Ancient Impossible (2014–…): Season 1, Episode 8 - Biggest Buildings - full transcript

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How could the
ancients build colossal

structures in less time than we

can construct the biggest
buildings of today?

How could the ancient Egyptians
produce thousands of chariots

with assembly line precision?

Why did the Romans create a
massive underground industrial

hell where thousands of slaves

never saw the light of day?

Monuments more
colossal than our own, ancient

super weapons as mighty as
today's, technology so precise,

it defies reinvention.



The ancient world was not
primitive.

Their marvels are so advanced,

we still use them now.

Travel to a world closer than

we imagine, an ancient age

where nothing was impossible.

The biggest builds of today are
the result of mammoth

engineering projects, huge

structures that define
the modern era.

But who were the greatest
engineers of all time?

Could there have been building
projects just as impressive in

ancient times?

The Romans were not only the
biggest and strongest power of

the ancient world, but they were



also the most technologically
advanced.

They made amazing buildings and
military machines.

They were so ahead of their
time, that it's only recently

that modern engineers have been able
to replicate their techniques.

And one of the Romans' most
incredible discoveries?

Concrete.

It's only in the last 100 years
or so that concrete has come to

play such a large part in our
architecture.

But it's actually a rediscovery.

Amazingly, the Romans were using

it for their biggest builds over
2,000 years ago.

The science of concrete was
perfected by the Romans

thousands of years ago.

And when the Roman civilization
fell, that science was lost.

And the most
amazing example of this Roman

engineering miracle is to be

found here, at Caesarea, on the
coast of present-day Israel.

Unbelievably, they built a huge

harbor made of concrete, and it
was one of the biggest

artificial ports in the ancient
world.

Imagine how our cities and ports
might have developed if this

knowledge hadn't been lost.

It was another 2,000 years

before mankind could replicate

this technology.

When the technology was

rediscovered, it essentially

shaped the modern world.

Everything around us relies upon
the presence of concrete.

But what's so
special about concrete?

It can be shaped and molded.

With concrete, the Romans could
make arches, vaults and domes.

This was revolutionary.

If you imagine times before
concrete, you're relatively

limited to what it was you could
dream up, but then the minute

that you could create these
manmade stones in essentially

any shape you wanted, architects
were they were free to dream.

They were liberated, and they
did dream.

And at Caesarea,

they dreamt the impossible
using concrete underwater.

This was something
extraordinary.

In modern times, underwater

concrete has only been used for
about 150 years.

But the Romans were using it
2,000 years ago.

This sounds impossible, but here
at Caesarea, the Romans made the

impossible possible.

I'm standing amidst the ruins
of the impressive artificial

harbor in Caesarea.

This would have been an incredible
sight in the ancient world.

The harbor was
certainly an engineering marvel,

over a million cubic feet of
concrete embedded in the sea.

Just the thought of building a
manmade harbor was a sign of the

audacity of the Romans, and then

the decision to use concrete was

even more astonishing.

And the man behind it?

Herod, the Roman's puppet king
of Judea.

He's often thought of as an evil
tyrant.

But because he was in league
with the Romans, he was able to

commission some of the greatest
megabuilds.

King Herod needed a large
harbor.

There were no natural places to
anchor ships.

He decided to build one from
scratch.

The harbor itself was
unbelievably huge, big.

Nobody could see such a big
structure worldwide.

It was the largest structure
on earth at the time.

90,000 square yards
that's a huge area.

The port extends on either
side of where I'm standing to

the south over 1,500 feet long.

On the northern side, about
1,000 feet long.

You have to think of about 40
acres or 30 football fields are

comprised within the two arms
projecting forward.

He created water-breaks that
was 180 feet wide, huge

you could have a highway on top
of it.

It extended deeply to the sea
almost half a mile into the sea.

Herod wanted to
build a huge harbor to rival any

in the world, and that's
despite the lack of a good

natural harbor at this site.

