1 00:00:01,801 --> 00:00:04,667 [Narrator] In the ruins of the ancient city of Troy, 2 00:00:06,634 --> 00:00:10,534 archaeologists discover a series of mysterious skeletons. 3 00:00:15,934 --> 00:00:19,667 [Narrator] As they dig deeper, they find evidence of weapons. 4 00:00:25,434 --> 00:00:27,033 [Narrator] Their discoveries shed light 5 00:00:27,167 --> 00:00:30,601 on one of the most famous conflicts of all time, 6 00:00:31,334 --> 00:00:33,801 the Greek legend of the Trojan War. 7 00:00:54,767 --> 00:00:56,834 [Narrator] The wonders of Ancient Greece are among 8 00:00:56,968 --> 00:00:59,467 the greatest ever known. 9 00:00:59,601 --> 00:01:02,634 Greece was the birthplace of democracy and 10 00:01:02,767 --> 00:01:06,367 the cradle of Western engineering and architecture. 11 00:01:07,434 --> 00:01:09,300 From inspiring inventions, 12 00:01:09,434 --> 00:01:12,534 to epic heroes and legends, 13 00:01:12,968 --> 00:01:17,634 the legacy of Ancient Greece still shapes the modern world. 14 00:01:20,834 --> 00:01:23,701 The story of the Trojan War is one of the 15 00:01:23,834 --> 00:01:26,100 most famous Greek legends. 16 00:01:26,868 --> 00:01:29,300 It recounts a 10-year conflict between the Greeks 17 00:01:29,434 --> 00:01:34,667 and the city called Troy, that ends in its destruction. 18 00:01:37,300 --> 00:01:41,534 Today, this epic saga and its heroes are seen as myth 19 00:01:41,667 --> 00:01:45,834 and legend, but how much of this tale could be true? 20 00:01:47,033 --> 00:01:50,601 -The Greeks believed this was an absolutely real story; 21 00:01:51,067 --> 00:01:52,667 many believed that if the Greeks hadn't got 22 00:01:52,801 --> 00:01:56,000 back from the Trojan War, their whole nation would 23 00:01:56,133 --> 00:01:57,434 have become extinct. 24 00:01:57,868 --> 00:02:02,234 [Narrator] Now, international teams of archaeologists dig 25 00:02:02,367 --> 00:02:05,934 through centuries of earth to hunt for the 26 00:02:06,067 --> 00:02:07,534 truth behind the myth. 27 00:02:08,032 --> 00:02:13,067 -This is the one myth that's deeply embedded in our culture. 28 00:02:13,767 --> 00:02:16,467 People have been looking for evidence of the Trojan War 29 00:02:16,601 --> 00:02:19,400 happened for the past two centuries. 30 00:02:20,200 --> 00:02:22,367 [Narrator] Why did the Ancient Greeks believe 31 00:02:22,501 --> 00:02:24,901 the Trojan War really happened, 32 00:02:25,968 --> 00:02:28,133 what might new discoveries reveal about 33 00:02:28,267 --> 00:02:30,868 the world that inspired this epic? 34 00:02:34,834 --> 00:02:37,133 The Ancient Greeks believed that Troy was 35 00:02:37,267 --> 00:02:39,834 a city in what is now Turkey, 36 00:02:40,300 --> 00:02:42,534 on the coast of the Aegean Sea. 37 00:02:44,334 --> 00:02:47,834 Hisarlik Hill lies a few miles inland; 38 00:02:48,467 --> 00:02:51,033 its name means "a place of fortresses." 39 00:02:52,667 --> 00:02:55,167 Today, Hisarlik is better known as the site 40 00:02:55,300 --> 00:02:58,033 of Ancient Troy. 41 00:03:00,634 --> 00:03:04,334 Archaeologist Rustem Aslan leads one of the country's 42 00:03:04,467 --> 00:03:06,801 longest-running excavations. 43 00:03:07,734 --> 00:03:09,968 This morning, he's on his way to begin a 44 00:03:10,100 --> 00:03:11,701 new season of digging. 45 00:03:30,100 --> 00:03:32,501 [Narrator] In the 7th BCE, 46 00:03:32,634 --> 00:03:35,934 Greek settlers founded a city here. 47 00:03:36,834 --> 00:03:40,367 They called it Ilion, and believed it stood on 48 00:03:40,501 --> 00:03:43,334 the same spot as Ancient Troy. 49 00:03:44,834 --> 00:03:48,901 Over the centuries, Ilion's exact location was lost, 50 00:03:50,167 --> 00:03:54,000 and the legend of its famous predecessor faded into myth. 51 00:04:02,834 --> 00:04:04,601 [Narrator] All that changed when a German 52 00:04:04,734 --> 00:04:07,567 archaeologist called Heinrich Schliemann 53 00:04:07,701 --> 00:04:10,701 visited this hill in the late 1800s. 54 00:04:13,100 --> 00:04:14,367 He began to dig, 55 00:04:14,501 --> 00:04:17,033 rediscovering the Greek city of Ilion, 56 00:04:17,634 --> 00:04:20,100 and revealing how it stood on top of ruins 57 00:04:20,233 --> 00:04:22,367 more than 5,000 years old, 58 00:04:23,467 --> 00:04:26,367 proof he claimed of Ancient Troy. 59 00:04:31,634 --> 00:04:34,968 Archaeologists divide the history of Ancient Troy 60 00:04:35,100 --> 00:04:36,601 into 10 periods. 61 00:04:36,868 --> 00:04:40,767 The first settlement was founded around 3000 BCE, 62 00:04:41,167 --> 00:04:45,133 around 500 years before the Great Pyramid of Egypt, 63 00:04:45,868 --> 00:04:48,667 during a time known as the Bronze Age. 64 00:04:51,601 --> 00:04:54,267 This season, Rustem plans to investigate 65 00:04:54,400 --> 00:04:57,367 the fortifications of Troy number VI. 66 00:04:57,901 --> 00:05:00,767 This site dates to the late Bronze Age, 67 00:05:00,901 --> 00:05:03,300 which is when the Ancient Greeks believed the 68 00:05:03,434 --> 00:05:05,367 Trojan War took place. 69 00:05:23,100 --> 00:05:25,400 [Narrator] The problem is that this site lies 70 00:05:25,534 --> 00:05:28,868 beneath more than 15 feet of earth. 71 00:05:31,267 --> 00:05:34,467 Today, Rustem's team must first clear away all the 72 00:05:34,601 --> 00:05:37,934 debris accumulated since their last season, 73 00:05:38,067 --> 00:05:41,934 before they can even start to look for this city's secrets. 74 00:05:56,667 --> 00:06:00,067 [Narrator] Rustem suspects that late Bronze Age Troy 75 00:06:00,200 --> 00:06:02,901 could be the one from the myth. 76 00:06:03,667 --> 00:06:06,067 So what evidence is there that the Greeks 77 00:06:06,200 --> 00:06:08,501 were describing this city? 78 00:06:10,801 --> 00:06:14,434 There is no single version of the Trojan War story. 