All language subtitles for m.f.a.s02e10.1080p.web.h264-cbfm_track3_[eng]

NARRATOR: A mysterious
mound hides many secrets.

- Traces of ancient civilisations
that go all the way back

to the Bronze Age.

NARRATOR: A prehistoric stone
circle rises from a watery grave.

- It's one of the oldest structures
made by humans anywhere on Earth.

NARRATOR: Declassified
satellite photos

that could be linked
to history's greatest general.

- This is truly
an exciting discovery.

NARRATOR: And strange shapes
reign atop a mountain

in the land of gods and monsters

- What we're looking at
may just solve a mystery

thousands of years
in the making.

NARRATOR: Everywhere we look
on our planet,

there's evidence of the past...

in nature...

in buildings...

in relics.

Each holds a mystery that technology
now allows us to see from above.

What new secrets are revealed?

- (beeping)

- (gentle music plays)

NARRATOR: It's believed
modern humans have lived on Earth

for as long as 300,000 years...

creating complex civilisations
that have left behind

many ancient mysteries that can only
be solved with a view from above.

Lying on the northern outskirts
of the European continent,

the rugged landscape of Norway
features immense mountains

and a coastline carved
by deep glacial fjords.

And on the low-lying
plain of Vikiletta,

a view from above captures an odd
and startling sight.

- In southern Norway,
there's this huge mound

on an otherwise totally flat field.

- It's nothing like the craggy
mountains

you see in the rest
of the country.

The one thing that really stands out
is this lump or hill

that's in the middle of it all.

It seems rather out of place.

- Is it a natural formation
or human-made?

And what's it doing here,
right next to a highway?

NARRATOR: The strange hill
is roughly 80 metres across

and stands approximately
13 metres high.

- Imagine running
the length of a football field.

That's how long it would take
to get across this thing.

- So what is this thing?

- When I really look at this mound,
it kind of reminds me of a drumlin.

NARRATOR: Drumlins formed
during the last ice age

approximately 10,000 years ago,
as glaciers acted like enormous,

icy bulldozers,
carrying and depositing

rock and soil sediment
as they shifted and moved.

- When glaciers retreat,
they sometimes leave behind

a landform that's essentially
an area of elongated hills

aligned parallel to the flow of ice.

- The movement of glaciers results
in most drumlins being long

and tapered in appearance.

But our mound in southern Norway
is round,

so it's not likely to be a drumlin.

NARRATOR: So, if this mound
wasn't carved-out

by a massive glacier thousands
of years ago, just what is it?

Perhaps a view from above,
roughly 100km to the north,

can help.

Here, a similar
circular hill stands.

Known as Rakni's Mound,
it is the largest

burial mound in Scandinavia.

- Norway's landscape is littered
with ancient burial mounds.

It was, for centuries,
a customary means to honour

and dispatch the dead.

NARRATOR: Could this be
what we're seeing

in this sheltered plain
in southern Norway?

In 1968,
archaeologist Erling Johansen

and his team, dig a trench in the
mound to try and unlock its secrets.

- Johansen discovers
alternating layers of soil,

stone and turf that confirm
that this is a human-made structure.

- The team also find
burned human bones.

- Cremation was common
in ancient Norway.

- So this is definitely
a burial mound.

- They were built for important
members of the community,

who'd be buried with everything
they believed that they needed

in the afterlife.

That could be weapons, furniture,
jewellery and even animals.

- The community would build them
over the remains of the departed,

creating a very noticeable,
sacred gathering place.

NARRATOR: But Johansen
and his team soon discover

much is missing in this mound.

- Besides the bones, all they found
was a single amber pearl.

- This is supposed to be
the final resting place

of a big deal member
of the community.

So where are all the fancy
grave goods

that should be here?

- We need to find out
when this burial mound was built,

because that could tell us
who built it

and who they built it for.

NARRATOR: Historical records
reveal that the mound

is called Jellhaugen...
or 'Jell Mound'.

- The story goes
that it was built for King Jell.

- Two questions:
who is this guy?

And why does he have such
an enormous burial mound?

- Unfortunately, the King Jell trail
goes cold in a hurry.

There's no hard evidence
that he existed.

- But the site is a burial mound.

- The tradition of burial mounds
ends at least 1,200 years ago,

and to build a mound
that size back then

could take a hundred men
a whole year.

- In Norway, who's got the manpower,
strength and tenacity

for something like that?

- I'd say Vikings.

- Vikings.
- Vikings.

