All language subtitles for Unearthed.(2016).S03E07.Wrath.of.Attila.the.Hun.1080p.AMZN.WEB-DL.DD+2.0.H.264-Cinefeel_track3_[eng]

Narrator: ROME,

THE SUPERPOWER
OF THE ANCIENT WORLD.

WHY DID THIS SPECTACULAR
CIVILIZATION COLLAPSE?

♪♪

ANCIENT WRITERS CLAIM
A FIERCE TRIBE CALLED THE HUNS

ATTACKED THE EMPIRE
IN ITS DYING DAYS.

BUT WHAT PART DID THEY ACTUALLY
PLAY IN BRINGING IT DOWN?

Hakenbeck:
THE HUNS HAVE BEEN ASSOCIATED
WITH HORRIBLE VIOLENCE.

THEY'VE BEEN MADE RESPONSIBLE

FOR THE FALL
OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE.

Narrator: NOW EXTRAORDINARY
DISCOVERIES FROM ONE CITY

REVEAL THE DEVASTATING EVENTS

THAT RIPPED APART
THE ROMAN WORLD

AND THE TRUE ROLE
OF ITS GREATEST ENEMY,

ATTILA AND THE HUNS.

IN OUR HUNT FOR THE ROMANS'
DARKEST SECRETS,

WE WILL BLOW APART
THE REMAINS OF TRIER,

ONE OF THEIR GREATEST CITIES.

WE'LL DECONSTRUCT
THEIR COLOSSAL RUINS,

UNCOVER MYSTERIOUS BURIALS,

AND PIECE TOGETHER
HIDDEN TREASURE

TO REVEAL WHAT FINALLY TOPPLED
THE MIGHTY ROMAN EMPIRE.

--Captions by VITAC--
www.vitac.com

CAPTIONS PAID FOR BY
DISCOVERY COMMUNICATIONS

ANCIENT ROME,

THE FOUNDER OF A VAST EMPIRE

THAT STRETCHED FROM THE SHORES
OF THE MIDDLE EAST

TO THE HILLS
OF NORTHERN BRITAIN.

ONE OF ITS GREATEST
CITIES WAS TRIER.

♪♪

THIS FRONTIER METROPOLIS
IN WHAT IS NOW GERMANY

WAS ONCE AS POWERFUL
AS ROME ITSELF.

♪♪

♪♪

BUT AT THE BEGINNING
OF THE 5th CENTURY,

TRIER'S WORLD WAS FALLING APART.

VAST NUMBERS OF PEOPLE POURED
ACROSS THE EMPIRE'S BORDERS,

INVADERS WHO ROME
CALLED BARBARIANS.

ONE MAN'S NAME WAS FEARED
ABOVE ALL OTHERS --

A WARRIOR CALLED ATTILA,

LEADER OF A FIERCE NOMADIC TRIBE
CALLED THE HUNS.

THE HUNS HAVE BEEN DESCRIBED
AS BARELY HUMAN,

AS MORE LIKE ANIMALS
THAN PART OF CIVILIZED SOCIETY.

Narrator:
ATTILA'S FEROCITY WAS LEGENDARY.

BUT HOW MUCH DAMAGE
DID BARBARIANS LIKE HIM

REALLY DO TO THIS
ANCIENT CIVILIZATION?

NOW INVESTIGATIONS FROM TRIER
COULD SHED NEW LIGHT

ON THE BIGGEST MYSTERY OF ALL --

WHAT REALLY BROUGHT DOWN
THE ROMAN GOLIATH?

♪♪

CITIES LIKE TRIER WERE THE
EMPIRE'S FIRST LINE OF DEFENSE,

DESIGNED TO KEEP OUT
BARBARIAN INVADERS.

AT ITS HEART LAY ONE
OF FOUR MASSIVE GATEHOUSES,

MADE FROM GIANT STONE BLOCKS.

THIS CITADEL
WAS FOUR STORIES HIGH.

♪♪

AT THE TOP,

DEFENSIVE TOWERS
DOMINATED THE LANDSCAPE.

AND AT EITHER SIDE,
A 20-FOOT-HIGH WALL

ENCIRCLED THE ENTIRE CITY.

CAN THE FATE
OF THIS MIGHTY METROPOLIS

REVEAL WHY ROME'S WORLD
CAME CRASHING DOWN

IN THE AGE OF ATTILA?

♪♪

ATTILA INVADED THE EMPIRE
IN THE YEAR 451 A.D.

MANY EXPERTS ASSUME THAT
HE ATTACKED THE CITY OF TRIER.

BUT TODAY, HISTORIANS KNOW
VERY LITTLE ABOUT HIS CAMPAIGN

OR HIS PEOPLE.

Hakenbeck: THE HUNS REALLY ARE
AN ARCHAEOLOGICAL MYSTERY.

THEY'RE ALMOST INVISIBLE.

Narrator:
SO WHO WERE THE HUNS?

AND WHAT MADE THEM
SO TERRIFYING?

♪♪

THE ANSWER COULD LIE 80 MILES
FROM THE ROMAN RUINS OF TRIER,

IN THE ANCIENT FOREST
NEAR THE TOWN OF RUELZHEIM.

HERE, AN ILLEGAL DIG UNCOVERED
A MYSTERIOUS TREASURE TROVE.

ARCHAEOLOGIST
DR. ULRICH HIMMELMANN THINKS

IT COULD PROVIDE A RARE GLIMPSE
INTO ATTILA'S REIGN OF TERROR.

