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00:00The lost city of Kish in modern-day Iraq.
00:05The mysterious metropolis at the heart of the cradle of civilization.
00:10Legends tell of the powerful kings who rule these lands.
00:15They are some of the first kings in history.
00:18This is an incredible story.
00:21Kish changed the path of history forever.
00:24A saga of divine power, war, and conquest.
00:30Why does this site have such legendary status?
00:34What can these scorched ruins reveal about the origins of royalty as we know it?
00:41Kings write, I have built this, I have done this, I have conquered this.
00:47Solidifying their right in stone and in clay.
00:51Today, after decades of conflict in this area,
00:56archaeologists have rare access to investigate this lost city's buried secrets.
01:02They head deep into ancient caves.
01:05This is probably 10,000 years at least.
01:08Launch a high-resolution drone.
01:10That's really interesting when you see the drone.
01:14And put ancient technology to the test.
01:17To discover the truth about Kish,
01:20we digitally rebuild this revolutionary city.
01:24From its monumental ziggurats,
01:27to its war-torn palaces,
01:30we unearth hundreds of human skeletons,
01:34and clues of a shocking betrayal.
01:37To explore the lost world of the Sumerian kings.
01:49The Iraqi desert.
01:51Over 5,000 years ago,
01:54the world's first cities are born here, in Mesopotamia.
01:58The land between two rivers.
02:03Legends tell of all-powerful kings ruling over these vast lands.
02:08The kings of Kish.
02:12Now, 60 miles south of Baghdad,
02:15investigators head into the desert
02:17to hunt for the ruins of the king's capital.
02:24Kish is described as a mighty city.
02:28At its height, it's a sprawling metropolis
02:31that spans 25 million square feet.
02:36In the east sits a fortified palace for the king's throne.
02:40And beside it, a colossal temple complex.
02:45A labyrinth of streets,
02:47packed with mud-brick houses,
02:49encircles these impressive landmarks.
02:51In the west is another giant temple complex.
02:56Kish is a legendary capital
02:57fit for some of history's first kings.
03:00Do any of its impressive structures survive?
03:03And can the ruins reveal the truth
03:06about the legends of Kish?
03:09Decades of conflict have kept archaeologists
03:12away from this region.
03:14But now, a pioneering team is on a quest
03:17to explore enormous mounds
03:19that could conceal the king's legendary capital.
03:25Investigators Jeff Allen and Amar Alte
03:28have rare access to the site of Kish.
03:32Our cameras have been granted
03:34special permission to follow them.
03:38Jeff has spent 27 years
03:41protecting ancient sites in war-torn regions.
03:44And Amar works for the Iraq State Board of Antiquities.
03:49They search for clues of ancient structures
03:52among the sun-scorched ruins.
03:58The first step to understanding the story of Kish
04:01is to look at the evidence that's around us here.
04:06This vast site is made up of more than 40 mounds
04:10that sprawl across an area larger than the country of Monaco.
04:14The only way to survey every inch is from the air.
04:20Amar launches a drone-mounted high-definition camera
04:26to capture the topography of the landscape
04:29in digital detail.
04:33So we are now inside this temple.
04:36Wow, this is an amazing archaeological site.
04:39It's enormous.
04:40Yeah.
04:41And really what impresses me are these mounds here.
04:44Yeah.
04:45Two giant mounds, each over 40 feet tall,
04:49stand out among the ruins.
04:52When I see these, I get the impression
04:55that one of these could have been a ziggurat,
04:57a pyramid-like structure
04:59rising towards a temple at the top.
05:04Amar uses the drone footage
05:06to create an accurate 3-D model
05:08of each mound on the site.
05:11We can digitally analyze the 3-D profile
05:15to see if it is much the profile of the ziggurat.
05:22The first mound soars 46 feet high.
05:27It has a clear square shape at its base
05:32and what looks like a tower on top.
05:37So when we take this section,
05:40it creates it exactly like the shape of the ziggurat.
05:43The distinctive profile is proof
05:46this is once a ziggurat.
05:49An iconic temple monument
05:51reaching up toward the heavens
05:53and visible for miles around.
05:58Mesopotamian cities typically center around a ziggurat,
06:02like this one still visible
06:04in the nearby city of Ur today.
06:08But the second mound in Kish is more mysterious.
06:12Amar and Jeff inspect their 3-D model.
06:15You can see it is a strange shape.
06:18It's a staggered shape.
06:20It kind of steps down, yes.
06:21Yeah, so it looks like I have another ziggurat.
06:26This mound is 44 feet tall
06:28and its profile reveals a more gradual, uneven slope,
06:32which is also consistent with a ziggurat ruin.
06:37Proof of a second ziggurat in Kish.
06:41But right next to this second ziggurat,
06:43they spot yet another intriguing mound.
06:47You can see the smaller one and the bigger one.
06:51It's 26 feet tall
06:53with a similar staggered profile.
