Unearthed (2016–…): Season 7, Episode 1 - Lost Kingdom of Babylon - full transcript

Narrator: Babylon,
the capital of a mighty empire

And the first great city
of the ancient world.

Babylon, was one of the
pinnacles of human ingenuity.

Narrator: Can clues here in
this vast archaeological site

Reveal evidence of this
long-lost metropolis?

Dalley: Babylon is one of
the great cities of antiquity,

Everybody admired what they did.

Narrator: Babylon
is famed far and wide

For its architectural wonders,

But denounced in the bible
as a place of wickedness,

Debauchery, and sin.



Are the stories true?

Or is babylon a city buried
under its own mythology?

Today, investigators
use innovative drone-mounted

High-definition technology

To hunt for traces
of this mysterious kingdom.

We are lucky to excavate here.

Narrator: To unearth the truth
behind the legends

We'll digitally reconstruct
the fabled hanging gardens,

We'll blow apart
the glorious ishtar gate,

And reveal marvels
of engineering

To decode the secrets
of the lost kingdom of babylon.

UNEARTHED - SEASON 7
EP - 1 - Lost Kingdom of Babylon

60 miles south of baghdad,

The capital of war-torn iraq,
lie the remains



Of an extraordinary
ancient city, babylon.

Babylon is founded
in the third millennium b.C.

At the same time that the
pharaohs of egypt's old kingdom

Build their mighty pyramids.

It is babylon that powers
the rise of human civilization

Here in mesopotamia.

Many of the things
we know today,

People can associate as babylon,

Be that mathematics, astronomy,
agriculture, water engineering,

Babylon has great importance
for not just the people of iraq,

But the world in general.

Narrator: Today, in a country
long scarred by conflict,

It's a huge challenge
for archaeologists

To unearth babylon's
ancient secrets.

Now, our cameras have been
granted unique access

To follow investigators
on the frontline

As they venture inside
this rarely seen site

And hunt for clues
to discover the truth

Behind the many legends
of this magnificent city.

Ancient writers describe babylon

As a marvelous metropolis.

At its heart, a tower
of biblical proportions,

Said to touch the sky.

A garden overflowing
with lush vegetation,

Said to be floating in the air.

Walls so gigantic that are
visible from miles away,

And a monumental gate
as blue as the deepest ocean.

These wonders make babylon
the envy of the world,

But are they real
or just legend?

Babylon is the place
of the imagination,

But its reality
is just as interesting.

Narrator: Jeff allen runs
the world monuments fund.

He investigates
and protects ancient sites

In the most dangerous places
in the world.

Today he has special access to
examine the site of babylon...

...A place that in ancient times
is visited by biblical prophets

And coveted by foreign kings.

This is a processional way.

This is the sacred route where
daniel and other key figures,

Alexander the great,
once walked.

♪

Narrator: The former dictator
saddam hussein

Rebuilds much of babylon
on top of its ancient ruins.

He even builds himself
a modern palace,

Making the task of unearthing
the real babylon

Even harder.

But excavations here reveal
the foundations

Of a massive structure...

...The etemenanki tower,

Only half a mile from
the old entrance to the city.

Allen: It measures exactly
300 feet.

The size of these foundations
clearly say

That this could be
the tower of babel.

Narrator:
Investigators are now convinced

That this huge
and mysterious construction

Is the biblical tower of babel.

But legends describe that
the hanging gardens of babylon,

One of the seven wonders
of the ancient world,

Also stand inside the walls
of this magnificent city.

The legends say it's built
by nebuchadnezzar ii,

The greatest of all
babylonian kings.

Legend has it, the king
orders his architects

To build a series of arches

To support vast
trough-like terraces.

They build more layers on top...

...And fill the terraces
with thousands of tons of soil

And many exotic plants.

The garden becomes
an overflowing oasis

Seemingly suspended in the sky,

A huge verdant mountain
in the middle of the city.

