All language subtitles for Unearthed Series 8 Part 7 Secrets of the Sunken Empire 1080p

Narrator: The ruins
of a sunken city

emerge from beneath the waves...

Pavlopetri.

The secrets of a lost
civilization hidden

at the bottom of
the Mediterranean sea.

Pavlopetri is thousands
of years old.

Could it be the oldest sunken
city in the world?

Today, a dramatic change in
sea currents exposes

the site for the first time
in millennia.

Now, explorers can finally
uncover the truth,

but they need to act fast.

It's a race against time,
this, to try

and record this stuff before
the sea removes it.

Narrator: Experts use
an ingenious underwater vehicle

and high-resolution
3D modeling to

make never-before-seen
discoveries that shed new light

on centuries-old secrets.

This is a really exciting
discovery that's just happened.

I've been working here for
years, and we've seen nothing,

but all the sand
is coming off the site.

Narrator: Who are the rulers of
this mysterious Metropolis?

Why does their city lie
beneath the sea?

A huge catastrophic invent
put Pavlopetri

under the water.

Narrator: To unearth the truth,

we dive deep and digitally
reconstruct the sunken city

stone by stone.

We discover its lost treasure,

investigate its
aquatic graveyard,

and unlock the secrets of
this underwater world.

This is Pavlopetri

off the coast of
southern Greece.

Here, beneath the waves of
the Mediterranean sea,

lie strange stone formations
on the sea floor.

These unusual patterns are not

recorded in any
historical sources.

Their existence here is
a mystery.

It wasn't until it was
discovered by an oceanographer

looking for sea level change
that it was revealed.

And we need to find out what
people were doing there.

Narrator:
Jon Henderson has spent over

a decade investigating
Pavlopetri.

The sea is slowly
excavating the site.

We're beginning to see
the sand moving off,

and, you know, it's revealing
the site, which is exciting,

but it's also destroying it.

Narrator: For Jon,
the race is on to

uncover the truth of
this submarine world.

Henderson: I mean,
we really just need to

get in the water
and have a look.

♪♪

Narrator: Below the surface lies
a secret hidden in the sand.

At first glance,

nothing seems
out of the ordinary,

but looking closer reveals
man-made structures.

Thick stones Mark
out rectangles,

the foundations of
long-lost buildings.

Scattered on the ground
are thousands of

shards of pottery that date
to ancient times.

What are these mysterious
sunken ruins?

♪♪

Today, Jon has special access to

dive here to investigate
Pavlopetri's secrets.

♪♪

He heads for a section in
the center of the ruins.

♪♪

Among the decayed foundations
of a building,

he finds broken pottery.

Jon analyzes the shape
and decoration of the shards.

He's convinced they date to
the early bronze age, 3,000 B.C.

That means Pavlopetri
is the oldest

sunken city discovered
anywhere in the world.

This is 500 years before
the pyramids of Egypt,

1,000 years before the mighty
city of Babylon.

When most people in Europe
live in simple mud

and timber huts.

What does this ancient city
look like in its prime?

To find out, Jon examines
the architecture.

Henderson: The original
buildings would probably

have been, you know,
wood, plaster, mud brick.

What we've got is
the surviving stone foundations.

Narrator: The team measures
their width to

work out the size of
the buildings.

Henderson:
Some of them are, you know,

two or 3 feet thick
in some cases,

and two or three stones high.

These are the foundations of

a quite
massively-built structure.

We think probably that
means it's

maybe two-
or three-story building

narrator: Jon thinks even bigger
structures once exist here.

Among the domestic houses,
he spots a huge set of stones.

They measure almost 100 feet
in length.

Their large size is
a clue that these

could be the foundations of
the city's command center.

We're seeing massively built
buildings, which could have

been used for administration,

and that's telling us this is
a more important site

than the norm.

Narrator:
Just how big is Pavlopetri?

To investigate marine
geologist Evi Nomikou

works with the team.

She prepares a remote
operated vehicle.

Nomikou: It is very, very
useful to have such

a high-tech equipment.

You can go in the places
that the diver cannot go,

because they have
the ability to dive

and mop the sea floor
for more than four hours.

Narrator: Evi launches the Rov
at the edge of the site.

Here it is.

Narrator: The vehicle travels
at 3.5 miles per hour

and is equipped with two
high-definition cameras.

[ High-pitched whirring noise ]

To analyze the results
in real time,

archaeologist Despina Koutsoumba
joins the mission.

