All language subtitles for Romes Lost Empire BBC 720p HDTV x264_Subtitles01.ENG

'The Roman Empire.

'With its Coliseum,

'its gladiators

'and its ancient cities...

'..frozen in time.

'No other power dominated
the planet for so long.

'But what are the secrets
that helped Rome rule?

'It remains one of history's
greatest riddles.

'Until now.'

There are about 60 features
that have appeared

which show up in these red circles.

'By using satellites,

'one archaeologist will
uncover a Rome

'that no-one knew existed.

'Finding buried settlements,

'forgotten forts,

'and lost amphitheatres.'

It's never been discovered before?

As far as I know, it is
a completely new structure.

'I'm Dan Snow,

'a broadcaster with
a passion for history.'

50,000 people would have
packed into here.

50,000 people would have
packed into here.

'This is my chance to join this
revolution in archaeology.'

Wow, that's wonderful!
That looks like a Roman fort.

'Together, we'll journey to the
four corners of the Roman Empire.'

There's a fork in the road here,
do you want me to right or left?

I think we just continue on ahead,
according to my GPS.

'From the mountains
and rivers of Europe...'

Can you see? I'm touching it now.

'..to the hot deserts
of the Middle East.'

It's a very special place for me

because I came here with
my mum and dad when I was a kid.

'Across the vast interior
of Africa...'

What the satellites
are showing us is just...

There's so much more left to find.

'..to the glory of Rome itself.'

That is awesome!

'And, guided by best Roman
archaeologists in the world...'

How amazing is this view?

How amazing is this view?

'..tell the real story...

'..of how Rome ruled.'

'Our journey begins
not in the old world but the new.

'In America's Deep South.'

I've always been absolutely
fascinated by the Roman Empire.

I think it was cos as a kid
my mum and dad dragged me

round the Roman sites,
like Hadrian's Wall,

and that really fired
my imagination.

And then as I've grown older,

I've studied the Roman Army
tactics and technology,

fighting those battles
the legend of which

echoed down across the centuries.

But there's always been
one thing about Rome

that's absolutely intrigued me.

'At its height,
the Roman Empire was vast.

'Pushing out from Rome,

'through modern-day Germany,
France and Spain,

'up into drizzle-soaked
Northern England.

'Stretching eastwards over
the mountains of Middle Europe...

'..all the way to the sun-baked
deserts of Syria and Jordan.

'And south, across the immense, rich
plains of the North African coast.

'This was an Empire that covered
five million square miles

'and had a population
of at least 60 million people.

'That left Rome's army,
of around 300,000 troops,

'massively outnumbered.

'200 to one.'

Yes, the Roman Army
was the best in the world.

But, at the same time, how could
Rome rule over such a vast empire

with such a small number
of professional troops?

It's a question
that's always baffled me.

That's why I've come to Birmingham,
Alabama, in the United States

to meet a woman who I think is
going to help me find an answer.

'Dr Sarah Parcak is an associate
professor of archaeology

'at Alabama State University.'

There have been a number of cases
throughout history

where people have used identity...

'By day, she's a regular
college lecturer.'

..truly crusader period. I mean, it
had a big arrow through its chest.

'But at night,
it's a different story.'

When I was a small girl,

I always used to
imagine myself on a rocket ship.

I'm going to be
finding other planets,

we're going to be meeting aliens.

Here we are, we're in this lab.

You know, it's like...
it's like I'm in that spaceship.

'Sarah is a pioneer in the new
science of space archaeology.'

The vehicle for exploration
is a computer.

There are thousands...hundreds
of thousands of archaeological sites

and features all over the world
that haven't been found yet.

And I know they're out there
to be found.

And if you hit the right button,
it will just pop out in front of you.

That moment of discovery,
that a-ha moment,

that's like you're landing
the ship on another planet.

And the doors are opening
for the first time

onto a completely new world.

'She's using satellites
orbiting 500 miles above the earth.

'They are equipped
with high-resolution cameras

'developed by the military
for spying.

'These satellites
can pinpoint objects

'less than a metre in diameter
on the earth's surface.

'12 months ago,
Sarah had huge success in Egypt...'

For the whole of upper Egypt, I have
found over 1,200 ancient sites.

'..uncovering long-lost temples,
tombs and even pyramids...

'..using satellites
to change our understanding

'of Egyptian civilisation for ever.'

All right, Dan. So I want to show you
how this technology works.

So we're going to go to
an Egyptian settlement.

And what you're really seeing
is the equivalent of

an aerial photograph
but taken from space.

And what we do is, we combine
the higher resolution technology

with infrared technology
to get this.

Wow. So really what you're seeing

are the outlines of buildings,
structures and even ancient streets.

That's like a map
of downtown Manhattan.

But, you know, I have to say, this is
really the technology at its best.

'This time, the task
will be much harder.

'This time, the task
will be much harder.

'The Roman Empire was six times
bigger than Egypt

'and not simply desert,

'but a multitude of complex
landscapes and terrains.'

There's an area here in Romania,

and we're very, very
interested in this area.

We know that something
interesting might be here.

But, unfortunately,
there's a problem.

There are a lot of trees.

There are many trees, and satellites
simply cannot see through trees,

it's impossible.

OK, that is a challenge.

This is something we are working
through right now.

OK, this is the thing,
the bottom line is,

are you going to come with me
around the Roman Empire?

And can you and your technology
help solve this central riddle

of how this empire was ruled?

Because if you deliver,
if this technology delivers,

these could be some of the biggest
breakthroughs in Roman history

for hundreds of years.

Yeah, I am definitely
up for this challenge,

but this technology,
it's not without its limitations.

So, on the one hand,
I'm really, really excited

about what we might possibly find,
but on the other hand,

I'm also pretty, pretty nervous.

I guess there is that jeopardy
of finding out whether or not

I really am an expert at doing this.

Running is where
I can really clear my head

and allow myself time to think.

I am determined.

I'm a pretty focused person
once I set my mind to something.

I'll just run into
a brick wall until it falls over.

That's not always wise,

because you end up getting
quite bruised and bloodied.

But eventually there are cracks
that show up.

'Our quest begins
in the capital city of Italy.

'Rome, where else?

'At the height of the Roman Empire,
roughly the first two centuries AD,

'this was the most
extraordinary city on the planet.

'Crammed with glittering palaces,
triumphal arches and amphitheatres.'

There you go. That is awesome.
The Coliseum.

'It seems the obvious place
to begin. Or is it?

'We are heading 20 miles west,
along the River Tiber...

'..to a place now long forgotten.

'It's said to be the lost jewel.

'The glittering secret
behind Rome's success.