06:56These adjacent mounds reveal something extraordinary in Kish.
07:01So we think it is a double ziggurat.
07:04The ruins of it represent a double ziggurat
07:06here in Kish.
07:09This discovery of a double ziggurat
07:12is remarkable.
07:14It gives Kish a total of 3 ziggurats,
07:18more than any usual Mesopotamian city.
07:20The enormous size of the city
07:23plus the fact that it had 3 ziggurats
07:26suggests to me that it was an important place.
07:31The evidence is that Kish matches the legendary descriptions.
07:36These mounds are once towering temples.
07:39Their cores survive to this day.
07:44Jeff and Ammar want to know
07:46how such a monumental city
07:47rises up in the middle of the desert.
07:53Ammar uses experimental archaeology
07:56to investigate.
07:58He wants to recreate Kish's bricks.
08:02At a nearby site,
08:04his team experiments
08:05with ancient techniques and materials.
08:08They combine mud and water
08:11and add straw to thicken the mixture.
08:14Then they use a square mold
08:16to shape it
08:17and create bricks
08:18with uniform dimensions.
08:21We are making the mud bricks
08:23by using this mold.
08:25It is the same measurement
08:27for the mud bricks that we saw
08:28and the walls of the temple of Kish.
08:32They dry in the hot desert air
08:35and the result is bricks
08:37that hold together
08:38just like the ones at Kish.
08:41Each mud brick can bear
08:431,700 pounds of weight.
08:47That's strong enough
08:48to support the towering ziggurats.
08:51But their ancient recipe
08:53reveals the city's building blocks
08:55require a lot of water.
09:00Ammar investigates
09:02where the water could come from.
09:04He inspects some exposed
09:06original bricks close up
09:08and spots something strange.
09:11Here you can see pieces
09:13from the shells.
09:14This is evidence
09:16that the river
09:17run through the city.
09:20It's a crucial clue
09:22to how Kish grows so large
09:24and why it has
09:25three towering ziggurats.
09:30The first ziggurat
09:31sits at the center
09:32of a small city
09:33on the northern bank
09:34of the river.
09:36A mile away
09:37on the southern bank
09:38another city develops
09:41with a colossal
09:42double ziggurat
09:43at its heart.
09:44Over hundreds of years
09:46these two small cities
09:48each with their own
09:49religious center
09:50grow and merge
09:52into the powerful
09:53mega metropolis
09:54of Kish.
09:57Is it home
09:58to legendary kings?
10:05Stephanie Daly
10:06looks for clues
10:07at the prestigious
10:08Ashmolean Museum
10:10in Oxford.
10:12She is one of just
10:13a few people
10:14in the world
10:15who can read cuneiform,
10:16the earliest writing system
10:18ever discovered.
10:20This cuneiform-covered prism
10:22is the 3,800-year-old
10:24Sumerian king list,
10:26a rare record
10:28of the world's
10:28earliest cities
10:29and their rulers.
10:32Stephanie has special access
10:33to examine
10:34the Sumerian king list
10:35up close.
10:37She searches for evidence
10:38of kings in Kish.
10:41Well, this is the first column
10:43and then that's
10:44the second column.
10:46In this list of kings here
10:48you get the kingship
10:50was in Kish.
10:51The ancient text
10:53identifies 39 kings
10:55of Kish.
10:56One stands out,
10:58Etana.
10:59Here we've got
11:00Etana.
11:02So he's Etana,
11:03the shepherd
11:04who ascended
11:05to heaven
11:05and consolidated
11:07all the foreign countries.
11:11Legends written in clay
11:13reveal further clues
11:14to this divine intervention.
11:18According to these legends
11:19the gods choose
11:21Etana to rule
11:22as king of the earth.
11:25But his pregnant wife
11:27cannot give birth
11:28to their royal heir.
11:31The one known remedy
11:33is the birth plant
11:36which Etana must bring
11:38down from heaven.
11:42Instructed by the solar god
11:44Shamash
11:44Etana rescues
11:47an enormous maimed eagle
11:48languishing in a pit.
11:52The eagle carries
11:53Etana into heaven
11:54to retrieve the birth plant
11:57and secure his royal line.
12:00The Sumerian king list
12:02states Etana reigns
12:04an impossible
12:051,500 years.
12:08Can an intriguing discovery
12:10underneath Kish's
12:11double ziggurat
12:12shed light
12:13on the truth
12:14within these myths?
12:16And can hidden
12:17inscriptions reveal
12:18if the king of Kish
12:19wields ultimate power
12:21over neighboring
12:22city states?
12:31The ancient city of Kish
12:33home to some of the
12:35first kings in history.
12:38But their stories
12:39mix fact and fiction.
12:41They do have
12:42enormous inconsistencies.
12:45Stephanie Daly
12:46discovers more
12:47potential myth-making
12:48in the Sumerian king list.