Did the babylonians
really build this

Towering green wonder
in the baking hot desert?

♪

Iraqi archaeologist
haider almamori

Works with jeff allen
at the site of ancient babylon.

He thinks the gardens
might be located

Near nebuchadnezzar's
southern palace.

But this location
has a big drawback...

It's almost half a mile away
from the euphrates river,

Which runs through babylon.

Why would engineers
build the fabled gardens

So far from
this central supply of water?

Close to the ruins
of the ancient palace,

Haider finds an important clue.

The location of this
ancient bridge suggests

That in nebuchadnezzar's time,

The river has
a different course.

Back in 600 b.C., it flows right
next to the southern palace.

So this site is the perfect spot

To search for the king's
extensive gardens.

But no archeological traces
remain,

So haider cannot tell for sure.

To hunt for other
possible locations,

He wants to investigate
babylon from above.

The team uses a drone-mounted
high-definition camera

To capture an extraordinary view
of ancient babylon.

Haider finds two places
that fit the profile...

A huge rectangular structure
that could have housed

The ground floor of the gardens

And a vast inner courtyard
with thick, strong walls.

Neither of these sites
offer conclusive proof.

But babylon is rife
with possible locations.

Babylon has the riches
to erect a large superstructure

That amazes the ancient world.

But jeff investigates
if ancient engineers

Also possessed the know-how.

A clue lies in
a surprising place,

Over 1,000 miles away in egypt.

♪

Jeff hunts for evidence
in luxor.

Here he examines another icon
of the ancient world...

The magnificent temple of the
female pharaoh hatshepsut.

Built in the 1400s b.C.,
it is almost 800 years older

Than the hanging gardens
of babylon.

Jeff investigates
if it's possible to construct

And maintain a garden
in the desert.

This is hatshepsut's temple.

It's an amazing
archeological monument

And it looks like
it also had a garden to it.

At the entrance of the temple
complex are these pits

Which contained
the remains of trees

That are thousands of years old.

Narrator: Queen hatshepsut's
garden lies two and a half miles

From the river nile.

But close to
the temple entrance,

Jeff discovers
mysterious structures.

That suggest how
the ancient egyptians channel

Water such a distance.

Allen:
What I'm standing in right now

Is a channel that ran
between the nile

And the temple.

Connected to these waterways

Were t-shaped ponds
filled with water,

Water for all the plants
that were around them.

Narrator: These structures
prove to jeff

That the ancients have the
technology to maintain a garden

In these dry
desert surroundings.

But how about a multi-story
hanging garden

Like the one in babylon?

At hatshepsut's temple, jeff
finds an unusual depiction.

It reveals that there
was once a garden

On the upper levels here, too.

Allen: This depiction shows us
there were many means

To put plants in gardens
on higher levels

And one of those
was to put them in pots.

Narrator: But such large plants
placed on several floors

Need a lot of water throughout
the year to keep them alive.

How do the ancient engineers
channel a constant supply

To the hanging gardens?

One greek writer, strabo,

Mentions a specific kind
of engineering marvel

Called the archimedes screw,
which was a water screw system.

Narrator: Archeologist
adel kelany is an expert

On ancient engineering.

He uses a model to investigate

How the ancient
water screw works.

The water screw is a long helix
inside a metal cylinder.

As the screw turns,
it carries water upwards.

But adel wants to find out
if the screw can channel

Enough water to nourish
a vast multi-tiered garden.

He tests this screw at different
angles of inclination.

♪

The screw struggles
to bring up any water

At this sharp incline.

Adel investigated several
other angles to see

If he can find a more efficient
way to operate the screw.

♪

♪

At this angle,
the screw is easy to turn

And brings up
a good amount of water.

Adel discovers that
the optimal inclination

Is around 35 degrees.

The screw comfortably carries
40 gallons of water

Up to a height of 5 feet.

The account by the greek
writer strabo is valid.