'Which could provide vital clues...

That is awesome.

'..as to how it ruled
its vast Empire.

'This is Portus...

'..the once-great harbour of Rome.

'For 500 years, the most important
seaport in the entire world.

'At its heart
was a gigantic hexagonal basin,

'still here today...

'..big enough to berth 150 ships.

'Which, 2,000 years ago,
was attached to an even great basin,

'six times as large.

'A series of canals
have been identified

'which once linked
the harbour to Rome.

'But there are huge gaps
in our knowledge.

'And to know how this port complex
actually worked might give us

'a better understanding of what made
the Empire as a whole tick.

'But it's a mind-boggling challenge.

'Over thousands of years, the sea
has receded three miles to the west

'and much of the harbour
is now buried

'beneath a chaos of suburbs,
flyovers and roads

'on the edge of Fiumicino Airport.

'While Sarah sets up
her base of operations,

'I'm off to meet
the world expert on Portus,

'the renowned British archaeologist
Professor Simon Keay.

'He's here leading a team

'which, once the weather breaks,

'hopes to excavate the site.

'In the meantime
I'm grabbing a moment
to learn more about the harbour.'

Why did Rome need this great big
port right next door to it?

Well, that's actually
a very good question.

I think you have to remember that

Rome was an exceptional
pre-industrial city,

nearly a million people.

And a million people
living in an imperial capital.

So you need food on
an unparalleled scale,

in a pre-industrial society.

You also need all the effects,

materials that dignify
an imperial capital.

Like marble, silks,
gold statues and everything else.

'Simon has spent his career building
up a picture of how Portus worked.

'But, after years of digging,
it's still not making sense.

'He's hoping that Sarah's technology
can help complete the puzzle.'

What would you
like Sarah to look for?

What would it be great
if she found?

What she really needs
to focus on is canals, primarily,

because what we don't know so much
about is how all this worked.

But I guess the real special thing
to find, it would be too much to ask,

but one just hopes that maybe
by looking at satellite imagery

we can add...we can add more
to or perhaps even find

the great lighthouse of Portus.

'The lighthouse of Portus

'is one of the lost
Wonders of the Ancient World

'and was said to be visible
from over 20 miles out to sea.

'Sought after by archaeologists
for centuries,

'it's considered the ultimate symbol
of Roman power.

'And finding hard physical evidence
for its existence

'would be one of the greatest finds
of Simon's career.'

Sarah, how's it going? You've been
here all night. Hey, Dan.

Burning the midnight oil.
Looking good?

Well, not, er...not quite.

I mean, this is, this is a really,
really difficult landscape.

You've got tons of urbanisation,
which you can see here.

You know, I've been looking up here

and, you know, things that I think
might possibly be ancient

turn out to be modern
the more I look at them, so

it's pretty complicated and I'm still
trying to get my head around it.

I don't really understand this,
there's not much I can do to help,

so I'm going to get some sleep,
you keep at it. Lucky you, Dan.

'After working all night,
Sarah has found...

'nothing.

'And the reality of what she's
set out to do finally hits home.'

We're in the middle of this
blighted urban wasteland.

I keep thinking, how is it
that the satellite imagery

can possibly show us
what might be here?

There's really nothing
here that's visible

that hints of the glory of this
once-great port of Rome.

Maybe I'm naive in thinking
that it will work this time.

Maybe I have
bitten off more than I can chew.

'We are not giving up on Portus.

'But with Sarah clearly struggling
with her satellites,

'it's time
for me to take temporary charge.

'To understand how Rome
ruled its vast Empire,

'there are several key areas
to look at.

'But for me,
as a military historian,

'there is only one place now to go.

'Transylvania.

'Dark. Impenetrable.

'And in the Second Century AD,

'a mountain kingdom ruled by a tribe
the Romans dismissed as barbarians.

'We're leaving Portus for now
and heading to Transylvania,

'part of modern-day Romania.

'Because what happened here
is the best example I know

'of the Roman Army
at its most ruthless.

'From deep in the forest,
a barbarian tribe called the Dacians

'were getting too big
for their boots -

'raiding Roman territory,

'stealing livestock and women,

'and giving
the greatest empire on earth

'the proverbial two-finger salute.

'By themselves the Dacian
barbarians posed no real threat.

'But Rome had built
its reputation on ruthlessness.

'Rome understood that,
if it showed any sign of weakness,

'similar rebellions could
rise up right across the Empire.

'The Dacians had to be made
an example of.

'Including their renegade leader.

'Now a martyr,
and symbol of rebellion.

'This is Decebalus.

'King of the Dacians.

'Rome had military commitments
right across its vast empire,

'but it knew
it had to prove a point.

'It threw an astonishing
60,000 men at the Dacians,

'and in doing so
sent out a clear message.

'Never mess with Rome.

'But to get at the Dacians,

'the Romans first had to cross

'one of the most formidable natural
barriers in the entire world.

'Nearly a mile wide, fast flowing,
with murderous currents -

'the mighty Danube river.

'What's most remarkable
is how they did it.'

It's going to be
a very challenging dive today.

The Danube is difficult
at the best of times.

You can see the way this current
swirls around, racing down there
towards the Black Sea,

and the visibility
looks particularly bad.

So lots of things to worry about.

So we've managed to notify
International Shipping

and it's time to go for it.

OK, Johnny?

Are we ready to go on this,
gentlemen?

It's quite hard going,
there's a lot of current.

Very, very slow.

You might want to try
going down to the base of the river,

just so you can crawl along, over,
so I can give you directions.

OK, I'm getting close to
what looks like the bottom here.

Wow, there's a lot
of current down here.

Making very slow progress.

The water's whipping
around you pretty quickly,

be careful down there, Dan.

Just dragging myself
along the floor of this riverbed.

There's a lot of current.

It looks like it should be here
somewhere, close by.

Why don't you try going about three
or four metres to your right?

I think you're
a bit off at the moment.

Sarah, I can see...

I can see something.

It's very hard to tell through this
incredibly bad visibility.

I'm beginning to make out
the faint outline of something.

Describe to me
what you're seeing, Dan.

Can you see? I'm touching it now.

It's clearly what appears
to be the footings of a bridge.

Some brickwork. You can see the
mortar. It's pretty overgrown now.

But I think what we're seeing here
is the evidence of

the Roman bridge across the Danube.

'And not just any old bridge.

'It was the longest bridge
in the entire world...

'..nearly a mile from bank to bank.

'..nearly a mile from bank to bank.

'One of the biggest works of
military architecture

'in the history
of the Roman Empire.'

Well, that was...
that was just incredible.

