Unearthed (2016–…): Season 1, Episode 4 - Ghosts of the Great Wall - full transcript

A mighty, hilltop wonder
over 2,000 years old.

The sheer scale of these temples

is almost unimaginable.

How did the ancient greeks

construct these
extraordinary buildings?

It's really fascinating.

It's a huge puzzle.

What long-lost rituals
were they used for?

And how have they survived,

while other ancient buildings
have crumbled away?

The only way to solve
these mysteries



is to blow this temple
complex apart.

Exploring its structure,
stone by stone,

will help us unearth the
astonishing engineering secrets

hidden inside
this ancient wonder.

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perched high on a massive rock,
overlooking the city of Athens,

stands a landmark
of western civilization:

The acropolis.

Here, 2,400 years ago,
the greeks built

an extraordinary complex
of temples,

where they could
worship their gods.

Now, as restorers dismantle
and rebuild it,

the acropolis is revealing
its hidden secrets.

New clues are emerging
from the restoration



The world-famous Parthenon...

And the imposing entrance
gateway known as the propylaea.

The Parthenon was the greatest
temple of its age...

A wonder of the ancient world.

From 22,000 tons
of precious marble,

Greek stonemasons assembled

a building
of exquisite perfection.

Its 13,000 individual stones
fitted together so precisely,

the joints were watertight.

Its 58 towering columns
could withstand earthquakes.

It's an extraordinary structure.

But how exactly did
the ancient greeks construct it?

The secret to the Parthenon's
perfection begins

with its special
building material:

Marble.

Its largest blocks are massive,
weighing in at 10 tons each.

But no marble existed in Athens,
so how did the ancient greeks

find and transport
these enormous pieces of marble

to this dizzying hilltop site?

The answer lies at pentelikon,
over 10 miles from the city.

Historian Edith hall
has come here

to piece together
this ancient mystery.

This is the very birthplace
of the Parthenon:

These great rockfaces,
where they cut down the marble

and took it all the way to
Athens to build the acropolis.

And, everywhere you look,
there's just glittering,

white marble,
just stones of every size.

I mean, look at this one.
Just pick it up off the floor.

You can actually see how
incredibly gleaming white it is

and the sparkly bits that,
well, you can see,

once it's polished off
and smoothed down and chiseled,

it would actually gleam
in the sunshine.

It's actually incandescent.

Although Edith
is surrounded by marble

at the ancient quarry,

most of it is in small pieces.

In ancient times,
craftsmen would've struggled

to find the enormous blocks
needed to build the Parthenon.

Today, workers at this modern
quarry on mount pentelikon

face the same challenge.

The blocks from here
are considered special.

They are
from the same seam of marble

as the ancient quarry
and are used

For the acropolis restoration.

It's exactly the same
marble the ancients used

to make the constructions
in the Parthenon.

Even with modern machinery,

extracting large blocks
is difficult.

The rock is full
of natural fissures,

tiny cracks that cause
the marble to break.

Diamond-coated wire saws slice
through the stone with ease.

But, once sotiris
extracts the blocks,

they often break up
into smaller pieces.

For the ancient greeks,

who only had hand tools,

it would've taken years
to extract all the large,

10-ton stones needed
to build the Parthenon.

And, once they
had found their stones,

they faced an even
greater challenge...

How did they transport
these enormously heavy,

precious blocks over 10 miles,

then raise them to the work site
at the top of the hill?

At the ancient quarry, Edith
thinks she has found a clue.

Where I'm standing now
is actually the road

that was made to transport
all those slabs from the quarry,

all the way downhill, to Athens,
and to the acropolis itself.

It's downhill all the way.

It's quite a steep gradient,
but it's regular and smooth

and the road's as straight
as they could possibly make it

so that the journey was
as short as possible

because it was an incredibly
hard labor for all of them.

Workers used mules
to pull the stones on carts,

down from the mountain,
to the city of Athens.

But then came
the biggest challenge:

Raising the marble up
to the acropolis.

The rock rises nearly
230 feet above the city.

There was no way the greeks
could pull the massive blocks

directly up this precipice.

