1 00:00:00,139 --> 00:00:01,940 (dramatic music) 2 00:00:01,940 --> 00:00:04,600 - [Narrator] Tunis, a North African city 3 00:00:04,600 --> 00:00:07,083 of tradition and transformation. 4 00:00:08,810 --> 00:00:13,810 And at its heart, a museum with secrets dark and strange. 5 00:00:15,360 --> 00:00:17,183 How to cheat death in the Sahara, 6 00:00:18,350 --> 00:00:19,893 how to kill a gladiator, 7 00:00:21,650 --> 00:00:23,553 how the catapult toppled an empire, 8 00:00:25,190 --> 00:00:29,183 and the surprising location of a galaxy far, far away. 9 00:00:30,370 --> 00:00:32,574 Secrets hidden in plain sight 10 00:00:32,574 --> 00:00:35,418 inside the Bardo National Museum. 11 00:00:35,418 --> 00:00:38,168 (dramatic music) 12 00:00:53,950 --> 00:00:56,470 If you travel down the boot of Italy, 13 00:00:56,470 --> 00:00:59,550 and stand on the southern tip of Sicily, 14 00:00:59,550 --> 00:01:00,983 you can see Africa. 15 00:01:01,930 --> 00:01:04,593 Across the water is a nation called Tunisia. 16 00:01:05,940 --> 00:01:08,260 Just 300 kilometers wide, 17 00:01:08,260 --> 00:01:11,290 Tunisia stretches south from the Mediterranean 18 00:01:11,290 --> 00:01:14,420 through fertile farmland that becomes dry steppes 19 00:01:14,420 --> 00:01:17,903 and finally, the desert wastes of the Sahara. 20 00:01:19,580 --> 00:01:22,030 Tunisia combines European, African, 21 00:01:22,030 --> 00:01:24,350 and Middle Eastern influences. 22 00:01:24,350 --> 00:01:26,608 A blend of cultures that is reflected 23 00:01:26,608 --> 00:01:29,063 in the Bardo National Museum. 24 00:01:32,180 --> 00:01:35,523 Inside is evidence that Tunisia was colonized by the Arabs. 25 00:01:36,530 --> 00:01:39,200 Before them, the Romans. 26 00:01:39,200 --> 00:01:40,973 Before them, the Carthaginians. 27 00:01:41,850 --> 00:01:44,027 And throughout Tunisia's history, 28 00:01:44,027 --> 00:01:47,363 Berber tribes have made its deserts their home. 29 00:01:50,888 --> 00:01:51,880 (Jawa screeches) 30 00:01:51,880 --> 00:01:54,240 A few decades ago, these deserts 31 00:01:54,240 --> 00:01:55,860 were invaded by another tribe 32 00:01:58,120 --> 00:02:01,883 led by a Hollywood director named George Lucas. 33 00:02:03,420 --> 00:02:07,223 Lucas chose Tunisia as the shooting location for Star Wars. 34 00:02:08,330 --> 00:02:11,400 The desert became the planet's Tatooine, 35 00:02:11,400 --> 00:02:13,743 a name borrowed from a nearby town. 36 00:02:16,110 --> 00:02:19,403 This is what's left of the movie's spaceport. 37 00:02:21,990 --> 00:02:24,087 - [Stormtrooper] We don't need to see his identification. 38 00:02:24,087 --> 00:02:26,590 - These aren't the droids you're looking for. 39 00:02:26,590 --> 00:02:28,300 - [Narrator] Not far away is the set 40 00:02:28,300 --> 00:02:30,886 for Luke Skywalker's boyhood home, 41 00:02:30,886 --> 00:02:32,793 the Lars Homestead. 42 00:02:33,811 --> 00:02:34,978 - [Owen] Luke! 43 00:02:35,850 --> 00:02:36,683 Luke! 44 00:02:37,820 --> 00:02:39,290 - [Narrator] Every year, the sets attract 45 00:02:39,290 --> 00:02:42,200 Star Wars fans from around the world. 46 00:02:42,200 --> 00:02:43,743 - Everybody loves the movie, you know? 47 00:02:43,743 --> 00:02:46,513 It's very famous, in Korea too. 48 00:02:48,640 --> 00:02:51,170 - [Narrator] When this set fell into decay, 49 00:02:51,170 --> 00:02:54,360 some super fans teamed up to repair it. 50 00:02:54,360 --> 00:02:56,393 For them, it's a revered icon, 51 00:02:57,430 --> 00:03:00,443 with Tunisia just a convenient backdrop. 52 00:03:01,480 --> 00:03:03,400 But in reality, the connections 53 00:03:03,400 --> 00:03:05,850 between Star Wars and Tunisia run deep. 54 00:03:05,850 --> 00:03:07,550 - Aunt Beru, Uncle Owen? 55 00:03:08,451 --> 00:03:11,317 - [Narrator] Where to find them is a museum secret. 56 00:03:15,760 --> 00:03:17,570 The investigation begins with 57 00:03:17,570 --> 00:03:19,543 an arrival at the Tunis Airport. 58 00:03:20,630 --> 00:03:23,600 Terry Cooper, a British science fiction illustrator, 59 00:03:23,600 --> 00:03:27,210 has made the Star Wars pilgrimage several times. 60 00:03:27,210 --> 00:03:31,330 - I saw Star Wars in 1977 as an eight year old, 61 00:03:31,330 --> 00:03:33,760 and that's one of the, obviously a big blockbuster 62 00:03:33,760 --> 00:03:35,490 at the time and changed the way films were made. 63 00:03:35,490 --> 00:03:37,971 And it kind of changed my life, 64 00:03:37,971 --> 00:03:42,088 because as an eight year old watching a film like Star Wars 65 00:03:42,088 --> 00:03:43,933 just tells you anything is possible. 66 00:03:46,000 --> 00:03:47,670 - [Narrator] On this trip, Terry's guide 67 00:03:47,670 --> 00:03:50,030 will be a young man from Tataouine. 68 00:03:50,030 --> 00:03:52,043 The town, not the planet. 69 00:03:53,010 --> 00:03:54,940 His name is Rad Adallah. 70 00:03:57,530 --> 00:03:59,890 Rad is also a Star Wars fan, 71 00:03:59,890 --> 00:04:03,080 but he sees it from a Tunisian perspective. 72 00:04:03,080 --> 00:04:07,000 - So as you see, it looks just like the Lars Homestead, 73 00:04:07,000 --> 00:04:11,310 and that's originally from the Muslim architecture. 74 00:04:11,310 --> 00:04:14,800 There is one there, one there, 75 00:04:14,800 --> 00:04:16,123 one up there. 76 00:04:17,120 --> 00:04:19,870 - [Narrator] This architecture appears in Star Wars, 77 00:04:19,870 --> 00:04:22,900 with the addition of an extra sun. 78 00:04:22,900 --> 00:04:24,730 - [Terry] I think it was a very wise move 79 00:04:24,730 --> 00:04:25,880 for George Lucas's part. 80 00:04:25,880 --> 00:04:28,440 There was this completely alien culture 81 00:04:28,440 --> 00:04:29,710 and feel to these buildings 82 00:04:29,710 --> 00:04:31,180 that no one had ever seen, 83 00:04:31,180 --> 00:04:35,403 and it was very clever of him to take that at the time. 84 00:04:36,500 --> 00:04:37,720 - [Narrator] Down these stairs 85 00:04:37,720 --> 00:04:39,683 is another Star Wars connection. 86 00:04:40,630 --> 00:04:43,120 For centuries, Berber tribes built dwellings 87 00:04:43,120 --> 00:04:45,393 underground to beat the heat. 88 00:04:46,770 --> 00:04:51,030 It looks like a Star Wars set, but it's a real home. 89 00:04:51,030 --> 00:04:53,107 The couple who live here have turned one room 90 00:04:53,107 --> 00:04:55,380 into a tiny museum. 91 00:04:55,380 --> 00:04:58,380 - It has all the traditional Berber things, 92 00:04:58,380 --> 00:05:02,053 like the traditional art and craft, carpet. 93 00:05:03,120 --> 00:05:05,230 - [Narrator] The woman of the house weaves cloth 94 00:05:05,230 --> 00:05:07,103 in the traditional Berber way. 95 00:05:08,570 --> 00:05:12,290 - And here we have the Berber cloaks. 96 00:05:12,290 --> 00:05:13,123 - Okay. 97 00:05:13,123 --> 00:05:15,103 - You just put it as a robe. 98 00:05:16,111 --> 00:05:17,886 - And over your head, like this. 99 00:05:17,886 --> 00:05:19,303 - Exactly. - Okay. 100 00:05:21,683 --> 00:05:24,291 You can see where they got the Jedi knights idea. 101 00:05:24,291 --> 00:05:25,124 - [Rad] Yep. 102 00:05:26,260 --> 00:05:27,920 - [Narrator] But while traditional Berbers 103 00:05:27,920 --> 00:05:32,480 are nomadic traders, the Jedi are warrior monks, 104 00:05:32,480 --> 00:05:36,573 who strive to become one with an unseen force. 