Definitely saw
the footings of the Roman bridge.

It's an incredible testament
to the engineering prowess

of the Roman Army that,
even after 2,000 years

on one of the fastest
and busiest rivers on the planet,

it's still there.

This really was
a titanic undertaking,

and it took them around
about two years. A long time.

But actually, I think the Romans
would have potentially

seen that as an advantage.

There's something crushingly
inevitable about the slow progress

of this bridge
across this mighty river.

You can just imagine the
Dacians standing on the other side,

seeing it edge closer week by week.

And it was a message designed
not just for the Dacians

on the other side of the Danube,

but for people
all over the Empire and beyond.

This told people
that no mountain was too high,

no river was too wide.

Rome would spend
any amount of money

and deploy any number of soldiers
to enforce its domination.

And by building the longest bridge
on the planet here on the Danube,

Rome was laying claim
to mastery of the known world.

'Once across the river, it's
believed that the main contingent

'of the Roman Army, led by their
all-conquering Emperor, Trajan,

'hacked and killed
its way up the Jiu Valley,

'heading north,

'towards the barbarians'
capital city, Sarmizegetusa.

'Or Sarmi for short.'

Sarah, I'm dying here. This
car is tiny, I'm getting cramp.

Dan, you've got to stop complaining.
We've got a long way to go.

That's tough love, man.
That's what you're getting from me.

'King Decabulus and his warriors
were finally defeated here at Sarmi.

'Archaeologists
believe after the war was over,

'the Romans suppressed outbreaks
of sporadic violence

'with an occupying army.

'But how they achieved
this isn't known.

'There could be clues
buried beneath the undergrowth.

'But there's a problem.

'The whole area is completely
carpeted in thick forest.

'And Sarah's satellites
can't see through trees.

'Fortunately, all is not lost.

'This is new for Sarah.

'It's called LIDAR.

'A revolutionary technique
used by the military

'to locate enemy targets
in dense undergrowth.

'Here, she's looking
for walls, ditches,

'anything that might shed light
on how Rome kept the peace

'once the war was over.

'Rather than satellites,
this involves an aeroplane,

'which fires up to 100,000
laser beams every second

'into the forest beneath.

'While the first beams
hit the treetops,

'the last ones strike
the forest floor.

'So, by removing
that first pulse survey,

'scientists effectively
remove the trees,

'revealing anything
which might be hidden beneath.'

OK, Dan, here we are.

You're looking to the central part
of the site of Sarmizegetusa.

'Dr Gelu Florea is head
of archaeology at Cluj University.

'He has spent 26 years
investigating Sarmi

'and is the number one
world expert on the site.

'Having surveyed the whole area,

'it's time for Sarah
to show Gelu the results.

'And he's in for a big surprise.'

Here we have a visual
satellite image of Sarmi.

As you know far better than we do,

the area is
very densely covered in trees

and unfortunately right now
with satellite imagery

we can't see through trees.

So we used a new technology
called LIDAR,

which is flown from an aeroplane

and sends down thousands
of pulses of beams of light

and you can literally
use that to peel away

the layers of vegetation.

And this is what we have.

It's beautiful. It's amazing.

I'll zoom in a little bit.

So what are we seeing here?
Those lines are incredible.

It's a huge rampart, I think.

A rampart-like feature...

..that we never knew until now.

It's got that shape and everything.

It...it's beautiful.
It's amazing, as a matter of fact.

You can, I mean,
it does seem pretty clear,

not as clear here but it runs there.

No, it's absolutely clear on this
side, on this side also, and here.

'What Sarah has discovered
is completely new to Gelu.

'According to conventional
thinking, when Sarmi fell,

'the Romans left behind
a garrison of around 500 men,

'to hold the area and make it safe.

'But archaeologists have puzzled

'over how that could have been
achieved with so few soldiers.

'It now looks like a massive
man-made embankment

'enclosed the whole area,

'offering the mouth-watering
possibility of fresh evidence

'into the extent
of the Roman occupation.

'into the extent
of the Roman occupation.

'But we won't know the find is Roman
until we see it on the ground.

'We're setting off on a long trek
through deep forest.

'It's rough country, and our guides
are taking no chances.

'We're not going to make it
before nightfall,

'and Transylvania is the last place

'you want to be walking about
after dark.'

What a nice campsite.

Hello there. Hello.

Want some bread?
Bread would be great, thank you.

Want a piece?

Bread? No, thanks.

Is there anything in
kind of local folklore

connecting people here to the Romans?

Of course we say that
looking at the ear lobe,

the ones who have
a long ear lobe would be Romans,

and the ones who have small ones
are Dacian.

Let's see what you've got?

Roman. Big emperor.

He has a long ear lobe, Roman.

What have I got?

You are certainly Dacian.

I think I'm a Roman princess,
that's for sure. You wish.

What do kids learn
about the Romans in school?

Are they invaders, are they evil?

Or are they the founders of Romania?

No, in history books,
Trajan and Decebalus,
the leaders of the two nations,

they are the fathers of our nation,

so Trajan more important than
Decapolis.

Earlier today I saw Jan
was carrying a gun.

Why was he carrying a gun?

For bears. Why else?

'The following day the trek
continues into the heart
of an ancient forest.

'This is the original wild wood.

'Eventually we find proof
on the ground

'that Sarah's find is indeed Roman.

'This is the evidence
we have been seeking.'

I think this is
the structure that we saw

already on the on the photograph.
It's very clear.

You can see it stretching off
right the way down through,

it looks like a ditch
and then a bank here.

What would this have been?

I think it's clearly an embankment
of ramparts and that's why I think

it's part of a defensive structure.
A Roman temporary camp.

What phase of Roman occupation
do you think this was built in?

Well, it probably belongs
to the Roman garrison

that was left here after the war.

I can't think of another purpose
than to pacify the area,

to prevent any other skirmishes,
to prevent a regrouping of forces

around these sacred places
of the Dacians and so on.

So this is, they've won the war,
now they're trying to win the peace?

Yes.

Sarah has finally found something.

And it's helping to rewrite history.

The 500-man Roman garrison was just
part of a huge military camp...

The 500-man Roman garrison was just
part of a huge military camp...

..with enough space
for a further 8,000 troops.

It shows for the first time how Rome
really pacified the area.

Investing large amounts of troops

and thinking long term.

It wasn't enough to simply slaughter
the Dacians and then leave.

To remove the menace, whole swathes
of land had to be first made safe

and then incorporated
into the Empire.

Imperial policy across the entire
Roman world.

Dacia is just a terrifying
example of just how the Roman Empire

invaded and occupied new territory.