♪♪

OVER 100 INDIVIDUAL PIECES
MAKE UP AN ASTONISHING HOARD.

THEY INCLUDE LEAF-SHAPED
BROOCHES COVERED WITH GOLD...

♪♪

...AND BOWLS
STUDDED WITH JEWELS.

♪♪

HIDING AMONG
THE REMAINING OBJECTS

LIES A PRICELESS ARTIFACT --

SILVER-PLATED CHAINS AND CLASPS
LINKED TOGETHER

TO FORM THE FRAMEWORK OF AN
EXQUISITE FOLDING SILVER CHAIR.

♪♪

IT'S AN EXTRAORDINARY DISCOVERY.

SO WHO OWNED
THIS INCREDIBLE TREASURE?

AND COULD IT REVEAL WHAT ATTILA
AND THE HUNS WERE REALLY LIKE?

♪♪

ULRICH DECIPHERS
THIS EXTRAORDINARY FIND

BACK AT HIS ARCHIVES.

ALL THESE OBJECTS DATE TO THE
END OF THE 300s AND THE 400s.

THEIR BEAUTY IS BREATHTAKING.

BUT TO ULRICH,
THE DISMANTLED SILVER CHAIR

STANDS OUT FROM THE REST.

♪♪

♪♪

THIS ROMAN CHAIR IS DAZZLING
AND HIGHLY VALUABLE,

YET IT WAS FOUND IN PIECES.

THE ILLEGAL EXCAVATION
SEEMS TO HAVE WRECKED

A LOT OF THE ARTIFACTS,

BUT ULRICH THINKS
MOST OF THE DAMAGE

WAS ACTUALLY DONE
IN ROMAN TIMES.

SOMEONE BRUTALLY SMASHED
THESE OBJECTS APART

BEFORE BURYING THEM.

THAT MEANS THE LAST PERSON
TO OWN THIS CHAIR

WAS ONLY INTERESTED
IN THE VALUE OF ITS SILVER.

THESE CUT MARKS SUGGEST THAT
THIS HOARD WAS TREATED AS LOOT.

BUT WHO BURIED IT?

A CLUE LIES WITH SOME
OF THE OTHER ARTIFACTS.

♪♪

♪♪

IT BECOMES CLEAR
THESE OTHER ITEMS

HAVE COME FROM LANDS
FAR BEYOND ROMAN BORDERS.

♪♪

FINDING OBJECTS LIKE THESE
INSIDE ROMAN TERRITORY

IS A COMPLETE SURPRISE.

WHO OWNED ALL THIS TREASURE?

HISTORICAL ACCOUNTS DESCRIBE
LAVISH TABLEWARE LIKE THIS

AT THE COURT OF ATTILA HIMSELF.

THIS KEY ITEM SUGGESTS
THAT THE ENTIRE HOARD

ONCE BELONGED TO THE HUNS.

♪♪

ROMAN WRITERS DESCRIBE
THE HUNS AS NOMADS,

DRIVEN BY A LUST
FOR GOLD AND LOOT.

THE WAY THIS STASH WAS BURIED

SUGGESTS THAT THE HUNS RACED
THROUGH THIS AREA IN A HURRY.

♪♪

THE RUELZHEIM HOARD
CONTAINS OVER 100 ITEMS.

EACH OF THEM CAN BE TIED
TO LANDS THE HUNS INVADED.

THE HUNS WERE HORSEMEN

WHO PRIZED AGILITY AND SPEED.

THE MORE SUCCESS THEY HAD,

THE MORE SPOILS OF WAR
THEY NEEDED TO CARRY.

NOMADIC IN NATURE, THE HUNS
WERE USED TO LIFE ON THE ROAD,

CONSTANTLY SHIFTING
TO FIND NEW LANDS

TO GRAZE THEIR HORSES
AND CATTLE.

BUT THEIR WARRIORS RELIED ON
MOVING FAST AND TRAVELING LIGHT.

IT'S POSSIBLE ATTILA AND HIS MEN
QUICKLY HID LOOT IN RUELZHEIM

AS THEY SWEPT INTO
THE HEART OF THE EMPIRE.

♪♪

THIS BURIED TREASURE
COULD BE EVIDENCE

OF ATTILA'S MYSTERIOUS PEOPLE

AS THEY ATTACKED ROME'S BORDERS.

♪♪

IT REVEALS HOW, AT THAT TIME,

THE ROMAN WORLD
WAS STARTING TO COLLAPSE.

[ INDISTINCT SHOUTING ]

GOLD-HUNGRY WARRIORS
WERE PILLAGING TOWNS AND CITIES

UP AND DOWN THE ROMAN FRONTIER.

SO WHAT HAD HAPPENED
TO THIS POWERFUL EMPIRE

THAT MEANT IT WAS LOSING CONTROL
TO THE BARBARIANS?

COULD A SHOCKING DISCOVERY

IN THE HEART
OF THE MODERN CITY OF TRIER

HOLD THE ANSWER?

Narrator: 1,500 YEARS AGO,

THE ROMAN EMPIRE
WAS FALLING APART.

FIERCE TRIBES INVADED,

LED BY WARRIORS
LIKE ATTILA THE HUN.

♪♪

WHY WAS ROME
UNABLE TO STOP THEM?