79 00:06:15,734 --> 00:06:19,467 The most famous are two epic sagas, 80 00:06:20,133 --> 00:06:22,400 The Iliad and The Odyssey, 81 00:06:22,667 --> 00:06:25,934 composed by a mysterious poet known as Homer. 82 00:06:27,767 --> 00:06:31,968 But there once existed other tales now lost over time. 83 00:06:34,934 --> 00:06:38,667 According to Greek myth, the war begins when Paris, 84 00:06:38,801 --> 00:06:43,100 a prince of Troy, picks the goddess Aphrodite in 85 00:06:43,234 --> 00:06:45,167 a beauty contest. 86 00:06:45,300 --> 00:06:49,434 In return, she makes Helen, the wife of the King of Sparta, 87 00:06:49,567 --> 00:06:52,167 elope with him to the city of Troy. 88 00:06:52,567 --> 00:06:55,601 Some versions say that Paris abducts her. 89 00:06:57,601 --> 00:07:00,701 Furious, the Spartan king sails with a massive 90 00:07:00,834 --> 00:07:03,634 Greek fleet to bring her back. 91 00:07:05,701 --> 00:07:08,534 They land in Troy to find the Trojans 92 00:07:08,667 --> 00:07:13,400 behind their mighty walls, and an epic siege begins. 93 00:07:17,734 --> 00:07:20,667 Ancient Historian Emily Hauser is in Troy 94 00:07:20,801 --> 00:07:24,000 to investigate how the Bronze Age city matches 95 00:07:24,133 --> 00:07:26,367 up to the one in the myth. 96 00:07:26,834 --> 00:07:30,434 [Emily] We're always looking at a difficult process because 97 00:07:30,567 --> 00:07:33,968 what we are engaging with is epic, it's poetry, 98 00:07:34,100 --> 00:07:36,534 it's myth, it's legend. 99 00:07:36,667 --> 00:07:39,567 But what we can do is maybe find sort of kernels 100 00:07:39,701 --> 00:07:42,334 of historical truth that might have passed 101 00:07:42,467 --> 00:07:44,434 down from generation to generation. 102 00:07:46,701 --> 00:07:48,934 [Narrator] The Greeks believed that Homer's story 103 00:07:49,067 --> 00:07:51,968 was true and described real events. 104 00:07:53,234 --> 00:07:56,801 The problem is that his tales are not history as 105 00:07:56,934 --> 00:07:59,067 we know it today. 106 00:07:59,634 --> 00:08:02,801 His famous epic poem The Iliad is primarily 107 00:08:02,934 --> 00:08:06,167 the story of Greece's greatest warrior, Achilles, 108 00:08:06,667 --> 00:08:09,067 and takes place over less than two months in 109 00:08:09,200 --> 00:08:11,300 the 10-year war. 110 00:08:11,434 --> 00:08:13,501 [Emily] There are elements to the Troy that we find 111 00:08:13,634 --> 00:08:16,534 in Homer that are poetic, and there are elements 112 00:08:16,667 --> 00:08:20,100 that are looking back to a real historical city. 113 00:08:20,701 --> 00:08:22,067 Obviously, we want to be careful, 114 00:08:22,200 --> 00:08:25,133 but there are amazing correspondences that are 115 00:08:25,267 --> 00:08:27,234 just kind of spine-tingling. 116 00:08:27,767 --> 00:08:31,667 [Narrator] Emily takes a closer look at Troy VI's walls. 117 00:08:33,167 --> 00:08:35,734 [Emily] You can see this massive tower here, well, 118 00:08:35,868 --> 00:08:38,267 that ties in incredibly nicely to the way that 119 00:08:38,400 --> 00:08:41,299 Homer describes the citadel of Troy as being 120 00:08:41,433 --> 00:08:43,501 ringed by massive walls and towers, 121 00:08:43,634 --> 00:08:46,801 he calls it eupurgos, which means "well-towered," 122 00:08:46,934 --> 00:08:48,467 "well-fortified." 123 00:08:48,901 --> 00:08:50,734 [Narrator] These towers are not the only aspect of 124 00:08:50,868 --> 00:08:54,634 the city that the much later Greek poet gets right. 125 00:08:56,901 --> 00:08:58,901 [Emily] We get a lot of different features of the 126 00:08:59,033 --> 00:09:01,167 city being picked out. 127 00:09:01,300 --> 00:09:03,434 You can also see the slope of the walls; 128 00:09:03,567 --> 00:09:05,701 it's a really distinctive angle. 129 00:09:06,234 --> 00:09:08,501 And there's one moment in the epic where Homer is 130 00:09:08,634 --> 00:09:12,300 describing Patroclus, Achilles' companion, lover, 131 00:09:12,434 --> 00:09:16,067 closest friend, and he is attacking Troy. 132 00:09:16,400 --> 00:09:17,701 And we get this passage three times, 133 00:09:17,834 --> 00:09:22,467 Patroclus tried to scale the slope or the angle of the wall. 134 00:09:23,234 --> 00:09:25,000 [Narrator] Emily thinks these architectural 135 00:09:25,133 --> 00:09:28,367 similarities are more than a coincidence. 136 00:09:29,100 --> 00:09:31,534 -There are memories encapsulated there of an 137 00:09:31,667 --> 00:09:34,000 ancient city that Homer couldn't possibly 138 00:09:34,133 --> 00:09:35,734 have known about. 139 00:09:35,868 --> 00:09:38,934 These walls were actually buried under the ground. 140 00:09:41,868 --> 00:09:44,234 [Narrator] How could Homer describe a city he 141 00:09:44,367 --> 00:09:46,434 could never have seen? 142 00:09:47,701 --> 00:09:50,167 The answer is that Homer must have drawn on a rich 143 00:09:50,300 --> 00:09:54,834 tradition of stories about Troy that went back centuries. 144 00:09:56,267 --> 00:10:00,601 The first people to tell these tales were oral poets 145 00:10:00,734 --> 00:10:03,734 who preserved memories of real places. 146 00:10:04,267 --> 00:10:05,667 [Emily] They would have passed their craft on to 147 00:10:05,801 --> 00:10:07,801 the next generation of bards, almost like a sort of time 148 00:10:07,934 --> 00:10:10,868 capsule passed from one generation to the next. 149 00:10:14,167 --> 00:10:16,167 [Narrator] Archaeologists have discovered that late 150 00:10:16,300 --> 00:10:20,434 Bronze Age Troy was a rich and powerful city that 151 00:10:20,567 --> 00:10:23,801 controlled the entrance to the Black Sea. 152 00:10:23,934 --> 00:10:28,400 Mighty stone walls crowned with imposing towers rose 153 00:10:28,534 --> 00:10:30,968 30 feet above the plain. 