
and indeed,

391
00:15:59,120 --> 00:16:00,590
It had already sustained
some damage.

392
00:16:00,660 --> 00:16:02,390
-Okay.
-My question is,

393
00:16:02,460 --> 00:16:03,860
Is that a reasonable argument

394
00:16:03,990 --> 00:16:05,120
For pulling something up
out of the ground?

395
00:16:05,190 --> 00:16:06,630
No, it's not. The way you save

396
00:16:06,630 --> 00:16:08,460
Something like this is
to cover it with earth.

397
00:16:08,600 --> 00:16:10,530
Obviously, they wanted it.
That's the bottom line.

398
00:16:10,670 --> 00:16:12,770
But there was no reason
to-- to remove it.

399
00:16:12,830 --> 00:16:15,130
[marc] if this had
happened today,

400
00:16:15,140 --> 00:16:16,470
Would it be considered a crime?

401
00:16:16,540 --> 00:16:18,070
It would be considered today
a war crime.

402
00:16:18,070 --> 00:16:19,470
This is stolen property.

403
00:16:20,780 --> 00:16:23,880
[pensive music playing]

404
00:16:23,910 --> 00:16:27,710
[marc] stolen, saved,
fought over.

405
00:16:27,720 --> 00:16:29,820
When you put
the various fragments

406
00:16:29,820 --> 00:16:33,090
Of this mosaic story together,
what is it saying?

407
00:16:34,690 --> 00:16:36,760
It's like the mosaic
holds two stories.

408
00:16:36,890 --> 00:16:39,960
On this land, australia,
it's about a british dominion

409
00:16:40,090 --> 00:16:42,430
Trying to find its identity
within the empire.

410
00:16:42,560 --> 00:16:44,960
But over where
the mosaic is from,

411
00:16:45,030 --> 00:16:48,000
It's the story of empires
dividing a land.

412
00:16:54,710 --> 00:16:57,480
[marc] how important
is the british empire

413
00:16:57,480 --> 00:16:59,410
In, in what's become of
israel and palestine?

414
00:16:59,410 --> 00:17:00,410
Absolutely crucial.
Absolutely central.

415
00:17:00,450 --> 00:17:01,650
It goes right back.

416
00:17:01,720 --> 00:17:03,650
So, the first world war

417
00:17:03,790 --> 00:17:06,720
Is a time when
the ottoman empire collapses,

418
00:17:06,790 --> 00:17:09,120
And the british
move into the middle east.

419
00:17:09,160 --> 00:17:12,660
And they start to make moves

420
00:17:12,690 --> 00:17:16,200
To set parts
of the middle east aside

421
00:17:16,330 --> 00:17:20,070
For the purposes of
establishing israel.

422
00:17:21,240 --> 00:17:23,270
[marc] which, of course,
has had complicated

423
00:17:23,270 --> 00:17:24,940
And violent
repercussions since.

424
00:17:26,040 --> 00:17:28,110
And probably will
for decades to come.

425
00:17:31,250 --> 00:17:34,250
And caught in this history is
the shellal mosaic.

426
00:17:35,050 --> 00:17:37,950
[piano music playing]

427
00:17:38,020 --> 00:17:40,220
[marc] it was looted from land
that was very clearly

428
00:17:40,350 --> 00:17:41,890
Known then as palestine.

429
00:17:41,960 --> 00:17:44,760
But that same spot
is now very much governed

430
00:17:44,830 --> 00:17:46,630
By the modern-day
state of israel.

431
00:17:46,660 --> 00:17:50,430
What do you think should happen
with this mosaic?

432
00:17:50,500 --> 00:17:51,760
Well, I think, ultimately,

433
00:17:51,770 --> 00:17:53,370
It should be returned to
where it came from.

434
00:17:53,370 --> 00:17:54,700
That's the state of israel.

435
00:17:54,770 --> 00:17:56,370
The fact that
when this was taken,

436
00:17:56,370 --> 00:17:57,700
There was no state of israel,

437
00:17:57,710 --> 00:17:58,910
Does that change that
for you at all?

438
00:17:58,910 --> 00:18:00,310
For me, it doesn't change it.

439
00:18:00,440 --> 00:18:02,640
For international law,
that could be an issue.