WHAT HAD HAPPENED TO THIS
SUPERPOWER OF THE ANCIENT WORLD?

THE GERMAN CITY OF TRIER

THAT WAS ONCE AN IMPORTANT
ROMAN SETTLEMENT

COULD HOLD THE ANSWERS.

♪♪

DR. MARCUS REUTER
IS HEAD OF TRIER'S TEAM

OF ARCHAEOLOGISTS,
SCIENTISTS, AND HISTORIANS.

HE WANTS TO FIND OUT WHAT WAS
MAKING ROMAN LIFE HERE CRUMBLE.

♪♪

♪♪

MARCUS' TEAM INVESTIGATES
A 10,000-SQUARE-FOOT AREA

NORTH OF THE CITY,
A ROMAN BURIAL GROUND.

COULD IT HOLD A CLUE TO THE FATE
OF TRIER'S LAST ROMAN CITIZENS?

♪♪

HIDDEN BENEATH THE MODERN CITY,

THE DENSE CLAY SOIL IS PERFECT
FOR PRESERVING BONES.

DIGGING DOWN MORE THAN 10 FEET
BELOW THE SURFACE

REVEALS LAYER AFTER LAYER
OF HUMAN REMAINS.

♪♪

EACH ROMAN HOUSEHOLD
BURIED THEIR DEAD

IN A TIGHTLY ARRANGED PLOT,

OFTEN ALONGSIDE A SELECTION
OF COINS, POTTERY, AND JEWELRY.

♪♪

THE DEAD ARE CRAMMED
INTO A 3-D JIGSAW PUZZLE.

SO HOW MANY PEOPLE
WERE LIVING IN TRIER

WHEN THE BARBARIANS ATTACKED?

AND WHEN DID THEY ALL DIE?

♪♪

♪♪

MARCUS JOINS THE TEAM
ON THEIR 12th EXCAVATION

NORTH OF THE CITY WALL.

EACH DIG REVEALS
HUNDREDS OF BODIES.

♪♪

♪♪

THE OVERALL SIZE
OF THE CEMETERY IS STAGGERING.

MARCUS DISCOVERS THAT TRIER,
IN ITS ROMAN HEYDAY,

WAS A CROWDED METROPOLIS.

BUT IN THE 500s,
AFTER THE AGE OF ATTILA,

IT WAS A SHADOW
OF ITS FORMER SELF.

♪♪

SO, WAS A SERIES
OF BLOODY ATTACKS RESPONSIBLE

FOR THIS DRAMATIC DECLINE?

OR WAS SOMETHING ELSE BEHIND THE
FALL IN THIS CITY'S FORTUNES?

♪♪

TRIER THRIVED
FOR OVER 400 YEARS,

SITTING NEAR THE FRONTIER
OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE.

IT BORDERED LANDS OCCUPIED
BY FIERCE BARBARIAN TRIBES.

ANCIENT HISTORIANS SAY THAT
ROMAN TRIER SUFFERED ASSAULTS

FROM THESE BARBARIANS,
TIME AND TIME AGAIN.

♪♪

ONE OF THE MOST DEVASTATING
ATTACKS IN THIS AREA

WAS IN 451 A.D.,

WHEN ATTILA'S HUNS
RAMPAGED ACROSS EUROPE.

♪♪

BUT IS THE DECREASE
IN POPULATION REALLY RELATED

TO REPEATED INVASIONS
BY HOSTILE TRIBES?

♪♪

TO FIND OUT,
MARCUS NEEDS TO WORK OUT

EXACTLY WHEN THE POPULATION FELL

AND IF IT CORRESPONDS
WITH THE TIME OF THE INVASION.

THE BURIAL PLOTS
ARE INCREDIBLY DENSE.

THIS MAKES IT DIFFICULT TO KNOW

WHICH BONES BELONG
TO WHICH CENTURY.

THE KEY TO DATING THESE REMAINS
IS NOT THE BODIES THEMSELVES

BUT ALL THE ITEMS
BURIED WITH THEM.

THE TEAM USES THE GRAVE GOODS
TO DATE EACH BURIAL.

THIS HELPS THEM BUILD UP
AN IMAGE OF HOW MANY PEOPLE DIED

IN EACH CENTURY.

♪♪

♪♪

THE DIG TEAM SENDS
ALL THEIR FINDS HERE --

TRIER'S CAVERNOUS
STORAGE DEPOTS.

EVERY SINGLE ITEM, HUMAN REMAINS
OR GRAVE GOODS,

IS CATEGORIZED AND BOXED UP,

READY FOR FURTHER ANALYSIS.

♪♪

♪♪

SIFTING THROUGH THE FINDS
IS A MAMMOTH TASK.

BUT MARCUS MAKES
AN INCREDIBLE DISCOVERY.

TRIER'S POPULATION SEEMED
TO SIMPLY DISAPPEAR

ABOUT 100 YEARS
BEFORE ATTILA WAS EVEN BORN.

♪♪

♪♪

SO, WHY DID THOUSANDS
OF CITIZENS

APPARENTLY DESERT
THIS GREAT CITY

AND OTHERS LIKE IT?

COULD THE ANSWER LIE
WITH THE MAN

WHO ONCE RULED FROM THESE
MAGNIFICENT BUILDINGS --

THE ROMAN EMPEROR HIMSELF?

Narrator:
THE MIGHTY ROMAN EMPIRE,

THE SUPERPOWER
OF THE ANCIENT WORLD.