154 00:10:33,467 --> 00:10:36,200 They shielded the heart of the city, 155 00:10:36,334 --> 00:10:39,400 a grand citadel and palace complex. 156 00:10:41,834 --> 00:10:45,200 Below it stretched a sprawling lower town, 157 00:10:45,534 --> 00:10:48,634 home to up to 7000 people, 158 00:10:49,701 --> 00:10:53,534 making Troy one of the largest cities of its day. 159 00:10:57,767 --> 00:11:01,434 Today, many archaeologists believe that Troy VI 160 00:11:01,567 --> 00:11:04,567 is the city that the Ancient Greeks had in mind 161 00:11:04,701 --> 00:11:07,801 when they sang songs about high-towered Troy. 162 00:11:10,300 --> 00:11:14,801 But evidence for an actual war is still hotly contested. 163 00:11:16,667 --> 00:11:19,367 This season, Rustem hopes his new dig will 164 00:11:19,501 --> 00:11:22,033 shed light on this mystery, 165 00:11:23,033 --> 00:11:27,434 he wants to find out how Bronze Age Troy came to an end. 166 00:11:46,033 --> 00:11:48,100 [Narrator] The team gets to work. 167 00:11:48,234 --> 00:11:51,767 Bronze Age Troy is buried so deep that it will 168 00:11:51,901 --> 00:11:54,167 take weeks just to reach it. 169 00:11:55,133 --> 00:11:58,534 Why did the Ancient Greeks believe their ancestors 170 00:11:58,667 --> 00:12:01,801 had traveled here to fight in an epic war? 171 00:12:08,200 --> 00:12:11,100 [Narrator] The legend of the Trojan War is set in 172 00:12:11,234 --> 00:12:13,767 a time of kings and heroes. 173 00:12:15,634 --> 00:12:18,200 According to Homer, Bronze Age Greece was 174 00:12:18,334 --> 00:12:20,667 made up of rival city-states, 175 00:12:20,801 --> 00:12:23,901 who all sent warriors to fight in Troy. 176 00:12:24,801 --> 00:12:27,801 Who were the real Bronze Age Greeks? 177 00:12:29,801 --> 00:12:33,400 How does their world match up with the one in the myth? 178 00:12:37,601 --> 00:12:40,567 More than 300 miles south-west of Troy, 179 00:12:40,701 --> 00:12:43,968 a second dig takes place at Iklaina near 180 00:12:44,100 --> 00:12:46,067 Pylos in Greece. 181 00:12:46,834 --> 00:12:49,000 Archaeologist Michael Cosmopoulos 182 00:12:49,133 --> 00:12:51,734 from the University of Missouri-St. Louis 183 00:12:51,868 --> 00:12:54,000 leads the excavations here. 184 00:12:55,234 --> 00:12:57,934 He's fascinated by the stories of Homer and 185 00:12:58,067 --> 00:13:00,901 the real world in which they are set. 186 00:13:02,133 --> 00:13:05,100 [Michael] I grew up loving The Iliad and The Odyssey, 187 00:13:05,234 --> 00:13:07,100 but what really fascinates me is the 188 00:13:07,234 --> 00:13:09,501 connection to the present. 189 00:13:16,501 --> 00:13:18,601 What you take out of the ground has not seen 190 00:13:18,734 --> 00:13:21,434 the light of day for thousands of years. 191 00:13:23,734 --> 00:13:25,968 [Narrator] At Iklaina, Michael and his team 192 00:13:26,100 --> 00:13:29,367 investigate a late Bronze Age city. 193 00:13:29,968 --> 00:13:32,200 This season, they're digging inside a large 194 00:13:32,334 --> 00:13:34,667 house called a megaron. 195 00:13:36,267 --> 00:13:38,000 [Michael] So what do you have here? 196 00:13:40,100 --> 00:13:42,801 [Narrator] Very little remains above ground, 197 00:13:42,934 --> 00:13:45,000 so Michael must piece together the building's 198 00:13:45,133 --> 00:13:47,868 story from fragments buried in the earth. 199 00:13:49,367 --> 00:13:51,334 [Michael] We have two kylikes here, 200 00:13:51,467 --> 00:13:54,000 this is part of a third one. 201 00:13:54,133 --> 00:13:56,567 [Narrator] A kylix is a type of drinking vessel 202 00:13:56,701 --> 00:13:59,267 that was common in the late Bronze Age, 203 00:14:00,267 --> 00:14:03,534 it's one of at least 10 discovered in this room. 204 00:14:06,267 --> 00:14:08,868 [Michael] These are definitely household vases, 205 00:14:09,167 --> 00:14:11,467 drinking vases. 206 00:14:14,033 --> 00:14:17,701 This is fascinating, it's excellent quality pottery too. 207 00:14:18,100 --> 00:14:19,667 It's palace ware. 208 00:14:20,334 --> 00:14:23,000 [Narrator] The kylikes tell Michael that this hall 209 00:14:23,133 --> 00:14:26,133 probably belonged to a wealthy person, 210 00:14:26,367 --> 00:14:29,868 it was one of several built by successive generations. 211 00:14:32,133 --> 00:14:33,868 [Michael] What we are excavating at Iklaina is 212 00:14:34,000 --> 00:14:37,200 a city going back to the late Bronze Age, 213 00:14:37,334 --> 00:14:40,834 roughly 1600 to 1200 BC. 214 00:14:41,100 --> 00:14:43,667 It's a large city, we guestimate that it 215 00:14:43,801 --> 00:14:47,501 would have had between six and 8,000 people. 216 00:14:49,501 --> 00:14:52,133 [Narrator] The megaron is just one of Iklaina's 217 00:14:52,267 --> 00:14:54,400 many fine buildings. 218 00:14:58,400 --> 00:15:02,501 On the edge of an escarpment lies a massive wall which 219 00:15:02,634 --> 00:15:05,367 archaeologists initially thought was part of 220 00:15:05,501 --> 00:15:10,167 Iklaina's defenses, but in amongst the stones, 221 00:15:10,300 --> 00:15:13,000 they found something unexpected. 222 00:15:13,734 --> 00:15:16,801 Fresco fragments that, when restored, 223 00:15:16,934 --> 00:15:20,601 revealed vivid naval scenes and processions. 224 00:15:22,501 --> 00:15:25,400 These weren't the ruins of a defensive wall but 225 00:15:25,534 --> 00:15:29,434 the shattered remains of an enormous megaron, 226 00:15:30,501 --> 00:15:33,667 an imposing multistory building of fine masonry 227 00:15:33,801 --> 00:15:37,133 and painted plaster that stood at the same time 228 00:15:37,267 --> 00:15:39,968 as Bronze Age Troy. 229 00:15:45,567 --> 00:15:49,567 Michael thinks Iklaina was an early microstate. 230 00:15:51,767 --> 00:15:53,868 An urban center that dominated the 231 00:15:54,000 --> 00:15:56,434 surrounding countryside. 