NARRATOR: The Vikings were renowned
seafaring people from Scandinavia,

part raiders, pirates, traders,
explorers and settlers.

And Vikings were also famous
for building things...

including a burial mound or two.

Perhaps a Viking burial
mound almost 200km away

near Vinje Fjord can provide a clue.

- Next to Norway's Vinje Fjord,

archaeologists found
a Viking-era cemetery

with evidence of more than
a dozen burial mounds.

- These fjords were full of Vikings.

They go to sea, they plunder,
they come back.

- They die and they're buried.

- And in terms of grave goods,
burials at Vinje Fjord

do show evidence of important
community members: Viking chiefs.

NARRATOR: Could it be
that Jell Mound

is the final resting place
of a once important Viking leader?

- Carbon dating pins the building
of Jell Mound

to between
the fifth and sixth centuries,

around 1,500 years ago.

- Traditionally,
the Viking era is placed

between the ninth and the twelfth
centuries.

- Jell Mound appears
to have been built

before the age of Vikings
even began,

so it was built by someone else.

NARRATOR: In 2017, construction work
on the field adjacent to Jell Mound

prompted the consultation
of archaeologists

from the Norwegian Institute
for Cultural Heritage Research.

- They decide that instead
of physically disturbing

what might be more historical finds
around the Jell Mound,

they'll use ground-penetrating radar
to map the entire field.

- It's like having X-ray vision
to see what's under the soil.

- It's exciting to think about
what else could be under there.

- Turns out there's a lot.

NARRATOR: The Geo-radar view
from above,

reveals the presence of more
archaeological features

undetectable to the human eye.

- Looking at these LiDAR images,
it's almost like peeling away

different layers
and it actually deepens the mystery.

NARRATOR: The presence
of so many buried structures

indicates that this location
was once of great importance.

One discovery in particular
intrigues archaeologists.

A bizarre shape
that just might be the crucial key

to solving the mystery.

- What the hell is it,
and why is it in a burial mound?

- They find this elongated
structure.

It's 19 metres long
and 5 metres wide.

- Given where this is located
in Scandinavia,

I immediately wonder
if that's a Viking boat.

- I knew it. Scratch the surface
in Norway and you find the Vikings.

- But the site is 2kms from the sea.

What is any kind of boat doing here?

NARRATOR: Perhaps a look
at the Viking pre-christian

pagan beliefs can offer some insight
into why a boat is here?

- In Norse mythology,
burying a boat with the deceased

was believed to provide
safe passage to the next world.

- We know Vikings
followed this tradition

because other boat burials
have been found in Norway.

NARRATOR: In 1879,
a Viking ship was discovered

in the Gokstad burial mound
near Sandefjord.

- And inside it, excavators found
a male human skeleton

surrounded by everything he'd need
in the afterlife;

the bones of his dogs, a peacock,
horses and riding equipment.

- Talk about an important member
of society.

NARRATOR: The presence
of the Viking Longship

indicates the burial
of a high-status person,

but why here?

Perhaps a clue lies in the fact
that the boat is not alone.

To date, archaeologists
have found 13 different sites

in the field surrounding Jell Mound.

From fire pits that mark
the earliest traces

of human activity,
to longhouses signalling centuries

of habitation to Jell Mound itself

and finally,
the buried Viking longship.

In all, features that span
almost 4,000 years of human history.

- In just this one farmer's field,

there's evidence
of not only centuries,

but millennia of human activity!

- Traces of ancient civilisations
that go all the way back

to the Bronze Age.

- And recent discoveries
near Jell Mound

show that this has been
a burial site for a very long time.

- The question is why?

- The combination
of ceremonial buildings

and burial mounds seems to mark
the Jell Mound field

as an ancient "central place".

We know of this tradition
from contemporary sites elsewhere,

but this is the first time
a central place

has been found in this area.

- So they were more common
than we knew.

- When sacred burial spots
survive through so many eras,

it's usually evidence
of power struggles.

The winners lay claim to the area

by burying their dead
in the same place.

- With all the waterways
near Jell Field,

all that opportunity
for trading and raiding,

it makes sense as a location
for power struggles.

- The only artefact found here
from the Viking era is the boat,

which puts the Vikings squarely
in that tradition

of conflict resolved by moving
into someone else's burial spot.

- And since Jell Mound was built
before the Viking era,

it's a crucial link in a tradition
that was already well underway,

- whoever was buried there.