440
00:18:03,780 --> 00:18:04,980
[marc] right now,
the shellal mosaic

441
00:18:05,050 --> 00:18:06,910
Is literally in the wall.

442
00:18:07,050 --> 00:18:08,110
It is part of the wall.

443
00:18:08,120 --> 00:18:09,320
[ryan] correct.

444
00:18:09,320 --> 00:18:11,250
Could you even take it out

445
00:18:11,250 --> 00:18:12,380
If you wanted to?

446
00:18:12,420 --> 00:18:13,250
I don't know.

447
00:18:13,390 --> 00:18:14,490
-Um...
-[laughs]

448
00:18:14,520 --> 00:18:16,160
I do know
it would be very difficult.

449
00:18:16,160 --> 00:18:17,760
Whether it's impossible

450
00:18:17,760 --> 00:18:21,030
Or just very expensive,
I couldn't say.

451
00:18:21,860 --> 00:18:23,260
[marc] in case you're wondering,

452
00:18:23,260 --> 00:18:25,400
For the last four months,
we've been asking

453
00:18:25,430 --> 00:18:27,400
The australian war memorial
for an interview.

454
00:18:27,440 --> 00:18:29,140
They did give us a statement
that didn't answer

455
00:18:29,200 --> 00:18:30,940
Any of our questions,

456
00:18:30,970 --> 00:18:33,270
And they wouldn't let us
film the mosaic

457
00:18:33,310 --> 00:18:35,270
Because it's undergoing
conservation.

458
00:18:35,280 --> 00:18:38,540
So this one, it's a fake.

459
00:18:38,550 --> 00:18:40,080
A good one though.

460
00:18:40,120 --> 00:18:42,520
[marc] meaning,
technically,

461
00:18:42,520 --> 00:18:44,020
I still haven't shown you

462
00:18:44,090 --> 00:18:46,890
A real piece
of the shellal mosaic.

463
00:18:46,890 --> 00:18:49,420
That is, until now.

464
00:18:49,560 --> 00:18:50,720
Remember when ryan said

465
00:18:50,790 --> 00:18:52,420
Maitland woods smuggled
other pieces

466
00:18:52,460 --> 00:18:54,160
Of the shellal mosaic?

467
00:18:54,160 --> 00:18:55,760
In st john's cathedral,

468
00:18:55,830 --> 00:18:57,630
One of the grandest
old churches

469
00:18:57,700 --> 00:18:58,830
In brisbane, australia,

470
00:18:58,870 --> 00:19:00,930
Lies one of the final pieces

471
00:19:01,070 --> 00:19:02,840
Of maitland woods' legacy.

472
00:19:04,110 --> 00:19:06,270
So that is another piece
of the shellal mosaic, right?

473
00:19:06,310 --> 00:19:09,310
[peter] yes, it is a piece
of the shellal mosaic, yes.

474
00:19:09,340 --> 00:19:12,240
[emily] look, for me,
as a first world war historian,

475
00:19:12,310 --> 00:19:17,120
It shows us how people needed
to bring the war back home

476
00:19:17,150 --> 00:19:18,320
Because it was so distant

477
00:19:18,450 --> 00:19:19,920
And people didn't understand

478
00:19:19,990 --> 00:19:22,320
Either the violence
or the wonder

479
00:19:22,320 --> 00:19:23,860
Of what they were seeing.

480
00:19:23,930 --> 00:19:25,320
Yes, this end of the cathedral,

481
00:19:25,460 --> 00:19:26,590
The east end of the cathedral,

482
00:19:26,660 --> 00:19:28,530
Has a lot of relics

483
00:19:28,530 --> 00:19:31,330
That attach to world war I,

484
00:19:31,470 --> 00:19:32,730
And when I think about

485
00:19:32,730 --> 00:19:35,270
What it was like
for those people coming back,

486
00:19:35,400 --> 00:19:37,740
The whole country was
dealing with trauma.

487
00:19:37,870 --> 00:19:39,440
People were really trying

488
00:19:39,470 --> 00:19:42,140
To make sense of
what had happened,

489
00:19:43,110 --> 00:19:45,080
And trying to get to
the point where

490
00:19:45,110 --> 00:19:47,350
The sacrifice wasn't in vain.