So how did they haul them
to the top?

Hiding unnoticed
by the thousands of tourists

who pass this way
lies the answer.

They built a very
smooth stone ramp

with quite a slow gradient.

It's only about 10°.

Today, there are only
a few stones left here.

But it's clear,
from their angle,

that they are part
of a massive ramp

that once extended from the
bottom of the hill to the top.

So how did the greeks
use this ramp?

Archaeologists suspect
they created the perfect system.

At the bottom of the ramp,

builders positioned a cart
with huge wheels

to support the colossal weight
of the marble blocks.

At the top of the ramp,

they anchored
a massive wooden pulley.

A heavy rope ran around it

and down to the cart
at the bottom.

They connected the rope
to a second cart, at the top,

then filled this
with rubble from the site,

to turn it into a counterweight.

As the rubble cart
rolled downhill,

it pulled the marble
blocks up the ramp:

An ingenious cable car, running
right up to the acropolis.

It took a huge effort
to transport

22,000 tons of stone
to the top of this hill.

So why did they choose
the most difficult place

in the whole city
to build these sacred temples,

and what was their purpose?

The ancient greeks
could've built

these sacred temples
anywhere in the city.

Why here?

And what did they use them for?

Acropolis means the high place
or the summit of the city.

It's where they used to
put their treasures.

It was originally
their seat of government

and it was certainly the place

where they were going to
worship the gods.

On the acropolis,

the athenians felt closer
to their gods in the sky.

Although they worshiped
many gods,

the main temples on this site
were dedicated to just one:

Athena.

Athena is one
of the oldest Greek gods.

She's the goddess of cities,
of civilization,

and she's very,
very often found worshiped

where there's a high,
rocky citadel,

where people tended to form
big, urban communities.

That's why the city
is called Athens.

It's the city of Athena.

Athena was known
as the virgin goddess and so,

the people named this building
from the Greek word for virgin:

The Parthenon.

Historical accounts reveal
this was once a shining temple.

Inside, a nearly 40-foot tall
statue of the goddess Athena.

In her hand,
a human-sized figure of Nike,

the goddess of victory.

Around her rises
an exquisite building created

so the people of Athens
could properly worship

the goddess they believed
would protect their city

and make it impregnable.

Recently, archaeologists here
have made an amazing discovery.

The remains
of a strange structure

lie hidden
beneath the Parthenon.

Could it be that the building we
see today is not the original?

Out of sight, beneath the floor
of the marble Parthenon,

lies tens of thousands
of mysterious limestone blocks.

The blocks plunge
22 layers deep on one side.

They form a massive,
wedge-shaped foundation

that hugs the slope
of the acropolis hill.

Investigations reveal
that some of these blocks

are over 100 years older

than the Parthenon
that sits on top of them,

a sign that another
building stood here

long before the monument
we see today.

So what was this
mysterious structure,

and what happened to it?

Archaeologist elisavet sioumpara

is working to unravel
the mystery.

She and her team
are tackling a huge,

3-dimensional Jigsaw puzzle.

Thousands of stones
lie scattered

within the walls
of the acropolis.

Not all of these stones
are marble.

Some are limestone,
fragments of ancient buildings

that existed
before the Parthenon.

Elisavet is hunting for pieces

of these ancient stones
that join together.

It's a monumental task.

We have already documentated
around 23,000 blocks.

It's a puzzle
with an extraordinary prize.

If they can join enough pieces,

they can figure out what the
original buildings looked like.

After years of work,

the team has made
a major discovery.

From the small fragments
that the archaeologists

have collected,
they've pieced together

the dimensions
of a mysterious building.

They've worked out,
from the decorated blocks,

that it was a temple

with a magnificent entrance
at its front,

sides 160 feet long,

and weighing thousands of tons.

It stood proud on a foundation
of limestone blocks

that still sits deep
under the Parthenon we know,

right to this very day.

Amazingly, this ancient temple
was another Parthenon,

built long before
the one we see today.

But what happened to it?

In her search for answers,

Edith thinks she's found
a clue in these statues.