This was because he wanted his

province of Judea to be the main

trading route for east to west.

His incredible harbor could
accommodate 300 ships.

It dwarfed anything found here
before or since.

See part of the modern port over here.

The actual breakwater of the
port of Caesarea is underneath,

and it's sunken down about 5
meters beneath the surface.

But it extended twice the length
out into the sea.

The concrete harbor
was so impressive that king

Herod built a new palace for
himself on the waterfront.

And the port became the catalyst
for a great, trading city and

a new capital for Judea.

This port was a commercial
center, a hub.

There's a massive market in the

Western half of the
mediterranean.

The Roman senators, they want

the goods from the middle east
and from the orient.

This became one of the key

harbors that brought those goods

from east to west.

But how did the
Romans build this harbor?

What was the magic ingredient

that they used to make the
concrete set?

And how did they lay concrete
underwater?

It's only recently that we have
uncovered the truth.

At this concrete factory in
Austin, Texas, they have the

ingredients prepared.

There are seven ingredients

in marine mix concrete

quicklime, clay, seawater, sand,

fly-ash, large aggregates, and

animal blood, in this case, pig
blood.

One theory is that blood was
used to strengthen the mixture.

But the key to underwater
setting lay elsewhere.

They'd developed a kind of
mortar that had extraordinarily

good lime in it, and that made
it strong to begin with, but the

real key is the chemical
reaction that happened when they

added pozzolana sand to their
mortar.

This special kind
of sand came from volcanic ash.

It made the concrete so durable,
it could harden underwater.

Luckily, thanks to mount
vesuvius in Italy, the Romans

could find this sand in
abundance.

The fact that mount vesuvius was

over 1,200 miles away wasn't

going to stop them.

So they have to ship over this
volcanic sand in enormous amounts.

We're talking about 44 ships
with a 400-ton capacity.

Without that, this artificial
harbor could not have been built.

So it's something that the
Romans develop and perfect, and

it allows them to pour this and

have it harden in the
saltwater.

Marine concrete
hasn't been made in this way

since Roman times.

Is it possible that it can be
re-created today?

We work with concrete all the
time.

We're going to try today to
re-create ancient marine

concrete like used at the
ancient harbor of Caesarea.

For the Romans to
discover 2,000 years ago that

volcanic ash would have this
effect was an enormous

technological leap.

And this was done on an
industrial scale.

Hundreds of slaves would have

been used to carry, mix and pour

the materials.

It must have been a massive
operation.

This ancient concrete mix is
going underwater.

It will be ready for testing in
30 days.

We're going to find out if this

ancient concrete recipe really

works.

The ancient empires
of the mediterranean depended on

sea power for military dominance

and for trade.

The Romans were no different.

In fact, they always took things

to another level.

They had to have the best ships,

the best crews, and to go with

them, the greatest, most
up-to-date ports.

It's not so different today.

The major cities of the world
are ports.

90% of all the world's trade is

still transported by sea.

In ancient times, great cities

such as carthage and Alexandria

grew up around their ports.

But the Romans were able to do

what for everyone else was
impossible.

They could build a port like no
other.

It was built bigger, and it was
built to last.

And at Caesarea today, the
massive 2,000-year-old concrete

jetties can still be seen just

under the water.

As a diver, what you see just
below the surface of the water

is huge constructions.

The poured concrete is intact,

and as you swim along you'll see
actual

the imprints of the wooden
framework into which the

concrete was poured.

This is remarkable.

This concrete is 2,000 years

old, and it's still intact on
the seabed.

How did the Romans lay this

concrete underwater?

It's an engineering marvel.

Specially made wooden barges
were partly filled with concrete

and floated into position,
then anchored.

More concrete was then poured
in.

So you set those up, you pour

in the concrete, and as it
settles and hardens and

solidifies you can sink it down
to the bottom where it would

harden and be able to withstand
the force of the sea, and

they're gonna build these in
sections.

It's just a massive enterprise.