491
00:19:48,520 --> 00:19:50,020
[marc] what does
it mean to you,

492
00:19:50,050 --> 00:19:53,890
To have something that stretches
right back to the holy land

493
00:19:53,960 --> 00:19:55,690
Here in this church?

494
00:19:55,690 --> 00:19:58,620
Well, for me, it's a bit
of a conflicted article,

495
00:19:58,660 --> 00:20:00,660
Because I understand why

496
00:20:00,730 --> 00:20:04,430
People would want to have
an object to do that.

497
00:20:04,430 --> 00:20:06,370
I'm a great believer in, um,

498
00:20:06,430 --> 00:20:09,100
How stuff like this really
belongs where it came from

499
00:20:09,140 --> 00:20:13,710
Rather than, um,
being appropriated by us.

500
00:20:13,780 --> 00:20:15,040
I mean that really is
the story

501
00:20:15,080 --> 00:20:16,380
Of the shellal mosaic,
isn't it?

502
00:20:16,410 --> 00:20:18,110
It-- it is messy

503
00:20:18,150 --> 00:20:19,850
And it is complicated,

504
00:20:19,850 --> 00:20:22,180
And there's so many dots
on the map, right?

505
00:20:22,320 --> 00:20:24,720
It's about us as a nation,
australia.

506
00:20:24,750 --> 00:20:27,120
It's about our role
with the british empire.

507
00:20:27,160 --> 00:20:29,790
It's about the middle east
and israel and palestine.

508
00:20:29,790 --> 00:20:32,860
It's amazing how much it kind of
connects to everything, emily.

509
00:20:33,860 --> 00:20:37,060
[emily] an object has
lots of meanings,

510
00:20:37,100 --> 00:20:40,400
And sometimes that meaning
can be given to it

511
00:20:40,400 --> 00:20:41,870
Well after it was made.

512
00:20:42,000 --> 00:20:43,870
Yes, it, and it
absolutely represents

513
00:20:43,940 --> 00:20:46,170
This very strange story

514
00:20:46,170 --> 00:20:49,540
About a devout christian man

515
00:20:49,680 --> 00:20:52,410
Who could see
a byzantine mosaic

516
00:20:52,410 --> 00:20:54,810
Representing the story
of australians

517
00:20:54,950 --> 00:20:57,420
Who were in his mind on crusade.

518
00:20:57,450 --> 00:20:59,920
[pensive music playing]

519
00:21:02,120 --> 00:21:03,490
[marc] one mosaic

520
00:21:03,490 --> 00:21:06,030
Wanted by israel,
palestine, britain,

521
00:21:06,160 --> 00:21:08,830
Now somehow spread
across australia,

522
00:21:08,900 --> 00:21:11,500
And each imbuing it with
their own meaning.

523
00:21:12,300 --> 00:21:13,430
But what does that mean

524
00:21:13,570 --> 00:21:15,030
For the people
it was taken from?

525
00:21:17,240 --> 00:21:18,970
[osama] each mosaics,
it's telling a story,

526
00:21:19,110 --> 00:21:21,040
And we would like
to show the people,

527
00:21:21,180 --> 00:21:24,440
Where is our
cultural heritage now?

528
00:21:24,580 --> 00:21:26,580
If they know their history,

529
00:21:26,650 --> 00:21:32,180
Maybe it will help them
to support their identity.

530
00:21:32,220 --> 00:21:33,250
I am muslim.

531
00:21:34,190 --> 00:21:35,590
But before the...

532
00:21:35,660 --> 00:21:36,660
To be muslim,

533
00:21:36,720 --> 00:21:38,060
I was christian.

534
00:21:39,060 --> 00:21:41,530
Then before christian,
I was jewish.

535
00:21:41,560 --> 00:21:43,600
I am not coming from nothing.

536
00:21:43,730 --> 00:21:45,160
I have a base.

537
00:21:45,230 --> 00:21:46,870
I have foundation.

538
00:21:46,900 --> 00:21:48,870
We have a lot of things
in common.

539
00:21:49,000 --> 00:21:52,970
This is the message that
mosaics can tell you.

540
00:21:53,040 --> 00:21:54,570
Cultural heritage can tell you.

541
00:21:54,580 --> 00:21:56,080
[solemn music playing]

542
00:21:56,140 --> 00:21:58,010
[whispering]