When the Romans wanted to,

they could bring vast and ruthless
military force to bear.

They invaded Dacia,
they destroyed its army,

they wiped out its leadership

and then they set about the long
and arduous task of pacification.

They hunted down insurgents,
guerrilla fighters.

They destroyed religious
sites like this,

anything that could provide
the focus for anti-Roman resistance.

When you come here, you realise,

for all the wonderful art
and architecture

that the Romans produced,

at its root, Rome was a brutal
military super power.

And that was a fundamental reason
for its supremacy.

Sarah is starting to have success.
But the good news doesn't end there.

After months of searching,
she thinks she's finally

had a breakthrough
with the satellites too.

She thinks she's found
something back in Italy

that, if true,
could be groundbreaking.

Let's take another look at Portus,
the great lost harbour of Rome.

Understanding how it worked
might give us a new insight

into how the Roman Empire
as a whole operated.

This is what archaeologists
think happened.

Ships would crowd into
the big basins...

..their cargo unloaded
onto smaller boats...

..which was then moved by canal
to the River Tiber,

and onward,
along to the river, to Rome.

But there's a big hole
in this theory.

With hundreds of ships
on the water at any one time,

there must have been
major bottlenecks,

crippling the whole transport
network.

It's something that has puzzled
archaeologists for decades.

Back in her lab in Italy,

Sarah thinks she may
have found the answer.

So I'd like to show you an
interesting thing that showed up

on the east bank of the Tiber.

It's about 280 metres long,
about five metres wide.

Running slightly southwest
by northeast.

You can see it running along
just there.

Ah, now that's really interesting,

because that looks to me
like it might be a canal.

Although, I must say, it's different
to the other ones we found.

How was that different?

Well, all the other canals
we have found to date

have been on the west side
of the Tiber, close to the port...

Portus.

This canal is
on the east side of the Tiber

and, perhaps more significantly,
it's going in the direction of Rome.

What does it mean, that it's
just heading off towards Rome?

For me, the significance
is quite straightforward.

The fact that you have a new canal
here suggests to me

that river barges may have avoided

this rather longer route
up the Tiber

by going more directly to Rome.

And indeed, that helps
us better understand

how the port system
as a whole worked.

So, that's fantastic, well done.

To test whether the new canal is
actually there

buried beneath tonnes of earth,

Simon and his team visit the site.

And the results of a geophysical
survey are highly promising.

It looks like Sarah is right.

For a really eminent archaeologist
like Simon who, you know,

has devoted so much of his career
to working at Portus,

you know, seeing him get so excited
about the science and be so

willing to not only embrace it,
but test it on the ground and

think about the findings in terms
of his long term research plans

for a site - that's awesome!

It's great to have this confirmation,
it's really exciting, but for me

what's even more exciting is it's
really helping to show just how far

the technology has come.

I feel like that's given me
a lot of confidence.

I just absolutely cannot wait for
what's next.

Sarah's satellites
are helping to show how

this astonishing harbour landscape
may actually have worked.

An inadequate transport system

could have left the people
of Rome starving.

Grain, in particular,
had to be kept dry

so the faster it could be moved,
the better.

And this is how
they might have achieved that.

Boats didn't have to travel
all the way up the Tiber River,

they could go straight to Rome
by Sarah's canal.

they could go straight to Rome
by Sarah's canal.

It's also helping me answer
the bigger question

of how Rome
kept control of its vast Empire.

We associate canals with
the Industrial Revolution

but the Romans were building
them 2000 years ago

and not just in Italy,
but in Britain and France

and like roads they played a key
role in Rome's success.

Portus is clearly an engineering
marvel and I am just blown away

at the Roman's ability to build
roads and infrastructure,

to dig out harbours,
just to get things done.

And it's also taught me a huge
amount about how the Romans

controlled their empire.

Because the Romans are famous
for being soldiers but clearly

they are just as impressive
as engineers.

By creating this infrastructure,
by building ports,

by establishing shipping lanes
and building roads,

they're shrinking their world,

they're bringing
their provinces closer to Rome

and making it easier
to control them.

Having finally got the satellites
to deliver, it's game on.

With such a vast area to control,

Rome's military options
were always going to be limited.

A whole range of tactics
were needed to stay in charge.

But current thinking is incomplete.

Sarah's challenge now
is to fill in the gaps...

..right across the Empire.

'Arabia.

'Exotic.

'Sophisticated.

'A land of adventure...

'..and opportunity.

We've travelled over 1,000 miles
across the Mediterranean,

to what was the easternmost fringe
of the Roman Empire,

modern-day Jordan.

Coming here is a chance to see
something completely different

to the killing fields
of northern Europe.

Amazingly, the Romans seem to have
conquered this entire territory,

then kept it under control,

apparently without spilling
a single drop of blood.

Our mission is to find out how.

Right, Dan. I want
to show you something.

Let me pinch in a little bit here.
Can you see that there?

Yeah, rectangular?
Yeah, it looks like a building.

And you think that might be Roman?

Hopefully. Hopefully, it's Roman.
That's what it looks like.

And it's
never been discovered before?

As far as I know,
it's a completely new structure.

Sarah, there is no end
to your skills. That's very cool.

I'm pretty excited about it.

Sarah thinks
she's made a brand-new discovery

on the outskirts
of an ancient city.

But not just any old city.

'It is one of the most
beautiful places on Earth...

'..the rose-pink city of Petra.'

I always wondered
whether I'd come back here.

It's a very special place for me,
cos I came here with my mum and dad

when I was a kid
and our whole family walked through

that narrow dry river bed and
we came out, I always remember it,

we came out into that open space

and we saw the incredible building
in front of us.

I think that was really the moment

that really
fired my interest in history.

Seeing these vast buildings
hacked into the living rock.

It's like nowhere else on earth.

But enough reminiscing.

It's time to get back on the job.

And look at why Rome was interested
in these lands in the first place.

Before the Roman takeover,
Petra was the capital city

of the great kingdom of Nabataea...

..whose merchants had grown rich

controlling the important trade
routes from the Red Sea to Syria.

It was a massive money spinner and
Rome wanted a slice of the action -

in the form of taxes and tariffs.

But whereas invasion
would normally lead to resistance,

here the opposite
seems to have happened.

And I think the reason
may be partly cultural.

Unlike the so-called barbarians,
the people here in the Middle East

were literate and sophisticated.

They lived in cities for a start.

The sort of people the Romans
felt they could negotiate with.

To find out what the Romans
had to trade,

we are off to visit their fort
at Azraq

which guarded the trade routes.

'Strong, impregnable
and built of solid stone.'