232 00:15:57,534 --> 00:16:00,734 Other Greek cities like this were much larger, 233 00:16:01,000 --> 00:16:03,400 among them Mycenae. 234 00:16:07,267 --> 00:16:11,100 Mycenae was the greatest of the Bronze Age Greek cities, 235 00:16:12,033 --> 00:16:16,167 home to over 6,000 people, crowned by a palace and 236 00:16:16,300 --> 00:16:18,934 encircled by massive stone walls. 237 00:16:19,868 --> 00:16:23,033 Copper and tin flowed into the city, 238 00:16:23,167 --> 00:16:24,634 and in Mycenae's forges, 239 00:16:24,767 --> 00:16:28,167 they became exquisite bronze weapons of war. 240 00:16:28,601 --> 00:16:31,133 Gold filled its royal shaft graves, 241 00:16:31,267 --> 00:16:34,200 laid over bodies of the elite with metal mined as 242 00:16:34,334 --> 00:16:37,234 far away as modern-day Romania. 243 00:16:38,334 --> 00:16:42,200 Even Egyptian faience, a bright glassy material, 244 00:16:42,334 --> 00:16:48,000 reached Mycenae, proof of a city trading across empires. 245 00:16:53,701 --> 00:16:55,667 Archaeologists refer to the Greeks of this 246 00:16:55,801 --> 00:16:59,467 time as Mycenaean, after Mycenae, 247 00:17:01,167 --> 00:17:02,501 but in Homer's texts, 248 00:17:02,634 --> 00:17:05,367 the Greeks have a different name. 249 00:17:06,601 --> 00:17:08,133 [Michael] Homer in The Iliad refers to the 250 00:17:08,267 --> 00:17:12,800 Greeks as Achaeans, and this is a term that appears 251 00:17:12,934 --> 00:17:17,634 to include the Greek troops from various parts of Greece. 252 00:17:19,200 --> 00:17:21,334 [Narrator] Homer's description of Bronze Age 253 00:17:21,467 --> 00:17:24,000 Greece is broadly accurate. 254 00:17:24,501 --> 00:17:27,067 This was an age of rival cities. 255 00:17:27,701 --> 00:17:29,968 The problem is that many of those that supposedly 256 00:17:30,100 --> 00:17:34,133 joined forces against Troy don't match up with 257 00:17:34,267 --> 00:17:36,367 any modern place names. 258 00:17:38,434 --> 00:17:41,133 How much credence can we give to Homer's account 259 00:17:41,267 --> 00:17:43,567 of this great alliance? 260 00:17:43,968 --> 00:17:48,934 What evidence is there that a Trojan war ever took place? 261 00:17:55,200 --> 00:17:57,767 [Narrator] At Troy, Rustem hunts for evidence 262 00:17:57,901 --> 00:18:02,167 of a siege, the process is slow and careful; 263 00:18:02,534 --> 00:18:05,000 they must record every step. 264 00:18:05,334 --> 00:18:07,567 [speaking in foreign language] 265 00:18:14,000 --> 00:18:15,868 [Narrator] The end of Bronze Age Troy is 266 00:18:16,000 --> 00:18:18,434 difficult to untangle; 267 00:18:18,667 --> 00:18:20,734 the city appears to have suffered extensive earthquake 268 00:18:20,868 --> 00:18:27,267 damage around 1300 BCE before being rebuilt. 269 00:18:28,367 --> 00:18:32,267 Archaeologists call this new period Troy VII, 270 00:18:32,534 --> 00:18:34,133 and it was the final incarnation of 271 00:18:34,267 --> 00:18:36,267 the Bronze Age city. 272 00:18:36,601 --> 00:18:39,868 Previous discoveries reveal it ended suddenly, 273 00:18:40,167 --> 00:18:44,667 around 1180 BCE, the mystery is why? 274 00:18:46,567 --> 00:18:49,367 So Rustem plans to open a second trench 275 00:18:49,501 --> 00:18:51,000 near the south gate. 276 00:19:04,901 --> 00:19:06,267 [Narrator] According to legend, 277 00:19:06,400 --> 00:19:08,567 the south of the city, facing the plain, 278 00:19:08,701 --> 00:19:10,868 bore the brunt of the Greek attack. 279 00:19:14,968 --> 00:19:18,801 As the Greek ships draw near, the Trojans prepare the city 280 00:19:18,934 --> 00:19:22,667 for war and seal shut its gates. 281 00:19:25,434 --> 00:19:27,133 The Greeks throw everything they have 282 00:19:27,267 --> 00:19:32,367 at the city, but Troy's legendary walls hold firm. 283 00:19:36,467 --> 00:19:39,434 So, the Greeks set up camp on the beach and 284 00:19:39,567 --> 00:19:42,567 prepare for a lengthy siege. 285 00:19:44,834 --> 00:19:47,400 For 10 years, they sit beneath the shadow 286 00:19:47,534 --> 00:19:50,968 of the city walls, unable to break through. 287 00:20:00,501 --> 00:20:03,834 Last season, Rustem discovered what looked 288 00:20:03,968 --> 00:20:06,534 like burning in the lower town. 289 00:20:27,667 --> 00:20:29,167 [Narrator] Rustem wants to discover the 290 00:20:29,300 --> 00:20:31,467 extent of this burning; 291 00:20:31,601 --> 00:20:33,968 the problem is that this part of Troy lies 292 00:20:34,100 --> 00:20:37,367 underneath the later Greek city of Ilion 293 00:20:37,501 --> 00:20:40,434 that stood here until the Middle Ages. 294 00:20:41,868 --> 00:20:46,300 Rustem works with Co-Director Reyhan Korpe, 295 00:20:46,434 --> 00:20:49,334 he's a specialist on the later city. 296 00:20:49,467 --> 00:20:51,334 Together, they need to distinguish the later 297 00:20:51,467 --> 00:20:53,501 levels from the earlier ones. 298 00:21:15,000 --> 00:21:17,834 [Narrator] The team begins to remove the first layers. 299 00:21:27,601 --> 00:21:29,367 [Narrator] So what evidence is there 300 00:21:29,501 --> 00:21:31,968 that this city ever went to war? 301 00:21:33,000 --> 00:21:36,701 There are no histories from the Late Bronze Age about Troy. 302 00:21:39,400 --> 00:21:42,267 But there are written records. 303 00:21:42,968 --> 00:21:44,801 Emily investigates one of them, 304 00:21:44,934 --> 00:21:49,067 a 3300-year-old tablet now housed at Troy. 305 00:21:49,734 --> 00:21:53,000 It's written by a people called the Hittites. 306 00:21:53,701 --> 00:21:55,834 [Emily] This tablet is incredibly exciting, 307 00:21:55,968 --> 00:22:00,300 it's a tablet that records a treaty made between a city 308 00:22:00,434 --> 00:22:03,133 in northwestern Anatolia called Wilusa, 309 00:22:03,267 --> 00:22:05,234 and the Hittite Empire. 