These are the remains
of the sculptures

on the temple of Athena
that preceded the Parthenon

that we now can see
and they're really amazing.

The statues date from a time

just before Athens emerged
as the world's first democracy.

It's very elemental.
It's much more primitive

than what we see on
the Parthenon that survived.

Exactly why the temple
was destroyed is a mystery,

but it's possible that
the greeks considered it old;

and its mythological sculptures,

out of fashion
with their beliefs.

Maybe something
about the mythology on it

wasn't exactly right.

What we do know, though,
is it was a very important

stepping stone towards the
erection of the great temple

that we really identify
as the Parthenon.

The first Parthenon
showed the people of Athens

they could construct a stone
temple high above the city.

But the next generation
was determined

to build something
bigger and better.

Their achievement constructing
the ancient-Greek acropolis

we see today
was truly extraordinary.

From their work
on the ancient stones,

the team restoring the acropolis
is convinced that these

were some of the finest
buildings ever constructed.

Vassiliki eleftheriou

is the director
of the acropolis restoration.

They have to move
this block now.

The final position is here.

Today, her team
is installing an ancient block

that makes up the entrance
gateway: The propylaea.

The restoration here
reveals new evidence

that the ancient craftsmen
worked with extreme precision.

They left markings in the stone

that vassiliki can
still use as a guide.

It's a challenge
to match the craftsmanship

of the ancient builders,
even with modern tools.

Even after 2,400 years,

the ancient-Greek block
still fits into position.

To build the acropolis,
the greeks had to

repeat this precision,
over and over again.

So, how did they do it?

Ancient masons carved

13,000 perfectly rectangular
blocks of marble.

They assembled the blocks
into 40-foot-high walls.

Outside, they stacked
over 600 massive marble drums

to form 58 towering columns
over 3 stories tall.

On top, they laid stones
weighing up to 10 tons.

How could the ancient greeks
lift such massive weights

and place them with
such surgical precision?

On the entrance gateway
to the acropolis,

known as the propylaea,

the restoration team
is grappling

with the same problem that
challenged the ancient greeks.

Architect konstantinos karanasos
and his team

must raise an original
drum of marble

to the top of one
of the columns.

The plan is to put the drum
at its original position.

Lifting this 2,400-year-old
piece of marble

requires extreme caution.

Raising the stone
reveals a problem.

The straps wrap
right underneath the drum.

Their position
makes it impossible

to lay the drum
directly onto the column.

So what did the ancient greeks
do that this modern team is not?

One original stone, among
thousands on the acropolis,

holds the key.

It looks completely different
to a finished column drum,

but Edith thinks it solves
an engineering mystery.

This is very exciting.

This is actually a column drum

to make one of the columns
for the temples,

but in the state it would've
arrived at from the quarry.

At the quarry, it was made
into the circle, circular shape,

but these big bosses
were left on.

So what could
these knots have been used for?

The greeks had big,
wooden cranes that could winch

10-ton marble pieces
over 3 stories high.

They left the drums uncarved,

except for the protrusions,
called bosses.

The lifting ropes gripped
to the bosses

and released with ease.

They stacked up 11 drums
to build a column.

Then, the masons carved
the flutes in perfect alignment,

to make sure
that all the columns

of the Parthenon
looked exactly the same.

Without these bosses,
the only way

konstantinos and the team
can lower the drum into place

is to use modern equipment.

They tie the ropes tight
around the sides of the drum.

But keeping the stone level
is no simple task.

It takes the team 2 days

to place the drum safely
into its original position

and take the entrance gateway
a step closer to completion.

The buildings on the acropolis
are over 2,400 years old.

Greece is still one of the most
seismically active areas

in the world, with few other
structures lasting so long.

So what's the secret?

How have these ancient
temples survived?

Perched high
above the city of Athens,

the ancient temples
of the acropolis,

including
the majestic Parthenon,

are an engineering mystery.

They stand in one of the most

seismically active countries
in the world.

Recent earthquakes
have demolished

modern buildings in the city.