105 00:05:37,410 --> 00:05:41,820 - Through the force, things you will see, other places. 106 00:05:41,820 --> 00:05:43,497 The future, the past. 107 00:05:44,420 --> 00:05:46,890 - [Narrator] The Jedi are mystics, 108 00:05:46,890 --> 00:05:49,070 and it so happens that the Star Wars sets 109 00:05:49,070 --> 00:05:54,070 are near the spiritual home of Islamic mystics called Sufis. 110 00:05:55,470 --> 00:05:57,427 Sufis are famous for a whirling dance 111 00:05:57,427 --> 00:06:00,323 that looks a bit like a Jedi fighting move. 112 00:06:02,291 --> 00:06:04,780 But the connection here is not the spinning. 113 00:06:04,780 --> 00:06:09,000 The Jedi religion may have been inspired by Sufi beliefs. 114 00:06:09,000 --> 00:06:11,107 - They even sometime have a vision 115 00:06:11,107 --> 00:06:12,610 for the future. 116 00:06:12,610 --> 00:06:14,270 They can see the future. - Okay. 117 00:06:14,270 --> 00:06:17,040 - This is the myth. - So it's like the miracles. 118 00:06:17,040 --> 00:06:17,943 - Exactly. 119 00:06:20,160 --> 00:06:22,160 - [Narrator] When night falls, Terry and Rad 120 00:06:22,160 --> 00:06:25,130 accept a rare invitation to witness a Sufi ritual 121 00:06:25,130 --> 00:06:27,593 that few outsiders have ever seen. 122 00:06:29,340 --> 00:06:30,767 Some Muslims think that Sufis 123 00:06:30,767 --> 00:06:33,331 are not true followers of Islam, 124 00:06:33,331 --> 00:06:38,110 but Sufi master Munia Masa strongly disagrees. 125 00:06:38,110 --> 00:06:41,610 (speaks foreign language) 126 00:06:42,966 --> 00:06:45,144 (singing in foreign language) 127 00:06:45,144 --> 00:06:48,644 (speaks foreign language) 128 00:06:50,707 --> 00:06:53,200 (singing in foreign language) 129 00:06:53,200 --> 00:06:54,670 - [Narrator] Sufis believe that music 130 00:06:54,670 --> 00:06:58,073 can help believers achieve a higher state of being. 131 00:06:59,009 --> 00:07:02,509 (speaks foreign language) 132 00:07:07,797 --> 00:07:09,990 (chanting in foreign language) 133 00:07:09,990 --> 00:07:11,570 - [Narrator] These men are all hoping 134 00:07:11,570 --> 00:07:14,120 that the change will happen to them, 135 00:07:14,120 --> 00:07:16,495 and for one believer, it does. 136 00:07:16,495 --> 00:07:20,412 (chanting in foreign language) 137 00:07:21,470 --> 00:07:24,253 He appears to have fallen into a trance state. 138 00:07:26,490 --> 00:07:29,953 The Sufis believe he's been touched by the divine. 139 00:07:30,990 --> 00:07:33,130 - [Terry] It creates a big impression on people, 140 00:07:33,130 --> 00:07:35,470 even on me, because it strengthens 141 00:07:35,470 --> 00:07:36,730 and reinforces their beliefs, 142 00:07:36,730 --> 00:07:38,771 and it underlines the seriousness 143 00:07:38,771 --> 00:07:41,453 and the devotion to their faith. 144 00:07:43,128 --> 00:07:45,743 - [Narrator] Before Terry heads home to England, 145 00:07:47,160 --> 00:07:51,910 he wants to pay a visit to the Star Wars set one last time. 146 00:07:51,910 --> 00:07:53,850 He not only likes it, 147 00:07:53,850 --> 00:07:56,613 he was one of the super fans who restored it. 148 00:07:56,613 --> 00:07:57,446 - [Terry] Pretty good, actually. 149 00:07:57,446 --> 00:07:58,650 The weather's beginning to take its toll, 150 00:07:58,650 --> 00:08:02,080 but it's no longer as bright as it was. 151 00:08:02,080 --> 00:08:02,913 - [Rad] Yeah. 152 00:08:04,350 --> 00:08:05,430 - [Terry] The first time I ever went there, 153 00:08:05,430 --> 00:08:08,280 I felt like I'd stepped through the screen into the film, 154 00:08:08,280 --> 00:08:09,840 because it's all around you. 155 00:08:09,840 --> 00:08:12,053 The heat, the sand, the look of the place, 156 00:08:12,053 --> 00:08:14,230 the exotic locations. 157 00:08:14,230 --> 00:08:15,330 You feel like you're standing 158 00:08:15,330 --> 00:08:16,930 right in the middle of Tatooine. 159 00:08:18,200 --> 00:08:21,300 If Luke Skywalker went to the country Tunisia, 160 00:08:21,300 --> 00:08:23,220 the first thing he would say was 161 00:08:23,220 --> 00:08:24,570 it looks just like my home. 162 00:08:27,500 --> 00:08:29,110 - [Narrator] Up next, the secret of 163 00:08:29,110 --> 00:08:31,013 conquering an impenetrable wall. 164 00:08:31,013 --> 00:08:33,763 (dramatic music) 165 00:08:40,630 --> 00:08:42,860 Inside the Bardo National Museum, 166 00:08:42,860 --> 00:08:45,350 one gallery displays artifacts found 167 00:08:45,350 --> 00:08:47,460 just a few kilometers away, 168 00:08:47,460 --> 00:08:50,343 in the ruins of the ancient city of Carthage. 169 00:08:51,800 --> 00:08:56,800 23 centuries ago, Carthage controlled most of North Africa. 170 00:08:56,800 --> 00:09:00,370 Its biggest rival was the powerful Roman Empire, 171 00:09:00,370 --> 00:09:03,908 and its best general was a man named Hannibal. 172 00:09:03,908 --> 00:09:06,140 (horn fanfare) 173 00:09:06,140 --> 00:09:10,100 In 218 BC, Hannibal led an army of men and elephants 174 00:09:10,100 --> 00:09:13,163 around the Mediterranean to attack Rome. 175 00:09:13,163 --> 00:09:15,190 (soldiers shouting) 176 00:09:15,190 --> 00:09:16,913 He won many battles. 177 00:09:18,700 --> 00:09:20,283 But finally lost the war. 178 00:09:21,670 --> 00:09:25,370 After his death, Roman legions sailed to North Africa, 179 00:09:25,370 --> 00:09:26,860 bent on revenge. 180 00:09:28,410 --> 00:09:32,300 But the city was protected by a formidable wall. 181 00:09:32,300 --> 00:09:37,300 - The Romans siege on Carthage, and they tried to 182 00:09:37,770 --> 00:09:41,400 breach the walls from different sides. 183 00:09:41,400 --> 00:09:45,370 There was a triple wall, doubled by triple trenches. 184 00:09:45,370 --> 00:09:48,023 But walls which were nine meters thick. 185 00:09:49,710 --> 00:09:52,190 - [Narrator] Over a three year siege of the city, 186 00:09:52,190 --> 00:09:55,600 Rome's heaviest weapons failed to break through. 187 00:09:55,600 --> 00:09:58,173 Its army suffered massive casualties, 188 00:09:59,140 --> 00:10:02,470 but historians know the Romans took Carthage somehow, 189 00:10:02,470 --> 00:10:05,060 because today, within the ruins of the city, 190 00:10:05,060 --> 00:10:07,660 there is evidence that its buildings were destroyed. 191 00:10:09,470 --> 00:10:13,083 How the Romans conquered Carthage is a museum secret. 192 00:10:16,290 --> 00:10:18,810 The investigation begins at the museum, 193 00:10:18,810 --> 00:10:22,003 with the arrival of British historian Tracy Riehl. 194 00:10:23,090 --> 00:10:24,960 Tracy believes she will discover the key 195 00:10:24,960 --> 00:10:26,960 to Rome's conquest of Carthage 196 00:10:26,960 --> 00:10:29,403 in an artifact recovered off a nearby coast 197 00:10:29,403 --> 00:10:32,050 at the bottom of the sea. 198 00:10:32,050 --> 00:10:35,460 - An ancient ship probably got blown off course in a storm 199 00:10:35,460 --> 00:10:38,603 and sank off Mahdia on the coast of Tunisia. 200 00:10:40,350 --> 00:10:42,160 - [Narrator] In a storeroom of the museum, 201 00:10:42,160 --> 00:10:45,973 she finds salvaged items from an ancient Roman shipwreck. 202 00:10:47,090 --> 00:10:50,182 This case holds what she was hoping to find, 203 00:10:50,182 --> 00:10:54,040 a bronze cylinder from a Roman catapult. 