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00:0030,000 years ago, there was a flourishing world in the eastern Mediterranean.
00:05Cities prospered, trade and culture were at their peak.
00:10And then, almost overnight, nearly all these cities disappeared.
00:18What happened at the end of the Bronze Age?
00:21This is one of the greatest mysteries that continue to trouble us.
00:24It is one of the most challenging events in the history of mankind.
00:31Something catastrophic, something unimaginable.
00:34It looks like history switched off the lights.
00:38For many years, the finger of blame was pointed at some mysterious invaders,
00:44identified as the sea people on the walls of an Egyptian temple.
00:48Here, the pharaoh, Ramses III, recounts how he alone had survived their attacks
00:55whilst all the other great cities were lost.
01:00They were extraordinarily strong, devastating people
01:04that pillaged, raped, looted and devastated the entire eastern Mediterranean.
01:13But recent research casts doubt on this theory.
01:18In the last programme, we discovered that the sea people
01:26were probably not invaders, but migrants.
01:30Not the cause of the Bronze Age collapse,
01:32but the result of some catastrophic events.
01:35The analytic toolbox that we have in archaeology nowadays
01:39has revolutionised our understanding of the past.
01:42And the latest investigations into what may have happened at that time
01:46are uncovering a shocking truth.
01:50We could be facing a similar fate today.
01:52The collapse of the Bronze Age and the immediate aftermath
01:56is far more relevant to today than many people might think.
02:00So, if the sea people were fleeing a disaster,
02:13what were they escaping?
02:16In the last programme, we saw the first evidence
02:18suggesting that there might have been a widespread drought at that time.
02:22But drought and famine were not unique to the final years of the Bronze Age.
02:32Is there any evidence that this drought was worse than any other before?
02:41A great deal of research has been done in the last few years,
02:45and the findings are astonishing.
02:50Deep in the heart of Jerusalem lies a cavern more than 200 metres across
02:56known as Atarat Cave.
03:00Those that venture down there are rewarded with an amazing view
03:04of stalactites and other cave formations.
03:07Yoav Negev, head of the Israeli Caving Association,
03:20is fascinated by these formations,
03:23not only for their beauty,
03:25but also their importance as a source of information.
03:29Stalagmites are made of calcite
03:38that is deposited by water dripping from the ceiling.
03:43When it rains, water enters the cave
03:46and dissolves the limestone surrounding it,
03:49resulting in the deposition of calcite on the cave floor.
03:55This process forms layers in the stalagmite,
03:58with each layer representing a different time period.
04:03This stalagmite is cut in the middle
04:05so we can open it and see what it is made of.
04:12And what we can see here, it's pretty heavy,
04:15that these are like the growth rings of the stalagmite.
04:19The centre of the stalagmite is the beginning
04:22when this stalagmite was a baby stalagmite.
04:25The youngest part of the stalagmite
04:26is actually the external part.
04:28By analysing the isotopic composition
04:33and thickness of these growth rings,
04:36scientists can determine how much rain fell
04:39during that time period.
04:41A large ring, for example,
04:43would indicate a period of high precipitation.
04:48In this way, teams across the eastern Mediterranean
04:51have managed to put together a 150,000-year record of rainfall.
04:56And the results are illuminating.
04:59Those isotopes show that in that period,
05:03between the Late Bronze Age and the beginning of the Iron Age,
05:06there was no growth in the stalagmite.
05:08From that, we can understand this period was a drought period.
05:16It's apparent that at the end of the Bronze Age,
05:18around 1200 BC,
05:20and in the years afterwards,
05:23annual precipitation was exceptionally low.
05:25And the evidence is not just in the caves.
05:34This work is backed up by studies on mud cores,
05:40undertaken by research teams all over the eastern Mediterranean.
05:43These cores reveal the levels of pollen in the air
05:49at the time the mud was laid down,
05:52so researchers can reconstruct past vegetation
05:56and climatic conditions.
06:01In Israel, archaeobotanist Daphna Langert
06:04has been studying some cores
06:06taken from beneath the Sea of Galilee in the Dead Sea,
06:09which suggests there was a dramatic fall
06:13in crop cultivation at just this time.
06:20We were able to count for each sample
06:23hundreds of pollen grains.
06:25What is unique about pollen,
06:27that each plant produces its own unique pollen form.
06:31So it serves like its identity card or its fingerprint.
06:36And in addition,
06:37pollen is the most durable organic substance in nature.
06:41So it can be preserved for hundreds of thousands of years.
06:50By measuring the quantity
06:52of the radioactive isotope carbon-14 in the sediment,
06:56they are able to date each sample
06:58and determine the types of vegetation
07:01that existed during a particular period.