So how have these ancient
temples survived

for over 2,000 years?

Seismologist ioannis kalogeras

monitors seismic activity
on the acropolis.

This accelerograph,

one of 10 positioned
across the site,

measures how much
the ground shakes.

When he looks back at the data,

ioannis discovers that,
during earthquakes,

something strange happens here
at the Parthenon.

This is a typical record
of a small earthquake,

a local earthquake.

The recording shows

that the foundations
of the Parthenon shake less

than the ground
in the surrounding city.

But why is this happening?

What is special
about this place?

The rock itself is solid,

but the city around it
is built on loose soil

that vibrates strongly
in an earthquake.

It appears that
the Parthenon's foundations,

built directly on solid rock,
have helped it survive.

But this alone doesn't explain
how these temples

have stood firm
against earthquakes.

The biggest clue to what makes
these structures so special

hides inside their stones.

Blow the Parthenon apart,
and you won't find

an ounce of mortar
to bound the marble together.

Instead, there are
mysterious slots in the blocks

and, inside them, iron clamps.

In between the column drums,

there are wooden
wedges and pins.

These pieces of iron and wood
help protect the temple

from earthquakes,
but how do they do it?

Civil engineer zannis konteas
works with the restoration team.

He thinks the ancient greeks
did something clever

when they installed
these connecting pieces.

The clamps were placed
in sockets

that were carefully carved
on the top side of the blocks.

He's noticed
that ancient builders

deliberately cut the holes
larger than the clamps.

The lead seals
the iron clamps from the air

and stops them from rusting.

But it also plays a critical
role in an earthquake.

During an earthquake,
the soft, flexible lead

allows the marble blocks
to move,

while the clamps stop the walls
from falling down.

The system
that protects the columns

is even smarter.

When they pulled
the columns apart,

archaeologists
found pieces of wood

2,400 years old
and amazingly well-preserved.

The segments are called
empolia and polos.

The way the wood
pieces work is ingenious.

Without them, a big quake
could shake the columns

out of alignment
until they collapse.

But the empolia prevent this.

They sit right
in the middle of the drums

and act like soft,
wooden joints.

Their special shape lets
columns wobble in a quake,

but always keeps
the drums in line.

That means they don't collapse,

so, when the earth
stops shaking,

the Parthenon lives
to see another day.

Archaeologists even have found
prove the concept works.

The wood
held the stones together.

It twisted, but didn't break.

The ancient-Greek way
of building was so good

that the team
restoring the acropolis

still uses the same techniques.

Where ancient stones
are missing,

the team replaces them
with new marble.

Today, the restorers are laying
a new marble block

on the wall of the cellar,
the temple sanctuary.

Architect
rosalia christodoulopoulou

monitors the operation.

We are going to have a trial
positioning of this marble.

To join the blocks,

the ancient greeks
used dowels made of iron.

Today, restorers use titanium,
because it won't rust.

And, isn't of coating
the dowel in lead,

they cement it in place.

The mortar is
a special, weak mix.

In an earthquake,
it will crumble,

allowing the blocks to move,
just like the lead did.

After months
of preparing the stone,

it takes the team
just 10 minutes

to place it
in its final position.

They hope that, by copying
the tried and tested,

ancient methods, it will sit
in this same spot for centuries.

Thanks to ingenious
anti-earthquake devices,

the Parthenon still stands,
2,500 years after it was built.

Now, modern researchers are able
to study its walls closeup.

They've discovered new evidence
to solve a persistent mystery:

What did this iconic
building really look like?

To construct
the amazing acropolis,

Greek builders had to transport
vast amounts of marble

to this site,

lift thousands of blocks
onto its walls,

and carve dozens
of exquisite columns.

But what they did next
is shrouded in mystery.

How did they complete
these buildings?

And what did they
originally look like?

Chemical engineer
eleni aggelakopoulou

is scouring the Parthenon
for evidence.

She has just a few clues,

but one of the best
is hidden in this tower.

It's part of a mosque built
inside the Parthenon

in the 16th century.

It's possible to see part
of the older Greek temple

through this gap in the wall.