12:50It says the flood
12:52came over the earth
12:53then kingship
12:55was in Kish.
12:57Evidence of a great flood
12:58in Kish
12:59would help establish
13:00the reliability
13:01of the king list
13:03and bolster
13:04its claim
13:05about the rise
13:06of royalty here.
13:10Archaeologists
13:11dig beneath
13:12the remains
13:12of the twin ziggurats
13:14and unearth
13:15mysterious buildings
13:1720 feet down.
13:20They find
13:21a central street
13:22lined with houses
13:23and alleyways.
13:28and human skeletons
13:30buried in the homes
13:31underneath the floor.
13:33On top of these ruins
13:35lies a one-foot-thick
13:36layer of sediment
13:37filled with pottery
13:39fragments and fish bones.
13:42It's evidence of
13:44dramatic destruction
13:45in Kish.
13:46Could this prove
13:48the flood is real?
13:52Today the ruins
13:54beneath the ziggurats
13:55are protected.
13:56So now
13:57archaeologists
13:58must look for clues
14:00elsewhere.
14:03Iraqi-American
14:04Mark Alterweel
14:05investigates
14:06a remote spot
14:07180 miles away
14:09in Iraqi Kurdistan.
14:13Modern conflicts
14:15have meant
14:15this area
14:16has often been
14:17off-limits
14:17to archaeologists.
14:20But now
14:21Mark has
14:22rare access
14:23to explore
14:24its subterranean
14:25secrets.
14:27He examines
14:29a dark
14:29and treacherous
14:30cave concealed
14:31beneath the
14:32Zagros Mountains.
14:35Mark treks
14:36through the darkness
14:37for over half a mile.
14:40This cave
14:41is a time capsule
14:42that may hold
14:44clues to the
14:45flood myth.
14:47This is a
14:48speleothem.
14:48It is a kind
14:49of growing
14:50stalagmite.
14:51You can see
14:52there's water
14:52at the very top
14:53and it's dripping.
14:55The dripping
14:56water contains
14:57minerals
14:58which gradually
14:59deposit
14:59on the cave
15:00floor.
15:03Over time
15:04they build up
15:04into tall
15:05stacks
15:05called
15:06speleothems.
15:09Mark ventures
15:10deeper into
15:11the cave.
15:13This is probably
15:1410,000 years
15:15at least
15:15given the height.
15:18The minerals
15:19inside these
15:20speleothems
15:21contain secrets
15:22of the last
15:2210,000 years.
15:25You can retrieve
15:26different kinds
15:27of chemical data
15:28which allows you
15:29to reconstruct
15:29things like rainfall,
15:30ancient rainfall.
15:31This is how we
15:32learn about
15:32Iraq's ancient
15:33climate.
15:36more rain
15:37means more
15:38drips
15:38but a drought
15:39means no drips.
15:41So speleothems
15:42are an historic
15:43record of rainfall.
15:48Mark's team
15:50collects samples
15:50from the speleothems
15:52and takes them
15:53back to the lab.
15:57Then they
15:58analyze the
15:59minerals
15:59molecular
16:00fingerprints
16:00and turn
16:01them into
16:01data
16:03to reveal
16:04the rainfall
16:04levels over
16:05time.
16:06So you had
16:07a very
16:07different
16:07situation
16:08than you
16:09do today.
16:09The data
16:10shows that
16:11a lot of
16:11rain falls
16:12on ancient
16:13Iraq
16:13but the
16:14level of
16:15rainfall
16:15indicated
16:16by these
16:17spikes
16:17is
16:18inconsistent.
16:19The flood
16:20story really
16:21is in many
16:21ways symbolic
16:22of the
16:23volatility
16:23of water
16:24in Iraq.
16:25It is a
16:25region that
16:25can be
16:26quite wet
16:26one year
16:27and quite
16:27dry
16:28another year.
16:28So you can
16:29foresee with
16:30this kind
16:30of data
16:30for instance
16:31you have
16:31this all
16:32sudden spike
16:33of rainfall
16:33occurring.
16:34Maybe it
16:34was this
16:35spike that
16:35could have
16:35led to
16:36inspiration
16:36of the
16:37flood
16:37story.
16:38Mark's
16:39data adds
16:39to the
16:40destruction
16:40layer
16:40beneath
16:41Kish's
16:41ziggurat.
16:43Together
16:44they suggest
16:44a great
16:45flood
16:45at Kish.
16:48The data
16:49could explain
16:49why the
16:50Sumerian
16:50king list
16:51claims that
16:52kingship
16:52in Kish
16:53follows the
16:54flood.
16:56It reveals
16:57a dramatic
16:58spike
16:585,500
16:59years ago
17:01exactly when
17:02the first
17:03cities are
17:03founded in
17:04Mesopotamia.
17:06All of a
17:07sudden you
17:07have basically
17:08the wettest
17:08period in
17:09Iraq's
17:09history.