310 00:22:05,367 --> 00:22:08,968 It sounds like a fairly typical diplomatic correspondence, 311 00:22:09,100 --> 00:22:12,467 but what's interesting about it is that Wilusa 312 00:22:12,601 --> 00:22:14,467 has a secret hidden within it, 313 00:22:14,601 --> 00:22:17,567 because that W later drops out of language 314 00:22:17,701 --> 00:22:20,367 and it becomes in Greek Ilios, 315 00:22:20,501 --> 00:22:22,701 which is Homer's name for Troy. 316 00:22:24,200 --> 00:22:26,801 [Narrator] This tablet reveals that Wilusa was 317 00:22:26,934 --> 00:22:30,534 probably what the Trojans called their city, 318 00:22:30,667 --> 00:22:33,567 a name adopted by the later Greeks. 319 00:22:35,701 --> 00:22:37,367 [Emily] We don't just get the name of the city, 320 00:22:37,501 --> 00:22:39,367 we, in fact get the name of the ruler and 321 00:22:39,501 --> 00:22:41,467 he is given as Alaksandu. 322 00:22:41,601 --> 00:22:44,434 Now that is incredibly exciting because the name 323 00:22:44,567 --> 00:22:47,567 of one of the Trojan heroes is Alexandros, 324 00:22:47,701 --> 00:22:50,300 you might know him better as Paris. 325 00:22:50,434 --> 00:22:53,968 Alexandros is given as his alternative name, 326 00:22:54,100 --> 00:22:56,901 and it seems that that memory of that word 327 00:22:57,033 --> 00:23:01,901 Alexandros might be harkening back to Alaksandu of Wilusa, 328 00:23:02,033 --> 00:23:03,868 Alexandros of Troy. 329 00:23:05,634 --> 00:23:09,801 [Narrator] The tablet dates to the 13th century BCE, 330 00:23:09,934 --> 00:23:12,634 the same time as Troy VII. 331 00:23:13,801 --> 00:23:17,400 Other tablets tell how Wilusa was once caught up 332 00:23:17,534 --> 00:23:20,133 in a conflict between the Hittite Empire and 333 00:23:20,267 --> 00:23:24,934 the king of a mysterious people called the Ahhiyawans. 334 00:23:25,701 --> 00:23:27,367 [Emily] Linguists have suggested that there is a 335 00:23:27,501 --> 00:23:29,601 close connection between Ahhiyawa, 336 00:23:29,734 --> 00:23:30,767 in the Hittite texts, 337 00:23:30,901 --> 00:23:33,234 and the word that Homer uses for the Greeks, 338 00:23:33,367 --> 00:23:36,400 which is Achaeans, Akhaioi in Greek. 339 00:23:36,701 --> 00:23:38,534 And it is possible that they are describing 340 00:23:38,667 --> 00:23:41,033 a joint conflict that they had over the 341 00:23:41,167 --> 00:23:43,934 city of Wilusa, Wilios, Troy. 342 00:23:46,601 --> 00:23:48,968 [Narrator] Some historians suspect that the story of 343 00:23:49,100 --> 00:23:51,968 the Trojan War might reflect one or more of 344 00:23:52,100 --> 00:23:56,367 these conflicts, perhaps involving a real Paris, 345 00:23:56,501 --> 00:23:59,868 not a prince but a king of Troy. 346 00:24:01,534 --> 00:24:04,467 How might this match up with the archaeology? 347 00:24:05,067 --> 00:24:09,801 What role, if any, did the Greeks play in Troy's downfall? 348 00:24:15,300 --> 00:24:18,033 [Narrator] The Iliad goes into extraordinary detail 349 00:24:18,167 --> 00:24:20,634 about the Greek army that fights at Troy. 350 00:24:21,367 --> 00:24:25,300 It names dozens of bronze-clad heroes like Achilles, 351 00:24:25,434 --> 00:24:28,601 all united under the banner of Agamemnon, 352 00:24:28,734 --> 00:24:30,567 the King of Mycenae. 353 00:24:30,701 --> 00:24:34,634 How believable is this story of a united Greek army? 354 00:24:38,501 --> 00:24:43,234 At Iklaina in Greece, Michael and the team now 355 00:24:43,367 --> 00:24:44,934 want to find out more about the 356 00:24:45,067 --> 00:24:47,934 city's relationship with its neighbors. 357 00:24:49,734 --> 00:24:51,868 As they dig beneath the house with the 358 00:24:52,000 --> 00:24:53,534 broken drinking cups, 359 00:24:56,567 --> 00:24:59,634 they find an upturned vessel. 360 00:25:01,834 --> 00:25:05,000 -It's unique to us in that it's upside down because 361 00:25:05,133 --> 00:25:07,467 the soil within it is intact. 362 00:25:08,100 --> 00:25:10,467 [Narrator] The contents of the vessel could contain 363 00:25:10,601 --> 00:25:13,334 crucial clues to who left it here. 364 00:25:13,901 --> 00:25:16,767 Paulina removes it with great care. 365 00:25:17,267 --> 00:25:20,000 [Michael] There is burnt stuff inside, okay. 366 00:25:21,133 --> 00:25:23,367 [Narrator] The discovery of burnt material inside 367 00:25:23,501 --> 00:25:26,334 the pot implies that it came from an earlier 368 00:25:26,467 --> 00:25:28,968 building that burned to the ground; 369 00:25:29,934 --> 00:25:33,367 it matches a similar pattern across the site. 370 00:25:34,667 --> 00:25:36,734 -This is one of the most exciting finds we've had, 371 00:25:36,868 --> 00:25:40,434 just because we are looking for destruction layers. 372 00:25:41,767 --> 00:25:43,667 [Narrator] Michael believes that Iklaina 373 00:25:43,801 --> 00:25:47,868 was the victim of a hostile takeover by its neighbor, Pylos. 374 00:25:49,267 --> 00:25:52,968 -Iklaina is destroyed violently around the middle of 375 00:25:53,100 --> 00:25:54,901 the 13th century BC, 376 00:25:55,033 --> 00:25:57,267 let's say 1250 or so. 377 00:25:57,400 --> 00:25:59,901 So, the question is, was the entire city 378 00:26:00,033 --> 00:26:02,567 destroyed at the same time? 379 00:26:07,534 --> 00:26:10,234 [Narrator] Ancient tablets discovered at Pylos name 380 00:26:10,367 --> 00:26:14,634 Iklaina as one of the nine centers in its western province. 381 00:26:15,467 --> 00:26:18,133 [Michael] We think that the Mycenaean name for 382 00:26:18,267 --> 00:26:21,000 Iklaina was a-pu2. 383 00:26:21,133 --> 00:26:24,133 We know that a-pu2 was located to the south; 384 00:26:24,267 --> 00:26:27,834 it was not on the coast, and the only site that fits 385 00:26:27,968 --> 00:26:29,968 this description is this one here. 386 00:26:30,634 --> 00:26:33,267 It seems like in the early Mycenaean period, 387 00:26:33,400 --> 00:26:35,868 at least here, there was a number of tiny, 388 00:26:36,000 --> 00:26:39,934 small microstates in the rural area, 389 00:26:40,067 --> 00:26:42,467 and then eventually they were absorbed, 390 00:26:42,601 --> 00:26:46,901 possibly violently, creating the kingdom of Pylos. 