07:03And what they identified in the Late Bronze Age
07:08were low percentages of tree pollen,
07:11such as oaks, pistachio and olives,
07:15together with high ratios of herbs and small shrubs.
07:20This means that at that time,
07:22drier climate conditions existed in that area.
07:25Based on the pollen assemblages,
07:30we were able to reveal
07:32that these very dry conditions
07:35lasted for about 150 years,
07:39starting at 1250 BC.
07:43It's a situation that is difficult to handle.
07:48It would undoubtedly have had a devastating effect
07:52impact on the population of the region.
08:00Intrigued by all these new discoveries,
08:03archaeologist Israel Finkelstein
08:05began studying the cattle that were present in this area,
08:09as well as the crops that were growing in that period.
08:14This is Megiddo,
08:16a critical junction of trading routes in the Bronze Age.
08:20And in 1200 BC,
08:22this whole area known as Canaan
08:25was part of the Egyptian Empire.
08:28Remarkably, it seems that the Egyptians
08:31were introducing new farming methods here
08:34to cope with the drought.
08:39When Israel examined the cattle bones discovered on site,
08:43he observed that not only was there an increase
08:45in the number of cows in this period,
08:47that they were reaching old age before dying.
08:54So the meaning is that they kept the animals for a long time,
08:58and usually the meaning of this
09:00is that they used these animals to plough.
09:02So this is important.
09:04It's not only animals for consumption.
09:09These cows were being used to plough crops
09:12rather than for meat.
09:14What's more, he also noticed an increase
09:17in the number of sickle blades used for cutting crops.
09:22There is also growth in sickle blades,
09:26hinting that there is an expansion of agriculture
09:28and especially expansion of cereal agriculture.
09:31I'm speaking about dry farming.
09:33That is to say, mainly wheat and barley.
09:36Dry farming relies on natural rainfall to water crops,
09:42and both wheat and barley can survive
09:45with little or no irrigation.
09:49So it seems the Egyptians in charge here
09:52were increasing the production of these grains
09:54in order to try and cope with the crisis.
09:57And there was something else interesting about the cattle.
10:03We carried out ancient DNA study,
10:06and we noticed that there is something peculiar.
10:10First of all, of introduction of cattle,
10:12probably from Egypt, the zebu.
10:17And secondly, breeding of the local cattle with the zebu.
10:23And the zebu cattle is a strong animal
10:27which is more resilient to extreme climate,
10:32to extreme conditions.
10:34And we think that this was done on purpose
10:36in the late Monday.
10:39So they were also breeding hardier cows.
10:43If they had the time to do that,
10:45it suggests this must have been a very long drought.
10:49What we might now call climate change.
10:53What's extraordinary is that it seems that the Egyptians
11:04may have been trying to increase grain production
11:07around the more fertile parts of their empire
11:10because they were also experiencing drought at home.
11:18Often referred to as the breadbasket of the ancient world,
11:22Egypt was known for its regular and reliable flooding of the Nile.
11:29But new research conducted in the Nile Valley
11:31suggests that Egypt too was suffering.
11:41Research scientist Nick Mariner and his team
11:44have been working across all the countries affected by the drought,
11:47including Egypt.
11:52We're using an auger to take a core
11:55to study the evolution of the Nile's ancient environments
11:59and its waterscapes.
12:02They can analyse the pollen and other finds in the layers of sediment,
12:06such as fossils or freshwater shells,
12:09to understand how the climate varied in ancient times.
12:14So we can use this core to go back thousands of years
12:17to see what was happening during the Bronze Age,
12:19what the climate was like,
12:21what human societies were doing in this area
12:24and how they were affected by climate change.
12:28Their results suggest that not only was Egypt suffering from drought
12:32at this time, but that it lasted even longer
12:36than proposed by the researchers in Israel.
12:40We have evidence for a significant decline in Nile levels
12:45and Nile discharge spanning more than 6,500 kilometres
12:48from the sources of the Nile at Lake Victoria
12:50right down to the Nile Delta.
12:52This period lasted for around 300 years.
12:55This drop in the Nile appears to have started
12:59during the reign of Ramses III,
13:02the pharaoh who fought the sea people.
13:06This is an exceptionally long period of drought
13:09that we could describe as being a mega drought
13:11and would have significantly affected Bronze Age societies.
13:21A drought lasting a year or two
13:23or even ten years
13:25doesn't necessarily mean that a society will fall.
13:31But a mega drought lasting more than 100 years
13:35simply does not allow the inhabitants any respite.
13:42When the drought finally ends,
13:44some of the affected societies may have survived,
13:48but others may no longer exist
13:51despite all their efforts to deal with it.
13:59A remarkable story seems to be coming together.