17:10And it so
17:10happens to
17:11coincide with
17:12the rise of
17:13urbanism.
17:13It creates
17:14an opportunity
17:15effectively to
17:16develop cities.
17:18But with
17:19this thriving
17:20civilization
17:20comes a
17:21problem.
17:23How do
17:24you deal
17:24with this
17:25sort of
17:25complex issue
17:26of organizing
17:26people to
17:27manage years
17:28of plenty
17:29and years
17:29of perhaps
17:30drought?
17:32The
17:32Euphrates
17:33floods so
17:34frequently that
17:36ancient
17:36Mesopotamians
17:37develop an
17:37intricate
17:38irrigation system
17:39to harness
17:40its immense
17:40power.
17:43during the
17:44yearly summer
17:45flood they
17:46channel water
17:46from the
17:47river into
17:47farmland where
17:49it helps
17:49produce bountiful
17:50harvests.
17:54Mesopotamian
17:55farmers also
17:56develop complex
17:57reservoir systems
17:58to regulate water
18:00levels during
18:00the floods and
18:02store huge
18:02quantities of
18:03water for the
18:04dry season.
18:05Control of
18:06water is the
18:07key to the
18:08growth and
18:08success of
18:09cities.
18:10Leaders who
18:10do it well
18:11amass resources
18:12and power
18:13and royalty
18:14is born.
18:17So I think
18:17the flood story
18:18makes a lot of
18:19sense.
18:19Certainly I can
18:20see why
18:21monarchy evolves
18:22out of this.
18:23The kings of
18:24Kish may owe
18:25their rise to
18:26the flood
18:26waters but
18:27the ancient
18:28king list
18:29describes them
18:29ruling over
18:30other
18:30Mesopotamian
18:31cities.
18:33Is there any
18:34truth to this
18:35account?
18:37Could a
18:37discovery of
18:38military
18:39propaganda in
18:40Kish's royal
18:40palace reveal
18:41clues?
18:54The once
18:55flourishing city
18:56of Kish and
18:57its powerful
18:58kings rise out
18:59of dramatic
19:00floods.
19:01But the
19:02legends say that
19:04the kings of
19:04Kish wield power
19:06far beyond the
19:07city's borders.
19:09Quite often
19:10legends are
19:11based on truth
19:12but over
19:14thousands of
19:14years they
19:15become twisted.
19:18Jeff and
19:18Amar want to
19:19find out if
19:20there is truth
19:21to the
19:21legends.
19:23They launch
19:24their drone
19:24and look for
19:25clues of kings
19:26at Kish.
19:29Amar identifies
19:30the faint outline
19:31of a floor
19:32plan.
19:33You can't
19:35see the
19:35thickness of
19:36the walls.
19:37The palace
19:38has thick
19:38walls.
19:40These are
19:42the remarkable
19:42ruins of an
19:43ancient palace.
19:46Kish is
19:47home to one
19:47of the earliest
19:48royal palaces
19:49ever discovered.
19:53Built
19:54around
19:554,600
19:55years ago,
19:57the palace
19:58of Kish is
19:59a highly
20:00sophisticated
20:01and fortified
20:02building.
20:04The
20:05archaeologists
20:06who uncover
20:06its ruins
20:07imagine that
20:08the palace
20:08once has
20:09soaring layered
20:10defensive walls
20:11and platforms
20:12from where
20:13soldiers can
20:14launch volleys
20:15of projectiles.
20:19Inside the
20:20royal wing
20:21is a mysterious
20:22limestone carving.
20:24It shows
20:25the king
20:26wielding an axe
20:27and taking
20:28prisoners captive.
20:31Is this
20:32evidence of
20:33a powerful
20:33king of
20:34Kish
20:34dominating
20:35his
20:35neighbors?
20:38Sebastien
20:39Rey is
20:39an expert
20:40on the
20:40intricate
20:41rivalries
20:42of
20:42Mesopotamia.
20:44He
20:45investigates
20:45Lagash,
20:46an ancient
20:47city-state
20:48130 miles
20:49southeast
20:50of Kish.
20:53He
20:53suspects
20:54this site
20:54could unlock
20:55vital clues
20:56about the
20:57extent of
20:57Kish's
20:58power.
21:00over 100
21:01years ago,
21:02French
21:03archaeologists
21:04unearthed a
21:05curious layer
21:05of destruction
21:06here.
21:08The French
21:09pioneers,
21:10when they
21:11opened their
21:11excavations,
21:12they found
21:13many relics,
21:15many objects.
21:17Now,
21:18at the same
21:18spot,
21:19Sebastien's team
21:20is excavating
21:21the ruins
21:22of a mysterious
21:23temple.
21:23temple.
21:25This was the
21:26temple dedicated
21:27to the main
21:28god,
21:28the chief
21:29god,
21:29at the
21:29heart of
21:30the sacred
21:31precinct
21:31of Lagash.