- So we can thank the odd appearance
of Jell Mound from above

for bringing our attention
to an ancient civilisation

in this corner of Norway.

- And who knows what else
they might find

in Jell Mound Field
in the future.

NARRATOR:
From ancient secrets buried

in a remote Norwegian field

to a mystery that has seemingly come
out of nowhere,

a view from above reveals another
strange sight

that could change our understanding
of human history.

Almost 2,500kms south,

perched on the shore of Spain's
Tagus River,

a strange formation
suddenly appears.

- It's located right at the edge
of the Tagus River.

On the water side,
there's this strange opening.

- It's an odd sight.

From the sky it looks
like a letter 'C'

with a grouping of items inside.

- As we get closer, we see that it's
a collection of standing stones.

Many are six feet tall.

- It's not a random arrangement.

It's clearly purposeful.

- What exactly are we seeing here?

What could it be?

NARRATOR: Archaeologists note
its uncanny resemblance

to so-called 'stone circles',
ancient megaliths.

The most famous of which
is found in Wiltshire, England,

known as Stonehenge.

- The best evidence suggests
that Stonehenge was constructed

between 2,000 and 3,000 BCE,

making it four
to five thousand years old.

- This is when our ancestors begin
to build complex structures,

this crucial time when
we're starting

to become settled
in communities

rather than just being
hunter-gatherers,

stone circles arrive at an important
bridge in our history.

NARRATOR: And in Britain,
the view from above reveals

hundreds of these megalithic
monuments

scattered across the landscape
that over the centuries

have had experts debating the exact
nature of their origin and purpose.

- Even though they've been widely
studied,

they're still pretty mysterious.

Some say they were places
of ceremony.

Others believe they were used
for astronomical

or solar measurements.

NARRATOR: Was this stone circle
in Spain

built for a similar purpose?

Could it have been an important
ceremonial site

or an ancient solar calendar?

- Many ancient structures
were designed to face

the rising or setting sun,
such as the pyramids

built by the Maya at Chichen Itza.

- Stonehenge also was designed
with this in mind,

and crowds still gather there
on summer and winter solstices

to see the sunrise light up its
carefully placed standing stones.

NARRATOR: Perhaps the view
from above will provide

another piece to the puzzle.

The apparent opening
near the water's edge

forms what looks like a corridor
and faces east,

the direction of the rising sun.

- The way stone circle is oriented
makes the best case yet

for it being a place
of important ceremony.

NARRATOR: Given the comparison
to the famous henge in England,

this mysterious stone circle
has come to be known

as "Spanish Stonehenge."

But historians call it
the 'Dolmen of Guadalperal',

'Dolmen', being the term
for a megalithic tomb.

- Stone circles are often
ancient burial grounds.

Human remains have been found
not only under Stonehenge,

but many other stone circles.

NARRATOR: Is this what
we're seeing in Spain?

The location of an ancient tomb
or burial ground?

Etched into one of the larger
stones, a possible clue.

- Some believe that carvings
on the stone represent a serpent.

- Serpent carvings were widely
associated with immortality

because snakes shed their skin
and live on,

perfect for a burial site.

NARRATOR: And it's believed
that the builders orientated

the entrance to align
with the summer solstice

to allow sunlight to shine through
the corridor and illuminate

the inner sanctum.

- You can just imagine the dramatic
impact of this once-a-year visit.

NARRATOR: Yet when
researchers surveyed the site,

they found no evidence
of human remains.

And there's another
peculiar aspect to this site.

A recent view from above, shows
the stone circle isn't even there.

- It doesn't appear in satellite
images from the year before,

but in 2022, "poof",
it's suddenly there.

Why?

- One of the effects of climate
change is severe drought,

and in 2022, we see it happening
all over the globe.

- 2022 saw Europe's worst drought
in 500 years.

NARRATOR: And the record-setting
drought brought the Tagus River

to an alarming low level,
revealing ancient mysteries

that had been kept hidden
under water.

- Climate change does have
this weird silver lining.

Sometimes it offers us
an opportunity

to learn things about the past.

NARRATOR: But the sudden appearance
of this megalithic structure

raises another strange question.

- What was it doing underwater
in the first place?

- How did this incredibly important
site end up completely underwater?

NARRATOR: Perhaps a nearby
view from above

will provide answers.

Just 300kms to the northwest,
the same drought reveals

another haunting site.

- At the Spanish-Portuguese border,
the ghost town

that was once called
Aceredo is suddenly visible.