Water screws can easily nourish
the hanging gardens of babylon.

♪

The babylonians channeled water

From the nearby euphrates river

And used crane-like structures
to lift it into a pool

At the base
of the hanging gardens.

A system of screws
carries water up from the pool

To the next level

Until each terrace
has its own water supply.

But these magnificent gardens

Are only one striking feature
of this city of wonders.

The mighty king nebuchadnezzar

Adorns his great city
with architectural jewels,

That include
the magnificent ishtar gate.

What is the truth behind
this legendary construction?

♪

Narrator: As soon as the
powerful king nebuchadnezzar ii

Takes the throne,

He embarks on an ambitious
building project in babylon.

His greatest engineering wonder
becomes an obsession

And takes him over
four decades to complete.

Early in his reign,
nebuchadnezzar

Completely demolishes
his father's gateway.

He creates a vast
processional way

And builds a new double gate
out of stronger baked mud-brick.

But it's not long until he
destroys it again and again

To rebuild it taller.

He eventually creates
his masterpiece,

A gate that stands 40-feet tall,
clad in glittering blue

And decorated with wild animals
and mythical creatures.

Finally, he adds a huge wood
and bronze gate.

Why does he obsessively rebuild
the ishtar gate so many times?

♪

Today, iraqi archaeologist
haider almamori

Has special access

To investigate the remains
of the gate in babylon.

He wants to discover
the real reason

Behind nebuchadnezzar's
compulsive need to rebuild it.

Haider discovers many strange
white marks on the walls.

When nebuchadnezzar takes
the throne,

Most of the old ishtar gate

Is already submerged under
the waters of the euphrates

And the river
is rising higher and higher.

Nebuchadnezzar needs to raise
the height of his gate and walls

To keep them
above the waterline.

♪

Guarding the ishtar gate
and his city from floods

Is a lifelong project
for the mighty king.

Nebuchadnezzar also wants
the gate to be a symbol

Of his wealth and power.

Egyptian archaeologist nesrin
el hadidi investigates evidence

Of the great efforts
nebuchadnezzar goes to

To build it.

♪

Cedar trees do not grow
anywhere near babylon.

Why is this elusive
building materials

So important to nebuchadnezzar?

Nesrin searches for more clues
at the great pyramid of giza.

Beside this colossal monument,
archaeologists discover

The oldest surviving cedar-built
structure in the world...

...A gigantic boat buried next
to the pharaoh, khufu.

Nesrin believes the choice

Of cedar for the boat
is deliberate.

Like the pharaoh khufu,
the powerful nebuchadnezzar

Covets this valuable material.

Nesrin investigates how the
babylonian king gets hold of it.

She thinks a clue carved in
the distant mountains of lebanon

Is important evidence.

The cedar for his ishtar gate
is so important

For nebuchadnezzar that he
conquers foreign lands

In order to get it.

Hungry for resources,

He expands his empire
in all directions

And forces the egyptians
out of lebanon.

♪

He conquers the land

And cuts down many of
its rich cedar forests.

Then he builds new roads
through the lebanese mountains

And joins them up
with the euphrates river

To transport the vast
quantities of cedar wood.

His workers shipped the logs
500 miles along the euphrates

All the way to babylon,

Where nebuchadnezzar uses them
to build the ishtar gate.

The ishtar gate is a massive
construction, 40-feet tall,

Made from the finest materials.

King nebuchadnezzar
spends decades building

And rebuilding the ishtar gate

To flaunt the power
of his empire to any visitor,

But also to safeguard
the city from floods.

Alongside this grand entrance,

He also erects new city walls

And doubles the size
of his metropolis

To over 200 square miles.

Can ancient babylon
really be that big?

Narrator: It takes king
nebuchadnezzar ii over 40 years

To complete the magnificent
ishtar gate of babylon.

He rebuilds many other parts
of the city

And surrounds it with
a new set of walls so impressive

That they are once considered
a wonder of the ancient world.