14:04A huge, devastating drought
14:06caused many different people to take to the sea
14:09in search of new lands.
14:12Sometimes destroying the cities of the existing inhabitants.
14:16The result was a widespread collapse.
14:22But the drought lasted 300 years.
14:25Was there a specific event
14:27that occurred suddenly around 1200 BC
14:30that led to the chaos at that time?
14:34It seems there could still be a missing piece of the puzzle.
14:38Some sudden event that caused people to flee.
14:42One obvious possibility is a volcanic eruption.
14:56The Mediterranean has many volcanoes
14:59and the eruption of the island of Santorini in 1640 BC
15:04is known to have caused an earlier decline
15:07in the Minoan civilisation.
15:09But there is nothing to suggest
15:14that Santorini exploded again.
15:26But recently, archaeologists in Egypt
15:29stumbled on some stunning new evidence
15:31for one more factor
15:33in the events that overcame the people of the Bronze Age.
15:36Until a few years ago,
15:41the famous Colossi of Memnon
15:43were all that remained of the largest temple
15:46ever built in ancient Egypt,
15:48the Mortuary Temple of Amenhotep III.
15:53When we came here, we thought it was a large field.
15:56It was indeed a large field
15:58preceded by these two colossal statues.
16:02Nobody except very specialised people
16:06knew that beyond the Memnon there was a vast
16:09and there were the ruins of a very, very large temple.
16:14This temple, known as Qom el-Hetan,
16:17was the pinnacle of construction in Egypt's new kingdom.
16:20But at some point in history,
16:25the building was completely destroyed by an earthquake.
16:29All except the famous Colossi of Amenhotep III,
16:34which had once flanked the main gate.
16:36Over the last few decades,
16:46archaeologist Hurig Sirusian
16:47has been attempting to resurrect this temple,
16:51excavating and re-erecting whatever stonework is left.
17:01It's been a Herculean task.
17:04In the process of all the reconstruction,
17:21Hurig has been working with a team
17:22from the Armenian Institute of Geological Sciences
17:25to try and establish
17:28when exactly this destructive earthquake occurred.
17:31Leading the team is Ara Avagyan.
17:35He's found clear evidence
17:37of a massive earthquake throughout the site.
17:40These huge blocks are displaced
17:43with respect to each other.
17:46You see, in vertically,
17:48in horizontally,
17:50we have a displacement.
17:51But here,
17:52we have another thing,
17:54much more important.
17:56When we have earthquake,
17:58we have a passing wave.
18:01It likes waves in the water.
18:03What we see here,
18:04all these blocks tilted a few degrees to the south,
18:08like this.
18:10Here,
18:11we see all these blocks
18:14tilted a few degrees
18:16to the north,
18:18like this.
18:20And you see this row of blocks?
18:23Again,
18:24they tilted to the south.
18:26So we have some kind of wave here.
18:31And in some places,
18:33we have a man-made mortar
18:36folded like this.
18:38Exactly the same wave.
18:43You see the wave?
18:45Like this.
18:46Like this.
18:47So,
18:48such a deformation
18:50can be explained
18:52only by earthquake.
18:56To try and pinpoint
19:02the date of the earthquake,
19:04Ara has been looking
19:05for evidence of liquefaction.
19:08This can occur
19:09when soil is shaken
19:10in a large earthquake
19:11and begins to behave
19:13like a liquid,
19:15leading to extensive damage
19:17to any structures built there.
19:21So,
19:22here we have
19:23a very beautiful manifestation
19:25of liquidation.
19:26We have
19:27a thin
19:28archaeological layer.
19:31And after
19:31the earthquake happened,
19:34we have
19:34like
19:35plume injection
19:36of
19:36sandy layer.
19:38OK?
19:39It destroyed
19:40archaeological layer.
19:42You see
19:42some fraction
19:43of archaeological layer
19:44here.
19:45The team
19:46found several examples
19:47of this liquefaction layer,
19:50evidence
19:50of a massive
19:51earthquake.
19:52and in these layers,
19:54they found shards of pottery.
19:57It is pottery,
19:57it is pottery,
19:58it is pottery,
19:59it is pottery,
19:59it is pottery,
20:00it is pottery.
20:00This, this.
20:02Radiocarbon dating
20:03of the pottery
20:04indicated that this destruction
20:06occurred around 1200 BC,
20:10but the date was vague.
20:12The style of the pottery itself,
20:14however,
20:14was more precise.
20:16So this is
20:18one of the pots
20:19we found
20:20under the
20:21fallen colossee,
20:22and these are
20:23shards.
20:25This pot,
20:26we showed it to
20:27a specialist
20:28in pottery
20:29who said
20:291200 BC
20:31within a few years.
20:32A massive earthquake
20:43seems to have
20:44happened
20:45in 1200 BC.