This process,
repeated again and again,

eventually led to the massive
concrete jetties rising from the

sea.

And the giant jetties would
probably still be in use today

if they hadn't been built on a
seismic fault.

Over the years, earthquakes have
taken their toll.

Still, the concrete has
survived.

Modern concrete routinely shows

signs of degradation after just
50 years.

The strength of concrete can be
tested.

And at this engineering company

in Austin, Texas, they have a

special machine to do just that.

Basically what we do is we
put a concrete cylinder in the

press and apply a load, and see
how much compressive force it

can take.

New concrete like
this holds out well.

If they had a similar cylinder

of Roman concrete, they could

precisely measure its strength.

In the nearby concrete factory,

a mix of Roman concrete has been
left to harden.

And now, the time has come.

How has the special Roman mix of

underwater concrete fared?

Well, to me this is amazing.

This block of marine mix

concrete actually formed.

I didn't think it was going
to form like this.

And you know, the crazy thing

about this is that this concrete

gets stronger over time, and

this has only been 30 days'
hardening.

This is ancient
technology at work underwater

concrete 2,000 years ahead of
its time.

It's impossible to believe
that this marine mix concrete

sat underwater and hardened.

It's as hard as modern concrete.

But exactly how
hard is it?

How does Roman marine concrete

hold up to modern testing?

For the first time, the
engineering workshop has a

sample and will test the
pressure it can withstand in

psi, pounds per square inch.

That technology is a couple

thousand years old, and I'd be

surprised if it got up to 200 or
300 psi.

Soon it becomes
clear that after just 30 days'

setting, the Roman mix concrete

is bearing up remarkably well.

Anything beyond 300 psi
would be astonishing.

This came in at nearly 400 psi.

For an ancient technology,
that's incredible.

With every week,

the concrete will get
stronger and stronger.

This concrete mix was 2,000
years ahead of its time.

And that's without all the
modern machinery used in the

industry today.

We're making modern concrete
right behind me now.

It's impossible to think that

all of this modern equipment is
needed to replicate what the

ancient Romans were
doing 2,000 years ago.

Many of the biggest

builds of the modern world are
factories and places of industry.

Even food, which used to be made
in the home, is now produced on

an industrial scale.

In ancient times, could they
have had factories like this?

Surely impossible.

But these strange ruins on a
hillside in Southern France have

a remarkable story to tell.

For years, they were a puzzle.

But now history is
being rewritten.

We normally think that it was
the industrial revolution that

gave us the modern idea of

factories, and before that, we
had cottage industries.

However, we've now got to
rewrite our understanding.

The mysterious

ruins are at barbegal, near the
town of arles.

And the clue to what went on

here lies above, beyond the
hillside.

Here we find something
spectacular.

We're in Southern France at

barbegal, and this is a Roman
aqueduct.

But it's unlike any Roman
aqueduct you've seen before.

What makes this so special
is how it was put to use.

The water from this aqueduct
served a very special purpose.

What's so significant about
this site is that there were 16

mills powered by water, right
along this hillside.

A huge series of waterwheels.

This is something that's
totally extraordinary.

We haven't seen the like until
today with modern hydro-electric

systems.

This is a huge undertaking.

They actually turn a natural

hillside into a vast watermill
system.

This is a really massive mechanical
operation, and it worked.

The Romans didn't
invent the watermill.

The ancient greeks were the
first to use them.

But nothing like barbegal had
ever been built before.

Together, these waterwheels
comprised one of the biggest

builds of the ancient world,
a waterwheel super factory in

the 2nd century A.D. Which has
never been matched since.

And that's despite waterwheels

remaining in use for another
2,000 years.

It wasn't until the age of steam

that the mechanics of
waterwheels were surpassed.

But not only was barbegal
massive, it was also highly

efficient.

It was much more advanced than
any waterwheel technology that

followed it.

Many waterwheels, like this 17th
century mill at hereford in

england, are powered by water
hitting the bottom or middle of

the wheel.