When nebuchadnezzar
becomes ruler,

A series of three
mud-brick walls

And a deep moat
protect the city.

But this is not enough
for the mighty king.

Legend says that he builds
a new double wall

To surround the city
together 100-feet thick

And adds another moat
for good measure.

Towering over 300-feet high
and using millions of bricks,

The mighty new walls extend
for miles around the metropolis,

More than doubling
the size of the city.

Are these walls as huge
as the ancient writers claim?

Archaeologist haider almamori
hunts for evidence

To investigate how big

Nebuchadnezzar's walls
really are.

He tracks down the location
of a section

Of the outermost wall.

Today, all that remains
is a small hill

That has grown on top of it.

Haider discovers that
the external wall alone

Is over 55 feet thick

And with the internal wall
spreads to around 100 feet,

Confirming the claim
of ancient writers.

Why does nebuchadnezzar
build such massive walls?

Haider discovers that
nebuchadnezzar's city

Is also a mighty fortress
filled with defensive measures.

♪

Ancient writers describe

The city's impregnable
outer double wall,

Guarded by 100 fortified gates,

Each with massive bronze doors.

On the top of the broad walls,

The king stations
armed garrisons

To patrol the city's
entire circumference.

The inner wall is taller
than the outer one.

So when the city
comes under attack,

The garrison's archers
have a clear shot.

To stop enemies
entering the city by water,

The walls reach down
to the bottom of the riverbed

And iron grates protect
the inlets of the canal.

But no one knows how big

The babylon nebuchadnezzar wants
to protect really is.

The greek historian herodotus

Describes how it occupies
an area equivalent

To over 200 square miles,

A huge size even
by modern standards,

At 200 square miles,
that would make babylon

Roughly about the size
of modern day chicago.

And that would make it
pretty huge ancient city.

Haider almamori
investigates if babylon really

Is as big as the legends say.

He uses high-definition
drone-mounted photography

To map the area that
the huge walls encompass.

Very little of
the walls exist today,

This makes tracing
the perimeter difficult.

Haider thinks that he can
identify the outline

Of the eastern side of the city.

But the perimeter line stops

When haider reaches
the western side of the city.

The western bank
is impossible to identify,

But from the survey
of the eastern side,

The size of the city looks much
smaller than 200 square miles.

Haider estimates babylon's
real size is more likely closer

To 2,000 acres,

About twice the size
of new york's central park.

It takes babylon
hundreds of years

To reach the glory days
of nebuchadnezzar's rule.

How come babylon becomes
a place of legends

In such a hostile world?

♪

Narrator: During the reign
of king nebuchadnezzar ii,

Babylon is the greatest city
in the ancient world.

It is architecturally stunning

With towering ziggurats,
wide roads,

Rich gardens,
and a magnificent gate.

How does the kingdom grow
to become a place of legends?

In the third millennium
b.C., babylon begins

As a small settlement
on the river euphrates.

By 1800 b.C.,

King hammurabi builds it up
into a major city.

The city is destroyed several
times by conquering armies,

But babylon recovers
and reaches its peak

Under king nebuchadnezzar
in 600 b.C.

It becomes the largest city
in the world

With an estimated
200,000 inhabitants.

What is the secret of babylon's
remarkable resilience?

♪

Haider almamori hunts
for clues in dilbat,

An ancient city
only 25 miles south of babylon.

The high water table in babylon
makes it a challenge

For archaeologists to dig down
to its earliest times.

But haider believes
these neighboring cities

Can reveal vital
missing evidence.

At dilbat, haider's team
unearths surprising discoveries.

The discovery leads haider

To a groundbreaking conclusion
about babylon.

Haider believes that
the reason for this wealth

Is a new policy of cooperation
between these early cities,

By working together, the cities
in this region grow and thrive.

Is cooperation. The only reason
that babylon continues

To succeed

Even in its earlier periods

Without a mighty ruler
at the helm?