204 00:10:54,040 --> 00:10:56,600 - They're the key part of the machine 205 00:10:56,600 --> 00:10:58,730 because if we find a washer, 206 00:10:58,730 --> 00:11:00,930 we can reconstruct the rest of the catapult, 207 00:11:00,930 --> 00:11:03,280 just on the basis of that one part. 208 00:11:03,280 --> 00:11:04,310 - [Narrator] You might expect it 209 00:11:04,310 --> 00:11:06,733 to look something like this. 210 00:11:09,701 --> 00:11:12,920 But the museum's reconstruction isn't nearly so big, 211 00:11:12,920 --> 00:11:15,800 and that's just what Tracy expected. 212 00:11:15,800 --> 00:11:19,760 - Quite a large proportion of the archeological evidence 213 00:11:19,760 --> 00:11:21,280 is for small caliber weapons 214 00:11:21,280 --> 00:11:23,333 that could be carried by one person. 215 00:11:24,230 --> 00:11:26,190 - [Narrator] The catapult is powered by rope, 216 00:11:26,190 --> 00:11:28,750 bound tightly into a spring. 217 00:11:28,750 --> 00:11:31,537 - And if I pull it back, you'll get some idea. 218 00:11:31,537 --> 00:11:34,833 Pull, you get some idea of the discharge velocity. 219 00:11:37,240 --> 00:11:39,410 - [Narrator] Tracy knows that catapults like this one 220 00:11:39,410 --> 00:11:42,020 were used during the siege of Carthage, 221 00:11:42,020 --> 00:11:43,530 but their tactical value 222 00:11:43,530 --> 00:11:45,903 can't be determined inside the museum. 223 00:11:48,700 --> 00:11:50,633 So she heads to Coventry, England, 224 00:11:51,650 --> 00:11:53,500 where Roman reenactors have built 225 00:11:53,500 --> 00:11:56,403 rope-powered catapults of various sizes. 226 00:11:58,730 --> 00:12:01,000 Today they will be put to the test, 227 00:12:01,000 --> 00:12:03,890 with the help of historian Lenn Morgan. 228 00:12:03,890 --> 00:12:04,840 - Maneuver this up. 229 00:12:05,723 --> 00:12:06,726 - Hello, I'm Tracy. 230 00:12:06,726 --> 00:12:07,985 - Tracy, nice to meet you. 231 00:12:07,985 --> 00:12:08,818 - And you, and you. 232 00:12:08,818 --> 00:12:09,980 I've heard a lot about your machine. 233 00:12:09,980 --> 00:12:11,700 - Yeah the big one, we call it the beast. 234 00:12:11,700 --> 00:12:15,993 It's two libra, or two pounder stone thrower, ballista. 235 00:12:17,302 --> 00:12:19,490 And the smaller machine 236 00:12:19,490 --> 00:12:23,563 is the smallest catapult, the arrow shooter. 237 00:12:24,650 --> 00:12:28,500 And the further one is a three span catapult. 238 00:12:28,500 --> 00:12:31,630 Each of these machines are the standard pieces of equipment 239 00:12:31,630 --> 00:12:33,730 that would have been used in a Roman army. 240 00:12:35,110 --> 00:12:37,840 - [Narrator] During a siege, the beast would have lobbed 241 00:12:37,840 --> 00:12:39,663 small balls into the city. 242 00:12:42,570 --> 00:12:43,613 Creating havoc. 243 00:12:45,430 --> 00:12:47,710 But not knocking down the walls. 244 00:12:47,710 --> 00:12:49,660 - They also are very good, obviously, 245 00:12:49,660 --> 00:12:51,940 dropping into a mass crowd of warriors 246 00:12:51,940 --> 00:12:53,800 or whatever, you know, enemy. 247 00:12:53,800 --> 00:12:54,840 Try that. 248 00:12:54,840 --> 00:12:56,470 - Oh okay, can I go the other way around? 249 00:12:56,470 --> 00:12:57,580 Because I-- 250 00:12:57,580 --> 00:12:59,600 - [Narrator] Tracy believes the smallest catapult 251 00:12:59,600 --> 00:13:02,300 might have been fired almost like a rifle. 252 00:13:02,300 --> 00:13:04,893 Again, not useful for knocking down walls. 253 00:13:06,510 --> 00:13:08,550 But what about the mid-size model? 254 00:13:08,550 --> 00:13:10,800 The one most like the catapult in the museum? 255 00:13:11,910 --> 00:13:14,610 It's light, and easy to set up, 256 00:13:14,610 --> 00:13:17,553 but it requires an expert hand to prepare it for battle. 257 00:13:21,200 --> 00:13:23,520 - To the bowstring, and then push the snake 258 00:13:23,520 --> 00:13:25,070 into position to lock it. 259 00:13:25,070 --> 00:13:27,080 Ratchets go back on. 260 00:13:27,080 --> 00:13:29,313 Number two would start winding on. 261 00:13:30,910 --> 00:13:34,640 And you place the bolt in position on the slider, 262 00:13:34,640 --> 00:13:36,323 and fit it back into the trigger. 263 00:13:38,120 --> 00:13:39,050 - [Narrator] The first target 264 00:13:39,050 --> 00:13:40,763 will be a double sheet of steel. 265 00:13:42,500 --> 00:13:45,113 Tracy has never fired this catapult before. 266 00:13:46,030 --> 00:13:47,340 - Right, okay. 267 00:13:47,340 --> 00:13:51,285 - [Narrator] Even so, she scores a direct hit. 268 00:13:51,285 --> 00:13:52,118 - Well done. 269 00:13:52,118 --> 00:13:53,770 - At his feet, at his feet where we hit him. 270 00:13:53,770 --> 00:13:55,500 - Got him in the foot. - Yeah. 271 00:13:55,500 --> 00:13:57,780 - So that's the point of impact. 272 00:13:57,780 --> 00:13:59,842 Got a hole on the first sheet, 273 00:13:59,842 --> 00:14:02,200 and a hole through the second sheet. 274 00:14:02,200 --> 00:14:05,823 So that's 1.2 millimeters, and we've punched through. 275 00:14:06,910 --> 00:14:09,690 - [Narrator] This suggests the catapult's real purpose. 276 00:14:09,690 --> 00:14:10,610 - So it's anti-personnel. 277 00:14:10,610 --> 00:14:12,380 It's the small scale stuff. 278 00:14:12,380 --> 00:14:15,590 They probably would've been used for wall clearing duties. 279 00:14:15,590 --> 00:14:17,030 - [Narrator] At the siege of Carthage, 280 00:14:17,030 --> 00:14:20,170 the Romans finally stopped trying to go through the walls, 281 00:14:20,170 --> 00:14:22,820 and began to build a firing platform. 282 00:14:22,820 --> 00:14:24,860 - The whole idea was that you're higher than the city wall 283 00:14:24,860 --> 00:14:28,290 so that your troops can shoot down on the defenders, 284 00:14:28,290 --> 00:14:30,320 and the Carthaginians first thought was 285 00:14:30,320 --> 00:14:31,270 oh this is impossible. 286 00:14:31,270 --> 00:14:32,460 They'll never achieve it. 287 00:14:32,460 --> 00:14:34,760 But the Romans were nothing if not persistent. 288 00:14:36,800 --> 00:14:38,870 - [Narrator] When the platform was complete, 289 00:14:38,870 --> 00:14:41,290 Roman soldiers rushed to the top, 290 00:14:41,290 --> 00:14:44,120 carrying catapults in pieces. 291 00:14:44,120 --> 00:14:46,743 They assembled their weapons, and began to fire. 292 00:14:48,550 --> 00:14:50,340 Carthaginian arrows were no match 293 00:14:50,340 --> 00:14:52,750 for the powerful and accurate catapults, 294 00:14:52,750 --> 00:14:55,313 which took out the defenders one by one. 295 00:14:56,490 --> 00:14:59,220 The Romans didn't need to knock down the walls, 296 00:14:59,220 --> 00:15:01,763 because they could now scale them with impunity. 297 00:15:02,900 --> 00:15:06,760 And when they did, the story takes a darker turn. 298 00:15:06,760 --> 00:15:10,530 Still evident back here, in the ruins of Carthage. 299 00:15:10,530 --> 00:15:12,850 - [Man] Bones, thousands of them. 300 00:15:12,850 --> 00:15:13,683 - [Tracy] They're all over aren't they? 301 00:15:13,683 --> 00:15:16,020 - Here are a good example, could be a tibia. 