20:49And shortly
20:50afterwards,
20:51Ramses III
20:52was fighting
20:53the sea people.
20:55Could there
20:55be a link?
20:59Was this
21:00earthquake
21:01the trigger
21:02for the events
21:02which followed
21:03and the widespread
21:04collapse
21:05of the known world?
21:19While the Armenian
21:20geologists
21:21were in Egypt,
21:23they sought permission
21:24to look at several
21:25other nearby temples.
21:27These included
21:28the famous
21:29Rameseum,
21:30where Ramses II's
21:31giant head
21:32lies broken
21:33on the ground.
21:37And nearby Karnak,
21:39where they found
21:40extensive earthquake
21:41damage,
21:42including another
21:43fallen statue
21:44of Ramses.
21:48They concluded
21:49that many other
21:51temples in Luxor
21:52had been damaged
21:52in the same earthquake
21:54in 1200 BC.
21:55and if this earthquake
21:59might have been
22:00a trigger
22:00for the collapse
22:01which followed,
22:02it was important
22:03to know
22:03exactly how
22:05widespread it was.
22:16To determine
22:17the extent,
22:18Horig and Ara
22:19travelled throughout
22:20Egypt,
22:21looking for evidence
22:22of earthquakes
22:22and attempting
22:24to date them.
22:26The damage
22:27in a funerary chapel
22:28at Gebel el-Selsila
22:30is particularly striking.
22:38Here,
22:39a statue
22:40of three seated figures
22:41has been split
22:42with a separation
22:43of one metre
22:44between its two halves.
22:46We are in the middle
22:50of an open crack.
22:55These were three
22:56persons seated
22:57near each other
22:59and now they are split.
23:01It is fantastic
23:02to see
23:03this statue
23:04split in two parts
23:05and displaced
23:07during this shock.
23:10You can be sure
23:11that it is earthquake.
23:14Based on the direction
23:15of the cracks,
23:17Ara and Horig
23:18think this could
23:19have been
23:19the same earthquake
23:20that destroyed
23:21Kormel Hetan,
23:22the mortuary temple
23:23of Amenhotep III
23:24and the other sites
23:27in Luxor.
23:29Might its effects
23:31have been felt
23:31even further afield?
23:39They travel down
23:40to Abu Simbel
23:41in the south
23:41to investigate.
23:43Commissioned by
23:45Ramses II,
23:47this iconic
23:48rock-cut temple
23:50is considered
23:51to be one of the
23:51most impressive
23:52remaining examples
23:53of ancient
23:55Egyptian architecture
23:56and engineering.
23:59Although this
24:00entire temple
24:01was raised
24:02when the Aswan Dam
24:03was built,
24:04it was preserved
24:05exactly as it was,
24:08complete with any damage.
24:09and it doesn't
24:11take them long
24:12to find
24:13a suspicious
24:14crack.
24:16It is new
24:17forming crack.
24:19Crack formed
24:20after carving
24:22this wall.
24:23Yes.
24:24And because
24:25we have a small step,
24:26we have a small shift.
24:28Yes.
24:28The blocks
24:29are shifted
24:30with respect
24:31to each other
24:31and such a thing
24:33in geology
24:35we call also fault.
24:37It's a micro fault.
24:37we have a shift
24:38here.
24:39We can't expect
24:40this without shaking.
24:42I see.
24:43Clear demonstration.
24:44Yeah.
24:47They find
24:48similar cracks
24:49throughout the temple.
24:52The earthquake
24:53even seems
24:54to have brought
24:55down the upper half
24:56of one of the
24:57seated colossi
24:58of Ramses II.
24:59It is obvious
25:03that the monument
25:05hit by earthquake.
25:07Yes.
25:07And there is
25:08earthquake input
25:09of this collapse.
25:11It is sure.
25:12Maybe this earthquake
25:14and earthquake
25:15that we discover
25:16in the site
25:17of Khomele Tham
25:19it's the same.
25:21It is probable.
25:22So far
25:32from Abu Simbel
25:33to Saqqara
25:34the length of Egypt
25:35they found evidence
25:37of a massive earthquake
25:38or perhaps
25:40a series of earthquakes
25:42at much the same time.
25:43Egypt it seems
25:54was flattened
25:55in 1200 BC.
25:58So could these earthquakes
26:00have been even more
26:01widespread
26:01beyond Egypt?
26:04Might they have
26:05played a role
26:05in what happened
26:07in Greece?
26:11In Mycenae
26:12excavators have now
26:14found evidence
26:15of earthquake destruction.
26:17Collapsed buildings
26:18even crushed bodies.
26:22In this doorway
26:23was found
26:24the skeleton
26:24of a woman
26:25who was killed
26:26when the house
26:27collapsed around her.