NARRATOR: A ghost town,
because residents

were forced to evacuate in 1992
when the area

was flooded to accommodate
the Alto Lindoso Reservoir.

Spain is a country of reservoirs,
and of over 1,200 large dams,

more than any country
in the European Union,

thanks, in part, to former
Spanish Dictator Francisco Franco.

- Shockingly, Spanish Stonehenge
was submerged on purpose.

NARRATOR: As part of his plan
to modernise Spain,

Franco launched massive
civil engineering projects,

including the damming
of the Tagus River.

- Franco completed the dam in 1964,
creating the Valdecanas Reservoir.

It brought irrigation to the region
but flooded Spanish Stonehenge.

NARRATOR: Prior to Franco's
intentional flooding,

the historic site sat above water.

In fact, in the mid-1920s,
it was studied

by German anthropologist
Hugo Obermaier.

- Tools found by Obermaier
include flint knives, axes,

grinding stones from the community
that built the monuments.

Pottery and ceramics
were also found,

so these were settled people.

- Some of the artefacts could date
Spanish Stonehenge

to 7,000 years ago, making it
one of the oldest structures

made by humans
anywhere on Earth.

NARRATOR: Not only may
this stone circle be older than many

of its counterparts in Britain,
there's another key difference.

- When it was built, it was
a completely covered enclosure.

KAREN: The clue is that huge mound
and all the pebbles

that on first glance looked
like a letter 'C'.

They are what remains
of the original enclosure.

It's an extremely impressive feat

of engineering
from the ancient past.

NARRATOR: And while the exact
function of this

'Dolmen of Guadalperal'
is hotly debated,

a closer look has sparked new ideas.

- Some believe that the carving
on the huge stone isn't a snake

but actually a map
of the nearby Tagus River.

If true, this would make it
one of the earliest maps

ever to be discovered in Europe.

NARRATOR: But a map to what?

It's unclear what significance
the river might have held

for the builders
of this ancient stone circle.

- All these historically
significant possibilities

make Spanish Stonehenge
an extraordinary site.

- So we need to protect it,
and other sites like it.

Tourists are now discovering
Spanish Stonehenge,

and damage is a real concern.

- It's survived a lot,
from intentional drowning

at the hands of Franco to rebirth
from climate change drought

caused by the rest of us.

- Without a view from above,
we might never have noticed it.

NARRATOR: From a mystery
stretching back to the stone age

to another from the dawn
of human civilisation,

the view from above uncovers hidden
truths of our ancient past.

Almost 4,400kms to the east in Iraq,
and over 60 years in the past,

an ancient mystery reveals itself.

- OK, this is quite strange,

because you've got what
looks like an almost perfect square

and it's kind of etched in this
field in the middle of nowhere.

- This is definitely something
man-made.

- Looking at the square, I'm
wondering who decided to build this,

and how long has this been there?

NARRATOR: in 1960, American
spy satellites passing over

the Darband-i Rania pass
in Iraqi Kurdistan

snapped images of a ghostly square
outline in a remote farmer's field.

- And it's not a different kind
of grain,

because we see some
of the same colours

extending beyond the square shape.

NARRATOR: The odd sight
measures roughly 150 square metres.

In many places this could
be brushed off as nothing,

but not here, in arguably one of
the most historic places on Earth.

- OK, what could this be?

And why is it here?

NARRATOR: Often called
the "Cradle of Civilisation,"

Iraq was home to ancient
Mesopotamian peoples

who developed the world's first
writing, agriculture and cities,

between 10,000 and 3,000 BCE.

- With this region's
crucial historical importance,

I want to know what is happening
with this bizarre square-like shape?

NARRATOR: Easier said than done.

The history of this region
is a complex and bloody saga,

rife with centuries of conflict
as powerful civilisations

sought to control it-a struggle
that continues today.

- From the Iran-Iraq war
to the U.S. invasion,

from Saddam Hussein to ISIS,
this is a volatile spot.

- It's not until decades later
when hundreds of thousands of photos

are declassified that archaeologist
Jessica Giraud

discovers this mysterious square.

- But with conflicts on the ground
in the 1990s,

archaeologists are stymied
for a few more decades

and questions surrounding the origin
of the square go unanswered.

NARRATOR: It's not until 2016,
when archaeologist

John MacGinnis and his team
travel to northern Iraq

to investigate what's behind
this mysterious square shape.

- So it's one thing to be
at our desks in the British Museum

analysing satellite imagery,
but you can't stop there.