391 00:26:48,801 --> 00:26:51,200 [Narrator] Iklaina's inclusion in this list 392 00:26:51,334 --> 00:26:53,100 is intriguing. 393 00:26:53,234 --> 00:26:56,200 According to Homer, King Nestor of Pylos sent 394 00:26:56,334 --> 00:27:00,734 90 ships to Troy, and ruled a group of nine cities, 395 00:27:02,200 --> 00:27:04,767 one of which was called Aipy, 396 00:27:05,033 --> 00:27:08,033 though to be a version of a-pu2, 397 00:27:08,367 --> 00:27:10,901 Iklaina's original name. 398 00:27:11,234 --> 00:27:13,734 -What is truly fascinating is that in The Iliad, 399 00:27:13,868 --> 00:27:16,834 we have hints of a similar organization of the 400 00:27:16,968 --> 00:27:20,801 kingdom of Nestor with the legendary King of Pylos. 401 00:27:22,367 --> 00:27:24,534 It's by no means an historical record, 402 00:27:24,667 --> 00:27:27,234 but at least preserves some kind of memory of 403 00:27:27,367 --> 00:27:29,901 the organization of Mycenaean states. 404 00:27:32,834 --> 00:27:35,467 [Narrator] The Iliad's description of the Greek army 405 00:27:35,601 --> 00:27:38,701 might reflect these early kingdoms, 406 00:27:39,501 --> 00:27:42,667 what did Mycenaean warriors look like? 407 00:27:44,601 --> 00:27:47,467 Homer paints a vivid picture of battle; 408 00:27:47,601 --> 00:27:50,601 his Greeks wield expensive bronze swords, 409 00:27:50,734 --> 00:27:54,534 long spears, and ride into battle on chariots, 410 00:27:55,133 --> 00:27:58,133 just like the earlier Mycenaeans. 411 00:27:58,534 --> 00:28:00,701 But their huge tower shields are too early 412 00:28:00,834 --> 00:28:04,367 for the period; real Mycenaeans carried 413 00:28:04,501 --> 00:28:08,300 rounded ones, and Homer describes the armor 414 00:28:08,434 --> 00:28:12,300 of his own time, rather than the protection 415 00:28:12,434 --> 00:28:14,734 the Mycenaeans would have worn. 416 00:28:19,267 --> 00:28:23,000 The Mycenaeans were certainly capable warriors, 417 00:28:23,133 --> 00:28:26,334 but The Iliad blends fact with fiction. 418 00:28:26,901 --> 00:28:28,968 So what evidence is there that the Greeks 419 00:28:29,100 --> 00:28:31,901 were responsible for Troy's destruction? 420 00:28:33,701 --> 00:28:38,634 At Troy in Turkey, after nearly six weeks of digging, 421 00:28:39,167 --> 00:28:42,067 the team has uncovered a paved surface, 422 00:28:42,834 --> 00:28:45,868 it looks like a street running next to the palace. 423 00:29:01,734 --> 00:29:03,467 [Narrator] The street tells them that they 424 00:29:03,601 --> 00:29:07,067 have reached the Late Bronze Age levels. 425 00:29:07,901 --> 00:29:10,934 They can also make out signs of a catastrophic event 426 00:29:11,067 --> 00:29:14,501 that hit the city around 1300 BCE. 427 00:29:29,601 --> 00:29:32,300 [Narrator] The earthquake forced Troy's residents to 428 00:29:32,434 --> 00:29:35,634 rebuild their city. 429 00:29:37,701 --> 00:29:40,300 And sitting on top of the new defensive wall 430 00:29:40,434 --> 00:29:42,701 in front of the palace, 431 00:29:42,834 --> 00:29:46,334 the team uncovers a forgotten arsenal. 432 00:30:08,167 --> 00:30:10,501 [Narrator] Why were the Trojans stockpiling 433 00:30:10,634 --> 00:30:12,267 weapons here? 434 00:30:12,801 --> 00:30:15,834 The answer could help solve the mystery 435 00:30:15,968 --> 00:30:17,767 of the Trojan War. 436 00:30:26,033 --> 00:30:28,968 [Narrator] At Troy, Rustem and Reyhan take 437 00:30:29,100 --> 00:30:31,100 a closer look at the Late Bronze Age 438 00:30:31,234 --> 00:30:33,367 sling shots in the lab. 439 00:30:33,634 --> 00:30:36,767 They want to find out if they could be Greek or Trojan. 440 00:30:54,868 --> 00:30:58,133 [Narrator] The first step is to date them. 441 00:30:58,834 --> 00:31:01,968 They do this by looking at fragments of pottery 442 00:31:02,100 --> 00:31:04,334 found among the sling stones. 443 00:31:19,734 --> 00:31:22,634 [Narrator] The bone arrowhead is a light weapon 444 00:31:22,767 --> 00:31:25,167 designed to pierce flesh. 445 00:31:25,567 --> 00:31:27,968 For Reyhan, it brings to mind a passage 446 00:31:28,100 --> 00:31:30,667 in the Greek story of the Trojan War. 447 00:31:47,968 --> 00:31:50,767 [Narrator] All these weapons appear to be Trojan, 448 00:31:50,901 --> 00:31:54,667 not Greek and date to the very end of the Bronze Age. 449 00:31:56,434 --> 00:31:59,901 They look like a defender's stockpile and 450 00:32:00,033 --> 00:32:01,934 hint at a time of trouble. 451 00:32:06,267 --> 00:32:08,734 Around 1200 BCE, 452 00:32:08,868 --> 00:32:12,601 dozens of cities fell across the eastern Mediterranean, 453 00:32:13,868 --> 00:32:17,167 among them powerful centers like Ugarit 454 00:32:17,300 --> 00:32:20,501 in Syria and Megiddo in Israel. 455 00:32:20,634 --> 00:32:22,801 So, could there be a connection with 456 00:32:22,934 --> 00:32:24,901 the fate of Troy? 457 00:32:26,701 --> 00:32:30,868 A clue might lie across the sea at Luxor in Egypt. 458 00:32:39,767 --> 00:32:43,200 Egyptologist Arto Belekdanian investigates 459 00:32:43,334 --> 00:32:45,467 the temple of Karnak. 460 00:32:45,601 --> 00:32:49,167 This enormous sanctuary existed at the same time 461 00:32:49,300 --> 00:32:51,834 as Bronze Age Greece and Troy. 462 00:32:53,267 --> 00:32:58,400 [Arto] The Great Temple of Amun in Karnak is a huge site. 463 00:32:58,801 --> 00:33:03,767 The oldest evidence for it goes back to the 2100s BC. 464 00:33:04,667 --> 00:33:07,868 This sprawling complex that we're in is the 465 00:33:08,000 --> 00:33:14,734 result of over two millennia of construction and additions. 