302 00:15:16,020 --> 00:15:17,800 You know, a leg. 303 00:15:17,800 --> 00:15:20,680 So there you see a shoulder bone. 304 00:15:20,680 --> 00:15:22,670 Here you have another one there. 305 00:15:22,670 --> 00:15:24,083 Could be human. 306 00:15:26,210 --> 00:15:28,510 - [Narrator] The Romans believed there was only one way 307 00:15:28,510 --> 00:15:31,933 to ensure that Carthage never threatened their empire again. 308 00:15:33,590 --> 00:15:35,800 Every building was razed, 309 00:15:35,800 --> 00:15:38,413 every man, woman, and child was slaughtered. 310 00:15:39,300 --> 00:15:42,543 It was the first genocide in recorded history, 311 00:15:43,480 --> 00:15:44,920 and it may never have happened 312 00:15:44,920 --> 00:15:47,080 without the catapult. 313 00:15:47,080 --> 00:15:50,450 (dramatic music) 314 00:15:50,450 --> 00:15:55,199 Up next, did the priests of Carthage commit child sacrifice? 315 00:15:55,199 --> 00:15:58,440 (dramatic music) 316 00:15:58,440 --> 00:16:01,107 (ominous music) 317 00:16:03,480 --> 00:16:06,670 Inside Tunisia's Bardo National Museum, 318 00:16:06,670 --> 00:16:09,190 the gallery of Carthage contains the likeness 319 00:16:09,190 --> 00:16:11,613 of a pagan god named Baal Hammon. 320 00:16:13,410 --> 00:16:15,600 Since the first century AD, 321 00:16:15,600 --> 00:16:18,533 Baal has been associated with a dark ritual. 322 00:16:20,360 --> 00:16:24,840 Witnesses describe priests holding babies above a fire, 323 00:16:24,840 --> 00:16:27,380 as music drowns their mothers' screams, 324 00:16:27,380 --> 00:16:30,580 the young ones are hurled into the flames. 325 00:16:30,580 --> 00:16:32,740 These terrible events were recorded 326 00:16:32,740 --> 00:16:35,433 by ancient Greek and Roman historians. 327 00:16:37,670 --> 00:16:39,960 Then, in the early 20th Century, 328 00:16:39,960 --> 00:16:44,683 in the ruins of Carthage, archeologists discovered evidence. 329 00:16:45,970 --> 00:16:47,730 Near the city's main cemetery, 330 00:16:47,730 --> 00:16:50,683 they found a smaller one they named the Tophet. 331 00:16:52,780 --> 00:16:55,493 Tophet is Hebrew for roasting place. 332 00:16:56,410 --> 00:16:58,870 Here, they pieced together stone markers, 333 00:16:58,870 --> 00:17:02,210 including one that is now in the Bardo Museum. 334 00:17:02,210 --> 00:17:05,910 It shows a priest grasping a tiny child. 335 00:17:05,910 --> 00:17:07,930 - This was for many scholars the evidence 336 00:17:07,930 --> 00:17:12,763 that these Carthaginians were sacrificing their babies. 337 00:17:14,120 --> 00:17:16,200 - [Narrator] Then, in the 1970s, 338 00:17:16,200 --> 00:17:18,290 PBS filmed American researchers 339 00:17:18,290 --> 00:17:20,783 as they excavated the cemetery's graves. 340 00:17:22,280 --> 00:17:25,517 The team was led by biblical archeologist Lawrence Stager. 341 00:17:26,620 --> 00:17:29,200 A young anthropologist named Jeffrey Schwartz 342 00:17:29,200 --> 00:17:31,940 was put in charge of collecting the bones. 343 00:17:31,940 --> 00:17:33,690 - It seems fairly certain that 344 00:17:33,690 --> 00:17:36,360 in fire individuals were placed in the urn. 345 00:17:36,360 --> 00:17:38,623 This one is reasonably burned. 346 00:17:39,540 --> 00:17:42,890 - [Narrator] There were 540 tiny skeletons, 347 00:17:42,890 --> 00:17:46,263 revealing the scale of the horrors reported in antiquity. 348 00:17:47,110 --> 00:17:50,880 - Some of the classical sources suggest 349 00:17:50,880 --> 00:17:53,123 that the infants were thrown in alive. 350 00:17:54,050 --> 00:17:55,680 - [Narrator] Today, the people of Carthage 351 00:17:55,680 --> 00:17:58,023 are remembered as baby killers. 352 00:17:59,030 --> 00:18:02,193 But the real truth is a museum secret. 353 00:18:07,460 --> 00:18:09,890 Our investigation begins with the arrival 354 00:18:09,890 --> 00:18:13,340 of an older, grayer Jeffrey Schwartz, 355 00:18:13,340 --> 00:18:16,933 who has come to revisit the research he did as a young man. 356 00:18:17,860 --> 00:18:22,003 - I started my career doing more biblical archeology 357 00:18:22,003 --> 00:18:23,920 than anything else. 358 00:18:23,920 --> 00:18:27,870 And had been trained to analyze 359 00:18:27,870 --> 00:18:30,173 human bones, and animal bones. 360 00:18:31,370 --> 00:18:33,150 - [Narrator] After his team's initial findings 361 00:18:33,150 --> 00:18:35,660 were made public, he began looking for bones 362 00:18:35,660 --> 00:18:37,580 that might fit together. 363 00:18:37,580 --> 00:18:40,540 - Got some ribs, I've got neck vertebrae. 364 00:18:40,540 --> 00:18:42,710 You can piece together pieces of face. 365 00:18:42,710 --> 00:18:47,030 It's just wild to bring these things to life that way. 366 00:18:47,030 --> 00:18:49,360 - [Narrator] Jeffrey discovered that many urns in the Tophet 367 00:18:49,360 --> 00:18:51,693 contained the bones of more than one child. 368 00:18:53,600 --> 00:18:55,680 This does not match the ritual burial 369 00:18:55,680 --> 00:18:58,500 described in some classical sources, 370 00:18:58,500 --> 00:19:00,893 which he and others were beginning to doubt. 371 00:19:15,609 --> 00:19:16,442 - [Narrator] Jeffrey decided that 372 00:19:16,442 --> 00:19:19,370 to uncover the whole truth, he would need to look 373 00:19:19,370 --> 00:19:21,960 beyond the Tophet cemetery to determine 374 00:19:21,960 --> 00:19:24,360 where the rest of the Carthaginians were buried. 375 00:19:26,090 --> 00:19:30,450 In museum archives, he found a surprising answer. 376 00:19:30,450 --> 00:19:33,900 The main cemetery of Carthage contained adults, 377 00:19:33,900 --> 00:19:36,390 but no young children at all. 378 00:19:36,390 --> 00:19:38,000 - The general population 379 00:19:38,000 --> 00:19:40,620 in the main cemetery starts at about five, 380 00:19:40,620 --> 00:19:42,920 and that's where my sample more or less stops. 381 00:19:44,000 --> 00:19:46,460 - [Narrator] And since natural child mortality was high 382 00:19:46,460 --> 00:19:49,960 in ancient times, Jeffrey wondered if the stone marker 383 00:19:49,960 --> 00:19:53,260 in the museum could have a different interpretation. 384 00:19:53,260 --> 00:19:55,310 - It's been interpreted as this is a priest 385 00:19:55,310 --> 00:19:57,340 bringing a child to be sacrificed, 386 00:19:57,340 --> 00:20:00,580 but there isn't just one interpretation of it. 387 00:20:00,580 --> 00:20:02,180 You look at this little thing, 388 00:20:02,180 --> 00:20:07,180 it looks slumped over in this priest's or this person's arm. 389 00:20:07,290 --> 00:20:10,360 It has absolutely no facial expression whatsoever. 390 00:20:10,360 --> 00:20:12,330 So another way you can interpret it is 391 00:20:12,330 --> 00:20:16,500 this was a dead child, or infant, 392 00:20:16,500 --> 00:20:19,230 and it was being taken to 393 00:20:19,230 --> 00:20:20,893 a special burial place. 394 00:20:21,960 --> 00:20:23,870 - [Narrator] Jeffrey theorized that the Tophet 395 00:20:23,870 --> 00:20:25,270 was simply the graveyard 396 00:20:25,270 --> 00:20:28,173 where all the young children of Carthage were buried. 397 00:20:29,020 --> 00:20:32,563 Not an evil sanctuary for baby sacrifice. 398 00:20:34,090 --> 00:20:37,563 His colleagues reacted with shocked disbelief. 399 00:20:39,050 --> 00:20:41,900 - I was confronted by people who are really wedded 400 00:20:41,900 --> 00:20:43,960 to the sacrifice. 