You have to go to the field

and see what the site
actually looks like

and seeing whether there really is
archaeology there or not.

NARRATOR: Once on the ground,
the team discovers that the square

is in fact, the footprint
of an ancient man-made structure.

But what was it?

- Maybe something similar in shape
and close by can offer a clue?

NARRATOR: Just under 6kms
to the south

along the Euphrates River,
in what was once the Sumarian city

of Ur, stands one
of the best-preserved examples

of ancient buildings
of comparable shape and size.

The ziggurat.

- Ziggurats are found across Iraq
and Iran

and had both religious
and administrative functions.

NARRATOR: Ziggurats
are symbolic buildings

dating back thousands of years
that were found in the major cities

of Mesopotamia, including
the ancient civilisations

of Sumer, Babylonia, and Assyria.

Could this be what we're seeing
at Darband-i Rania pass?

- But ziggurats are usually
rectangular, and our square is not.

- Even square ziggurats
are solid buildings,

so if this is where one used to
stand, what we should be looking at

is actually a solid square.

- And what's curious
about what we see in the crop field

is that it's not solid.

It's an outline.

- Maybe that's the key
to discovering its identity.

- So you've got to ask,

what else around here could produce
a square outline just like this?

NARRATOR:
Perhaps the answer lies

with a relatively
more recent civilisation.

One whose imperial power
spanned the western world.

KAREN: The Roman Empire
conquered lands

from Europe to the Middle East,
North Africa and Western Asia.

- Including Mesopotamia
and now Iraq.

- The Romans built square forts
across their empire,

like the one we still today
in Gonio, Georgia.

And in Roman-ruled Turkey,
they built a square walkway

around the market.

- So 2,000 years ago, the Romans
are in Iraq at the same time

as they are building square
outlined structures.

And in an Iraqi crop field,
we've got an unexplained square.

- When we take a closer look
at the square outline,

we discover that it's actually being
formed by something

that is not there; an area where
the local crop is barely growing

or not at all.

- Could the crops' inability to grow
there be a sign

that there's something hidden
just beneath the surface,

perhaps something like walls?

NARRATOR: That's exactly
what a team of archaeologists,

led by Dr John MacGinnis from
the British Museum want to find out.

- The first feature which really
stood out

was a substantial wall
about five to six metres thick.

So that immediately told us
we had a fort here.

So since time in memorial,
this location on the pass

would've been a strategic control
point for all traffic going through.

- Controlling those access routes
put you

in a very powerful position indeed.

NARRATOR: This part of the world
has been at the crossroads

of empires for millennia-
from the Sumerian,

Babylonian,

Persian,

Greek, Parthian,

Roman,

Ottoman and British-just to name
a few.

Is this small square
in rural Iraq

a remnant of a fort from one
of these former empires?

- From our first on-the-ground
inspection,

it was immediately clear that this
was not just the site of a fort,

but of something much bigger.

NARRATOR:
Using drone photography

and magnetometry to further
map the site,

John's team uncovers something
truly amazing.

NARRATOR: The single square in
the old black and white photograph

reveals itself to be just the tip
of the iceberg.

- What we found was a network of
streets and buildings coming off it.

We have the large fort
150 metre square.

We have a smaller square building
in the southeast of the site.

We have some indication
of domestic buildings.

- So this could've been a city.

- A settled city.

- It was so exciting from working
from the satellite image,

then inspecting the site
on the ground to realise

we had discovered a city.

This was a lost city.

- Iraq is the cradle
of civilisation.

It's where the oldest cities began.

So if there's this previously
unknown city from a major empire

suddenly being found here,
that is big news.

NARRATOR: Has MacGinnis
and his team discovered

the ruins of a long lost city?

And if so, whose city is it?

In the hope of answering
this question,

the team turns their attention
to a nearby unidentified mound.

- Perhaps the most obvious feature
to investigate

was a huge stone mound
in the southern corner of the site.

- And jackpot!

- It rapidly became clear
that this stone mound

was not a random accumulation
of stones,

but contained the remains
of a very substantial building.

- It's a huge building that hasn't
been seen in over 2,000 years!

- So what is it?

- It's a huge building,
23 metres square,

built out of stones,
the walls originally standing

maybe eight metres high,

it was brightly and colourfully
painted.

So it's pretty likely it's the site
of what we think is the manor

of the governor of the city.

- But when was it built,
and by whom?