21:33They dig
21:34deeper
21:35for missing
21:36puzzle pieces
21:37that the
21:37previous
21:38excavators
21:39did not
21:39find.
21:42New
21:42discoveries
21:43together with
21:44the objects
21:44uncovered
21:45100 years
21:46ago
21:46allow them
21:47to piece
21:48together the
21:48full story
21:49of what
21:50happens
21:50here.
21:53Sebastian
21:54examines
21:55some of
21:55the objects
21:56unearthed
21:57in Lagash.
21:59He has
22:00special access
22:00to the
22:01original report
22:02from the
22:0219th century
22:03excavations.
22:08This is
22:09one of the
22:09most important
22:10objects.
22:12So the
22:12two pieces
22:13of the
22:14stelae
22:14were broken
22:15off and
22:16we can see
22:16the impact.
22:18This fragment
22:19of stelae
22:20shows a
22:21god
22:21holding
22:22a net
22:22full of
22:23enemy
22:23soldiers.
22:25The
22:26destruction
22:26line
22:27literally
22:27breaks
22:28the
22:29area
22:30where
22:30the
22:30god
22:31is
22:31holding
22:31the
22:32net
22:32and
22:33this
22:33was
22:33done
22:34in a
22:34symbolic
22:34way
22:35to
22:35free
22:36the
22:36soldiers
22:37trapped
22:37inside
22:38the
22:38net.
22:39This
22:40break
22:40is no
22:41accident.
22:42It's
22:42carefully
22:43crafted
22:43by an
22:44enemy
22:44of
22:44Lagash
22:45who
22:45wants
22:46to
22:46cut
22:46their
22:46soldiers
22:47loose.
22:50Sebastian
22:51thinks
22:51the
22:51identity
22:52of
22:52Lagash's
22:53enemy
22:53could
22:53be
22:53revealed
22:54by
22:54another
22:55intriguing
22:55object.
22:59This
23:00ancient
23:00text
23:01is an
23:01historical
23:02account
23:02of a
23:03war
23:03in
23:03Mesopotamia
23:05that
23:06rages
23:06from
23:06around
23:072600
23:08BCE.
23:10The
23:11text
23:11tells
23:12of
23:13this
23:13conflict
23:14going
23:14back
23:15to
23:15the
23:15time
23:16of
23:16a
23:16king
23:17of
23:17Kish
23:17Mesalim.
23:20King
23:21Mesalim
23:22of
23:22Kish
23:22brokers
23:23an
23:23agreement
23:23between
23:24Lagash
23:25and
23:25Uma,
23:26neighboring
23:26city-states
23:27who are
23:28fighting
23:28over
23:28disputed
23:29territory.
23:32King
23:33Mesalim
23:33erects
23:34a stone
23:34stela
23:35to mark
23:35a new
23:35border.
23:37But
23:38Mesalim's
23:38peace
23:39plan
23:39takes
23:39a strip
23:40of
23:40land
23:40away
23:41from
23:41Uma.
23:44Feeling
23:44short-changed,
23:46Uma
23:46breaches
23:47the agreement
23:47and blocks
23:49the canals
23:49that provide
23:50water to
23:50Lagash
23:51downstream.
23:54Unable
23:55to reconcile
23:56the dispute,
23:57the cities
23:58slip into
23:59a war
23:59that spans
24:00many
24:00decades.
24:04The
24:04Uma-Lagash
24:05border
24:05conflict
24:06is the
24:07very first
24:07conflict
24:08known in
24:08history.
24:10Throughout
24:11the long
24:11war,
24:12both cities
24:13claim they
24:13are enforcing
24:14the will
24:15of King
24:15Mesalim.
24:17The reverence
24:19paid to
24:19Mesalim is
24:20vital evidence
24:21of Kish's
24:21far-reaching
24:22power.
24:24It seems
24:25indeed that
24:26at the very
24:27beginning of
24:27the third
24:28millennium,
24:28Kish
24:29exercised
24:30a form
24:30of control
24:31over most
24:32of Mesopotamia.
24:35We believe
24:36that the
24:37Sumerian cities
24:38at that time
24:39formed a
24:40league.
24:41Kish was
24:42the overlord
24:44of this
24:45league.
24:46Legends
24:47of another
24:48king of Kish
24:48could shed
24:49light on how
24:50Kish rises
24:51to this
24:51overlord
24:52status.
24:57According to
24:58ancient
24:58inscriptions,
24:59King
25:00Enmeh
25:00Baragese
25:01of Kish
25:01conquers
25:02neighboring
25:02Elan.
25:08Then,
25:09in a city
25:09far to the
25:10south of
25:11Kish,
25:11Nippur,
25:12Enmeh
25:13Baragese
25:13builds a
25:14temple dedicated
25:15dedicated to
25:15the god
25:15Enlil.