OK, you leave these doors to me,
Sarah. Here we go.

'Including the doors.'

Can I have a hand?
You need Cambridge woman, Dan.

HE GROANS WITH EFFORT

SHE LAUGHS

HE SIGHS WITH RELIEF

That is ridiculous.

Before the Romans arrived here,

the Middle East had been the setting
for conflict and instability

since the very beginning
of recorded time.

This is where empires
and civilisations clashed.

You got people like
the Seleucids to the north,

the Judeans and the Egyptians
out there to the west

and Mesopotamians to the east

and, of course, the fierce
desert tribesmen to the south.

The result was constant violence.

So, when the Romans arrived,
they bring peace and security.

And it doesn't even take that big
a military force to achieve it.

This happened gradually
following the Roman takeover.

But it looks like a guarantee
of peace may have been enough

to win the locals over
without waging war.

Because peace
would bring prosperity.

It's a theory that archaeologist
Dr Chris Tuttle believes.

But despite being one of
the world's leading lights

on Roman Arabia,
he has yet to find the proof.

That's because, after 2,000 years,

evidence of widespread abundance
under Roman rule

is almost impossible to come by.

But with the aid of
state-of-the-art
satellite technology,

all that could be about to change.

I've been surveying an area
in the countryside around Petra,

about ten square kilometres.

Do you see right here?

There are about
60 features that have appeared

which show up
in these red circles. OK. Wow.

This is really incredible. I mean,
there's so much stuff out here

that you're finding
in these satellite images.

Based on what I know of this area,
this is probably

farmsteads, hamlets,
possibly some watchtowers,

maybe these are agricultural
water management systems.

All in all, really suggesting
a landscape of abundance,

not just inside Petra
but outside as well.

Yeah, but what
really interested me, Chris,

was this particular feature
right there.

Let me zoom in a little bit more.
You can see it pretty clearly here.

Wow, that's very large.

So this, out of all the features that
appeared on the satellite imagery,

really kind of grabbed me the most.

Well, we should go take a look
at it and see if it

has occupation
during the Roman period.

I'd like to see it.
All right, let's go.

We're heading into a countryside
that appears barren

to look for evidence that it
flourished under the Romans.

It's a confusing landscape
of sand and rubble.

But with the aid of
satellite technology,

Sarah can take us
straight to the spot.

Wow, you guys. This is a really big
site and very exciting.

So what do you think it
might have been?

Like a domestic or a fort
or something like that?

Well, actually it's most likely
related to farming.

And it's very big so we're dealing
with something like a...

It's a big farming system, this is
probably the farm estate house.

What do you think the time period
might be for this site?

Hard to tell without finding
something to see if we can date it.

Why don't we go take a look?
Let's go.

OK, what are we looking for,
archaeologists?

Pottery!

DAN LAUGHS
Ah, OK.

Ever since I've
started hanging out with Sarah,

I've had a crick in my neck.

She spends the whole time
staring at the ground,

looking for smashed old bits
of pottery,

which she then claims,
like this one here,

which she claims
that she can tell the date from.

I mean, you've got to be kidding me.

I think that's all
they do in archaeology school

for three years is
just look at old bits of pottery.

Historians, we like
a bit of papyrus or a scroll!

That tells you stuff.

OK, let's take a look at
what we found.

OK, a lot of stuff that we really
can't tell much about.

Those are really nice.

Sorry, Dan, no.
But this one we can take a look at.

Ah, Sarah, these are perfect.
Excellent, excellent.

Well, we definitely have pottery
here indicating that this farm

was in use during the Roman period.

But looking at the size of it,
we can see that there's even

expansion that's probably taking
place at this time.

From the work you're doing in Petra
and from the results that are

coming up on Sarah's satellites,
this area seems to be flourishing.

I couldn't agree more,
I think the satellite technology

in particular is really going to
help us get a better understanding

of this time period here in Petra
and in its surrounding environs.

You've revealed
a lot of potential sites

that will help us understand
this period in history a lot more.

Rome was mainly
an agricultural society -

the majority of its citizens
were farmers.

And we now know that
thousands of them came from here -

Arabia.

Sarah's satellites
show a countryside

brimming with farmsteads, growing
olives, cereals and fruit trees -

a flourishing Arabia
under Roman rule.

'It helps us understand how Rome
ruled without resorting to violence.

'Rome brought peace and prosperity

'and a rich people are less
likely to resist.

This leg of the journey has
really helped me

to get some answers
to my original question.

Just how did Rome manage to
rule over such a vast empire

stretching here
from the deserts of Arabia

right the way across to the west
coast of Britain

with actually a relatively small
number of full-time

professional legionary soldiers.

I think coming here
and seeing how it all worked

has made me think about cooperation.

I think the Nabateans and the
Romans that occupied Petra

both realised pretty quickly

they could achieve a lot more if
they cooperated. Trade flourished

because they could now export from
here right across the Empire

and import goods as well.

Also, the Nabateans realised they
didn't have to spend money on a

standing army any more because the
Romans would look after

external security. It was all very
different in northern Europe.

There the tribes that the Romans
dismissed as barbarians were

less interested in trade and
interacting with the Roman Empire.

They didn't want to go to the
theatre. They had to be destroyed,

one after the other, with
overwhelming military force.

Here in Petra, people saw the
benefits of working with the Romans.

I don't think the Romans
needed to send armies

through these streets
keeping the Nabateans loyal.

The people here
were happy to be Roman.

It's time to return to Portus,

the great lost harbour.

Because creating prosperity,
with or without warfare,

would never be enough to rule
an entire Empire.

There is more still to learn.

The power of mind games.

Back in her lab in Italy,
Sarah has made

an astonishing and completely
unexpected discovery.

So, in this particular
satellite image,

you can see we're to the
northeast of the Trajanic Basin.

And we're looking at fields.

You know, partially cultivated,
nothing's apparent in them.

So, I looked at a satellite image
from a different kind of year,

using assorted computer logarithms,
and this is what I found.

Oh, good heavens. Wow!
That really is interesting.

Simon, what is that?

It looks to me like an amphitheatre.

I mean, you can see
by the oval shape

and the fact that
the sides are slightly squeezed

that it's
an amphitheatre-shaped building.

No doubt about it at all.

What would the significance be of
a possible amphitheatre located here?

Well, if it was an amphitheatre, it
would be, I think, very significant.

I mean, one has to remember,
first of all,

that amphitheatres
are amongst the most iconic

of all Roman public buildings.

They are very large,
they're very prominent,

they consist of banks of seating

arranged around the edge
of the building,

focusing in upon an arena.

And they were used for
a range of activities.