[ High-pitched whirring noise ]

Narrator: As the Rov glides
across the sea floor,

more formations emerge.

Pavlopetri contains over
100 structures covering

an area of around
one million square feet,

enough for 2,000 people to
live here.

Narrator: Back on dry land,

Jon analyzes the results of
his investigations.

He uses the surveys to produce
a plan of the uncovered city.

What you can see is
there's a main street,

essentially main street
Pavlopetri.

We've got areas of
open courtyards.

We've got streets coming over
that, we've got a central

kind of place area with all
the roads lead towards it.

People are living side by side
in a planned layout,

in a town layout,
that makes sense to us today.

Narrator: In its prime,
Pavlopetri

is home to remarkably
advanced buildings.

On top of the stone foundations,

thick mud brick walls stand up
to three stories high.

♪♪

The houses are arranged around

open courtyards
and paved streets.

The sprawling city covers
an area larger

than eight football fields,
stretching along the coast.

5,000 years ago,

this is one of the first
cities in Europe.

But who are the people
that live here?

And who rules this
ancient Metropolis?

Mysterious evidence from
beneath the waves could reveal

links to a fearsome warrior
empire that dominates Greece.

♪♪

Narrator:
Under the crystal clear waters

of Greece's southern coast lie

the remains of the world's
oldest sunken city,

Pavlopetri.

Stone foundation walls
once support

dozens of homes
and public buildings,

traces of human life dating
back 5,000 years.

But who are the people
that live here?

A clue could lie on

the coastline that surrounds
the submerged city.

Jon Henderson thinks
these rocks once connect to

the sunken ruins,

but these tantalizing clues
are exposed.

Sixty strange holes, 3 feet deep
and up to 6 feet wide,

are dotted across the shore.

Among them are
fossilized human bones.

It's a clue
that these holes are tombs.

You have this landscape of

the dead side by side
with the living.

Narrator:
This is Pavlopetri's cemetery.

It stretches across
300 feet of coastline.

Most tombs are simple
rock-cut cavities

dug out by the city's
earliest settlers,

an indigenous
coastal population.

But Pavlopetri's graveyard
doesn't stop here.

Beneath the water on the edge
of the sunken city,

archaeologists find a
rectangular hole in the seabed.

The hole leads into a spacious

tomb chamber cut deep
into the rocks.

It's much grander than
the graves of Pavlopetri's

early settlers.

With a 30-foot passageway
leading up to it,

carved into a rocky Ridge,

this mega tomb and another one
right next to it

are evidence that a mighty
civilization takes

control over the city
3,500 years ago.

Jon investigates
the cemetery on the shore.

He finds a similar style of
tomb that's still intact.

You have a long passageway in,
steps leading down

as you're going down
into the land of the dead,

and then you've got this large
cut entranceway.

Narrator: Inside,
160 square feet

of rock has been hollowed out,

so we're in the chamber
of one of the tombs,

and you get an idea of
the kind of size that it is.

This one is full of sand
from the sea,

but you're getting an idea of
the intact roof space.

It's quite a large area.

You've got an almost
corbelled ceiling.

Narrator:
These are typical features

of a so-called chamber tomb,
but who builds them?

Bronze age expert
Christofilis Maggidis believes

burials in this ancient city,

75 miles north,
could hold important clues.

Maggidis: The best indication
when you look at people

is, you know,
how they perform the rituals.

So, um, rituals,
burial architecture,

temple architecture, all these
are cultural indicators of

the people.

The mighty citadel of
Tiryns thrives

at the same time as Pavlopetri.

Legend says it's once home to
the greatest

of Greek heroes... Heracles.

Today, Christofilis
explores Tiryns'

so-called Tholos tomb.

When you look at this entrance,

it's the very same thing,

the same burial architecture
that we see at Pavlopetri.

Narrator: This grand ancient
passageway into

the tomb is known as a Dromos.

It is 10 feet wide
and 42 feet long.

Inside, more features match
with the tombs at Pavlopetri.

This is the entrance and
the chamber, the main chamber

of one of the Tholos tombs
of Tiryns,

a round, circular chamber

built with stones
in the core building system.

That's exactly what we see
a Pavlopetri in smaller

scale, of course,

but the very same concept,
the very same

burial architectures.

Narrator: Christofilis
is convinced the same

people build the tombs at
Pavlopetri.

Who are they?

When archaeologists
excavate this site,

they find fragments of plaster
that reveal

the identity of the builders.

The plasterwork has
an elaborate spiral design.