TRIER, IN PRESENT-DAY GERMANY,

WAS ONE OF ITS GREATEST CITIES.

BUT WHY DID MANY
OF ITS PEOPLE DISAPPEAR

BEFORE THE FALL OF THE EMPIRE?

AND WHAT CAN IT TELL US
ABOUT ROME'S COLLAPSE?

ARCHAEOLOGIST
GEORG BREITNER BELIEVES

A CLUE TO THE CITY'S
SUDDEN DROP IN POPULATION

LIES WITH ITS GREATEST
CITIZEN, THE EMPEROR.

♪♪

FOR DECADES, TRIER WAS HIS HOME,

AS POWERFUL AS ROME ITSELF.

♪♪

♪♪

GEORG EXPLORES
THE CITY'S IMPERIAL BASILICA.

TODAY, IT'S USED AS A CHURCH,

BUT IT WAS BUILT AS AN AUDIENCE
HALL FOR THE EMPEROR.

♪♪

♪♪

TRIER'S IMPERIAL RESIDENCE
WAS HUGE AND IMPRESSIVE.

BUT BY THE AGE OF ATTILA,
IN THE MID-400s,

THE EMPEROR HAD LEFT.

♪♪

THIS PALACE BASILICA
DOMINATED THE CITY'S CENTER.

IT'S THE LARGEST SURVIVING
ROMAN HALL IN THE WORLD.

IT HAS ENOUGH SPACE TO HOLD
THE CITY'S GATEHOUSE TWICE OVER.

IN THE HEYDAY
OF THIS IMPERIAL MEGA CITY,

TENS OF THOUSANDS OF TILES

MADE FROM ITALIAN MARBLE
COVERED THE FLOOR

AND STRETCHED UP TO CLAD
THE BARE BRICK WALLS.

DECORATIVE MOSAICS WERE
INTRICATELY INLAID WITH GOLD.

WATCHING OVER IT ALL,
THE EMPEROR'S THRONE.

WHY WAS IT LEFT ABANDONED?

AND COULD THE ANSWER EXPLAIN
TRIER'S PLUMMETING POPULATION?

♪♪

TO FIND OUT, GEORG INVESTIGATES
THE HUGE ROMAN BATHS

NEXT TO THE BASILICA.

HE THINKS CHANGES MADE
TO THIS BUILDING

COULD REVEAL HOW THE WHOLE CITY,
AND EVEN THE EMPIRE,

WERE TRANSFORMING IN THE FINAL
YEARS OF ROMAN RULE.

♪♪

TRIER'S KAISERTHERMEN,
THE IMPERIAL BATHS,

WERE AMONG THE LARGEST
IN EUROPE.

♪♪

THIS HUGE COMPLEX COVERED

MORE THAN 1/4 MILLION
SQUARE FEET.

♪♪

♪♪

THIS ENORMOUS LABYRINTH
OF UNDERGROUND HEATING TUNNELS

WAS AT THE CUTTING EDGE
OF ROMAN ENGINEERING.

♪♪

BUT THERE'S A MYSTERY.

THESE HEATING TUNNELS DON'T SEEM
TO HAVE EVER BEEN USED.

♪♪

♪♪

THE ROMANS WERE FAMOUS FOR THEIR
HUGE CIVIL-ENGINEERING PROJECTS.

♪♪

WHY WOULD THEY ABANDON
THE CONSTRUCTION

OF ONE OF THE GREATEST
PUBLIC BATH HOUSES

THE EMPIRE HAD EVER SEEN?

COULD THIS TELL GEORG WHY PEOPLE
WERE LEAVING THIS ROMAN CAPITAL?

♪♪

GEORG NEEDS TO GET
TO HIGHER GROUND

TO UNDERSTAND
WHAT HAPPENED HERE.

WITH A BIRD'S-EYE VIEW,

HE CAN MAP OUT
HOW THE ORIGINAL FLOOR PLAN

WAS CHOPPED UP AT A LATER DATE.

♪♪

♪♪

ROUGH BRICK PARTITIONS
CUT THROUGH THE GRAND MASONRY

OF THE BATH CHAMBERS.

THE ALTERED FLOOR PLAN

LOOKS JUST LIKE
THE STRUCTURES ELSEWHERE

THAT WERE BUILT FOR SOLDIERS.

GEORG THINKS HE'S
WORKED OUT WHAT HAPPENED.

THE IMPERIAL BATHS ENDED UP
BEING USED BY THE ARMY.

THIS CITY'S IMPERIAL BATHS
WERE LAVISHLY DESIGNED

WITH LUXURY HOT POOLS
AND STEAM ROOMS,

SERVED BY A COMPLEX NETWORK
OF UNDERGROUND PASSAGES.

BUT SPACIOUS CHAMBERS DESIGNED
FOR THE PUBLIC TO RELAX IN

WERE DIVIDED UP IN THE MID-300s

TO MAKE ROUGH ACCOMMODATION
FOR SOLDIERS.

THE PROXIMITY OF THE BARRACKS
TO THE BASILICA

MEANS THE SOLDIERS
WERE PERFECTLY PLACED

TO PROTECT THE EMPEROR.

♪♪

THESE WERE HIS PERSONAL
BODYGUARDS,

SWORN TO DEFEND
THEIR LEADER AT ALL COSTS,

IN THE MOST TESTING OF TIMES.