One has to think of public meetings

or mock sea battles
or animal baiting.

But, of course, the most iconic
activity of all

would have been
gladiatorial combat.

The potential of this for
our understanding of the port

is very significant,
so, you know, well done, Sarah.

Amphitheatres were
major status symbols.

And Portus may have had one.

There is only one way to
tell for certain and that's to dig.

That could take months, even years.

Even simple geophysics here
is not straightforward

because this land
is privately owned.

But the satellite imagery
is startlingly clear.

And to find out
what this might mean for Portus,

there is only one place to visit.

A larger version of Sarah's find,

and the most magnificent building
in the whole of Rome -

the mighty Coliseum.

50,000 people
would have packed into here.

The mob - tumultuous, riotous,

capable of bringing down
the government.

Control this mob, the people of
Rome, and you control the city.

You control the city,
then you control the Roman world.

For me, amphitheatres represent
a coming together

of perfect order on the one hand...

..and terrible violence
on the other.

A powerful combination which helped
bind the Empire together.

Seating was strictly controlled.

The rich and powerful
sat at the front.

Poor people and women, at the back.

It was a microcosm of Roman society,

brought together to watch
a spectacle of extreme brutality.

But to what end?

What was going on here
in the arena of the Coliseum

and in amphitheatres
right across the Empire

was a giant communal
celebration of conquest.

Slaves were dragged in here
from defeated enemy armies

and from occupied provinces
and then slaughtered

and from occupied provinces
and then slaughtered

again and again and again in huge
re-enactments of Roman victories.

The people watching these spectacles
would have been left in no doubt

that Rome was utterly dominant.

And nowhere was it more important
to assert imperial authority

than Portus,
the gateway to the Empire.

It looks like close to its heart
there was an amphitheatre,

the very embodiment of Roman pomp,
swagger and showmanship.

'A building designed
to send subliminal messages

'reverberating
right across the Empire.

'Back in Portus, it's an idea
Simon Keay is keen to explore.

'For him, the whole harbour worked
like some gigantic piece of theatre.

'The psychological impact
of its buildings

'every bit as powerful
as their practical function.

'His team are busy excavating
a part of the harbour

'which makes the point perfectly.'

So, Simon, what are
we looking at here?

Well, we are right in the centre
of the port and in front of us

we have a building that's
200 metres long and 14 metres high,

just dominating the basin
as you approached it.

And is the ship-sheds of
ancient Portus.

And is the ship-sheds of
ancient Portus.

These sheds would have housed
warships belonging to

a detachment of the Imperial Fleet.

So we are talking here about
an absolutely gigantic building.

This is on a huge scale.
It is, it's on a massive scale.

One has to imagine you are in a ship
coming from the Provinces

and you've never seen buildings
on this scale before.

Pretty intimidating, I think.

It's built partially functionally,

large but also built
to make you feel small

and that's exactly
what this was intended to do.

It's amazing because
you've described the port
as a social phenomenon -

they've been able to
bring in all the grain -

as an engineering marvel,

but there's also
a psychological dimension.

The genius of it is that
it's about, as you say,

it's about trade,
it's about economics

but it's also about
ideology and symbolism.

It's very much a case
of architecture being used

as a way of trying
to control people.

It's a very remarkable complex.

'And there is nothing to make
the first-time visitor feel more

'insignificant than a 25-foot giant
dominating the centre of the port.

There's one last thing

and that is the long-lost statue
of the Emperor Trajan.

It must have been extraordinary.

Trajan was a great general,
of course -

as you know, he conquered Dacia.

He also undertook military campaigns
in the Middle East.

His qualities are summed up
in this great statue,

which just dominates
by virtue of its sheer scale.

What does that statue tell us about
how he wants to be remembered?

Emperor worship
was prevalent in the Roman world.

It played a very important role
in the political process

and, I think,
to see a statue this size,

in the context
of this great harbour,

it would really have
put you in your place

and be a reminder
about the strength of Roman power.

You'd have felt like
you were in the presence of a god.

Exactly.

'The giant statue
and the ship-sheds of ancient Portus

'were designed to dazzle the senses.

'Along with Sarah's fabulous
new discovery, the amphitheatre.

'Only the great lost
lighthouse itself

'was a more potent symbol
of Imperial power.

'And it was symbols
more than fighting

'that bound the Empire together.'

Buildings like the Coliseum were

so much more than
just beautiful architecture.

They are vital clues
that tell us how Rome managed

to maintain its grip on its Empire.

to maintain its grip on its Empire.

Nowadays, people get a lot
of their information through reading

newspapers or magazines
or the internet.

But back in Roman times, a lot of
people couldn't read and so symbols

become vitally important and that's
why Rome built huge statues,

temples, triumphal arches
and amphitheatres

right across its Empire.

Because they drive a simple
message into the minds

of anyone who sees them,

that a civilisation that's capable
of building things like this

is a force to be reckoned with.

'We've seen the majesty of Roman
rule around their capital city...

'..their crushing of
the barbarian horde in Europe...

'..and how they held on to power
in the sophisticated east.

'Rome's vast, sprawling Empire

'covered 5 million square miles
of land.

'There is only one place
left to look.

'Africa.

'It's somewhere I've always
wanted to come and see for myself.

'Because controlling these lands set
Rome its greatest challenge of all.

'And it'll be
Sarah's greatest challenge

'working out how they achieved it.

'Crack this
and we'll complete the picture.

'We're flying to Tunis,
in modern-day Tunisia,

'to begin our task.

'After annihilating its bitter
rival, Carthage, here in 146BC,

'Rome seized a large section of
the North African coastline.

'So far so good.

'It met with little resistance

'and Africa's rich, loamy soils

'could provide Rome with the one
thing it craved more than anything.'

Sarah, look what's in all these
fields. What's that, Dan?

You've got to take your head out of
that computer from time to time.

THIS is what it's all about.

You see, it's pretty green
as it's early in the year.

But we've been driving through
miles and miles...

of wheat.

Look at that. I mean,
this whole area is so fertile,

Look at that. I mean,
this whole area is so fertile,

and, of course, we're only two days
journey by boat away from Portus.

So this wheat can be in Roman bread
ovens in just a matter of days.

You know, even by 50BC,

this area is producing
250,000 tonnes a year.

That's more than half of Rome's
annual consumption of wheat

coming from this area.
I mean, this is Rome's granary.

'But as Rome grew,
so did its appetite.

'By the First Century AD, it was
the biggest city in the world,

'with up to a million inhabitants.

'And without enough bread to feed
all those extra hungry mouths,

'there'd be rioting in the streets.