401 00:20:43,960 --> 00:20:46,067 Everything here had to be sacrificed. 402 00:20:46,067 --> 00:20:47,550 - [Narrator] To find proof 403 00:20:47,550 --> 00:20:50,320 that babies died from natural causes, 404 00:20:50,320 --> 00:20:54,160 he made detailed measurements of every bone. 405 00:20:54,160 --> 00:20:57,050 Many seemed extremely small. 406 00:20:57,050 --> 00:20:59,410 He wondered if they might be the bones of fetuses 407 00:20:59,410 --> 00:21:00,753 that had died in the womb. 408 00:21:03,800 --> 00:21:06,240 Jeffrey knew for every live birth, 409 00:21:06,240 --> 00:21:09,543 the moment of birth is recorded in the teeth. 410 00:21:10,680 --> 00:21:13,710 - Before you're born, enamel is laid down 411 00:21:13,710 --> 00:21:15,820 in a certain wavy pattern. 412 00:21:15,820 --> 00:21:18,468 And the first insult you have in your life 413 00:21:18,468 --> 00:21:20,320 is when you're born. 414 00:21:20,320 --> 00:21:22,431 It's a big shock, and you actually see 415 00:21:22,431 --> 00:21:24,360 a break in the wavy pattern 416 00:21:24,360 --> 00:21:27,310 in the microstructure of the teeth. 417 00:21:27,310 --> 00:21:29,110 And that's called the neonatal line. 418 00:21:30,580 --> 00:21:32,040 - [Narrator] More than half the samples 419 00:21:32,040 --> 00:21:35,193 from the Tophet cemetery lack the neonatal line. 420 00:21:36,360 --> 00:21:39,020 This is definitive proof that most babies 421 00:21:39,020 --> 00:21:42,180 in the Tophet were stillborn. 422 00:21:42,180 --> 00:21:45,800 So they weren't roasted alive in sacrifice. 423 00:21:45,800 --> 00:21:49,453 They had already died, and were brought here for cremation. 424 00:21:50,700 --> 00:21:53,230 This suggests a culture that cared deeply 425 00:21:53,230 --> 00:21:56,083 for children, even the unborn. 426 00:21:57,270 --> 00:21:58,720 - It gives a more realistic picture 427 00:21:58,720 --> 00:22:00,520 of the Carthaginians I think. 428 00:22:00,520 --> 00:22:03,530 There was something special about this place, 429 00:22:03,530 --> 00:22:05,300 and it was a place to receive the young, 430 00:22:05,300 --> 00:22:06,523 no matter how they died. 431 00:22:08,070 --> 00:22:10,390 - [Narrator] Jeffrey has rejected some of the assumptions 432 00:22:10,390 --> 00:22:11,993 he held when he was younger, 433 00:22:12,900 --> 00:22:15,860 and as he continues to delve into the past, 434 00:22:15,860 --> 00:22:18,729 to investigate the archeological record, 435 00:22:18,729 --> 00:22:23,370 he takes with him the lessons he learned in Carthage. 436 00:22:23,370 --> 00:22:27,260 - I think what I've relearned is to use your own eyes. 437 00:22:27,260 --> 00:22:30,710 Not to accept received wisdom, 438 00:22:30,710 --> 00:22:35,450 and to just to do as good of science as you can, 439 00:22:35,450 --> 00:22:38,052 and let the cards fall where they may. 440 00:22:38,052 --> 00:22:39,890 (dramatic music) 441 00:22:39,890 --> 00:22:43,003 - [Narrator] Up next, the secrets of the gladiator games. 442 00:22:44,228 --> 00:22:47,369 (crowd cheering) 443 00:22:47,369 --> 00:22:50,119 (dramatic music) 444 00:22:52,390 --> 00:22:54,508 Inside the Bardo National Museum, 445 00:22:54,508 --> 00:22:57,788 there is evidence that when Rome ruled Tunisia, 446 00:22:57,788 --> 00:23:01,633 North Africans enjoyed Roman style entertainment. 447 00:23:03,670 --> 00:23:06,083 The men in this mosaic are gladiators. 448 00:23:07,640 --> 00:23:10,570 They were involved, along with exotic animals, 449 00:23:10,570 --> 00:23:15,009 in a violent spectacle called the gladiator games. 450 00:23:15,009 --> 00:23:17,590 (crowd cheering) 451 00:23:17,590 --> 00:23:19,260 In Hollywood depictions, 452 00:23:19,260 --> 00:23:22,310 the games take place in Rome's Colosseum. 453 00:23:22,310 --> 00:23:26,493 Before a bloodthirsty crowd, lions devour Christians. 454 00:23:27,690 --> 00:23:29,373 Unlucky slaves do battle. 455 00:23:30,990 --> 00:23:32,260 And the emperor gives 456 00:23:32,260 --> 00:23:35,233 the deciding thumbs up, or thumbs down. 457 00:23:36,250 --> 00:23:38,733 It appears to be all about pain, and death. 458 00:23:40,210 --> 00:23:43,530 But how the gladiators really lived and died 459 00:23:43,530 --> 00:23:45,273 is a museum secret. 460 00:23:47,210 --> 00:23:50,529 Our investigation begins 200 kilometers south of the museum 461 00:23:50,529 --> 00:23:52,423 in the town of El Djem. 462 00:23:53,400 --> 00:23:56,160 While most movies show only Rome's Colosseum, 463 00:23:56,160 --> 00:23:58,350 in reality similar amphitheaters 464 00:23:58,350 --> 00:24:00,133 were built in every Roman colony. 465 00:24:01,490 --> 00:24:04,603 El Djem's Colosseum is one of the biggest anywhere. 466 00:24:06,290 --> 00:24:08,563 This local guide knows why. 467 00:24:15,989 --> 00:24:19,780 They decide to build this colosseum to say to Rome 468 00:24:19,780 --> 00:24:21,250 that they have a lot of money, 469 00:24:21,250 --> 00:24:24,663 and they can build a colosseum like the Colosseum of Rome. 470 00:24:25,920 --> 00:24:27,420 - [Narrator] The massive architecture 471 00:24:27,420 --> 00:24:29,243 extends well below the ground. 472 00:24:36,320 --> 00:24:39,620 And from this hall, they go up 473 00:24:39,620 --> 00:24:43,450 the lions with hand lift to arena 474 00:24:43,450 --> 00:24:44,923 to start the game. 475 00:24:46,810 --> 00:24:49,000 - [Narrator] Not far from the animal cages, 476 00:24:49,000 --> 00:24:50,833 gladiators prepared for battle. 477 00:24:51,860 --> 00:24:53,770 And today, it's where several men 478 00:24:53,770 --> 00:24:56,760 are preparing for gladiator school. 479 00:24:56,760 --> 00:24:59,173 They aren't actors or stuntmen. 480 00:24:59,173 --> 00:25:02,352 They're historians, who strive to recreate 481 00:25:02,352 --> 00:25:04,843 the authentic fighting techniques. 482 00:25:08,250 --> 00:25:10,500 In Roman times, gladiators were owned 483 00:25:10,500 --> 00:25:12,880 by private games promoters, 484 00:25:12,880 --> 00:25:16,050 who spent great sums on weapons and training. 485 00:25:16,050 --> 00:25:18,250 They hoped to make a profit on ticket sales. 486 00:25:19,260 --> 00:25:20,970 Movies that imply that the emperor 487 00:25:20,970 --> 00:25:25,750 put on the games are wrong, and so is this. 488 00:25:25,750 --> 00:25:27,823 The famous thumbs down gesture? 489 00:25:28,980 --> 00:25:31,000 Never happened. 490 00:25:31,000 --> 00:25:34,763 The sign for death was something else. 491 00:25:34,763 --> 00:25:38,263 (speaks foreign language) 492 00:25:44,600 --> 00:25:45,640 - [Narrator] The Hollywood version 493 00:25:45,640 --> 00:25:48,990 comes from a French painting of the 19th Century. 494 00:25:48,990 --> 00:25:51,783 It was never seen in a real colosseum, 495 00:25:51,783 --> 00:25:55,394 and the gesture for mercy was different too. 496 00:25:55,394 --> 00:25:58,894 (speaks foreign language) 497 00:26:01,640 --> 00:26:04,773 - [Narrator] In the movies, the fights are no holds barred, 498 00:26:05,950 --> 00:26:09,373 but Roman mosaics reveal the presence of referees. 