♪♪

THIS IS EVIDENCE
OF DRAMATIC CHANGE IN TRIER.

AS MORE ROMAN TROOPS MOVED IN

TO COMBAT THE THREAT
OF BARBARIAN INVASION,

PEACE-TIME LUXURIES
LIKE BATH HOUSES WERE SCRAPPED.

♪♪

LIFE IN TRIER WAS GETTING TOO
HOT FOR THE EMPEROR TO HANDLE.

♪♪

♪♪

EVEN WITH A GARRISON OF SOLDIERS
NEXT TO THE BASILICA,

TRIER WASN'T CONSIDERED A SAFE
PLACE FOR EMPERORS IN THE 400s.

♪♪

UPHEAVAL ALL ALONG THE FRINGES
OF THE EMPIRE FORCED THE EMPEROR

AND HIS HEIRS TO MOVE CLOSER
TO THE MEDITERRANEAN.

THIS MIGHT EXPLAIN
WHY SO MANY PEOPLE DRIFTED AWAY

FROM ROME'S CITIES.

BUT WITH NO ROMAN EMPEROR
RESIDING IN TRIER,

WHO WAS LEFT IN CHARGE

WHEN ATTILA AND THE HUNS REALLY
DID RIDE THROUGH THESE LANDS

50 YEARS LATER?

WERE THEY EVEN ROMAN?

A GRUESOME DISCOVERY
IN THE HEART OF THE CITY

COULD HOLD THE ANSWER.

Narrator:
AT THE START OF THE 5th CENTURY,
ROME'S BORDERS LAY EXPOSED.

THE EMPEROR HAD LEFT
AND SO HAD HIS BEST TROOPS.

KEY CITIES LIKE TRIER WERE
FORCED TO FEND FOR THEMSELVES

IN THE AGE OF ATTILA.

SO WHO TOOK CHARGE OF THIS
ONCE-IMPORTANT ROMAN METROPOLIS?

♪♪

A GRUESOME DISCOVERY
RIGHT UNDER THE CITY STREETS

COULD REVEAL WHO WAS HERE
WHEN ATTILA ATTACKED THE EMPIRE.

♪♪

IN THE GROUNDS
OF TRIER'S HOSPITAL,

ARCHAEOLOGISTS HAVE UNEARTHED
TWO MALE SKELETONS

LYING SIDE BY SIDE.

♪♪

AROUND THEM, LARGE NAILS
ARRANGED IN A RECTANGLE,

THE REMNANTS
OF AN OVERSIZED COFFIN.

CARBON DATING PLACES THE BONES

BETWEEN THE 4th
AND 5th CENTURIES,

WHEN THE HUNS WERE STARTING TO
SPREAD OUT FROM EASTERN EUROPE.

CLOSER INSPECTION REVEALS DAMAGE
TO THE VERTEBRAE IN THEIR NECKS.

THESE SKELETONS ARE AMONG
THE PRECIOUS FEW FOUND IN TRIER

FROM THIS TIME.

WERE THESE PEOPLE STILL ROMAN?

♪♪

WOLF-RUEDIGER TEEGAN
IS ONE OF THE REGION'S

TOP SPECIALISTS
IN ANCIENT BONES.

♪♪

HE TRIES TO BUILD UP A PICTURE

OF WHO WAS STILL LIVING
IN CITIES LIKE TRIER

DURING THE EMPIRE'S DYING DAYS.

♪♪

WOLF EXAMINES THE MEN'S
SKELETONS FOR CLUES.

THE FIRST QUESTION TO ANSWER
IS HOW THEY DIED.

INTRIGUINGLY, BOTH HAVE
THE SAME HORRIFIC INJURY.

♪♪

♪♪

♪♪

♪♪

WHY DID THESE MEN DIE
SUCH BRUTAL DEATHS?

WOLF PIECES TOGETHER
THE REST OF THEIR SKELETONS

TO HUNT FOR CLUES.

♪♪

♪♪

♪♪

CAPITAL PUNISHMENT
WAS RELATIVELY COMMON

IN ROMAN TIMES.

BUT FINDING THESE BODIES
IN A COFFIN WAS HIGHLY UNUSUAL.

♪♪

♪♪

IN ROMAN CITIES,

CRIMINALS DIDN'T USUALLY
GET THE LUXURY OF A FUNERAL.

BUT FOR WOLF,
THE BIGGEST SURPRISE OF ALL

IS NOT HOW BUT WHERE
THEY WERE BURIED.

♪♪

♪♪

THE SKELETONS WERE FOUND
EAST OF THE MOSEL RIVER,

UNEARTHED DURING
THE CONSTRUCTION

OF A NEW HOSPITAL BUILDING.

♪♪

THE GRAVE, WHEN PLOTTED
ON AN ANCIENT MAP OF TRIER,

REVEALS THE DOUBLE COFFIN WAS
BURIED IN THE HEART OF THE CITY.

♪♪

THE GRAVE SITE
IS HIGHLY UNUSUAL,

BECAUSE BURIALS
INSIDE THESE CITY WALLS

WERE STRICTLY PROHIBITED.

♪♪

THE SAME RULE APPLIED
ACROSS THE ENTIRE ROMAN EMPIRE.

ALMOST THE ONLY EXCEPTION MADE
WAS FOR EMPERORS THEMSELVES.

BY THE 400s, IT SEEMS MOST OF
TRIER'S POPULATION HAD DESERTED.