'With demand for wheat now exceeding
production along the African coast,

'Rome turned its eye inland,
to the central Tunisian plateau.

'Ideal for wheat production
on an industrial scale.

'But there was a problem.'

That's a heck of a view, Sarah.

It's amazing just how much
you can see.

Yeah. It's vast.
It's a big, big space, this.

'The plateau was
nearly 17,000 square miles.

'So once the wheat was planted,

'how could Rome defend
such a huge expanse of territory?

'Nomadic farmers had been using
this land themselves for generations

'as summer grazing ground
for their sheep and goats -

'livestock which could eat
or trample a farmer's crops

'before they could be harvested.

'So to safeguard Rome's
food supply,

'the pastoralists had to be stopped.

'To control their movement
and keep an eye out

'for raiding parties
from the desert,

'a sophisticated frontier system
was constructed.

'A series of walls
and ditches stretching

'from modern-day Libya
all the way to Morocco.

'But how could Rome, with such
a small professional army,

'possibly defend
a 1,500-mile-long frontier?

'The world expert
on Rome's southern frontier
is Professor David Mattingly.

'He thinks he knows the secret,

'but there is one gaping hole
in his theory.'

Hey, how are you? Hello, good to
see you. Yeah, good to see you.

It's good to be here in the desert.

'Sarah is hoping she can help.'

Perfect weather to find
some Roman stuff.

Hey. Nice to meet you, David.
Lovely to see you.

Right, so, David,
I wanted to show you something

spotted from the satellite imagery.

I wanted to get your opinion on what
you think you're looking at.

What do you make of that?

Wow, that's wonderful.
That-that looks like a Roman fort.

That's a very distinctive shape,
isn't it?

Is it those round corners, is that
what makes you think it's a fort?

Yes, and you know, it's got
a large ditch around the outside.

You can see some
central structures within it.

And then, I mean, this looks to me
like quite a large settlement

right around it,
almost like village around it.

How exciting is this new technology?

You're here on the ground,
what does this add?

30 years ago, I came into this area
with, you know, before GPS,

no satellite imagery,
didn't even have air photographs.

I had some old maps and sort of
19th-century references

to the odd site.

And as I found some elements, the
garrison that manned the frontier

was completely missing
and I've been waiting 30 years

for the technological breakthroughs

to be able to come back
and complete the story.

'But before we check it out on
the ground, David wants to explain

'how the frontier system might have
worked with a relatively small

'number of soldiers, acting more
like border police than warriors.

'We're on our way to see something

'that doesn't appear
in any tourist guide.'

Follow me but watch your footing
on this. Yeah, it's a good climb.

'High in the Cherb mountains
of southern Tunisia,

'the Bir Umm Ali wall.'

So how amazing is this view?
Oh, it's incredible.

What a view, it's extraordinary.

This is a Roman frontier wall
that's running down this slope

and completely closing off
this mountain pass.

I like to think about this as
a point of control in the landscape.

Out there, desert landscape,
little vegetation, we've got oases,

there's some great salt flat areas,
very desolate.

Behind us, we've got rich pasture,
agricultural zone,

and what Rome was trying to do is
to control the movement of people

between the desert
and that cultivated zone.

The wall may have controlled but why
not just keep them out altogether?

If they'd tried, they would have
been fighting a perpetual war

with these desert peoples.

This way, they incorporate them
into the structure

of the Roman Empire
and they can achieve that

with a much greater
economy of force.

This becomes a permeable frontier
rather than a line at which

you repulse those desert peoples.

'The idea that the frontier
was policed by Roman soldiers

'acting more like customs officials
than Royal Marines

'is an interesting theory.

'But it's only a theory.

'Where the soldiers came from
to man this isolated outpost

'is a question David
has never been able to answer.'

Right, David, we should be
getting pretty close.

I can't see anything out there
on the landscape, can you?

Can you make anything out? Over.

OK, I'm looking out.
I can't see anything.

Amazing empty landscape
we're looking at. Over.

'According to my GPS
and satellite imagery,

'According to my GPS
and satellite imagery,

'we're about 500 metres away.'

There's a fork in the road here,

do you want to go right or left?
We need to go...

I think we just need to continue
on ahead, according to my GPS.

Sarah, do you think it's the mound
over there on the right now?

'We could stop and have a look.
Over.'

Copy that. Over and out.

How are we looking?
You think this is it?

Yeah, I think that's definitely...
That's definitely it.

'Surrounding what may have been the
fort is the 2,000-year-old debris

'of a large and densely
populated village.'

Look at all this pottery
in front of us.

Yeah, we need some diagnostics.

Whoo-hoo!

So what can you tell from that?

Well, that's a classic
early second century Roman bowl.

And that would normally,
in this part of the world,

at that date,
go with a military site.

So that's, I think,
a pretty good confirmation of

what we're dealing with
on this site is military.

Wow. This is the ditch, isn't it?

Absolutely right. That's amazing!
And this is the fort here.

It's exactly like the satellite
photo. It's brilliant, isn't it?

Yeah, the platform of the fort just
standing up here is really clear.

Uh-oh, somebody's been digging.
This is not good.

Looks like we've had some local
treasure hunters in action.

Not good.

What? Local people just looking
for coins and things like that?

Just digging holes. I guess so.
Look at this, this is even bigger.

You can actually see where
the JCBs came in

and dug out big chunks of dirt
and deposited them on either side.

The only good thing about this
from our point of view is

we can see some of the agricultural
levels that this has cut through.

There's about two metres of floor
level and deposits within this.

It shows just how long
this site was running for.

David, I can tell you're very keen
to get your trowel out.

You going to start digging
straightaway?

Well, it is very tempting.
What are we looking at here?

What are these...this sort
of this rocky area in the middle?

Well, from where I'm standing,

that's just a chaos of
collapsed boulders, really.

I need, I think,
some help from space.

Right, here we go.
That's what I'm here for.

This stuff is so difficult to read
on the ground sometimes

but the satellite images
really come into their own.

Here we go, so we're standing
right about there.

You can see almost exactly
where we are.

OK, we can see
the ditch very, very clearly.

But all that rubble in the middle,
actually represents

what looks like
a big square building.

What's it like for you guys?
You're archaeologists.

This is the first time this site
has been visited by archaeologists.

It's a previously
unknown Roman site.

Well, I came here all
those years ago

looking for exactly
this sort of site.

Couldn't find it. Needle in a
haystack in this valley at the time.

But thanks to Sarah,
you know, here we are.

Well, I can tell you, David,
that there's not just this one.

There's actually up to 20 others
just like it in this valley.

I'm going to have to take
that away and look for something.