This is the signature of
the Mycenaean civilization.

The people who lived
and were buried here

were Mycenaeans, just like
the people who lived

and were buried in Pavlopetri.

Narrator: This is evidence
that around 1600 B.C.,

Mycenaeans live at Pavlopetri.

They are a warrior
people that many believe

are the inspiration for
the heroes of Greek mythology.

The Mycenaeans are
military masterminds, ruled

by fearsome kings like
the legendary Agamemnon.

According to the ancient myth,

they joined forces with
Odysseus and his Greek army to

wage war against the Trojans.

The Mycenaeans' military might
and the fortress cities

they build across Greece are
key to their success.

From their network
of fortresses,

they control this part
of the Mediterranean

and become Europe's first
great empire.

♪♪

Groundbreaking new evidence
could reveal

their fearsome warrior kings
now also governed Pavlopetri.

For the first time in millennia,

the sea exposes a pair of
prominent Mycenaean tombs

on the shore.

Henderson: This is
a really exciting discovery

that's just happened.

We had no idea of
the existence of this tomb.

You can just see the line of
the circular chamber here.

It would have come right out to

be a massive tomb,
a very significant tomb.

They overlook the site.

The people of the site could
see these all the time.

And it could have been for
the rulers of Pavlopetri.

Narrator: Around 1,600 B.C.,

the mighty Mycenaeans take
control over Pavlopetri,

100 miles from their homeland
cities of Mycenae and Tiryns.

They erect monumental tombs that
overlook the coastal city

to Mark their new territory.

Why do they need
this mysterious Metropolis?

Can evidence from
the sea floor reveal how

Pavlopetri fuels
the Mycenaeans' rise to power?

Narrator: Beneath the waves
off the Greek coast,

archaeologists are
revealing the secrets

of the ancient city of
Pavlopetri,

ruled by the mighty Mycenaeans.

What is so important about
this remote part of

their empire?

The answer could lie buried in
the seabed among newly

discovered ruins at
the edge of Pavlopetri's

command center.

So this area here,
which had sand on it,

that's the sand on it there,

and it's now a blank space
that's now filled with

buildings, and they seem to be
different from

the other buildings that
we've got on the site.

Narrator: Hidden under
the sand are long,

narrow rooms full of
pottery shards.

♪♪

They form huge jars
called Pithoi

that stand over 5 feet high.

Nearby is a circular stone
with a hole in the middle,

just one of hundreds.

And further afield,
thousands of seashells

from snails that secrete
a deep purple ink.

Can these discoveries
reveal what

the Mycenaeans are doing
in Pavlopetri?

♪♪

Archaeologists examine
the finds close up

here at the excavation
headquarters in Athens.

Despina Koutsoumba investigates
the broken Pithoi vessels.

It's very big...
It's also very thick.

The Clay is very thick.

Why is it so big and so thick?

Because it was used
for storing products.

Olives, oil, wine.

When this was complete, it could

contain gallons
and gallons of goods.

Narrator: And this Pithos
is only one of many.

They had some rooms
where 4, 5, 6

of these big store vases
were put together,

one next to the other.

Narrator: Who could need
this much wine and oil?

Jon thinks the structures where

the shards are found hide
more clues.

At Pavlopetri, he combines
thousands of underwater

photos into a super
high-resolution 3D model.

He uses this to analyze
the foundations.

They form narrow corridors
about 40 feet long

and 6 feet wide.

That combination of
broken pottery,

long corridor-type buildings,
makes us think this is probably

a storage area.

Narrator: The wine and olive oil
Pithoi are part

of the remains of a huge,
3,500-year-old warehouse.

Pavlopetri's inhabitants sell

their goods across
ancient Europe.

This brings wealth
back into their city.

Discoveries in the neighboring
houses reveal

there is even more
to this story.

Jon examines one of the curious

circular stones
on the sea floor.

He recognizes it immediately.

It is an ancient loom weight.

People in the bronze age
used these to make clothes.

They weigh down the yarn
ready for weaving.

The team discovers hundreds of

these weights
across the sea floor.

They are evidence
that another major

industry thrives at Pavlopetri.

We think probably from
the amount of loom weights

we're finding that perhaps
they're producing stuff,

textiles, that they're trading
with other areas.

Narrator: Jon believes
the seashells found close by

could also be part of
this textile industry.

They are home to
a snail called a Murex.

In the ancient world,
this snail is

famous for producing
a distinct purple dye.