If we had a higher drop what
we'd do is we'd be bringing the

water in over the top and have
an overshot wheel so the water

fills all the buckets and turns
it around-- more efficient, but

you need to have that bigger
drop of water.

Without a steep
incline, a stream can still

power a waterwheel.

But at barbegal the Romans made
use of the high drop.

The water pouring down onto the
wheels -- 66 gallons per

second-- made each of these wheels
two and a half times more efficient.

But it's not just the mills here
that were an engineering marvel.

Getting the water to them was
a seemingly impossible task.

Between the aqueduct and the
mills was the top of the hill.

What the Romans do is they

actually physically cut a
channel into the top of the

hillside so the water can be
fed through, and then it can hit

the top of the mill with
absolute force and then charge

down 65 feet to the bottom,

creating a huge amount of force

and momentum.

The massive cutting
was made through solid rock.

And it shows the incredible
ambition of the Romans.

For them, when it came to
building, no obstacle was too

big.

What's really impossible,
just think about barbegal.

Somebody had the vision to say
we'll capture water six miles

away, build an aqueduct, stick
it through a mountain, and then

we'll build a whole set of steps
of water wheels to harness all

that energy, 16 water mills all
stacked up.

The scale was immense.

This was able to put out about
4,5 tons of flour every day.

But what was all
this flour for?

Today's mega-bakeries use
machinery on an industrial scale

to produce vast amounts of bread
for our towns and cities.

Why at barbegal was the huge
milling complex needed?

We know there were at least
12,500 people living in arles

and then some more military on
top of that.

It looks like the wheels at
barbegal produced enough bread

to feed the entire population.

Keeping people fed
was all a part of the Romans'

grand plan.

Military might alone doesn't
hold an empire together.

Very interestingly, there is
no point in having an empire if

your people are either
subversive or starving.

So of course the way to keep

them on side is to keep them
well-fed.

During barbegal's
peak years, the vast Roman

empire was growing at a
breakneck pace, bringing people

together into urban centers,
keeping them under control,

civilizing them, it was all part
of how the empire worked.

A city could be fed.

The people were then free to
work, to make goods.

Goods equals wealth.

Wealth equals power.

A waterwheel?

The power of the Roman empire.

But the empire
didn't go on growing forever.

One theory as to why the Roman
empire eventually declined is

that it had so much slave labor,

there was no incentive to
embrace new technology.

Barbegal is important because it
shows the opposite.

It's a water-powered factory.

I think when people learn
about barbegal, they're always

shocked and amazed.

Today we think about factories,

we think about
industrialization, we think

about modern times.

But here the Romans are showing
us what they were able to

achieve on a grand scale, on an

industrialized scale, 2,000
years ago.

I think it's rightly earned
the reputation as being the

greatest concentration of mechanical
power in the ancient world.

It's phenomenal!

Remarkably, this
hugely important archaeological

site has only really been fully

understood in the last few
decades.

And it's been a revelation.

Before this, no one imagined

such a place could exist.

Is it possible there could be
other sites like this which have

yet to be discovered?

The barbegal mills are a real
success story.

As a historian and
archaeologist, you're constantly

thinking maybe, just maybe
there's another example like

this that is just waiting to be
found.

And what's really interesting
about them is that, in a way,

this is the industrial
revolution 16 centuries before

the industrial revolution
officially happens.

Throughout the
centuries, warfare has driven

technology.

Great scientific breakthroughs

have been made in our quest for

new means of destruction.

Defense is a huge industry, and

is responsible for some of our
biggest builds.

But could there have been an
ancient military factory as big

as those of today?

This is the joint systems
manufacturing center in Lima, Ohio.

It's the home of the Abrams
tank, 70 tons of imposing

military might.

All tanks for the U.S. army are

built here.

During world war ii, it mass-
produced tanks at a phenomenal rate.

Victory in Europe depended on
it.