♪

Haider believes
that clues in the landscape

Reveal another reason
for the region's success.

Babylon is located
in an ideal part of the world

With access
to numerous waterways.

Evidence suggests
that the many rivers triggered

The birth of civilization
in the plains of mesopotamia.

From 3500 b.C.,
long before babylon,

The fertile land
around the euphrates

And tigris rivers
feeds a growing population.

New irrigation systems help
small communities farm

Once arid lands and grow to
become the world's first cities.

The peoples of mesopotamia
also used the numerous waterways

As trade routes, becoming
even more prosperous.

By 1800 b.C.,

Babylon rises in power
under the rule of king hammurabi

To become the capital city
of a mighty empire.

Located in the fertile lands
of mesopotamia,

Babylon thrives by collaborating

Closely with nearby cities
like dilbat.

But with the birth of the empire
come new problems.

Can the kings of babylon
keep their people in check?

♪

Narrator: In 1800 b.C.,

King hammurabi of babylon
controls an empire

That stretches across
most of mesopotamia.

How does babylon's
first great king

Manage to rule a mighty empire

Stretching over 5,000
square miles?

♪

In susa, modern-day iran,

Archaeologists unearth
three mysterious objects

Made from polished
volcanic rock.

Together, they form a gigantic
seven-foot-tall finger.

At the top are king hammurabi
and the god of justice.

Carved underneath
is an ancient code

That spells out 282 two laws,

Some of the earliest
in the world.

Is this how the king controls
the millions of people

In his vast empire?

♪

♪

Professor stephanie dalley
is an expert

In the babylonian language
and cuneiform,

The ancient script
it is written in.

She investigates
how hammurabi's code

Is enforced
across the huge empire.

Dalley: We're not sure
where it was set up.

Would have had to be
in a public place.

Anybody who thinks they have
a grievance is invited to come

And hear the text being read

Says that he will get some idea
of how to sort his problem.

Narrator: The laws prescribe
specific punishments.

"poke out a man's eye,
you lose an eye,"

Originating the phrase
"an eye for an eye,

A tooth for a tooth."

But it's not always so fair.

Break the bone of an equal,
you get your bone broken,

But break the bone of a slave.
You only get fined.

It also states you are innocent
until proven guilty,

But the punishments are harsh...

You could lose an ear
or be thrown in the river.

It covers all aspects of life,
from fair wages

And medical malpractice
to divorce and child custody.

The laws are on display

In prominent places
around the empire.

But for those who do not have
this huge stone in their city,

There is another way
of getting the code.

Archeological discoveries
across mesopotamia showed

That the babylonians develop
a much easier system

To transfer information.

Dalley: This is a clay tablet,
as you can see it's quite small.

The writing is very small
on it, very handy.

It sits in your hand
really conveniently.

Narrator: The tablets
make babylon special.

They record its history
for posterity.

Stephanie works with
assyriologist

George heath-whyte,

Who is fluent in babylonian

And an expert in writing
in cuneiform.

They investigate how
the babylonians write

On these small pieces of clay.

They were used
for over 3,000 years.

So everyone would have used
different methods.

George's replica tablets
are made of earthenware clay,

Very similar to the clay

Found in the alluvial
mesopotamian plains.

The tablets have been air dried
for several days

Until they are leather hard.

George inscribes one
of hammurabi's most famous laws.

So far we have...
[ speaking babylonian ]

So "if a man blinds the eye
of another man."

Narrator: By making small
indentations in the clay,

Ancient scribes develop
a complex system of writing

With over 600 symbols.

So the whole law
in babylonian...

[ speaking babylonian ]

"if a man blinds
the eye of another man,

Then they shall blind his eye."

Narrator: George discovers that
clay is very easy to write on.

Most importantly,
it is cheap and accessible

To everyone in mesopotamia.

But the tablets also have
a serious drawback.

The real problem is that
this is damaged by water.