♪♪

The workers first gather
thousands of snails

from the seabed
and bring them to shore.

In the workshops,
they crush the shells

and extract a pigment
to dye the threads purple,

a fashionable color
for the elite.

In other rooms,
workers use looms with

weights that pull
the purple threads tight

so they can weave them
into cloth.

The finished fabrics fill
large storage rooms

alongside jars of oil and wine,

ready for export.

♪♪

3,500 years ago,

bustling trade and luxury goods
makes Pavlopetri rich.

Wealthy merchants build
three-story houses and live

in great comfort unknown
to the rest of Europe.

But Pavlopetri
isn't the only place

to benefit from
their boom in business.

Controlled by the Mycenaeans,

Pavlopetri could help
their strongholds like Tiryns

and Mycenae grow into the most

powerful cities in
ancient Europe.

This is the coalface of
the Mycenaean world.

This is how the Mycenaean
world was successful.

Narrator: There are signs
this ancient economy could even

fuel a much darker side of
Mycenaean power.

How does Pavlopetri help

the Mycenaeans build Europe's
first great empire?

Could a groundbreaking
discovery of treasure

on the ocean floor reveal clues?

Narrator: At Pavlopetri
off the coast of Greece,

the Mycenaeans control
an industrial powerhouse.

It helps them forge
their strongholds into

the most important cities
in ancient Europe.

But there are clues

Pavlopetri plays
an even bigger role.

1,000 years before
the rise of Rome,

the Mycenaeans fight legendary
battles across the Aegean sea

and create Europe's
first great empire.

Sunken treasure in
modern-day Turkey could

connect Pavlopetri
to this mighty war machine.

Archaeologists find
a shipwreck they name Uluburun.

A Mycenaean sword is among
its precious cargo,

as well as an elephant's tusk,

and scattered all over
the wreck are

hundreds of mysterious panels
the size of tabletops.

Stripping away
the tarnish on their surface

reveals they are huge
metal ingots,

10 tons of copper
and one ton of tin.

Could these metal panels
unlock the secrets of

Pavlopetri's role in
the Mycenaean war machine?

Jon thinks the heavy duty cargo

links to the Mycenaean military.

Henderson: Uluburun is probably
one of the most

important ancient shipwrecks
that's ever been found.

There were two sets of swords
and Mycenaean armor

on the vessel,
and that makes us think

there were probably
two Mycenaean

warriors overseeing
the shipment.

Narrator: Jon uses the items
on board to trace

the ship's destination.

Based on archaeological records,

he can tell where each item

is produced and loaded
onto the ship.

Henderson:
So the ship started in Egypt,

we have a tusk from Africa.

We've got Egyptian gold
and jewelry, and then it stopped

on the Palestinian coast,

where it took on tin
among some other things,

and then on to Cyprus,

where it took on copper,
10 tons of copper from Cyprus.

And then it was heading west
along the Turkish coast.

Narrator: When it sinks,
the ship points westward,

to Greece.

If it was heading towards
the Mycenaean cities,

one of the first ports
you would have reached

would have been Pavlopetri.

Narrator: Pavlopetri sits at the
side of a treacherous peninsula.

In legend, Odysseus gets blown
off course here

on his grueling 10-year voyage
home from Troy.

Henderson: Sailing
in those days, going round

peninsulas was very difficult,

and if the wind was in
the wrong direction,

you might have had to
overnight on one side of

the peninsula, and that's
what we've got here.

We've got a Sandy bay on
one side of a peninsula.

Narrator: Pavlopetri is
a natural safe haven for ships.

Positioned at
the southernmost tip of Greece,

it is a gateway into
the Mycenaean empire.

But why does the Uluburun
ship bring one

ton of tin and 10 tons
of copper here?

An important clue comes from
the ruins of Pavlopetri.

Henderson: So this is
a beautiful female figurine,

probably of a goddess
from the bronze age.

The key thing is
it's made of bronze,

and bronze is made
from copper and tin.

To make this bronze figurine,

you need exactly the same
ratio as you find

on the Uluburun wreck...
90% copper, 10% tin.

Narrator: Bronze marks
a revolution for humankind,

and Jon thinks it is key to

the rise of the mighty
Mycenaean empire.

Although used bronze to create
things like this figurine,

one of the main uses by the late

bronze age was to produce
sharp-edged weaponry.

Narrator: Bronze melts at less
than 1,800 degrees Fahrenheit,

which means it's quick
and easy to cast,

but the key is that the material

is tough and can be
sharpened and polished.