It's still one massive factory
with a highly skilled workforce.

It's great knowing that
you're building the best product

in the world and soldiers are

safe, one of the best-built

tanks in the world.

This is the first time that

I've been on a tank, and I have
to say it's a real thrill.

I mean, up here you really get

a most incredibly commanding

view.

I'm a cavalry man at heart, and
it's very much like being on a

horse.

In many ways, the
tank is the modern equivalent of

an ancient fighting chariot, a
mobile, state-of-the-art

fighting force.

But it's also a command
center, just like chariots were,

mobile platforms for artillery

on the battlefield.

It's not infrequently said,
and I've often said it myself,

that the chariot is the ancient
tank.

What it does is provide
mobility.

The fighting

chariots of the ancient

Egyptians were the meanest

machines on the battlefield.

But were they factory-made, like
the tanks at Lima?

It's almost impossible to

believe, but over 3,000 years
ago, the great pharaoh ramses ii

had his own huge factory for the

state-run production of these
fighting machines.

We have evidence of ramses'

chariot factory both

archaeologically and in tomb

paintings, and what we can tell

is it was on a massive scale--

state mass production, just like

this tank factory.

Ramses demanded chariots,

masses of chariots.

They were needed for a battle, a
big battle, the battle of

Kadesh, the greatest chariot

battle that the world has ever
seen.

In 1274 bc, Kadesh
was the culmination of the

incredible mass production of
chariots under ramses ii.

And it was here, in the desert
of modern-day Syria, that the

Egyptian army clashed with the
other superpower of the day,

the hittites.

With thousands of chariots on
each side, this was chariot

warfare on an unprecedented and
massive scale.

That's an awful lot of
chariots on the field, and you

imagine them swirling around in
the dust.

It's a thick dust storm, and
it's a real dogfight as they're

all trying to outmaneuver each
other, and the archers to pick

off their opponents.

But how could so
many chariots have been made?

And where?

The factory that produced the

Egyptian chariots must have been

massive, big enough to supply

the huge numbers of chariots
needed for the war with the

hittites.

And a possible site has been

identified at pi-ramesse in the
nile delta.

What we have is stables for

something like 480 horses, which

means 240 chariots.

We have a training ground, and

we have a place which is said by

some people to be a chariot
factory.

The site on the nile has yet
to be fully excavated.

But one thing we know for sure

is that, remarkably, the factory

used an assembly line, just like

the tank factory at Lima.

So here we are at the

assembly line, and you can see

tank after tank after tank

stretching back there.

You're taking pre-formed pieces,

and you're bringing them to an

assembly plant, and skilled

workers are putting things
together.

It is almost impossible to

imagine that over 3,000 years

ago the manufacturing processes,

the systems for making military

hardware would be the same as

they are in the 21st century,

but they were.

It was the same principle--

assembly line factory work.

Henry Ford is known as the

creator of the production line

in the 20th century, but 3,000

years ago, impossible to

believe, the Egyptians did the

same-- an assembly line that

churns out relentlessly chariot

after chariot after chariot.

On the floor of the

tank factory, the individual

components come together.

They're state-of-the-art and
made by specialist teams.

It was just the same in the
chariot factory.

First, the body of the
chariot-- lightweight wood

curved into shape by steaming

it, just big enough for two
standing men.

The undercarriage was a fixed

axle and a central pole made by

one artificially bent piece of
wood.

Quite a large wheelbase directly

beneath the body to keep the
chariot stable.

The frame for the horses is also

made of bent wood, and it

attaches to the end of the pole.

You can't have a chariot without
wheels.

One quick assembly.

A deadly, mobile fighting
machine.

The Egyptians
understood the importance of

using the perfect materials, and

imported wood especially, in

particular, ash.

Even today, one specialty

builder of sports cars in

england still uses ash just as

the ancient Egyptians did.

This is the Morgan car factory,

where skilled craftsmen have

been assembling cars in this way

for over 100 years.