25:19Enlil is the
25:20most powerful
25:21god in the
25:21Sumerian
25:22pantheon,
25:24the supreme
25:25embodiment of
25:27authority.
25:29By building
25:30this temple,
25:32Enmeh
25:32Baragese claims
25:33divine authority,
25:34not just as king
25:36of the city of
25:36Kish,
25:37but over the
25:38entire region.
25:41The tales of
25:42Enmeh
25:43Baragese
25:43and
25:44Mesalim
25:44show that
25:45the early
25:45kings of
25:46Kish
25:46exert
25:47military
25:48and
25:48diplomatic
25:49power
25:49over a
25:50huge
25:50area.
25:53This
25:53marks a
25:54turning point
25:55in
25:55Mesopotamian
25:56history.
25:57Now,
25:58one king,
25:59the king
25:59of Kish,
26:00is the
26:01king of
26:02kings.
26:05Can a
26:06groundbreaking
26:06discovery in
26:07Kish
26:08reveal the
26:08true influence
26:09of these
26:10kings?
26:13And can
26:13macabre
26:14graves shed
26:15light on a
26:16threat to
26:17Kish's
26:17power?
26:30Discoveries in
26:31the ancient
26:31city of
26:32Kish are
26:33shedding light
26:33on how their
26:34pioneering kings
26:35change our
26:36world.
26:37Kish changed
26:39the path
26:39of history
26:40forever like
26:41no city-state
26:42had ever
26:43done before.
26:44Thirty feet
26:45below ground,
26:46archaeologists
26:47make an
26:47extraordinary
26:48discovery in
26:49Kish, a
26:50two-wheeled
26:51wooden chariot
26:52preserved for
26:53millennia by
26:54the desert
26:55sand.
26:56Surrounding it,
26:58the skeletons
26:59of oxen
27:00and people.
27:02The excavators
27:04also unearth
27:05a four-wheeled
27:06chariot with
27:07donkey and
27:08human skeletons.
27:10The remains
27:11of a century
27:12guard the tomb.
27:14They are some
27:15of the earliest
27:16wheeled vehicles
27:17ever discovered.
27:18They date to
27:19the era of
27:20Kish's great
27:21kings.
27:22Who are the
27:23people buried
27:24here?
27:29Paul Collins
27:31is an expert
27:32in Mesopotamian
27:33burials.
27:34There's no
27:35other find in
27:36Mesopotamia that
27:37compares with
27:38them.
27:39The early
27:41excavators, when
27:42they were discovered
27:43in the 1920s,
27:44imagined that they
27:45might belong to
27:46the princes of
27:48Kish, but it
27:49remains a debated
27:51question of
27:52exactly what
27:53these graves
27:53represent.
27:55Paul is on a
27:56mission to find
27:57out what these
27:57unique chariot
27:58burials can
27:59reveal about
28:00kings in Kish.
28:02He has special
28:04access to
28:04analyze a
28:05precious clay
28:06model of a
28:07chariot unearthed
28:08in Kish's
28:09royal palace.
28:11This perfect
28:12miniature,
28:13handcrafted
28:14around 4,400
28:15years ago,
28:17reveals how
28:18these early
28:18chariots are
28:19used by Kish's
28:20kings.
28:21At the very
28:22front is a
28:23container for
28:24the spears,
28:26which you
28:26would then
28:26hurl at the
28:27enemy as
28:28the vehicle
28:29trundled over
28:29the land.
28:31Chariots are
28:32the chosen
28:33weapon of
28:33kings for
28:34thousands of
28:34years, and
28:36they are
28:36buried with
28:36them too.
28:39Kish's kings
28:40are quick to
28:41adopt another
28:42great innovation
28:43of this era,
28:45writing.
28:46Laura Bampfield
28:47is an expert in
28:48ancient Mesopotamian
28:50inscriptions.
28:51She investigates
28:53how writing
28:53develops.
28:56She draws
28:57the sign
28:58Ki.
28:59It represents
29:00the word
29:00place in the
29:02Sumerian language.
29:04It's all
29:04pictographic at
29:05this point.
29:06It's a very
29:07rudimentary form
29:08of a sign.
29:11Laura thinks
29:11that kings
29:12drive the
29:13development of
29:14these basic
29:14signs into
29:15something
29:16revolutionary.
29:19She draws
29:20two later
29:20versions of
29:21the Ki sign
29:22in cuneiform.
29:24These inside
29:26four lines
29:27have become
29:28the inside
29:29wedges.
29:30As we move
29:31into the later
29:31variations of
29:32the script,
29:33we have a much
29:34clearer, impressed
29:35version on the
29:36clay.
29:37Laura's drawings
29:38reveal these
29:39pictographic signs
29:40evolve into the
29:41world's first
29:42writing script,
29:43cuneiform.
29:46Laura thinks
29:48it develops
29:48for political
29:49reasons.