466 00:33:15,467 --> 00:33:19,300 This place was still growing all throughout the 467 00:33:19,434 --> 00:33:22,033 entire Mycenaean periods. 468 00:33:26,300 --> 00:33:29,934 [Narrator] Many pharaohs have left their mark on Karnak, 469 00:33:30,167 --> 00:33:34,200 but Arto is intrigued by one inscription in particular. 470 00:33:34,834 --> 00:33:37,868 -This inscription records the great victory 471 00:33:38,000 --> 00:33:42,801 of King Merneptah in the fifth year of his reign against 472 00:33:42,934 --> 00:33:44,901 the Sea Peoples. 473 00:33:45,901 --> 00:33:49,334 Now the Sea Peoples are this loose coalition of 474 00:33:49,467 --> 00:33:52,467 separate peoples that came together in the very 475 00:33:52,601 --> 00:33:55,834 Late Bronze Age and began attacking all kinds 476 00:33:55,968 --> 00:33:59,934 of places throughout the eastern Mediterranean area. 477 00:34:02,634 --> 00:34:03,968 [Narrator] The inscription says the 478 00:34:04,100 --> 00:34:09,067 Sea Peoples attack Egypt around 1207 BCE, 479 00:34:09,634 --> 00:34:13,300 about 25 years before Troy VII's destruction. 480 00:34:13,900 --> 00:34:17,167 Some historians blame them for the devastation 481 00:34:17,300 --> 00:34:19,667 of the Late Bronze Age. 482 00:34:19,934 --> 00:34:22,868 Exactly who they were and where they came from 483 00:34:23,000 --> 00:34:27,634 is a mystery, but the name of one group is familiar. 484 00:34:28,400 --> 00:34:31,234 [Arto] One of the peoples that King Merenptah defeated 485 00:34:31,367 --> 00:34:37,234 in the process is a group that he names as the Ekwesh. 486 00:34:37,766 --> 00:34:39,900 Many archaeologists believe that the Ekwesh 487 00:34:40,033 --> 00:34:43,167 are none other than the Achaeans of the 488 00:34:43,300 --> 00:34:46,634 Trojan War, the Greeks. 489 00:34:48,534 --> 00:34:50,567 [Narrator] The name Ekwesh sounds like the 490 00:34:50,701 --> 00:34:56,467 Egyptian word for Achaean, so what might Greeks have been 491 00:34:56,601 --> 00:34:59,367 doing among these raiders? 492 00:35:00,868 --> 00:35:02,868 At Iklaina in Southern Greece, 493 00:35:03,000 --> 00:35:06,734 Michael's excavations have revealed that Pylos's conquest 494 00:35:06,868 --> 00:35:08,934 of Iklaina was short-lived. 495 00:35:10,534 --> 00:35:14,400 Both cities were destroyed around 1200 BCE. 496 00:35:17,701 --> 00:35:21,133 -It appears that the fate of Iklaina was linked 497 00:35:21,267 --> 00:35:24,634 to what happened to the wider region. 498 00:35:24,767 --> 00:35:27,367 At the same time, we had wave of destructions 499 00:35:27,501 --> 00:35:31,868 throughout Greece, there seems to be major upheaval. 500 00:35:32,968 --> 00:35:35,501 [Narrator] The civilization of Mycenaean Greece 501 00:35:35,634 --> 00:35:39,033 collapsed at around the same time as those in the east. 502 00:35:40,167 --> 00:35:44,467 Michael suspects that the survivors fought for resources. 503 00:35:45,968 --> 00:35:48,000 -It looks like there is some kernel of 504 00:35:48,133 --> 00:35:50,834 truth in the Trojan War and Mycenaean uh, 505 00:35:50,968 --> 00:35:55,400 army may have attacked Troy in an effort to capture 506 00:35:55,534 --> 00:35:58,667 and plunder a rich city, and at the same time gain 507 00:35:58,801 --> 00:36:01,434 control of the straits to the Black Sea. 508 00:36:01,567 --> 00:36:05,267 But that war appears to have been exhaustive, 509 00:36:05,400 --> 00:36:08,300 and the Mycenaeans eventually did not survive 510 00:36:08,434 --> 00:36:10,400 much longer after that. 511 00:36:15,267 --> 00:36:17,634 [Narrator] The grand Greek army that Homer says 512 00:36:17,767 --> 00:36:22,434 fought for honor may have been pirates or raiders. 513 00:36:23,467 --> 00:36:25,701 Did the memory of this violent age, 514 00:36:25,834 --> 00:36:29,133 when the entire Bronze Age world fell apart, 515 00:36:29,267 --> 00:36:31,734 persist as myth and legend? 516 00:36:32,667 --> 00:36:36,033 But Troy's walls made it one of the strongest cities 517 00:36:36,167 --> 00:36:38,367 in the eastern Mediterranean, 518 00:36:38,501 --> 00:36:40,767 so how did it fall? 519 00:36:44,467 --> 00:36:46,234 As the team continues to dig, 520 00:36:46,367 --> 00:36:49,901 they come across a disturbing find at the south gate, 521 00:36:51,667 --> 00:36:53,634 human skeletons. 522 00:36:59,767 --> 00:37:01,767 [Narrator] At Troy, the team investigates 523 00:37:01,901 --> 00:37:05,834 the recently discovered skeletons at the south gate, 524 00:37:06,200 --> 00:37:08,901 one appears to be that of a young man. 525 00:37:10,634 --> 00:37:12,968 The team carefully brushes away the soil. 526 00:37:26,534 --> 00:37:28,300 [Narrator] Reyhan takes a closer look at the 527 00:37:28,434 --> 00:37:30,467 skeleton's bones. 528 00:37:40,033 --> 00:37:45,534 [Narrator] DNA analysis might reveal when this person died. 529 00:37:45,667 --> 00:37:48,400 But this individual is not buried deep enough to 530 00:37:48,534 --> 00:37:50,734 be a victim of the Trojan War. 531 00:38:02,334 --> 00:38:04,801 [Narrator] The Byzantines were the Medieval rulers of 532 00:38:04,934 --> 00:38:07,734 large parts of modern-day Turkey. 533 00:38:08,534 --> 00:38:10,901 The discovery paints a remarkable picture 534 00:38:11,033 --> 00:38:12,734 of Troy's longevity. 535 00:38:13,100 --> 00:38:15,100 The Bronze Age destruction layers remain 536 00:38:15,234 --> 00:38:17,601 out of reach for now. 537 00:38:18,634 --> 00:38:21,968 So, how did the Greeks believe Troy came to an end? 538 00:38:24,834 --> 00:38:27,400 The fall of Troy is perhaps the most famous 539 00:38:27,534 --> 00:38:29,868 chapter of the tale. 540 00:38:32,267 --> 00:38:36,300 After 10 years of war, the Greeks devise a new plan; 541 00:38:37,033 --> 00:38:40,868 they build a huge wooden horse and leave it at Troy's gates, 542 00:38:41,000 --> 00:38:44,334 then sail away as if abandoning the fight. 