IF THE PEOPLE LEFT BEHIND
WERE IGNORING

THIS MOST ROMAN OF RULES,

IT MEANS THAT
THE CITY WAS BEHAVING

LESS AND LESS
LIKE PART OF THE EMPIRE.

TRIER WAS CRUMBLING LONG
BEFORE ATTILA WAS ON THE SCENE.

BUT 400 YEARS OF ROMAN RULE
HAD LEFT CITIES LIKE THIS

WITH MASSIVE FORTIFICATIONS.

THESE DEFENSES SHOULD HAVE BEEN
MORE THAN A MATCH

FOR BARBARIAN TRIBES.

WHY WERE THESE WALLS
NO LONGER ENOUGH

TO PROTECT THE CITIZENS
OF THE EMPIRE?

♪♪

COULD THE ANSWER LIE HIDDEN

WITHIN THIS CITY'S
MASSIVE GATEHOUSE?

Narrator: THE DEMISE
OF THE MAJOR ROMAN CITY OF TRIER

IS STARTING TO SHED NEW LIGHT

ON THE COLLAPSE
OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE.

BY THE 5th CENTURY, THIS MIGHTY
METROPOLIS IN GERMANY

WAS NO LONGER A BASE
FOR EMPERORS.

MOST CITIZENS HAD LEFT,

YET ITS IMPRESSIVE DEFENSES
REMAINED STANDING.

WHY WEREN'T THEY ENOUGH
TO PROTECT

WHAT WAS ONCE A CAPITAL
OF THE ROMAN WORLD?

♪♪

ULRIKE WULF-RHEIDT
IS INVESTIGATING

THE CITY'S GIANT GATEHOUSE,

THE PORTA NIGRA.

♪♪

THIS MONUMENTAL GATEHOUSE
DATES BACK TO 170 A.D.

IT WAS ALREADY 200 YEARS OLD
BY THE TIME THE HUNS APPEARED.

WHY COULDN'T IT
GUARANTEE THE SAFETY

OF TRIER'S NERVOUS CITIZENS?

♪♪

BUILT FROM OVER 7,000
GIANT STONE SLABS,

THE PORTA NIGRA IS
A MASTERPIECE OF ROMAN DESIGN.

THESE HUGE STONES
CAN WEIGH UP TO 6 TONS.

♪♪

THE BLOCKS ARE CONNECTED
BY GIANT CAST-IRON STAPLES

AND SEALED WITH
A PLUG OF MOLTEN LEAD.

♪♪

THESE MIGHTY STONE WALLS
FORM A FORMIDABLE BARRIER.

RISING UP TO ALMOST 100 FEET,

THIS ENTIRE STRUCTURE WEIGHS IN
AT OVER 10,000 TONS.

BUT DO THESE IMPRESSIVE DEFENSES
HAVE A HIDDEN WEAKNESS?

♪♪

PORTA NIGRA MEANS "BLACK GATE."

IT GETS ITS NAME
FROM THE DARK CRUST

THAT HAS BUILT UP ON THE
SANDSTONE OVER THE CENTURIES.

♪♪

THE LUMPS AND BUMPS
ON THE SURFACE OF THE GATEHOUSE

LOOK LIKE NATURAL WEATHERING
TO THE UNTRAINED EYE.

BUT ULRIKE SPOTS
STRANGE ANGLED MARKINGS.

♪♪

♪♪

THE PORTA NIGRA NEVER RECEIVED
ITS FINISHING TOUCHES.

BUT WAS IT STRUCTURALLY COMPLETE
AND READY FOR ACTION?

ULRIKE INVESTIGATES
THE HUGE ARCHWAYS.

SHE MAKES A SHOCKING FIND.

♪♪

THE PORTA NIGRA'S GATES THAT
SHOULD'VE PROTECTED THE CITY

WERE NEVER ACTUALLY FITTED.

♪♪

♪♪

THIS IS A TRULY
REMARKABLE FINDING.

THE PORTA NIGRA WAS SUPPOSED TO
BE A SYMBOL OF ROMAN STRENGTH,

SOLIDITY, AND DOMINANCE.

BUT IF ULRIKE IS CORRECT,
IT COULD'VE BEEN ALMOST USELESS.

♪♪

SUDDENLY, THE KEY ELEMENT
OF TRIER'S DEFENSES

APPEARS TO BE ITS WEAKEST LINK.

♪♪

IF THE GATEHOUSE NEEDED
EXTRA SOLDIERS TO PROTECT IT,

THE REST OF THE CITY DEFENSES
COULD'VE BEEN LEFT UNGUARDED.

♪♪

TRIER MIGHT HAVE BEEN ABLE TO
REPEL SMALL HIT-AND-RUN RAIDS,

BUT AS THE ROMAN
FRONTIER BROKE DOWN,

LARGER INVASIONS
POSED A SERIOUS THREAT.

ATTILA HAD AN ESTIMATED
50,000 MEN ON HORSEBACK.

ROME'S GREATEST ENEMY
WOULD'VE OVERWHELMED THIS CITY.

♪♪

ULRIKE BELIEVES DEFENSE
WAS NOT THE MAIN PURPOSE

OF THIS MASSIVE GATEHOUSE.

♪♪

♪♪

♪♪

ORIGINALLY, TRIER'S BEST DEFENSE
WASN'T A HIGH WALL

OR A MIGHTY GATEHOUSE.