The Mycenaeans use
this to their advantage.

In the other room, we've got
10 tons of copper, a ton of tin.

That's enough to create tens
of thousands of swords,

enough to equip a small army.

Narrator: The Mycenaeans are
experts in bronze age weaponry.

At one of their strongholds,

archaeologists find evidence
of 400 blacksmiths at work,

casting swords,
daggers, shields,

arrows, and Spears.

But there's one big catch.

You never find copper and tin
in the same place.

In fact, you don't get copper
and tin in Greece at all.

So without important ports
like Pavlopetri,

the Mycenaeans would have been
unable to get the bronze that

they needed to equip their
armies and to... and to conquer

large parts of
the eastern Mediterranean.

Pavlopetri is playing
a vital role

in helping to establish
Mycenaean power.

Narrator: The port of
Pavlopetri brings in

the raw materials
the Mycenaeans need

to build their empire.

With copper from Cyprus
and tin from Southern Europe,

they cast lethal bronze
weapons for their warriors.

[ Metal pinging ]

The Mycenaeans
then turn to the sea

to conquer new territories
and expand their empire.

Over a period of just
300 years, they invade Crete,

the Aegean islands, and parts of
modern-day Turkey.

1,000 years before Rome
built its empire,

ports like Pavlopetri fueled
the huge Mycenaean war machine.

But by 1,200 B.C., all traces
of human life

at Pavlopetri vanish.

Shocking evidence reveals
a catastrophe wipes out

Pavlopetri

before the waves
take the city for good.

Narrator: 3,500 years ago,

Pavlopetri is
a bustling port city,

exporting and bringing in
raw materials

to equip the powerful
Mycenaean army.

Over three centuries,
the Mycenaeans conquer

rival states

to become Europe's
first great empire.

Pavlopetri is a wealthy port
far ahead of its time.

But shocking evidence reveals

just 100 years later,
Pavlopetri is abandoned.

We have pottery from almost
every single phase of

the bronze age,
over 2,000 years,

and then it just stops.

The town is not occupied
after about 3,000 years ago.

Narrator: What happens
to the people of Pavlopetri?

Archaeologist Christofilis
Maggidis investigates

what causes
this catastrophic collapse.

He explores the Mycenaean
citadel of Tiryns.

Tiryns is famous throughout
the ancient world

for its massive
fortification walls.

They tower up to 50 feet high
and are 25 feet thick.

Maggidis: This is
truly megalithic

and, you know,
monumental architecture.

This is the size of
boulders that

we see in the pyramids of Giza.

These mega walls are
the epitome of Mycenaean power.

For Christofilis, they are

the perfect window
into the past.

He thinks an unusual hole in

a section of
the superstructure holds

tantalizing clues.

Maggidis:
In that part of the wall,

there's an opening, a vaulted
opening that leads

into a passageway and into
another ground system.

Narrator: The Mycenaeans dig
this water reservoir here

just before life
at Pavlopetri ceases.

Maggidis:
It was built in 1200 B.C.

This is the very latest stage in

the construction of
the Mycenaean citadel of Tiryns.

Narrator: A river runs
just outside the citadel,

supplying fresh water within
easy reach for 200 years.

But suddenly,
the Mycenaeans seek direct

access from within
the fortification walls.

Why do they build this now?

Maggidis: This is clearly
an indication for fear of

invasions and what we call
a siege mentality.

The time of invasion,
you would need

to have secure access
to water supply.

Narrator: For Christofilis,
this is proof the Mycenaeans

prepare for war,

but a foreign invasion
never comes.

Archaeologists
find no evidence in

any of the Mycenaean citadels.

What is going on in the empire?

Christofilis thinks something
much more catastrophic

devastates Mycenaean Greece

and wipes out life
at Pavlopetri.

He examines
a collapsed section of

Tiryns's fortification.

Huge boulders have tumbled down

from the fortification wall.

The sheer size of the boulders
and the size of

the collapsed masonry
indicates that something big

must have happened here.

I mean, these boulders
each weighs tons.

Narrator: Humans could not have
inflicted such destruction.

Around 1,200 B.C., earthquakes
rock mainland Greece.

They partially destroy many
of the Mycenaean citadels.

Civil wars follow.

And the regional palaces are
ransacked and burned.

The palace elites
flee to the coast,

some to Pavlopetri, heading
for its renowned harbor.

At the southern tip of Greece,
it's an escape route to

the other Mycenaean
strongholds in the Aegean.