29:51Writing is
29:52definitely a
29:53form of power
29:54and this is
29:55very much seen
29:56in Mesopotamia
29:57where kings
29:58write scripts
29:59across monumental
30:01structures.
30:02I have built
30:03this, I have
30:05done this, I
30:06have conquered
30:06this, almost
30:08highlighting and
30:09solidifying their
30:10write in stone
30:11and in clay.
30:14Under the
30:15influence of
30:15kings, writing
30:17develops into
30:17complex literature
30:19that records
30:19victory, legend
30:21and the world's
30:22first history.
30:24Innovations like
30:25writing and
30:26chariots are at
30:27the heart of the
30:28king's success.
30:30And the huge
30:31reach of the
30:32kings of Kish
30:33allows writing to
30:34be rolled out
30:35across the region.
30:40the ancient
30:41Mesopotamians
30:42develop writing
30:43and arithmetic.
30:44They're the first
30:45to divide the
30:46circle into 360
30:47degrees and invent
30:49the hour, minute
30:50and the second.
30:53These innovations
30:54allow their kings
30:55to organize their
30:56workforce and mass
30:58produce at an
30:59unprecedented scale.
31:04Mesopotamians are
31:05among the first
31:06civilizations to
31:07harness wheel
31:07technology.
31:09Kish's kings use
31:10chariots to fight
31:11wars and parade
31:13their power.
31:16These kings adorn
31:17their capital with
31:18new, impressive
31:19styles of art and
31:21writing, immortalizing
31:23their rule.
31:25Many of these
31:26Mesopotamian
31:27technologies are
31:28cornerstones of
31:29modern civilization.
31:31The kings of Kish
31:32use all their
31:33tools to create
31:34and secure a
31:35society bent to
31:37their rule.
31:39But a macabre
31:40discovery in Kish
31:41may be a sign of
31:42trouble ahead for
31:43these early kings.
31:46What can the
31:47ruins of the
31:48royal palace reveal
31:49about Kish's fate?
32:01Kish, the ruins of
32:03the city's three
32:04enormous ziggurats
32:05still tower over
32:06the desert.
32:08But Amar Alte's
32:10investigation of the
32:11city reveals that
32:12other landmarks are
32:13almost completely
32:14missing.
32:16Only a handful of
32:17bricks remain.
32:19This kind of brick
32:21belongs to the
32:22Somarians.
32:22people's houses
32:24wear hair.
32:26He heads to the
32:27spot where Kish's
32:28royal palace once
32:29stands and sees
32:31only desert sand
32:32and shrubs.
32:34Excavations inside
32:36the palace's
32:37footprint shed
32:37light on why so
32:39little survives.
32:44Fifteen feet below
32:46ground, archaeologists
32:49discover 162 human
32:51skeletons.
32:53They are all buried in a
32:55half-fetal position
32:56with grave goods
32:57scattered around
32:58them.
32:59Weapons lie by their
33:01side.
33:02Axes, knives, and
33:04blades.
33:08Hidden beneath these
33:09graves, excavators find
33:11the shocking ruins of
33:13the palace.
33:15burn marks on the walls
33:17suggest it has been
33:18raised to the ground.
33:21Is this evidence of a
33:23catastrophe at Kish?
33:27Paul Collins wants to
33:29find out why people are
33:30buried here.
33:32He has special access to
33:34examine a weapon unearthed
33:36in these graves.
33:37Paul instantly recognizes
33:40the shape.
33:42So this is an axe head,
33:44very typical in shape,
33:46where you have the
33:47cutting blade emerging
33:50out of this cylinder of
33:53metal which was hafted
33:54onto a wooden stick.
33:58But this axe head is a
34:00miniature, much smaller
34:02than the axes used as
34:03weapons at this time.
34:06It could be it was
34:08intended for use on a
34:10journey by the dead
34:11person to the next
34:12world.
34:14Ancient Mesopotamians
34:15are buried with symbolic
34:17weapons like this so they
34:18are armed in the
34:19afterlife.
34:21Their burial location on
34:23top of the palace site is
34:25deeply meaningful.
34:26These people are honoring
34:28the great heritage of
34:29Kish's kings.
34:32Long abandoned, but the
34:34memory of this great
34:36palace continues to echo
34:37down through the
34:38generations.
34:39The burials span decades
34:41after the palace is
34:43abandoned.
34:45Stephanie Daly
34:45investigates what happens
34:47at Kish to lead to this
34:48tragic scene.
34:51She examines the Sumerian
34:53king list again for
34:54answers, and spots a
34:56strange detail about a
34:58man named Sargon.
35:00With Sargon, who comes
35:02into the king list, it
35:04says that he's a cup
35:05bearer to a king in
35:08Kish.
35:08He is entrusted with
35:10serving wine at the
35:11king's table.
35:14But later on the list,
35:15Sargon is named as a
35:17king himself.
35:20This reveals a shocking
35:21twist in Kish's story in
35:25around 2350 BCE.