26:29In fact
26:29these photographs
26:29show that she was
26:31struck by a rock
26:32that shattered her skull.
26:34She was pretty much
26:35killed instantly.
26:36She's not the only
26:37body that we have here
26:39from the earthquake
26:40that hit the site.
26:41There's another house
26:42a couple hundred
26:42metres away
26:43where an entire
26:45family was crushed
26:46when their house
26:46came down around them.
26:48So in addition
26:49to everything else
26:50that might have
26:51happened
26:51invaders
26:52famine
26:53drought
26:54we have to
26:55factor in
26:55earthquakes as well.
27:00And bodies
27:00have also been
27:01found by excavators
27:03at other Greek sites.
27:07Anthropologist
27:07Marilena Hovalopoulou
27:09has been studying
27:10some of the remains.
27:15In the last few decades
27:17several anthropologists
27:18unearthed at least
27:1916 skeletons
27:21who they believed
27:21died from earthquakes
27:22that took place
27:23in Greece
27:24around 1200 BC.
27:26Here we have
27:27an example
27:28of a skeleton
27:28who was found
27:30at Kadmia
27:30belonged to a young
27:32woman
27:3220 to 25 years old
27:34and she was believed
27:35to have died
27:36during an earthquake
27:37that took place
27:37at that time.
27:39She had several
27:40injuries to her skull
27:41but this one
27:42over here
27:42that we can see
27:43in the middle
27:43of her cranial vault
27:44is believed
27:45to have been
27:46the fatal one.
27:47This fracture
27:48is thought
27:49to have been
27:49caused
27:50by a falling
27:50roof beam.
27:53Here we have
27:54another skeleton
27:54that belongs
27:55to a young woman
27:56as well.
27:57We're not sure
27:57whether she died
27:58during an earthquake
27:59or not
27:59but she also
28:00had injuries
28:01to her skull
28:02and a very
28:03similar fracture
28:04in the middle
28:05of the cranial vault
28:06as well.
28:08There can be
28:09no doubt
28:10that Greece
28:11suffered from earthquakes
28:12around this time
28:13and Eric believes
28:15that in some cases
28:16they may have been
28:17responsible
28:18for the destruction
28:19of entire cities
28:20including the site
28:23of Tiryns.
28:24I think this
28:27is destroyed
28:27by an earthquake
28:28at the end
28:29of the Late Bronze Age
28:301200 BC
28:31and life essentially
28:32comes to an end.
28:34There are some survivors
28:35there are people
28:36living in the lower city
28:37but for all intents
28:38and purposes
28:39life comes to an end here.
28:49Eric thinks
28:50it would have been
28:51possible for a storm
28:52of earthquakes
28:53over a period
28:54of 50 years
28:55from about 1225
28:56to 1175 BC
28:58to cause
29:00such devastating
29:01destruction
29:01across the eastern
29:03Mediterranean
29:03that society
29:05would have found
29:05it very difficult
29:06to recover.
29:09There's something
29:10that are known
29:11as earthquake sequences
29:12or earthquake storms
29:13and this is simply
29:15when you have an earthquake
29:16and it doesn't release
29:17the pressure
29:18all of the pressure
29:19in the fault zone
29:20you'll have another
29:22earthquake
29:22soon thereafter
29:23maybe days
29:24maybe weeks
29:25maybe a year
29:26but there will be
29:27another earthquake
29:28and if that earthquake
29:29does not release
29:31the rest of the pressure
29:32you'll have another
29:33earthquake
29:33and another
29:34and another
29:35in fact usually
29:36we need to unzip
29:38the fault line
29:39as we say
29:40and that can take
29:41up to 50 years
29:42and a number
29:43of earthquakes
29:44and then the sequence
29:45starts all over again.
29:49The Mediterranean
29:50is full of fault zones
29:52as the recent earthquakes
29:53in Turkey and Syria
29:54have shown
29:55and the Bronze Age world
29:57may well have been
29:58a victim
29:59of this unzipping.
30:00If we take a look
30:05at the map here
30:06there are active
30:07fault zones
30:08everywhere
30:09we've got
30:09one coming down
30:10the side of Greece
30:11and Crete
30:12coming around to Cyprus
30:13there's another one
30:15that goes across
30:15the top of Turkey
30:16it's the North Anatolian
30:17fault line
30:18and of course
30:19we've got the Dead Sea
30:20fault that comes up
30:21forming the Dead Sea
30:22in Lake Tiberias
30:24now if we superimpose
30:26a map
30:26of all the sites
30:28that are destroyed
30:29at the end
30:29of the Late Bronze Age
30:30we can see
30:31that many of them
30:32are right next
30:33to an active fault zone
30:34so we have here
30:36I think
30:37between about
30:381225 to 1175 B.C.