NARRATOR: With the hope of answering
these questions,

MacGinnis and his team
continue the excavation

of this ancient estate,
seeking artefacts that will unveil

the identity of this unknown city.

- We'd only found one piece
of sculpture,

but that was incredibly exciting.

The fact that it was a marble,
and also the fact

that that part of the statue
was not wearing clothes

immediately suggested
this was Hellenistic sculpture.

- Meaning Greek?
Not Roman?

- A fairly well-known Greek
passed through here.

- He was undefeated
in his entire military career.

That's probably why they added
"Great" to his name.

- Alexander the Great.

- He conquered lands
all the way to India,

spreading Greek culture
throughout the known world.

- It's not that I'm jealous,
but he did it all before he was 30.

- We know from the written sources
that Alexander the Great

founded a large number of cities
across the territory

that he founded.

Some still bear the name Alexandria
or Alexandretta.

Other cities we know existed
but they haven't been found.

NARRATOR: The size of the city
at Qalatga Darband is huge,

estimated at approximately
70 hectares,

worthy of Alexander's name.

- That's the equivalent
of 70 rugby fields.

This is a big, new, old city.

NARRATOR: News of the discovery
makes headlines around the world

and the media pose
a very tantalising question:

have archaeologists discovered
a lost city

of the legendary Greek
conqueror - Alexander the Great?

Dr John MacGinnis and his team
are wary of such claims

as they continue their search for
clues that may solve this mystery

of the city's identity.

- We have multiple
evidence for Hellenistic influence.

We have the statuary
from the monumental building,

we have column bases, which are
in the Corinthian Greek style.

The monumental building was roofed
with terracotta tiles,

and last but not least,
we have the evidence

for olive oil production.

This is not the norm in the region.

It's very much the result
of Greek influence.

The pottery which was found
in the excavations

dates to what we call
the early Parthian period

roughly 150 BC
to around the time of Christ.

Secondly, the sculpture that we
found, that's been dated to, again,

exactly this period.

So the city itself is from
a slightly later time period

than Alexander himself.

NARRATOR: Alexander died
in 323 BCE, at least a century

before the artefacts found
in Qalatga Darband

were created, leaving the team
with only one conclusion.

- Qalatga Darband is not one
of the lost cities of Alexander.

- So who lived in the big house?

- Can we date the manor house
to determine

who its residence could be?

- We think at the moment
it was occupied

for around 100 or maybe 150 years,

starting sometime in the middle,
second century B.C.

And then going on till
around the time of Christ.

As we now know,
this relates to the expansion

of the Parthian Empire.

That was one of the great
empires of antiquity.

- The Parthians aren't as well-known
as the Greeks and Romans,

but they were a major empire
in ancient Iran.

- Since we know less
about the Parthians

than the Greeks and Romans,
finding this site

could be even more important than
finding a lost city of Alexander!

- We do know the impact of Hellenism
was substantial

and that the Parthian elite had
a great love of adopting elements

of Hellenistic culture.

NARRATOR: So if the founding
civilisation of this ancient city

remains lost in time, what clues
remain to tell us of its fate?

- We do know that the area,
the monumental building

was destroyed
in a catastrophic fire.

This is evidenced by thick layers
of ash

which cover every room
in the building.

- The evidence does point to a fire,
and if that's true,

what could have caused it?

- One possibility is Roman
campaigns,

and particularly we know there was
a campaign of Mark Anthony

in 36 B.C. in this general region.

- So the Romans didn't build a fort
here as we initially guessed,

but they may have destroyed
what others established.

- As human conflict goes round
and round.

- What a historic find.

And all because
of an unexplained shape

in a far-off field spotted with
a decade's old view from above.

NARRATOR: From a lost city
hidden in the cradle of civilisation

to a mystery perched high
in the birthplace of democracy,

a view from above uncovers what
might be the most intriguing link

to our ancient past yet.

On the southern tip
of the Greek island of Evia

is the small coastal town
of Karystos,

where an ancient mystery
is uncovered on the nearby slopes

of Mount Ochi.

- This aerial footage captures
a surreal image,

what looks like
these massive cylinders

on the edge of a sheer cliff.

- What are they doing here?

There's nothing else around,
just this huge pile

of what look like a logjam.

- They appear to be perfectly
formed.

Almost too perfect.

Are they human-made?

- Or are they the result
of some kind of natural occurrence?

Like an earthquake or some other
geological phenomena?

- We are here in the cradle

of one the most ancient
human civilisations.