♪♪

The earthquakes triggered
a period of social chaos.

Narrator: For the fleeing
palace elite,

Pavlopetri becomes a vital
escape route

to the far corners
of their realm,

but it's not long until
the collapse spreads

across the empire.

Henderson: The social breakdown
meant that places like Pavlopetri

would have suffered
really badly...

Occupation of the town
ceased 3,000 years ago.

Their whole way of life was
just destroyed.

Narrator: But why is this city
submerged today?

What plunges Pavlopetri
beneath the waves?

Narrator: When the great
Mycenaean empire collapses

3,000 years ago,

Pavlopetri, a once bustling
port, becomes a ghost town.

The city is deserted.

Its wide streets and grand
three-story houses lie empty.

Its textile factories

and rich warehouses
of olive oil and wine

are abandoned

as the Mycenaean empire falls.

But how does Pavlopetri
turn from

a ghost town to a sunken ruin

that lies forgotten
for 3,000 years?

Evi Nomikou has studied

the coastlines of
Greece for decades,

she is convinced the entire
landscape here has

changed dramatically since
the ruins were a bustling city.

She investigates Vatika bay,
a mile up the shore.

A strange rock structure on

the sea floor here could
reveal important clues.

[ Buzzing noises ]

It's very good to see
and have a drone with you,

because you can have
another view of the area.

Narrator:
From her high vantage point,

Evi discovers the rocks
form distinct lines that run

several miles parallel
to the coast.

Three lines, each further out
from shore,

8, 10, then 13 feet deep
on the sea floor.

Nomikou: So here we can see
the three lines.

This is the first one, the
second one, and the third one.

Narrator: These are not walls.

The structures have
formed naturally.

Nomikou: I can see all
these submerged formation

that are full of sediments
...submitting sediments.

Narrator: Evi is convinced
these are so-called

beach rocks, common in
the Mediterranean sea.

A chemical reaction
between sand,

sun, and sea water fuses
sediments together.

But beach rocks form right
at the water's edge.

For Evi, finding them so far out

can only mean the shoreline
has moved dramatically.

These beach rocks are
the evidence that

the shoreline was much lower
in this Vatika bay.

Narrator: The entire coast here
sinks into the sea

on three distinct occasions,

around 3 feet each time.

For Pavlopetri, a port city
that sits right

at the water's edge,
even a few feet are fatal.

What causes this to happen?

Evi thinks the three
abrupt strips of

beach rocks rule out
the most common cause...

Gradual sea level rise.

Something much more violent
happens here.

She travels up the coast
to a headland 15 miles away

in search of clues.

Here, a geological phenomenon
allows her

to study what happens
to the city.

Nomikou: This is what
we are looking for,

this red line

just in front of us.

All these steep cliffs are
evidence of huge movement.

Narrator: This entire piece of
land is once underwater,

but a huge force
pushes it right out.

Big earthquakes,
big catastrophic events.

Narrator: The movement of
the earth's crust

is so powerful,
it not only shakes the ground,

it also forces the creation of
an entire cliff range.

Evi thinks the same kind of

force moves landmasses at
Pavlopetri,

but in the opposite direction,

plunging the city
down into the sea.

Centuries after
earthquakes destroy

the Mycenaean palaces
across mainland Greece,

seismic shocks deform
the coastline

at Pavlopetri.

We found three series
of beach rocks.

That means that we had
three events of earthquakes.

Narrator: Pavlopetri sits
near the Hellenic arc,

a seismic danger zone where

the continental plates of
Africa and Europe collide.

The African plate slides
beneath the Greek landmass

and triggers earthquakes
that shake the region.

[ Alarm blaring ]

As landmasses shift,
the coastline around

Pavlopetri sinks,

and the sea finally
swallows the city.

So can you imagine that
you are going to have

some strong earthquakes,
and then suddenly,

a city will be submerged.

This has happened here
in Pavlopetri.

Narrator: Over many centuries,

the waves slowly
erode Pavlopetri

down to its foundations.

But today, investigators
are starting

to uncover
its long-lost secrets.

It's changing what we know
about the ancient world,

and it just shows you
how much there is out there

still to discover about
the human past.

Narrator:
Lost to history for millennia,

Pavlopetri's ruins reveal
a forgotten world,

where ancient treasure gives
rise to a life of luxury.

Here, the industrial harbor

and trailblazing city

make Pavlopetri the gateway
to Europe's first true empire.

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