30:41we have
30:41an earthquake storm
30:43in the Aegean
30:44and eastern Mediterranean
30:45and that may
30:47tell us
30:48why a lot of these sites
30:49are destroyed.
30:50such an earthquake storm
30:54would undoubtedly
30:55have devastated
30:56many cities
30:57and left others
30:58vulnerable to attack.
31:05Right across
31:06ancient sites
31:07in the eastern Mediterranean
31:08what is clearly
31:10earthquake damage
31:11is visible.
31:15It can even be found
31:17at the famous
31:18Lion's Gate
31:19at Hattusa.
31:20At Hattusa
31:24we have
31:25earthquake evidence
31:26at several
31:27of the monumental
31:27Hittite buildings
31:29this here
31:32the Lion's Gate
31:33is a very
31:33particular
31:34good example
31:35where we have
31:37cracks
31:37in the
31:38major blocks
31:39this crack here
31:41is going
31:41zigzag
31:42through the tower
31:43indicates
31:44how the facade
31:46has
31:46been ripped off
31:48the main structure
31:49and moved forward
31:50a little bit.
31:51The upper part
31:52also of course
31:53came with it
31:54and that
31:55would have cracked
31:56this block
31:57here just right
31:58in the middle
31:59in a way
32:01that no human
32:03would be able
32:03to do.
32:04So this is not
32:05the impact
32:06of any attack
32:07or whatsoever
32:08but that is the impact
32:09of Mother Nature
32:10when with an earthquake.
32:16Coming in the middle
32:17of a devastating drought
32:18it's easy to see
32:20how this earthquake storm
32:21could have triggered
32:22the widespread collapse
32:24of the whole
32:24interconnected system
32:26of the Bronze Age
32:27causing people
32:32the sea people
32:33to set out
32:34in their thousands
32:35in search
32:36of new homes.
32:47So was the earthquake storm
32:49the final link
32:50in a disastrous
32:51chain of events
32:52that led
32:53to the collapse
32:54of the Bronze Age
32:55world.
32:56Even today
32:57earthquakes are
32:58frequently followed
32:59by the spread
33:00of disease
33:01as water supplies
33:02and drains
33:03are destroyed
33:04and disease
33:08may well have been
33:09an additional factor
33:10in the disruption.
33:13When there are
33:14these collapses
33:14of civilisation
33:15it is more than
33:17possible that
33:17disease plays
33:18a role in it.
33:19Sometimes it is
33:20sort of the catalyst
33:21but more often
33:22than not
33:23when there are
33:23so many things
33:24going on
33:25particularly problems
33:26in terms of food
33:27you have populations
33:29that are more
33:29vulnerable to
33:30any kind of disease
33:32that might be around
33:33and so you will have
33:34the young
33:35and very old
33:35dying off
33:37as well as
33:38this affecting
33:38other members
33:39of society.
33:43The Covid-19
33:45pandemic
33:45has shown us
33:46just how devastating
33:47its effects can be
33:49and how vulnerable
33:50and how vulnerable
33:50we are in an
33:51interconnected world
33:53just as they were
33:54then.
33:58Diseases are often
34:00hard to identify
34:01in the archaeological
34:02record
34:03but research suggests
34:05that at least 10
34:06could have been
34:07implicated in the
34:08Bronze Age collapse
34:09including smallpox,
34:11typhoid
34:12and malaria.
34:17This is the tomb
34:19of Ramses V
34:20and his death
34:21reveals that smallpox
34:23was in Egypt
34:24shortly after these events.
34:28King Ramses V
34:30had little pustules
34:32all over his face
34:33we know from his mummy
34:34and then
34:35when we carried out
34:36tests
34:36we found out
34:37he actually died
34:39of smallpox.
34:41We have several
34:42texts that talk
34:43about how
34:44he was not
34:45buried immediately
34:45upon his death
34:46but in fact
34:4816 months later
34:49and this is a
34:51very odd thing
34:51because generally
34:52within 70 days
34:54of your death
34:54you were supposed
34:55to be buried.
34:57We also know
34:58that several tombs
34:59were being cut
35:00for other relatives
35:01suggesting that
35:02everyone died
35:03at the same time
35:04unexpectedly
35:04and also
35:06the workers
35:06who had cut
35:07these tombs
35:08were given
35:09a whole month's
35:10leave at the
35:11expense of the state
35:12which has led
35:13some scholars
35:14to think
35:14that maybe
35:15this was the
35:15first example
35:16of quarantine.
35:21It sounds
35:22suspiciously
35:23like they were
35:24facing a
35:24widespread epidemic.