499 00:26:10,399 --> 00:26:13,899 (speaks foreign language) 500 00:26:20,532 --> 00:26:24,030 (intense music) 501 00:26:24,030 --> 00:26:25,150 - [Narrator] A referee's job 502 00:26:25,150 --> 00:26:27,877 was to keep opponents from killing each other. 503 00:26:27,877 --> 00:26:31,377 (speaks foreign language) 504 00:26:36,870 --> 00:26:37,870 - [Narrator] Games promoters 505 00:26:37,870 --> 00:26:40,652 wanted their gladiators to stay alive, 506 00:26:40,652 --> 00:26:43,603 especially those who impressed the crowds. 507 00:26:44,870 --> 00:26:46,730 The best gladiators were revered, 508 00:26:46,730 --> 00:26:50,140 like today's sports heroes and movie stars. 509 00:26:50,140 --> 00:26:52,693 And they might even see their names in stone. 510 00:26:54,070 --> 00:26:55,860 The artist who made this mosaic 511 00:26:55,860 --> 00:26:58,609 portrayed specific famous gladiators, 512 00:26:58,609 --> 00:27:02,972 and even captured their post-game banter. 513 00:27:02,972 --> 00:27:06,472 (speaks foreign language) 514 00:27:14,343 --> 00:27:16,250 (dramatic music) 515 00:27:16,250 --> 00:27:17,480 - [Narrator] And while in the movies, 516 00:27:17,480 --> 00:27:20,710 only unknown Christians face wild animals, 517 00:27:20,710 --> 00:27:22,770 in reality animal fighters 518 00:27:22,770 --> 00:27:25,123 were often the most famous gladiators of all. 519 00:27:26,327 --> 00:27:29,827 (speaks foreign language) 520 00:27:37,320 --> 00:27:39,590 - [Narrator] The animals did not have an easy meal. 521 00:27:39,590 --> 00:27:43,033 In fact, they were almost always killed. 522 00:27:43,033 --> 00:27:45,783 (crowd cheering) 523 00:27:46,830 --> 00:27:48,960 The festival of violence would climax 524 00:27:48,960 --> 00:27:51,223 with a battle between two stars. 525 00:27:52,120 --> 00:27:54,670 Their goal was not to kill or maim each other, 526 00:27:54,670 --> 00:27:56,673 but to put on an exciting show. 527 00:27:58,170 --> 00:28:01,973 So serious wounds were rare, but they did happen. 528 00:28:03,290 --> 00:28:05,010 In the movies, this is the moment 529 00:28:05,010 --> 00:28:07,630 when an emperor might allow the loser to live 530 00:28:07,630 --> 00:28:09,463 to recover from his wounds. 531 00:28:10,880 --> 00:28:14,460 But in reality, serious wounds couldn't be treated, 532 00:28:14,460 --> 00:28:16,613 and everyone in the colosseum knew it. 533 00:28:17,480 --> 00:28:20,350 The wounded man would gesture for a decision, 534 00:28:20,350 --> 00:28:23,810 and so to end the gladiator's suffering, 535 00:28:23,810 --> 00:28:27,233 the games promoter would make the sign for death. 536 00:28:28,633 --> 00:28:32,133 (speaks foreign language) 537 00:28:39,080 --> 00:28:41,819 - [Narrator] As the gladiator committed suicide, 538 00:28:41,819 --> 00:28:44,443 it's likely the crowd fell silent, 539 00:28:45,430 --> 00:28:47,290 but not for long, 540 00:28:47,290 --> 00:28:49,670 because in the Roman Empire, the appetite 541 00:28:49,670 --> 00:28:52,493 for violent entertainment was insatiable. 542 00:28:53,370 --> 00:28:55,761 And so the show must go on. 543 00:28:55,761 --> 00:28:58,511 (crowd cheering) 544 00:29:00,350 --> 00:29:04,423 Next on Museum Secrets, a very desirable Roman bath. 545 00:29:06,377 --> 00:29:09,127 (dramatic music) 546 00:29:15,300 --> 00:29:17,900 Inside the Bardo National Museum, 547 00:29:17,900 --> 00:29:20,590 this gallery reveals how the people of Carthage 548 00:29:20,590 --> 00:29:23,823 and North Africa were changed by the Roman conquest. 549 00:29:25,970 --> 00:29:28,440 The mosaics are in a Roman style, 550 00:29:28,440 --> 00:29:31,283 but were made by colonized North Africans. 551 00:29:32,620 --> 00:29:35,140 They displayed Roman mosaics in their homes, 552 00:29:35,140 --> 00:29:37,560 and worshiped Roman gods. 553 00:29:37,560 --> 00:29:40,920 But for those who aspired to be Roman in every way, 554 00:29:40,920 --> 00:29:41,920 there was a problem. 555 00:29:44,450 --> 00:29:49,450 True Romans washed, networked, and flirted at public baths. 556 00:29:51,030 --> 00:29:52,840 This pleasurable tradition required 557 00:29:52,840 --> 00:29:55,603 hundreds of liters of water per person per day. 558 00:29:57,800 --> 00:30:00,260 In Rome in Italy, there was plenty of water 559 00:30:00,260 --> 00:30:02,700 to achieve the Roman lifestyle, 560 00:30:02,700 --> 00:30:05,903 but North Africa is a dry land for much of the year. 561 00:30:07,960 --> 00:30:10,960 For the 500,000 people of Roman Carthage, 562 00:30:10,960 --> 00:30:13,600 there was hardly enough water to drink, 563 00:30:13,600 --> 00:30:15,743 let alone for public baths. 564 00:30:17,480 --> 00:30:20,680 When Emperor Hadrian learned of the shortage, 565 00:30:20,680 --> 00:30:23,130 he demanded that Roman Carthage be supplied 566 00:30:23,130 --> 00:30:26,380 with abundant water without delay. 567 00:30:26,380 --> 00:30:28,380 How did his subjects tackle the problem? 568 00:30:29,310 --> 00:30:31,653 That is our museum secret. 569 00:30:33,106 --> 00:30:35,773 (horns honking) 570 00:30:37,340 --> 00:30:40,650 The story begins in Tunis, a modern city 571 00:30:40,650 --> 00:30:43,870 built on the ruins of Roman Carthage. 572 00:30:43,870 --> 00:30:46,850 Its water supply is pumped up from reservoirs, 573 00:30:46,850 --> 00:30:49,750 and the nearby Miliane River watershed. 574 00:30:49,750 --> 00:30:53,430 But in ancient times, these were not viable water sources 575 00:30:53,430 --> 00:30:56,393 because the Romans didn't have pumps. 576 00:30:57,720 --> 00:31:00,560 The city required water from a high elevation 577 00:31:00,560 --> 00:31:02,453 so it could flow by gravity alone. 578 00:31:04,050 --> 00:31:05,270 Such a source existed 579 00:31:05,270 --> 00:31:08,113 at the sacred mountain spring called Zaghouan. 580 00:31:09,280 --> 00:31:10,640 Roman engineers were sent 581 00:31:10,640 --> 00:31:13,040 to make this water flow to Carthage, 582 00:31:13,040 --> 00:31:15,840 and today, British historian Olie Martin 583 00:31:15,840 --> 00:31:19,830 has come here too, to find out what they did. 584 00:31:19,830 --> 00:31:21,230 - I mean it's amazing. 585 00:31:21,230 --> 00:31:22,580 I often think of the person that was 586 00:31:22,580 --> 00:31:24,150 given the job to start with, you know? 587 00:31:24,150 --> 00:31:26,523 And you think where do you start with all of this? 588 00:31:30,380 --> 00:31:31,630 - [Narrator] Water can only be seen 589 00:31:31,630 --> 00:31:33,130 at the bottom of a deep shaft. 590 00:31:35,345 --> 00:31:37,810 But in ancient times, water filled this pool 591 00:31:37,810 --> 00:31:41,720 300 meters above Roman Carthage. 592 00:31:41,720 --> 00:31:44,560 - Well assuming that for now have found the best source, 593 00:31:44,560 --> 00:31:46,340 here we now need to look across that plain 594 00:31:46,340 --> 00:31:48,380 and the first thing we need to do really 595 00:31:48,380 --> 00:31:50,120 is get an idea, roughly, 596 00:31:50,120 --> 00:31:52,103 of which direction we need to build it. 597 00:31:53,140 --> 00:31:55,130 - [Narrator] The direction is northeast, 598 00:31:55,130 --> 00:31:58,381 the distance is 75 kilometers. 599 00:31:58,381 --> 00:32:01,020 In Rome, engineers had constructed 600 00:32:01,020 --> 00:32:03,163 long, gravity fed aqueducts. 