543 00:38:44,834 --> 00:38:47,901 The Trojans believe the horse is a gift to the gods; 544 00:38:48,033 --> 00:38:50,167 they drag it into the city and celebrate 545 00:38:50,300 --> 00:38:52,567 their supposed victory. 546 00:38:53,234 --> 00:38:55,634 That night, Greek warriors hidden inside 547 00:38:55,801 --> 00:39:00,534 climb out and open the gates to let the Greek army in. 548 00:39:02,434 --> 00:39:04,534 While the Greeks set fire to Troy, 549 00:39:04,667 --> 00:39:08,100 King Menelaus finds Helen and claims her back. 550 00:39:09,033 --> 00:39:12,601 What might lie behind such a dramatic ending? 551 00:39:16,834 --> 00:39:20,000 Emily investigates the western wall where Troy 552 00:39:20,133 --> 00:39:22,133 is said to have fallen. 553 00:39:22,467 --> 00:39:24,400 -This is a part of the citadel that, 554 00:39:24,534 --> 00:39:27,434 in Homer in the epic The Iliad has an incredibly 555 00:39:27,567 --> 00:39:30,501 resonant part to play, we see it cropping up 556 00:39:30,634 --> 00:39:33,400 time and time again in the epic. 557 00:39:35,033 --> 00:39:36,501 [Narrator] According to The Iliad, 558 00:39:36,634 --> 00:39:39,901 this is where Prince Hector of Troy meets his wife 559 00:39:40,033 --> 00:39:43,067 Andromache and predicts the city's end. 560 00:39:43,901 --> 00:39:45,968 [Emily] Hector knows that this is a war that 561 00:39:46,100 --> 00:39:47,234 he is going to lose; 562 00:39:47,367 --> 00:39:51,234 this is a war that will end in the destruction of Troy. 563 00:39:51,567 --> 00:39:54,133 And Andromache responds to him and says Hector, 564 00:39:54,267 --> 00:39:56,167 you need to defend the wall, 565 00:39:56,300 --> 00:39:57,534 it is not about attacking it; 566 00:39:57,667 --> 00:39:58,868 it is about defending, and she points to the 567 00:39:59,000 --> 00:40:01,434 western circuits of the wall, and she says there is a 568 00:40:01,567 --> 00:40:05,000 place where there is a weakness at the wall. 569 00:40:07,968 --> 00:40:10,167 [Narrator] Archaeologists have discovered that the 570 00:40:10,300 --> 00:40:13,334 stonework here is unusual. 571 00:40:13,601 --> 00:40:16,667 After the earthquake in 1300 BCE, 572 00:40:16,801 --> 00:40:20,334 the Trojans appear to have blocked up the west gate. 573 00:40:21,367 --> 00:40:23,267 [Emily] This is one of those moments where 574 00:40:23,400 --> 00:40:25,100 archaeology and literature, 575 00:40:25,234 --> 00:40:27,968 epic and myth really kind of collide. 576 00:40:28,234 --> 00:40:31,100 This is a place where we are seeing a significant 577 00:40:31,234 --> 00:40:33,400 defensive weakening. 578 00:40:37,000 --> 00:40:39,667 [Narrator] Rustem thinks that this part of the city 579 00:40:39,801 --> 00:40:42,434 was viewed as a potential weak spot. 580 00:41:07,601 --> 00:41:09,567 [Narrator] War chariots were expensive and 581 00:41:09,701 --> 00:41:13,267 terrifying weapons, but they had fallen out 582 00:41:13,400 --> 00:41:15,734 of use by Homer's day. 583 00:41:17,934 --> 00:41:21,267 Rustem thinks the memory of heroes climbing onboard 584 00:41:21,400 --> 00:41:24,000 these prestigious military vehicles might 585 00:41:24,133 --> 00:41:27,400 have influenced the myth of the Trojan horse. 586 00:41:51,734 --> 00:41:54,567 [Narrator] The story of the Trojan horse is just one 587 00:41:54,701 --> 00:41:57,834 of many fantastical tales inspired by this 588 00:41:57,968 --> 00:41:59,767 ancient metropolis. 589 00:42:02,701 --> 00:42:05,634 The team at Troy will continue to hunt for more clues 590 00:42:05,767 --> 00:42:09,968 about this city's downfall, and perhaps uncover that 591 00:42:10,100 --> 00:42:12,901 elusive piece of evidence that might confirm 592 00:42:13,033 --> 00:42:14,968 if the Greeks were here at the time of 593 00:42:15,100 --> 00:42:16,701 the city's destruction. 594 00:42:37,868 --> 00:42:41,033 [Narrator] Troy, like its counterparts in Greece, 595 00:42:41,167 --> 00:42:44,901 was a real city, one so powerful that its 596 00:42:45,033 --> 00:42:48,767 soaring towers and mighty walls became the setting for 597 00:42:48,901 --> 00:42:53,133 a series of mythological tales that still have the 598 00:42:53,267 --> 00:42:56,000 power to move us today. 599 00:42:57,367 --> 00:42:59,000 -People think that myths are fairytales, 600 00:42:59,133 --> 00:43:00,434 and they're not. 601 00:43:00,567 --> 00:43:05,434 Myths and legends are the product of human experience, 602 00:43:05,567 --> 00:43:07,701 the wisdom of people over the centuries. 603 00:43:07,834 --> 00:43:11,701 One of the basic core truths that we learn from 604 00:43:11,834 --> 00:43:16,667 The Iliad and the story of the Trojan War is how war 605 00:43:16,801 --> 00:43:19,501 and violence affect humanity. 606 00:43:21,300 --> 00:43:25,133 [Emily] The Greeks didn't see it as we do, 607 00:43:25,467 --> 00:43:27,501 as myths disassociated from history. 608 00:43:27,634 --> 00:43:29,501 We've got to remember that the word that we get myth 609 00:43:29,634 --> 00:43:32,567 from in Greek, it's mythos, it's word. 610 00:43:32,868 --> 00:43:36,601 So, it's a way of transmitting information, 611 00:43:36,734 --> 00:43:40,901 and for them, this was an absolutely real story. 612 00:43:41,567 --> 00:43:43,534 [Narrator] The epics of Homer and the stories of 613 00:43:43,667 --> 00:43:46,334 the Trojan War are among the greatest works of 614 00:43:46,467 --> 00:43:49,033 literature ever composed. 615 00:43:49,300 --> 00:43:52,767 An attempt by the Greeks to understand who they were 616 00:43:52,901 --> 00:43:58,067 and where they came from, a window into a lost age, 617 00:43:58,200 --> 00:44:00,400 an age of heroes.