Ash of course would be ideal
for a combat vehicle, a chariot,

for the same reasons that we
use it-- it's not only extremely

strong, it's lightweight.

The lighter you could make a

structure like that, the easier

the horses could pull it, the
more flexible it would be and a

more effective fighting machine.

Being flexible, it can act as a

shock absorber.

It's the same with us here in
Morgan.

The frame will flex and bend

with the chassis, and this all

adds to the road-holding and

the handling of the cars.

The factory here
makes around 100 cars a month,

handcrafted with skill and
precision.

Ramses ii needed chariots in
their thousands.

The fact that his chariots could

be mass-produced was in itself a

source of wonder and terror for
his enemies.

Ramses' systems were so

advanced, so efficient in

producing the great numbers of

military vehicles that he
needed.

It's almost impossible to
conceive that factories of this

scale existed 3,000 years ago,

but they did.

Some of the most
iconic buildings ever

constructed are huge cathedrals

such as notre dame in Paris and
st Paul's in London.

But incredibly, one of the

biggest builds in history is a

cathedral from ancient times.

In 6th-century constantinople,

when the magnificent cathedral

of hagia Sophia rose from the
ground, it was as if the

impossible had happened.

This is the hagia Sophia.

It is one of the most impressive

architectural constructions in
the world.

It exerted an influence for

1,000 years after its
construction.

"Hagia Sophia" means "holy or

divine wisdom" in turkish, and

the building is the supreme

masterpiece of byzantine

architecture, and for almost

1,000 years, it was the biggest

cathedral in the whole world.

Still standing
after 1,500 years, with minarets

added at a later date, this was
an incredible build, with

techniques centuries ahead of
its time, a Roman Christian

cathedral that was a revolution
in architecture.

This is such an amazing
space.

You've got something that's
intact, something that's

constructed in the 6th century

A.D., and the thing is, it's

just hard to get a sense of how

massive this space is because

there's so many openings,
there's so much light.

It's almost impossible to

imagine what people thought of

it when they first saw it.

They must have thought that they

were looking at something
impossible.

They wouldn't have understood

how it stayed upright.

A lot of people thought that god

himself was holding the
building.

That's how special it was.

And this was
exactly the intention.

The man behind it, the emperor

Justinian, needed to assert his
political power.

To do this, he wanted to be

linked with god in the most
visible way.

He wanted it to represent not

only his greatness on earth, but

god's greatness in heaven, and

to draw that link for people to

say, "I am god's representative
on earth."

In the 6th century,
the Roman empire was based in

constantinople, modern-day
Istanbul.

But the empire was fading.

Justinian knew that if he didn't

make his mark in some grand way,

he would be just a footnote in
history.

He wanted to be great.

He was determined that as well

as being something massive, his

cathedral was going to be

something completely new.

So he didn't go to the master
builders of his age.

He went to mathematicians.

He depends upon these experts of

math and geometry and science to

go in a new direction, to create

something that no one had ever
seen before.

To understand it, we need to

start with the dome.

The dome is the
most impossible achievement.

It's 102 feet across and 180
feet high.

It's huge.

It's broader than the dome of

the capitol building, and that

was built 1,300 years later.

But the most amazing thing is

that the dome doesn't seem to be

resting on anything solid.

Essentially you have this
massive dome, which seems to

just rest lightly on these 40
windows so it's something that's

ethereal, almost light about it.

And for a dome to
be built on a square base rather

than a round one was something
completely new.

For the Romans to achieve this
was truly remarkable.

These four piers are

essentially building supports,

and in the hagia Sophia, they're
huge.

They were built to support the
dome.

Well, four arches were built on
top of the columns.

Then, the spaces in between were

filled with masonry.

They fill in the upper corners
of the space and so form a

circular support for the dome.

This was a giant leap in
architecture.

It must have been incredible
then, because today it still

looks awe-inspiring.

Hagia Sophia is
huge, about 65,000 square feet,

but the speed of its building
was impossible, too.