601 00:32:04,420 --> 00:32:06,580 Here, they would need to adapt this technology 602 00:32:06,580 --> 00:32:09,300 for North Africa's rough terrain. 603 00:32:09,300 --> 00:32:11,140 - Of course it's highly unlikely that your aqueduct 604 00:32:11,140 --> 00:32:12,710 is gonna be able to run in a straight line. 605 00:32:12,710 --> 00:32:14,180 The whole thing is gravity run, 606 00:32:14,180 --> 00:32:16,410 so it must be a nice, sloping gradient 607 00:32:16,410 --> 00:32:17,720 good enough to run the water, 608 00:32:17,720 --> 00:32:19,040 but not too steep. 609 00:32:19,040 --> 00:32:21,270 This is where you need your expert surveyors 610 00:32:21,270 --> 00:32:22,890 to walk this ground and see 611 00:32:22,890 --> 00:32:24,980 where they could get this decent gradient. 612 00:32:24,980 --> 00:32:26,630 Do you go around the hill? 613 00:32:26,630 --> 00:32:28,230 Do you tunnel through the hill? 614 00:32:28,230 --> 00:32:30,840 Do you go over the valley by bridging it? 615 00:32:30,840 --> 00:32:33,021 So all of these are problems that the Roman engineers 616 00:32:33,021 --> 00:32:35,230 have got to think about. 617 00:32:35,230 --> 00:32:37,710 - [Narrator] Once the engineers made a general plan, 618 00:32:37,710 --> 00:32:40,183 they needed precise curves and angles. 619 00:32:41,030 --> 00:32:43,770 And so they employed a Roman innovation, 620 00:32:43,770 --> 00:32:45,678 a surveyor's tool. 621 00:32:45,678 --> 00:32:46,760 - So here we have a groma, 622 00:32:46,760 --> 00:32:49,260 almost the symbol of a Roman engineer really. 623 00:32:49,260 --> 00:32:50,520 Now to get a straight line, 624 00:32:50,520 --> 00:32:52,780 which is what this thing is used for, 625 00:32:52,780 --> 00:32:54,650 you simply stand here 626 00:32:54,650 --> 00:32:56,500 and you're gonna line up those three strings. 627 00:32:56,500 --> 00:32:58,750 We're gonna send an assistant out with the pole, 628 00:32:58,750 --> 00:33:00,340 however far we want him to, 629 00:33:00,340 --> 00:33:01,630 move him left and right 630 00:33:01,630 --> 00:33:04,320 until the pole is lined up with the three strings, 631 00:33:04,320 --> 00:33:06,570 and there we have a straight line. 632 00:33:06,570 --> 00:33:07,970 Now the other thing you can use it for 633 00:33:07,970 --> 00:33:10,840 is to measure 90 degrees, a right angle. 634 00:33:10,840 --> 00:33:12,520 - [Narrator] This tool allowed the engineers 635 00:33:12,520 --> 00:33:15,220 to produce a blueprint of the shortest possible route. 636 00:33:17,310 --> 00:33:20,000 It snaked around mountains, over valleys, 637 00:33:20,000 --> 00:33:23,663 and through hilltops for 128 kilometers. 638 00:33:24,920 --> 00:33:26,950 For an aqueduct this long, 639 00:33:26,950 --> 00:33:29,783 the gradient had to be just two meters per kilometer. 640 00:33:30,930 --> 00:33:34,213 To the unaided eye, the slope appears horizontal, 641 00:33:35,490 --> 00:33:37,833 and so another Roman invention was needed. 642 00:33:38,770 --> 00:33:40,330 - Here we have a chorobates, 643 00:33:40,330 --> 00:33:42,850 an instrument for measuring level. 644 00:33:42,850 --> 00:33:44,610 It's basically a level plank. 645 00:33:44,610 --> 00:33:47,650 We have four plumb lines hanging down, 646 00:33:47,650 --> 00:33:50,310 and in the center we have a trough 647 00:33:50,310 --> 00:33:52,433 which we are gonna fill with water. 648 00:33:54,170 --> 00:33:56,660 As long as the water touches the top of all four sides, 649 00:33:56,660 --> 00:33:58,453 we know it must be level. 650 00:34:01,030 --> 00:34:03,300 - [Narrator] Armed with their level and blueprints, 651 00:34:03,300 --> 00:34:06,840 the engineers announced that building could begin. 652 00:34:06,840 --> 00:34:09,590 (dramatic music) 653 00:34:10,540 --> 00:34:14,283 Roman overseers enslaved North Africans to do the job. 654 00:34:15,330 --> 00:34:19,700 As a colonized people, they had no right to refuse. 655 00:34:19,700 --> 00:34:22,400 For 10 long years, they dug tunnels, 656 00:34:22,400 --> 00:34:25,030 hauled stone, and erected arches 657 00:34:25,030 --> 00:34:27,393 until they numbered in the thousands. 658 00:34:28,660 --> 00:34:32,763 And then the engineers' design was put to the crucial test. 659 00:34:33,784 --> 00:34:36,600 From the sacred pool of Zaghouan, 660 00:34:36,600 --> 00:34:39,950 water flowed briskly down half-buried pipes, 661 00:34:39,950 --> 00:34:42,953 and then more slowly through channels, over valleys, 662 00:34:44,170 --> 00:34:46,090 and through hillsides. 663 00:34:46,090 --> 00:34:50,700 The precious water crept along, kilometer after kilometer, 664 00:34:50,700 --> 00:34:53,120 until it crossed above the Miliane River, 665 00:34:53,120 --> 00:34:56,293 into the stone reservoirs of Roman Carthage. 666 00:35:00,140 --> 00:35:02,990 But how much water had been delivered? 667 00:35:02,990 --> 00:35:05,330 Was there enough for a Roman bath? 668 00:35:05,330 --> 00:35:06,983 Or only enough to drink? 669 00:35:08,020 --> 00:35:11,203 The answer is hidden in plain sight in the Bardo Museum. 670 00:35:12,100 --> 00:35:15,870 In Roman mosaics, images of fish and ocean waves 671 00:35:15,870 --> 00:35:18,920 were used for the floors of Roman baths. 672 00:35:18,920 --> 00:35:20,720 Their presence in Carthage 673 00:35:20,720 --> 00:35:23,773 reveals that the aqueduct was a success. 674 00:35:25,240 --> 00:35:26,640 - In many ways we think of the Romans 675 00:35:26,640 --> 00:35:28,200 as all conquering people. 676 00:35:28,200 --> 00:35:30,110 We all hear about the Roman Army and stuff like that, 677 00:35:30,110 --> 00:35:32,350 and perhaps sometimes we don't remember 678 00:35:32,350 --> 00:35:34,664 that the Romans were also great engineers. 679 00:35:34,664 --> 00:35:35,540 To have been able to achieve this 680 00:35:35,540 --> 00:35:37,683 2,000 years ago is quite amazing. 681 00:35:38,863 --> 00:35:40,580 - [Narrator] And their achievement 682 00:35:40,580 --> 00:35:42,230 provided a colonized people 683 00:35:42,230 --> 00:35:45,050 with even more than a pleasant bath. 684 00:35:45,050 --> 00:35:47,223 It gave them the Roman lifestyle. 685 00:35:48,200 --> 00:35:51,940 By the emperor's command, those who lived as Romans 686 00:35:51,940 --> 00:35:54,730 could be granted the rights of Roman citizens, 687 00:35:54,730 --> 00:35:57,390 who could not be enslaved. 688 00:35:57,390 --> 00:36:00,340 In a dry land, water is valuable, 689 00:36:00,340 --> 00:36:03,123 but human rights are priceless. 690 00:36:05,690 --> 00:36:10,030 Next on Museum Secrets, how to stay alive in the Sahara. 691 00:36:11,365 --> 00:36:14,662 (dramatic music) 692 00:36:14,662 --> 00:36:17,027 (doors creak) 693 00:36:17,027 --> 00:36:19,940 The Bardo National Museum displays treasures 694 00:36:19,940 --> 00:36:22,163 of Tunisia's Islamic heritage. 695 00:36:23,030 --> 00:36:25,380 There are several pages of an ancient holy book 696 00:36:25,380 --> 00:36:26,853 known as the Blue Qur'an. 697 00:36:28,230 --> 00:36:29,680 They are among the most valuable 698 00:36:29,680 --> 00:36:31,763 paper artifacts in the world. 699 00:36:33,410 --> 00:36:34,920 And near the scripture, 700 00:36:34,920 --> 00:36:38,020 there's an example of Islamic science. 701 00:36:38,020 --> 00:36:42,033 This astrolabe is an Arab take on a Greek invention. 