IT WAS THE APPEARANCE OF POWER.

♪♪

CITIES LIKE THIS WERE DESIGNED

TO PROMOTE ROME'S
SENSE OF GREATNESS.

BUT WITH LITTLE TO PROTECT THEM,
PEOPLE STARTED TO LEAVE.

AND THOSE WHO REMAINED
SEEMED TO ACT LESS ROMAN.

DID SOME PEOPLE EVEN
WELCOME THE INVADERS

INSTEAD OF RESISTING THEM?

COULD THE ANSWER LIE
WITH HUMAN REMAINS

FOUND OVER 500 MILES AWAY,

IN THE LAND OF ATTILA
AND HIS HUNS?

Narrator: IN 451 A.D.,

ATTILA THE HUN
LAUNCHED A MAJOR INVASION

OF THE ROMAN WORLD.

♪♪

BUT THIS EMPIRE WAS ALREADY
COMING TO AN END.

♪♪

CITIES LIKE TRIER
WERE IN HUGE DECLINE,

THEIR PEOPLE DISCONNECTED
FROM A DISTANT EMPEROR.

BUT DID THE HUNS, WHO WERE
ATTACKING THE EMPIRE,

ALSO CONTRIBUTE TO ITS FALL
IN A VERY DIFFERENT WAY?

THE ANSWER COULD LIE
HUNDREDS OF MILES TO THE EAST.

♪♪

HUNGARY, ATTILA'S BASE
OF OPERATIONS IN EUROPE.

IN THE 400s,
THIS WAS A WILD LAND,

BEYOND ROME'S BORDERS.

COULD IT REVEAL
MORE OF ATTILA'S SECRETS?

THE HUNS ARE KIND OF
AN ARCHAEOLOGICAL MYSTERY.

HISTORICALLY, WE KNOW
THAT THEY HAD AN ENORMOUS IMPACT

ON THIS PART OF THE WORLD.

BUT ARCHAEOLOGICALLY,
THEY'RE ALMOST INVISIBLE.

♪♪

Narrator:
IN THE CAPITAL CITY, BUDAPEST,

ARCHAEOLOGIST SUSANNE HAKENBECK

SEARCHES FOR EVIDENCE
THAT HUNS AND ROMANS

MIGHT HAVE COEXISTED
PEACEFULLY IN MANY PLACES.

♪♪

SHE EXAMINES SOME VERY
STRANGE HUMAN REMAINS.

ONE THING THAT IS ASSOCIATED
WITH THE HUNS

IS SKULL MODIFICATION.

Narrator: A TRADITION
THAT SET HUNS APART FROM ROMANS

WAS THEIR PRACTICE OF BINDING
THE HEADS OF THEIR CHILDREN.

THIS CAUSED THEM TO GROW
TO A POINT AT THE BACK.

WHEN YOU LOOK AT THIS SKULL,
IT DOESN'T LOOK LIKE

YOU OR MY SKULL
NORMALLY LOOKS LIKE.

THEY USE QUITE TIGHT BANDAGES

TO BIND THE SHAPE
OF THE SKULL OF BABIES

TO GIVE THEM
THIS ELONGATED FOREHEAD

AND HIGH CROWN OF THE HEAD.

♪♪

Narrator: SUSANNE
USES THE LATEST TECHNOLOGY

TO MEASURE THE CHEMICAL MAKEUP
OF HUMAN BONE.

♪♪

SHE COMPARES SKELETONS
FOUND BURIED IN HUN TERRITORY

WITH THOSE FOUND
100 MILES AWAY IN ROMAN LANDS.

SHE SUSPECTS THAT
IN THE AGE OF ATTILA,

THE TWO GROUPS WERE
ACTUALLY TURNING INTO ONE.

INCREDIBLY, SUSANNE IS ABLE
TO TAKE A MINUTE AMOUNT OF BONE

AND TEETH FROM SOMEONE
WHO DIED OVER 1,500 YEARS AGO

AND WORK OUT WHERE
AND HOW THEY LIVED.

Hakenbeck: LET'S SAY,
IF THIS PERSON MOVED AROUND

DURING THE TIME WHEN
THEIR WISDOM TOOTH WAS FORMED,

THEY MIGHT END UP WITH DIFFERENT
ISOTOPIC SIGNATURES

IN THIS TOOTH AND IN THIS TOOTH.

AND THEN, THIS WAY, WE CAN THEN
TRACK WHETHER THEY MOVED

IN BETWEEN THE TIME
WHEN ONE TOOTH WAS FORMED

AND ANOTHER TOOTH WAS FORMED.

Narrator: THE TRADITIONAL VIEW
IS THAT CIVILIZED ROMANS

AND SAVAGE HUNS
LIVED VERY DIFFERENT LIVES

AND ONLY CAME INTO CONTACT
DURING CONFLICT.

BUT SUSANNE'S FINDINGS

HAVE COMPLETELY TURNED
THAT VIEW AROUND.

Hakenbeck: WE EXPECTED
A VERY SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCE

BETWEEN THE PEOPLE BURIED
IN THE HUNGARIAN PLAIN

AND THE PEOPLE BURIED
ON THE ROMAN SIDE.

BUT ACTUALLY, IT TURNED OUT
THAT THEY WERE QUITE SIMILAR.

Narrator: SUSANNE'S WORK REVEALS
THAT BY THE 5th CENTURY,

THE ROMANS WERE MOVING AROUND

JUST AS MUCH
AS THE NOMADIC HUNS.