That's amazing news. That, I mean,
is really an extraordinary result.

You'll have to show me
the rest of these a little later.

We have a lot of articles to write.

What does this now tell us about
this part of the Roman frontier

that we perhaps didn't know before?
What gaps does this fill in?

OK, let me do my sums quickly.

In a fort like this,
it's quite a small fort,

so maybe there's
50, 100 soldiers here.

But that settlement round about
can certainly accommodate

several hundred, maybe 1,000 people.

And if you say there's 20 of these
in the valley,

we've got a very significant
population in the valley here,

in the Roman period.

And what that tells us
is that the frontier worked.

'Sarah's satellites
are helping to show

'how the whole frontier system
actually functioned.

'Troops were strategically
positioned along the valley

'in a series of forts like this one,

'and used as border police to manage
the movement of people across

'the frontier, rather than ban entry
altogether and risk all-out war.

'And we now know that all of these
forts were surrounded by

'large civilian settlements
which were prosperous and stable.

'Proving once and for all that it
was a system that worked.

'And worked well enough
with a relatively small number of
professional soldiers.

'It's a triumph. And one that
calls for a celebration.

'And what could be more appropriate
than an authentic Roman feast,

'cooked in the desert, by
a friendly expert, Sally Grainger.

I've a few more quails here,
straight off the barbie.

Always room for another
quail somewhere.

How are you feeling
about the high hopes we had

for those satellite results?

Have you seen it on the ground?
Are you happy with what you've seen?

I'm absolutely thrilled. We think
we've answered every question

and found everything there is to be
found but what the satellites

are showing us is just... There's
so much more left to find.

And I just think it's the most
exciting time in history

to be an archaeologist.

I'll drink to that. And I'll say
thank you very much, Sarah.

Thank you, David. And Dan.

And thank you very much for taking
us round. Thank you for the meal.

This trip to Tunisia has taught me
so much about Roman frontiers,

both here in North Africa
and right across the Empire.

These aren't just physical barriers,
they're psychological barriers.

They dominate the landscape like
no other empire has done before.

And I think that everybody
who crossed those walls,

whether you go through
one of the gates

or even manage to sneak over
at night,

everybody who crossed
those walls would know

they were now in Roman territory.

And it's also been so interesting

just how clever
the Romans were as well.

They didn't just try and seal off
the borders and block everybody out.

They were happy to let traffic
through as long as it suited them.

They even encouraged it.

People were allowed to come
through the wall,

trade was allowed to happen,
but only if it suited Rome.

'We're back in Portus
for one final look.

'The great lost harbour
is at last making sense.

'Sarah has discovered another canal,

'bringing new insight into how

'this fabulous port complex
actually worked.

'She's even found an amphitheatre,

'but the greatest prize of all
has eluded her.'

Simon, there's something
else I'd like to show you

that I think you'll find
of great interest.

So here we have the Claudian basin
with the northern and southern quays.

Based on this hypothetical location,

I've done some preliminary
imagery analysis work

that I'd like to show you. OK.

Yeah, that's interesting.

I mean, it's...there's
very clearly something there.

I mean, I'm not
entirely convinced at what it is.

'It's the culmination
of Sarah's work and effort.

'The final piece of a dazzling
great jigsaw.

'But maybe she's got it wrong.'

Yeah, I mean, you know,
the results are, at best, ambiguous.

There's a shape perhaps
but at the very least it showed me

that there could be
potentially something there

and it was worthwhile
doing additional processing work.

So I used a different kind
of image called LIDAR.

Actually, it's the same thing
we used in Romania.

We used different types
of processing.

And this is what showed up!

Good heavens! Now this is
a different prospect altogether!

This is really incredible.

Um...

You can see very, very clearly
how that massive feature

is at an angle to
the modern buildings there and also,

it's centrally located between
the north and the south quays.

That's extraordinary.

And the other thing is that,
it's immediately to the west

of where my Italian colleagues have
been working, doing deep coring

and finding large chunks of
masonry and some geophysics.

Um, but could I ask
how big that is?

It's about 140 metres long,
and about 40 metres wide.

Dare I say it,
but this is the platform

of the long-lost
lighthouse of Portus.

I can't see
what else it could possibly be.

Simon, just how exciting is that?

I mean, it would be pretty hard to
overestimate the significance

of finding this monument.

I mean, people have been looking
for it for hundreds of years.

The lighthouse of Portus

was one of the great monuments
of the Roman world.

Commemorated on coins, inscriptions
and images all over the Empire.

It really represents the ultimate
symbol of Rome's political

and military domination
of the Mediterranean.

And indeed,
given where the Mediterranean is

in the Roman Empire,
the Empire as a whole.

'Imagine you're on a ship

'approaching the great harbour
of Rome at night.

'The sky would have been dark
in antiquity...

'..and the first thing
you would have seen is a light,

'floating in the sky.

'It's like nothing
you've ever seen before.

'An incomprehensible force,
sucking everything in.

'The people...

'..the grain...

'..the slaves...

'..everything.

'To visit the probable location of
the lighthouse involves a short trek

'across broken waste ground
on the edge of Fiumicino airport.

'But there is
one more surprise in store.'

OK, now, it's just over here,
just there.

Hang on a second.

Are you telling me we've come on
this entire journey

to find the ultimate symbol of Rome
and it's in a scrap yard?

Well, let's have a look.

Ah, now, Sarah. Yeah.
The feature that you found... Right.

..the platform of what we
thought was the lighthouse,

it was a 140 metres long,
37 metres wide.

So I calculate that the base
of the lighthouse

would have been 30 metres wide,

which means that
it would have stood

110 metres high and would
have been right over there.

When we set out to use satellite
technology to map the Roman Empire,

I genuinely thought that it was
a completely crazy thing to do!

What I've come to realise is that
my first real love

has and, I think, always will be
finding things.

Part of me is relieved it's over.

Just because of all
the challenges we've had

and everything we've been through.

But part of me
kind of wonders what's next.

It's been a massive privilege
watching Sarah work on this trip.

I'm just so excited that it
seems like she's discovered

the site of Rome's lost lighthouse.

The symbol of their domination.
And I've learnt a lot on this trip

about what underpinned
Rome's domination.

Yes, Rome was a military power

but she realised
that wars are expensive

and they create a backlash,
they almost inflame opposition.

So Rome was also
a psychological empire.

Rome overawed people,
Rome impressed people,

Rome won respect by creating
prosperity and security.

So the situation is that

people actually started wanting
to be part of Rome's empire.

They started
collecting their own tax.

They even started policing
themselves.

Now, that's clever.

And that's what
underpins Rome's greatness.