35:29King Ur-Zababa of Kish
35:31sends his cup bearer,
35:33Sargon, to broker a peace
35:35deal with Lugal-Sagesi, an
35:37ambitious young king from
35:38the south.
35:40But Sargon betrays Ur-Zababa.
35:43He forms a new alliance with
35:45Lugal-Sagesi.
35:46Together they conquer Kish, and
35:49burn the palace to the ground.
35:51Sargon is emboldened by his
35:53rise to power, and rebels
35:55again.
35:56He amasses an army, defeats Lugal-Sagesi
35:59in battle, and conquers his
36:01territories.
36:03Sargon declares himself the ruler
36:05of a new superpower, the Akkadian Empire.
36:08He is the first emperor in history.
36:13Sargon's new imperial rule is
36:15brutal and bloody.
36:17The surviving citizens of Kish
36:20memorialize their great kings,
36:22and bury their dead on the
36:24remains of the destroyed palace.
36:28The burials prove that Sargon's
36:30takeover and the destruction of
36:32the palace do not erase the memory
36:35of Kish's powerful kings.
36:38But if the mighty city of Kish
36:41is razed to the ground,
36:42what are these buildings that still
36:44stand on the site today?
36:47And why does the title
36:48King of Kish live on?
37:01Kish's royal palace is razed to the
37:04ground, and the king of Kish
37:06usurped.
37:07But Ammar's investigation shows
37:09that life in the city continues
37:11into the second millennium BCE.
37:15Ammar hunts for clues of what
37:17happens to Kish and its kings after
37:19the palace is destroyed.
37:22The 46-foot ziggurat ruin is a bold
37:25red color, but the surrounding
37:28land and the ruins of the other
37:29ziggurats are earthy brown.
37:32Ammar believes the discovery of this
37:34ancient kiln nearby could explain
37:36this stark difference.
37:38For a big structure like the
37:40ziggurat, a kiln like this would
37:42pick hundreds of bricks at once.
37:47Ammar suspects the red bricks for the
37:49ziggurat could be made in kilns like
37:51these.
37:53He works with a brick maker,
37:55Ahmed Hamsa, to put his theory to
37:58the test.
37:59They build their own miniature kiln
38:02based on the ancient design.
38:04The 30 mud bricks inside have been
38:07baked for seven hours and then left
38:09to cool.
38:10When we open this kiln, you can see the
38:13color of the bricks change.
38:15Now you can see the difference in the
38:18colors between the baked bricks and
38:21the unbaked bricks, the mud bricks.
38:23Because of that, we think that the
38:26kiln was used to rebuild the top of
38:29the ziggurat at Kish.
38:35The kiln-baked red bricks are stronger than
38:38the simple mud bricks across most of
38:40Kish.
38:42Their presence on the ziggurat is
38:45striking evidence that a later
38:46civilization rebuilds this monument.
38:52Ammar finds more evidence of a later
38:54reconstruction at Kish.
38:57We can see the white reed mat between
39:01the bricks.
39:02This technique makes the structure of
39:04the buildings stronger.
39:06Ammar searches for clues of the new
39:09builders.
39:10He finds evidence that the temple ruin
39:12next to the crumbling ziggurat is
39:14also a later construction.
39:19In this temple, you can see these
39:22bricks with the stamp.
39:25So they wrote
39:26which means
39:30Nebuchadnezzar.
39:31And at the second line, they wrote
39:34which means the king of Babylon.
39:41King Nebuchadnezzar rules a mighty empire
39:44from his capital, Babylon, once the
39:47greatest city of the ancient world,
39:49with its own mighty ziggurat and the
39:51legendary hanging gardens.
39:55He rules from 605 BCE, long after Kish is
39:59abandoned.
40:02Stephanie Daly believes King Nebuchadnezzar
40:05is attracted to the ruins of Kish for a very
40:08particular reason.
40:10The patron god of Kish was the war god Zababba.
40:15Now, the oracles of a war god are especially useful because when you're
40:19setting off for battle, you need to know if it's safe to do so.
40:22And so the oracle was very much sought after.
40:27King Nebuchadnezzar honors Zababba by rebuilding his ziggurat.
40:31And Kish becomes a vital accessory to the mighty Babylonian empire.
40:37Kish became a military base for Babylon.
40:41Kish and its kings become a symbol of ultimate rule in Mesopotamia.
40:47The legendary capital of Kish rises from the riverbeds of the mighty Euphrates
40:52to become one of the first cities in the world.
40:58The kings of Kish are among the world's first kings.
41:03They embody an idea of monarchy that reverberates through millennia to today.
41:09They build one of the earliest royal palaces ever discovered and conquer foreign lands
41:16to create the world's first empire.
41:20And with writing and arithmetic, they create a legacy for us 5,000 years after the civilization
41:28they build returns to dust.
41:52The king of Kish is a military base for the world's first empire.
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