Normally, cathedrals took
decades to build.

The construction of notre dame

hundreds of years later took
over a century.

And just the dome of the capitol
building took 11 years.

This is a large structure

that's built in a mere five
years.

That is incredible.

To give a modern comparison,

the Burj Khalifa in Dubai, which

is the tallest building in the

whole world, took six years, and

that's with all the modern

technology that we now have.

That is a tribute to Justinian's

vision to make this engineering
miracle happen.

Some of the biggest
builds of the ancient world were

factories and places of
industry.

And, just like today, some of
the most impressive of these

were built because of our

insatiable desire for precious
metal.

The Romans' need for copper and

silver brought them here, to rio
tinto in Spain.

And for 2,000 years, the mine

held a dark secret deep beneath
the surface.

This is the Rio Tinto mine in

the heart of andalucia in
Southern Spain.

It's absolutely vast, almost 20
square miles.

The first people to start
exploiting metals in these hills

were over 5,000 years ago.

In Roman hands, this mine became
the single greatest mining

complex in the whole of the
ancient world.

And it was here, in
1919, that an astonishing

discovery was made

a huge wooden wheel buried deep
in the ground.

Further investigation revealed

that it was almost 2,000 years
old.

But what was it for?

The answer is almost impossible
to believe.

A clue was found here, at a gold

mine in Dolaucothi in Southern
wales--

a similar wheel and well-
preserved enough for a

scaled-down replica to be made.

Remains of that wheel were
found 150 foot down, so far

down that it's reasonable to

expect that more than one wheel
were used.

And this is a replica of what

one of those wheels may have
looked like.

It became clear
that the wheel was used to lift

water to prevent the mine from
flooding.

Water from the bottom was
scooped up and then fell out at

the top into a channel that
drained it away.

And someone must have stood deep

underground turning the wheel.

What a horrendous job.

A human hamster in near pitch-
black conditions.

The Romans were masters of
waterwheel technology, but with

a waterwheel, normally moving
water turns the wheel.

At both Dolaucothi and at Rio
Tinto, what the Romans did was

turn that concept on its head.

They used manpower to turn the

wheels, and then the wheels
moved the water.

Move the water, drain the mine,
miners work.

Genius.

But could a large
wooden wheel really have been

any use here at Rio Tinto?

This mine is massive, and the

Roman shafts went deep into the
earth.

We now know that at Rio Tinto,

the use of these wheels was

taken to impossible extremes--

underground caverns, carved by

hand from the earth, and inside?

Eight pairs of huge waterwheels

powered by slaves, walking the
wheels.

To a modern engineer it would
seem incredible.

To the ancients, it must have

seemed impossible.

But it was an impossible task

that the Romans faced and
mastered.

This was ancient engineering

on a massive scale, and it made

the impossible possible.

The wheels were
probably prefabricated and

constructed within the mine.

Building a whole series of these

huge waterwheels underground is
almost beyond belief.

Today it would be incredible.

2,000 years ago, simply
impossible.

As the slaves trod the wheels,

the water was channeled from

one pair to the other,

eventually rising over 100 feet
before being drawn to the

surface by a huge Archimedes
screw.

This wasn't hell on earth.

It was hell deep within the

earth, dark, hot and working

with toxic, mineral-soaked
water.

The slaves who operated these

waterwheels had the worst job in
the whole mine.

Their life expectancy once they

got down here was about 12 to 16
months.

It was that poisonous, and they

were constantly coated in the
water.

And when they finally died,
which they inevitably did, the

Romans didn't even bother taking
their bodies to the surface.

But whatever the
terror of the wheels, they were

truly an ancient wonder, an

incredible, fantastic
construction.

Unbelievable structures built
with techniques thousands of

years ahead of their time, the
biggest builds of the ancient

world were as astonishing and
awe-inspiring as anything built

today, a world of wonder, of

terror, and of the impossible
made real.