35:28Smallpox
35:29doesn't just appear
35:30as a single case
35:31and if the pharaoh
35:32and his family
35:33had it
35:34we can assume
35:35it was sweeping
35:36through the population
35:37rich and poor alike.
35:45Without vaccines
35:46or antibiotics
35:47the spread of infectious
35:49diseases would have
35:50been disastrous.
35:55According to experts
35:56there is nothing
35:58like a severe plague
35:59to deliver a fatal blow
36:01to an empire.
36:11So do we at last
36:13have the answer
36:13to what happened
36:14to end the Bronze Age
36:16civilization so abruptly?
36:21All these interconnected societies
36:24were first laid low
36:26by a period of mega drought
36:28that caused widespread famine
36:32and migration of people
36:33and were then finished off
36:37by an earthquake storm
36:38followed by an epidemic
36:42of infectious disease.
36:48Faced with such a series
36:50of disasters
36:50the leaders of the day
36:52would have been unable
36:53to provide for their populations
36:55and social and political collapse
36:58might easily have ensued.
37:01The sea people
37:02may not in fact
37:04have been the only ones
37:05attacking cities
37:06throughout the Mediterranean.
37:07In the last days
37:11of Mycenae
37:11about 1200 BC
37:13the cities destroyed.
37:15Who did it?
37:16Big question.
37:17Is it invaders
37:18from outside?
37:19Is it an internal uprising?
37:21Are the 99%
37:23rising up against the 1%?
37:25The system they had in place
37:26may have been susceptible
37:28to such things.
37:29You have the king
37:30at the top
37:31the one ox
37:31and then you have
37:32stratified society
37:34taking advantage
37:35of the lower classes.
37:37It's possible
37:41that Mycenae's
37:42eventual destruction
37:43was not the result
37:45of an external invasion
37:46but rather caused
37:48by internal conflicts
37:50within the city.
37:53This political collapse
37:55could also explain
37:57the riddle
37:57of what happened
37:58at Hattusa
37:59and other cities too.
38:02The local resentment
38:03I think would have been
38:04a large factor in this.
38:06Now we can imagine
38:06you're toiling away
38:07in the fields
38:08you're sending
38:09your agricultural production
38:10to the palace
38:11you are not invited
38:12or included
38:13to any of the fun
38:14and festivity
38:15even if it's religious
38:16in nature
38:17within the walls
38:18of Hattusa.
38:19So there would have been
38:20a real social divide
38:22between the haves
38:23and have nots
38:24let's say
38:24ripe for some sort
38:27of uprising.
38:28An internal rebellion
38:32may well have been
38:33the knockout blow
38:34responsible for the Hittite
38:36state collapsing
38:36and vanishing from history.
38:41And though Egypt survived
38:43evidence of political
38:45and social unrest
38:46can even be found here.
38:49Following Ramses III's victory
38:51over the sea people
38:52we find the first
38:54labour strike
38:55in recorded history.
38:57The reign of Ramses III
39:00was not just marked
39:01by the chaos
39:02with the sea peoples
39:03but in fact
39:04it was when we had
39:05the first sit-in strike
39:06in history
39:07when all of the workers
39:08who were working
39:09in the Valley of the Kings
39:09had not been paid
39:11by the king
39:12so they put down
39:13their tools
39:13marched off
39:14and had a sit-in
39:15at the temple
39:16and they kept doing this
39:18until they finally
39:19got paid.
39:20The strike ended up
39:23going on for months
39:24and marked the beginning
39:25of Egypt's decline
39:27in power and influence.
39:30This is all tied in
39:31to why there was
39:33so much chaos
39:34during this time period
39:35because of course
39:36if you're busy
39:37being pillaged
39:38you don't have time
39:39for people to raise crops
39:41and carry out agriculture
39:42and also if you're fighting
39:44you need to supply
39:45your army
39:46and so you can't supply
39:48the rest of your country
39:48so really there was
39:50a lot of knock-on effects
39:51with the battles
39:52with the sea people
39:53and possibly also
39:54other things going on
39:56with climate changing
39:57and low Niles being present
39:59which means that
40:00the Egyptians
40:01did not have
40:02the usual huge stockpile
40:04of grain
40:04that they would have
40:05in normal times.
40:06This near-complete
40:12social and political collapse
40:13would likely have increased
40:15the flood of different people
40:17who were forced to flee
40:18in search of somewhere
40:20new to live.
40:23Each group may have been
40:25moving or leaving
40:26or invading
40:27for a different reason.
40:29Some may have been invaders
40:31some may have been migrants
40:34some may have been refugees.