Heath-whyte: You already see
the clay coming off.

Obviously, if you've
written something

That you want to keep forever,
then you don't want it

To get wet
because it's going to be ruined.

But if the clay tablets
are so vulnerable to water,

How come archeologists unearth

So many of them
across mesopotamia?

Stephanie believes that there
is a way of hardening them

By using the same technology
used for making bricks.

These two have actually
been kiln fired

So they turned terra cotta.

Of course, terracotta
is waterproof.

Firing changes the chemical
composition of the clay,

Making it impermeable
and much stronger.

But because of the expense
of firing clay,

Most babylonians don't do it.

The reason for the clay tablets'
survival comes from destruction.

When a city is attacked
and burned to the ground,

The clay tablets
get baked naturally.

As babylon burns,

Its many stories survive
inscribed on small tablets.

But despite this,

The great city's
reputation changes dramatically.

In the bible,
babylon is portrayed

As a city of wickedness
and disillusion,

Even called
"the dwelling place of demons,

A haunt for every
unclean spirit."

Why?

♪

Narrator:
The ancient kingdom of babylon

Is a hub of learning
and culture, of writing and art.

So why does the bible portray it

As a place of wickedness
and boundless depravity?

The answer lies
600 miles away in israel.

Archaeologist nitsan shalom
excavates the area

Around temple mount
in old jerusalem

To investigate why the bible
is so disparaging of babylon.

♪

A clue lies 30 feet down in this
vast archaeological site.

Shalom:
Inside this room, you can see

We found a massive
destruction there.

All destruction, debris from
the collapse of the buildings

And all of this burnt
very intensely.

We have a lot
of charred materials.

Narrator: Nitsan is a micro
archaeologist of destruction.

At the site of this
collapsed building,

She makes a vital discovery.

Shalom: We did find a layer
of pottery lying on the floor,

And that pottery dates
with great certainty

To the very end of the iron age.

We can say with
very high likelihood

That this building was destroyed

By the soldiers of
nebuchadnezzar in 586 b.C.

Narrator: Early in his reign,
king nebuchadnezzar embarks

On an aggressive
military campaign.

He conquers jerusalem and later

Destroys this part of the city.

Shalom: We can see here
massive stone monoliths

That were part of the
construction of this building.

That takes manpower,
that takes money.

So this tells us that elite
were living in this house,

Someone very powerful,
very linked to the government.

Narrator: Nebuchadnezzar
burns down the houses

Of the elites of the city

In order to destabilize
jerusalem and quench any unrest.

What happens to the owners
of these houses?

Nebuchadnezzar
spares their lives,

But removes them from power.

I think that there wasn't
an attack on this house

In the sense of a battle.

It seems like it was
more of an abandonment

Followed by a planned
destruction that was done

With some kind
of advanced notice

For the residents of this place.

Narrator:
The old testament recounts
that close to 10,000 people,

Mostly the rich officials
and priests,

Are taken in captivity
to babylon.

There they write whole sections
of the bible

And babylon is cast
as the ultimate enemy.

The giant ziggurat of babylon,
etemenanki,

Becomes the biblical
tower of babel.

God strikes it down
as punishment.

Nebuchadnezzar himself
becomes a lonely wandering king

Driven to insanity.

Shalom: The siege on jerusalem
had such a deep impact

On the historical memory
of this nation.

This is the reason why babylon
is remembered

As such a hated empire

In the history
of the jewish people.

Narrator: Despite its
biblical reputation,

Investigators like jeff allen
and haider almamori

Unearth a magnificent city,
restoring its fame.

The city of babylon
is a city of wonders,

Home to the famed
hanging gardens,

The tower of babel,

And the brilliant ishtar gate

Built with the richest
materials.

Babylon is the capital
of a mighty empire...

...A spectacular kingdom
of the ancient world,

Inscribed in history

As one of the greatest
ever to exist.

♪

♪

♪