In this area, some blocks
of the tower were removed and...

The ancient greeks, it seems,

didn't leave the marble bare,

but colored it
with bright paint.

If so, how much
of the building was painted?

The scaffolding on the Parthenon
allows researchers

to access places
they wouldn't normally see.

They've discovered
more traces of ancient paint

on the corner
of the west pediment.

Nearby, eleni
has discovered a faint clue

to how an ancient artist
prepared the marble.

Combining these discoveries

with ancient descriptions
of the Parthenon,

archaeologists
are able to recreate

what the temple
originally looked like.

2,500 years ago,

the Parthenon would've been
an imposing site.

Inside its inner sanctuary
was a stunning display

of shining marble
and rich color:

The cloak and armor of Athena,

forged from over a ton
of dazzling gold,

and her limbs carved
in gleaming white ivory.

Paint, in vivid colors,
adorned the ceiling.

And, at the entrance,
elaborate carvings

showed scenes from Greek myths,

in such glorious color,
it's hard to imagine it today.

But, despite all the evidence
of color, a mystery remains.

The surface of marble
is hard and glossy.

Paint doesn't easily
adhere to it,

so how did the greeks
get their paint to stick?

Euphrosyne doxiadis investigates
ancient methods of painting.

She thinks the secret was wax.

To make the special paint,

euphrosyne melts the gum
with beeswax

then adds a pigment
to give it color.

Next, she marks out the pattern.

And this is very hard to cut.

This is like
the Parthenon marble.

Euphrosyne must work fast.

As the wax cools, it solidifies.

Ready, here. And...

The heat helps bind
the paint to the marble.

Using this technique
to paint the Parthenon

would have required great skill.

The finished paintwork
on Athena's great temple

would've been outstanding.

Most of the paint on
the Parthenon has faded away.

Can archaeologists solve
the mysteries

of the underlying stone
before they are undetectable?

Centuries of attack
have left the marble vulnerable.

In the 17th century, cannonballs
blasted out these craters.

But that was a minor incident,

compared to the temple's
long history of destruction.

In 267 a.D., invaders
burned down the roof.

Through the centuries,
the statue of Athena,

over a ton of ivory and gold,
has disappeared.

Then, christians turned
the Parthenon into a church

and ripped the statues
to pagan gods off the walls.

And, in 1687,

a gunpowder explosion blew
the heart out of the building.

Even today, the buildings
on the acropolis

are still under threat.

Conservator Anastasia panou
leads the battle to save them.

As you can see,
the situation is very bad.

An escalating problem comes

from inside the stones,
themselves.

When engineers last restored
the building, 90 years ago,

they inserted new, iron clamps
to hold the blocks together.

But they coated them
in poor-quality lead.

As the clamps have rusted,
they have expanded,

cracking the ancient marble.

So far, the team has removed

over 900 iron clamps
from the Parthenon

and replaced them
with clamps made of titanium,

a metal that won't corrode.

Where essential pieces of the
original marble are missing,

the restoration team
must replace them.

Carving the missing half
of the marble block

takes tremendous skill.

A stonemason must carefully copy

a plaster-cast replica
of the missing piece.

He uses this measuring tool
to identify areas of stone

that need to be removed.

Next comes the detailed work
that ensures a tight fit.

The Mason paints
the old block in mud.

He then pushes
the two stones together.

Dots of mud on the new
stone identify areas

he needs to chisel away.

The final piece
will be a perfect fit.

Right now, the new white marble
on the Parthenon stands out,

but, over time, it will fade,
to blend with the old.

The new marble on this temple,
restored 35 years ago,

has already started to fade.

It will eventually
match the original.

2,500 years after it was built,

the acropolis is still
giving up its secrets...

Helping us unravel the mysteries
of the ancient greeks.

The more we discover,

the more amazing
this ancient citadel becomes.

Its hero structure,
the mighty Parthenon...

Built to worship
an ancient goddess,

is the crowning achievement

of one of the world's
greatest civilizations.

It remains one of the most

awe-inspiring ancient wonders
ever built.