The cradle of Greek mythology
with its mythic creatures and gods.

- Do these strange objects

have anything to do
with any of that?

- From far above, these cylinders
look a lot like felled trees

that you would find in a forest.

- Which makes sense since Mount Ochi
was once covered

in great forests of chestnut trees.

NARRATOR: Today, what's left
of these ancient woods

can only be found
on the high eastern slope

of the mountain: an area known
as Kastanolongos.

- It's estimated that Kastanolongos
has existed for thousands of years,

since prehistoric times.

Which means it's one of the last

remaining ancient forests
in the world.

- We know that,
in terms of firewood,

these forests were used in Ancient
Greece as a vital source of energy,

but they were also used
as building materials.

- I wonder if there's any chance
that these could be abandoned logs

from ancient chestnut trees,
left over

from age-old logging activities.

- They look like logs, except when
you take a closer look

at these piles from the air,
they don't really look like wood.

Could these be made of stone?

NARRATOR: An answer might be
found on the other side of the world

in the Petrified Forest National
Park in the Badlands

of northeastern Arizona.

- If you can believe it,
this used to be a lush forest

some 225 million years ago.

But what you're looking at now
is a fossil of that forest.

- Over that long period, the wood
from the forest became petrified.

- Which means what we're looking
at is a forest

that's been turned to stone.

NARRATOR: Is that the case here
on the Greek island of Evia?

Could this be an ancient forest
that has also turned to stone?

- From a few hundred feet up,
they appear grey

or brown in colour,
which is consistent

with what we know
about petrified wood.

- But there are a few critical
details that appear to derail

the petrified wood theory.

For one thing,
these cylinders aren't buried,

which is necessary
for wood to become fossilised.

- For another,
if these are indeed trees,

they would have markings left over
from where branches were cut off.

These don't have that.

- One of the hallmarks
of petrified wood

is that it's usually embedded
with caches of semi-precious stones

of varying colours.

- But a closer look shows
that they don't contain

any crystal stones.

- What we're looking at
is not petrified wood.

NARRATOR: Could these mysterious
objects in fact be stone?

Can their shape offer a clue?

- On closer inspection,
they appear to be perfectly

formed stone columns.

NARRATOR: Very much like those
found here in eastern California,

a US national monument
known as

the Devil's Postpile.

- They certainly have
the look of the cylinders in Greece.

- What we know about
these cylindrical columns

is that they're made of basalt
and are perfectly fitted together

like a mosaic.

- But we've got one big problem,

because when scientists conducted
radiometric dating

on these pillars in California,
they found that they were actually

created 100,000 years ago
by lava flow.

NARRATOR: But there has
not been any volcanic activity

on Evia for millions of years.

- Unlike the geological wonder
that is the Devils Postpile,

the same natural forces
don't appear to have occurred here.

Something else has to explain
what we're seeing.

NARRATOR: So if these pillars aren't
the product of natural processes

could they be man-made?

- Could the columns be leftover
building materials like those

used in complex Greek architecture?

- Did this drone accidentally
discover the ancient ruins

of an undiscovered temple
here on Evia?

NARRATOR: Other than these
stone columns,

there's no evidence
of other materials or structures

that point to such a grand building.

- But could they have been dumped
here for some reason?

Could the temple they belonged to
be somewhere else on this island?

NARRATOR: Not far away,
at the foothills of Mount Ochi,

a possible answer:
a Byzantine castle

known as Castello Rosso.

- Were the mysterious columns
uncovered at the edge of the cliff

once a part
of this magnificent building?

- It's a medieval fortress that was
built between 1209 and 1216.

And over a period
of nearly 500 years,

it changed hands from the Greeks,
to the Franks, to the Venetians,

to the Turks,
and back to the Greeks.

- But there's a major issue
with the theory

that these strange columns
might have once been

part of this fortress.

- It's called Castello Rosso
for a reason:

its stones are reddish in colour.

- And these columns on Mount Ochi
have this grey-brown colour to them

so that doesn't fit.

NARRATOR: But just a few
kilometres to the north,

another ancient structure
looms,

one as curious
as the pillars themselves;

the dragon house, said to have been
built by mythical Greek monsters!

- This mystery
just got a lot more interesting.

And really, how can you have
a story about Ancient Greece

and not include a mythical creature
or two?

- (roaring)

- Well that would certainly explain
how the stone columns

wound up here on the side
of that cliff.

They were carried off
and dropped here by dragons!