EVEN THEIR DIETS WERE SIMILAR.

Hakenbeck: THERE WERE PEOPLE
ON EITHER SIDE OF THE FRONTIER

THAT WERE ENGAGED IN FARMING

BUT ALSO IN NOMADIC
ANIMAL HERDING.

THAT WAS THE CASE IRRESPECTIVE
OF WHETHER THESE PEOPLE

LIVED ON THE ROMAN SIDE

OR WERE FAR OUT
IN THE HUNGARIAN PLAIN.

Narrator: THE RESULTS PROVE
THAT IN THE 50 YEARS

BEFORE THE REIGN OF ATTILA,

THE BORDER WAS NOT
ALWAYS A PLACE OF WAR.

♪♪

THE LIFESTYLES OF SOME ROMANS
AND HUNS WERE MERGING.

THE ROMAN EMPIRE
WAS LOSING ITS IDENTITY

AND ITS GRIP ON ITS PEOPLE.

Hakenbeck: THIS KIND OF
MIXING OF LIFESTYLES

SHOWED US VERY CLEARLY
THAT WE CAN'T SAY,

"HERE WERE THE HUNS, AND
THEY WERE AWFUL AND VIOLENT."

INSTEAD, WE SEE
THAT PEOPLE APPEAR

TO HAVE MIXED QUITE A LOT.

THEY APPEAR TO HAVE LEARNT
FROM EACH OTHER.

THEY ADAPTED TO EACH
OTHER'S LIFESTYLE.

♪♪

Narrator: IT APPEARS THE HUNS'
GREATEST IMPACT ON ROME

WASN'T FROM
THEIR MARAUDING RAIDS.

IT WAS FROM THE SOCIAL
UPHEAVAL THEY CAUSED.

THIS NEW EVIDENCE
SUGGESTS VERY STRONGLY

THAT THE HUNS HAD A HUGE IMPACT
ON THE POPULATIONS

ALONG THE LATE ROMAN FRONTIERS.

Narrator:
AS THE HUNS' TERRITORY GREW,

THEY ALSO DISPLACED
OTHER BARBARIAN TRIBES,

FORCING THEM TO SPREAD
INTO ROMAN LANDS.

ATTILA THE HUN
WAS ONE OF THE GREATEST WARLORDS

OF THE ANCIENT WORLD,

BUT BY THE TIME HE AND
HIS ARMIES CROSSED THE RHINE,

CITIES LIKE TRIER
WERE ALREADY CHANGING.

♪♪

LATER HISTORIANS MOSTLY BLAMED
ROME'S MISFORTUNES

ON VILLAINOUS FIGURES
LIKE ATTILA'S HUNS.

THE HUNS, OVER THE COURSE
OF HISTORY,

HAVE RECEIVED
A REALLY BAD PRESS.

THEY'VE BEEN DESCRIBED
AS BARELY HUMAN,

AS MORE LIKE ANIMALS
THAN PART OF CIVILIZED SOCIETY.

NARRATOR:
IN REALITY, IT WASN'T THE SWIFT
AND SAVAGE ATTACKS OF WARRIORS

LIKE ATTILA THAT CAUSED
ROME'S BORDERS TO CRUMBLE.

IT WAS THE BLURRING
OF THE DISTINCTION

BETWEEN ROMAN AND BARBARIAN.

Hakenbeck: ALL ALONG
THE LATE ROMAN FRONTIER,

THE CITIES LOST
THEIR CONNECTIONS

TO THE MEDITERRANEAN CORE
OF THE EMPIRE.

THEY HAD TO DEPEND
UPON THEMSELVES

AND HAD TO BE MUCH MORE
SELF-RELIANT.

SO WHEN WE THINK OF THE END
OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE,

WE SHOULDN'T THINK OF IT
AS A SUDDEN, SHUDDERING END,

BUT, RATHER, IT SEEMED
THAT THERE WAS A KIND OF GRADUAL

WEARING DOWN OF THE FRONTIERS,

A GRADUAL CHANGE OF LIFESTYLE
ALONG THE FRONTIERS.

Narrator: THE TRUE STORY
OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE'S FINAL DAYS

IS BECOMING CLEAR.

♪♪

♪♪

THE FATE OF TRIER WAS A STORY
REPEATED ALL ALONG THE FRONTIER.

♪♪

♪♪

TRIER HAD BEEN
A WEALTHY METROPOLIS,

THE GREATEST ROMAN CITY
NORTH OF THE ALPS.

BUT AS THE FRONTIER
MOVED CLOSER,

THE LAVISH PALACE
NO LONGER HAD AN EMPEROR,

AND ITS THRIVING POPULATION
RAPIDLY DROPPED.

♪♪

TRIER WAS NEVER BUILT FOR WAR.

IT WAS ALWAYS A SYMBOL
OF ROMAN POWER.

EVEN ITS MIGHTY ROMAN GATEHOUSE,

STILL STANDING
AFTER 2,000 YEARS,

WAS LEFT OPEN FROM THE START.

WHEN THE GREAT ATTILA THE HUN
SWEPT PAST TRIER,

THE CITY THAT WAS ONCE
THE CENTER OF AN EMPIRE

HAD ALREADY SURRENDERED ITS
POSITION AS ROME OF THE NORTH.

♪♪

♪♪

♪♪

♪♪