702 00:36:44,306 --> 00:36:47,806 (speaks foreign language) 703 00:36:57,510 --> 00:37:00,190 - [Narrator] Astrolabes were used by Arab seafarers 704 00:37:00,190 --> 00:37:02,120 to navigate the ocean, 705 00:37:02,120 --> 00:37:05,073 and by those who dared to enter the Sahara Desert. 706 00:37:06,110 --> 00:37:08,250 When sighted on the noonday sun, 707 00:37:08,250 --> 00:37:10,660 an astrolabe reveals a traveler's distance 708 00:37:10,660 --> 00:37:13,513 from the equator, and from your destination. 709 00:37:14,500 --> 00:37:17,070 It's an important tool for navigation, 710 00:37:17,070 --> 00:37:18,763 but it won't help you survive. 711 00:37:20,040 --> 00:37:21,450 The Sahara is one of the most 712 00:37:21,450 --> 00:37:23,233 unforgiving environments on earth. 713 00:37:24,660 --> 00:37:27,883 And historians believe it's getting worse. 714 00:37:28,950 --> 00:37:31,240 - The story of the Sarah since climate change occurred 715 00:37:31,240 --> 00:37:35,540 about 5,000 years ago, is that the level of groundwater 716 00:37:35,540 --> 00:37:38,180 has gradually gone down. 717 00:37:38,180 --> 00:37:40,471 The Sahara has been a high powered desert 718 00:37:40,471 --> 00:37:42,503 for the last 5,000 years. 719 00:37:44,690 --> 00:37:45,770 - [Narrator] How to stay alive 720 00:37:45,770 --> 00:37:48,283 in the Sahara is a museum secret. 721 00:37:52,430 --> 00:37:54,010 Our investigation begins 722 00:37:54,010 --> 00:37:55,973 with a gathering of Berber tribesmen. 723 00:37:57,100 --> 00:37:59,690 Caravan leader Fausi Buali and his crew 724 00:37:59,690 --> 00:38:01,653 are preparing to enter the Sahara. 725 00:38:05,040 --> 00:38:07,340 It may look like they belong here, 726 00:38:07,340 --> 00:38:10,203 but they are as vulnerable in the desert as anyone. 727 00:38:11,090 --> 00:38:13,500 Luckily for them, their ancestors 728 00:38:13,500 --> 00:38:14,993 domesticated the camel. 729 00:38:17,960 --> 00:38:20,310 In the past, Berbers braved the desert 730 00:38:20,310 --> 00:38:21,663 for trade and profit. 731 00:38:23,320 --> 00:38:25,607 A camel caravan from one side to the other 732 00:38:25,607 --> 00:38:28,590 was a four month journey. 733 00:38:28,590 --> 00:38:32,370 - There must have been caravans of hundreds of camels, 734 00:38:32,370 --> 00:38:34,450 perhaps even thousands of camels 735 00:38:34,450 --> 00:38:36,990 in the peak years, and it says a lot I think 736 00:38:36,990 --> 00:38:39,930 about the consumer demand in the Central Sahara. 737 00:38:39,930 --> 00:38:43,750 They wanted Roman tableware, that nice, red, glossy pottery 738 00:38:43,750 --> 00:38:47,950 and things like textiles, salt, the dates from the oases. 739 00:38:47,950 --> 00:38:50,290 And we know that gold from West Africa 740 00:38:50,290 --> 00:38:53,193 is one of the key commodities. 741 00:38:56,250 --> 00:38:57,670 - [Narrator] The camel is well-suited 742 00:38:57,670 --> 00:38:59,510 to these long desert caravans 743 00:38:59,510 --> 00:39:01,170 because of the large amount of water 744 00:39:01,170 --> 00:39:03,003 it can store in its hump. 745 00:39:12,648 --> 00:39:14,890 - [Narrator] But that's only one of its adaptations. 746 00:39:14,890 --> 00:39:18,680 - The camel has this extraordinary splay-toed foot 747 00:39:18,680 --> 00:39:22,540 which is very effective in traversing sand. 748 00:39:22,540 --> 00:39:27,540 It also has well-adapted eyes and ears and lips 749 00:39:27,580 --> 00:39:29,990 and whiskers that sort of keep out the dust 750 00:39:29,990 --> 00:39:31,780 when it's blowing around. 751 00:39:31,780 --> 00:39:36,210 It also has the ability to vary its body temperature 752 00:39:36,210 --> 00:39:39,130 in a way that other mammals simply don't have. 753 00:39:39,130 --> 00:39:41,040 Its body temperature can go 754 00:39:41,040 --> 00:39:44,071 from about 89 degrees Fahrenheit 755 00:39:44,071 --> 00:39:46,790 up to about 110 degrees Fahrenheit. 756 00:39:46,790 --> 00:39:48,403 Well that would kill you or me. 757 00:39:49,490 --> 00:39:52,493 - [Narrator] Requiring only spiny grass for fuel, 758 00:39:52,493 --> 00:39:56,730 the camel provides reliable transport between water sources 759 00:39:56,730 --> 00:39:59,623 that are sometimes hundreds of kilometers apart. 760 00:40:01,010 --> 00:40:04,610 In the Sahara, if a lone traveler loses their camel, 761 00:40:04,610 --> 00:40:05,923 they can easily die. 762 00:40:08,130 --> 00:40:10,140 So if a camel wanders off, 763 00:40:10,140 --> 00:40:11,990 it's critical to know how to find it. 764 00:40:22,930 --> 00:40:23,900 - [Narrator] But while Berbers 765 00:40:23,900 --> 00:40:26,540 depend on their camels for survival, 766 00:40:26,540 --> 00:40:29,390 the camels depend on the Berbers too. 767 00:40:29,390 --> 00:40:31,640 - Even your wonderful camels, 768 00:40:31,640 --> 00:40:35,820 they cannot endure without finding a water source. 769 00:40:35,820 --> 00:40:37,487 You've got to know where the water sources are. 770 00:40:37,487 --> 00:40:39,003 That's the crucial thing. 771 00:40:48,827 --> 00:40:51,130 (camels grunting) 772 00:40:51,130 --> 00:40:53,420 - [Narrator] In the desert, survival can depend 773 00:40:53,420 --> 00:40:55,603 on convincing a camel to cooperate. 774 00:40:56,910 --> 00:40:58,923 This camel is ready and willing. 775 00:40:59,845 --> 00:41:02,720 (camel grunts) 776 00:41:02,720 --> 00:41:04,800 This one, not so much. 777 00:41:11,728 --> 00:41:15,228 (speaks foreign language) 778 00:41:17,200 --> 00:41:19,360 - Camels are extraordinary animals, 779 00:41:19,360 --> 00:41:22,113 but they also have very nasty tempers. 780 00:41:23,660 --> 00:41:25,010 - [Narrator] Experienced Berbers 781 00:41:25,010 --> 00:41:28,150 do not respond with anger or abuse, 782 00:41:28,150 --> 00:41:32,785 because camels, like elephants, never forget. 783 00:41:32,785 --> 00:41:36,285 (speaks foreign language) 784 00:41:47,786 --> 00:41:50,286 (men snoring) 785 00:42:01,256 --> 00:42:03,923 (camel bellows) 786 00:42:11,155 --> 00:42:14,030 - [Narrator] Unlike the caravans of old, Fausi's convoy 787 00:42:14,030 --> 00:42:15,723 is not involved in trade. 788 00:42:17,970 --> 00:42:19,660 He and his men make their living 789 00:42:19,660 --> 00:42:23,100 by taking tourists on expeditions 790 00:42:23,100 --> 00:42:24,703 deep into the Sahara. 791 00:42:25,870 --> 00:42:28,950 The purpose is not to get to the other side. 792 00:42:28,950 --> 00:42:31,093 The desert is the destination. 793 00:42:53,960 --> 00:42:56,670 - [Narrator] As it has been for thousands of years, 794 00:42:56,670 --> 00:42:59,070 understanding the interdependence of humans 795 00:42:59,070 --> 00:43:00,770 and the natural world 796 00:43:00,770 --> 00:43:03,403 is the secret of survival in the Sahara. 797 00:43:09,290 --> 00:43:12,950 In this place where ancient enemies meet, 798 00:43:12,950 --> 00:43:15,570 for every mystery we reveal, 799 00:43:15,570 --> 00:43:18,323 far more must remain unspoken. 800 00:43:19,360 --> 00:43:24,310 Secrets of the Holy Spirit, and of the bravest hearts, 801 00:43:24,310 --> 00:43:28,603 hidden in plain sight inside the Bardo National Museum. 802 00:43:31,387 --> 00:43:33,970 (somber music)