- Archaeologists and historians
have been puzzled over this

drakospito building for generations,
unable to determine who built it.

- Its construction
is highly unusual.

It doesn't have a foundation.

And while it's built with massive
stone blocks,

no mortar was used.

- Whoever built the drakospito
had to hoist heavy slabs

two metres above the ground
at an altitude of 1,400 metres.

Hard work.

- So, whoever did that
had to be incredibly powerful.

- Thus the legend
that it was built by dragons.

- Archaeologists and historians
have also puzzled

over drakospito's exact purpose.

- It's been placed in a location
that gave whoever lived there

an unobstructed 360-degree
view of the entire area.

- Which has led some to conclude

that it's an ancient
astronomical observatory.

NARRATOR: But a view from above
throws a wrench in that theory.

There isn't just one dragon house on
this island, there are roughly 25.

- Surely they're not gonna
build 25 astronomical observatories

in such close proximity
to one another.

- So what was their real purpose?

- In 1959, an excavation
of the dragon houses

uncovered pottery and broken pieces
of ceramic

on which they found some writing.

- So it wasn't dragons
that lived there.

It was people.

- But who were these people
and did they have anything to do

with the mysterious columns
that were revealed from the air?

NARRATOR: A clue lies in one
of mythology's greatest heroes,

in whose honour it's believed,
these dragon houses were built.

Hercules.

- Hercules is known as the patron
of quarrymen.

And there's this legend that states
that all these huts were built

so that Hercules could watch
the quarry workers from afar

and give them this courage
and strength to continue their work

in the quarries.

- Which means there was a quarry
here on Mount Ochi.

- OK, so the Hercules angle
is a bit of a stretch,

but it is believable to think
that the dragon houses

were once the residences
for local workers

at the quarry on Mount Ochi.

- Would knowing what they were
quarrying help us understand

why the columns were abandoned?

NARRATOR: A closer look
reveals that they're made

from a unique type of marble
known as Cipollino.

- This Cipollino Marble,

which is very specific to the area

in and around where our mysterious
columns were discovered,

was extremely popular in Rome.

- But this is a Greek island.

How did the Romans get their hands
on rare Greek marble?

It's not like they
were friendly neighbours.

- In fact, there were several
brutal military clashes

between the Roman Republic
and various Greek states.

- One of those was
the Battle of Actium in 31 BCE,

where Octavian Caesar
famously defeated Cleopatra,

the Greek Queen of Egypt,
after which Greece fell

under Roman occupation.

- During Roman occupation,

most of the marble from Evia was
exported in large monolith columns

and used in such classical
structures as the Domus Augustana

and the famed Hadrian's Library.

- The Cipollino Marble columns
on Evia

are actually evidence
that this island

was once home to a massive quarry,
run by one of the most powerful

civilisations on Earth.

The mighty Roman Empire.

NARRATOR: But what happened
to this massively successful

Roman quarry?

Why were these columns abandoned?

- A clue might be
in how they've been left here.

They're not exactly piled neatly.

In fact, quite the opposite.

- it's kinda like these weird
columns were just dumped suddenly

as though the workers were in this
huge rush to just get out of there.

NARRATOR: Was it an earthquake
or another natural disaster?

- The age of these columns
suggests that they were abandoned

roughly in the 3rd century A.D.,

which coincides with one
of the greatest events in history.

The decline of the Roman Empire.

- Perhaps a military alert
lead to the sudden withdrawal

of the Romans from this area and the
ceasing of the quarrying activities.

- In 2019, a company contracted
to build windfarms on Evia,

made an incredible discovery.

They found evidence of not one
but three

previously undiscovered
quarry sites,

Anatoli, Trikorfo, and Trikorfo II.

- Actually, it turns out
that the discovery of these columns

was only the tip
of a very big iceberg.

- This unique view from above
really has shined a light

on a rare slice of history
and kinda brought it back to life.

- These massive columns
abandoned for millennia

are a brilliant reminder
of the ancient world

and its power, ingenuity,
and beauty.

- These columns
are rock-hard remnants

of two great ancient civilisations.

And they serve as powerful reminders
of the remarkable achievements

of those who came before us.

And what better way to admire them,
than with a view from above.

NARRATOR: From monumental burial
mounds in the land of Valhalla,

to a resurfaced cryptic megalith

to a lost city nestled in the cradle
of civilisation

and a long-forgotten mountaintop
of stone

that bore the weight of empires,

the view from above
helps unlock mysteries

of our ancient past.

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