40:38As these victims
40:39of a string of disasters
40:41crossed the Mediterranean
40:42they were seen
40:43as invading sea people
40:45but it's clear
40:47that at least some of them
40:49were not warriors
40:50they were families
40:52refugees seeking
40:54a better life
40:55in a new land.
40:57I would say that
41:00the equivalent
41:01in the modern era
41:02would be
41:04the refugees
41:05fleeing the civil war
41:06in Syria
41:07and moving over
41:08to Greece and such.
41:11After years of research
41:13theories and mystery
41:14we finally appear
41:16to have a solution
41:17as to what caused
41:19the collapse
41:20of the great civilizations
41:21of the Bronze Age.
41:23But it's perhaps wrong
41:25to think of the answer
41:26as a string of disasters
41:28one thing after another.
41:33I think that's too simple.
41:36It's too simplistic.
41:37Life as we know it
41:38is much more messy
41:40and so I don't think
41:41I see this as a linear progression.
41:44I see it more as overlapping.
41:46I think it's just
41:47this whole smorgasbord
41:49if you will
41:50of catastrophic events.
41:53What I see this as
41:54is a perfect storm.
41:56It is a perfect storm
41:58of catastrophes
41:59of calamities
42:00and that's what leads
42:02to the collapse.
42:06Perhaps the inhabitants
42:07could have survived
42:08one disaster
42:09such as an earthquake
42:11or a drought
42:12but they could not endure
42:14the combined effects
42:15of multiple catastrophes
42:17all occurring together.
42:21Climate change
42:22causing drought
42:23causing drought
42:23and famine
42:23earthquakes and disease
42:26migrations and war
42:28internal rebellions
42:30and the collapse
42:32of their supply chains.
42:35It was all too much
42:36to bear at once
42:37and led
42:38to the interconnected
42:39civilizations
42:40collapsing like dominoes.
42:45What followed
42:46has been called
42:47a dark age.
42:49For a while
42:51diplomatic and trade
42:52relations were nearly
42:53non-existent
42:54and art,
42:56architecture
42:56and general quality
42:58of life
42:59all suffered
42:59in comparison
43:00with the bronze age.
43:04But of course
43:05it wasn't the end
43:06of everything.
43:07In fact,
43:08it was the catalyst
43:09for a new age.
43:10An age in which
43:12iron replaced bronze
43:13as the metal
43:14of choice.
43:16It was a period
43:18of transformation
43:18and development
43:19which in time
43:21gave rise
43:22to the civilizations
43:23we know today.
43:271200 BC
43:28was undoubtedly
43:29a pivotal point
43:30in history.
43:32The thing
43:33that has me worried
43:34and losing sleep
43:36at night
43:36is a lot
43:37of the factors
43:38that I see
43:39that contributed
43:40to the collapse
43:41of the late bronze age
43:42are around again today.
43:44You can just
43:45tick off the boxes.
43:47You know,
43:47climate change,
43:48yes,
43:48earthquakes,
43:49yes,
43:49invaders,
43:50yes,
43:50drought,
43:51famine,
43:51migration.
43:52I mean,
43:52they're all there.
43:56Perhaps the past
43:57is more relevant
43:58than we might
43:59like to think.
44:02Climate
44:02was a prime mover
44:04in the process.
44:06Climate
44:06was the centerpiece
44:07in the whole thing.
44:08Of course,
44:09it brought about
44:10other processes
44:11people moving,
44:13destruction of cities,
44:15collapse of empires
44:16and so on.
44:17But the beginning
44:18was the climate.
44:21History is very cyclical,
44:23so maybe we will
44:24wind up repeating
44:25what happened
44:26at the end
44:26of the bronze age.
44:27Or maybe we can
44:28do something
44:29to stop it.
44:30I think instead
44:31of just talking
44:32about doing things
44:33about climate change,
44:33if we actually do it,
44:35then we might
44:35stand a chance.
44:36most societies
44:40in the history
44:41of humankind
44:42have collapsed.
44:43And it would be
44:44hubristic to think
44:45that we're not
44:46going to.
44:47I definitely think
44:48it's not a matter
44:49of if we collapse,
44:51but when we collapse.
44:53And when we do,
44:54then,
44:54what are we prepared
44:55to do?
44:56Either to try
44:57and stop it
44:58before it happens,
44:59or afterward,
45:01how are we going
45:02to be resilient?
45:03How are we going
45:04to get back up?
45:07Uncovering the story
45:08of the bronze age
45:09collapse has shown
45:10how the survival
45:11of any civilization
45:13may mean learning
45:14to deal with the threats
45:15before it's too late.
45:34The Pol�es
45:40got here.
45:40We're going
45:43to work
45:44as long as we
45:45are going
45:46to get there.
45:50We'll be able
45:51to get through
45:53a boy
45:54we'll be
46:02going
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