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00:03Mysterious ancient ruins in northwest Turkey.
00:07Could this be the fabled city of Troy?
00:11Troy is such an important and legendary place
00:14that finding it would be the discovery of a lifetime.
00:17The famous city is backdrop to one of the greatest stories ever told.
00:22The tale of the Trojan War.
00:25Brave heroes, a beautiful woman, a cunning trick.
00:28This story has it all.
00:31But did it really happen?
00:33Or is it just a myth?
00:35Could this ruined citadel provide the answer?
00:38We thought it was all made up.
00:40But what if it's really true?
00:42Today, experts dig deeper than ever before
00:45to solve this ancient mystery.
00:48And use innovative computer modeling
00:50to discover the truth about the iconic Trojan horse.
00:54It's a phenomenal feat of engineering, craftsmanship and skill.
00:58In the search for the truth, we'll reconstruct this ancient city.
01:03We'll rebuild its walls.
01:05Tunnel into its very foundations.
01:07And investigate if a man-made horse could conceal a secret army.
01:12To reveal what really happens to the city of Troy.
01:22The windswept coast of northwest Turkey.
01:26Mysterious ruined buildings dating back thousands of years.
01:31Could this be the famous city of Troy?
01:41According to legend, Troy rises from the coastal plains of Asia Minor.
01:47It's the most powerful city in the region housing more than 10,000 citizens.
01:54At its heart is a great citadel.
01:58Protected by mighty stone walls.
02:02Outside its gates stands a gift from a hostile Greek army
02:06that besieges the city for 10 long years.
02:09A gigantic wooden horse that will bring about the destruction of Troy.
02:16But is there any truth to this tale?
02:23Archeologist Brian Rose has been excavating this site for 30 years.
02:27He investigates how much of the legend is really true.
02:32The story of the Trojan Wars is one of the oldest and most famous stories ever told.
02:40The tale is first recorded by the Greek writer Homer in about 750 BC.
02:47He immortalizes the city and the siege in an epic poem called The Iliad.
02:54Homer left clues to the location of Troy throughout the Iliad.
02:57And the details are so precise that many historians believe he was talking about an actual place.
03:03In the story, the Greeks launch 1,000 ships and sail across the sea to attack Troy.
03:09They besieged the city for 10 years.
03:13It ends because of the trick of the Trojan horse,
03:16where a monumental wooden horse with a hollow stomach in which Greek soldiers have hidden
03:21is brought into the city of Troy.
03:23At night, the Greek soldiers creep out of the hollow stomach of the horse,
03:27open the gates of the city, let in the Greek army, and Troy is destroyed.
03:34For centuries, experts search for Troy's location.
03:38In northwest Turkey, they find this huge mound.
03:43Buried inside, they find the remains of a once mighty city.
03:55Imposing towers of a fortified gatehouse flank the broad entranceway.
04:00It's one of three main openings in the thick, high walls of stone and mud brick.
04:07Inside, the city covers five acres.
04:10With grand houses packed in close to one another, vying for space in the protected citadel.
04:17And overlooking them all, an immense palace complex.
04:21This is a seat of power and wealth.
04:25A fortified stronghold that dominates the landscape.
04:29It has all the right hallmarks.
04:32So, is this the legendary city of Troy?
04:37Brian hunts for evidence.
04:40The first clue is in the mighty walls themselves.
04:44Homer describes the walls of Troy as being incredibly strong and incredibly high.
04:49And that's what you see behind me.
04:51As you look at these walls of the northeast bastion, you can see that they fit his description perfectly.
04:56This ruined gateway in the south of the city provides more evidence.
05:01Homer speaks of the strength of the gateways leading into the citadel, and especially the strength of the south gateway.
05:07This is the south side of the citadel, and this comes pretty close to that description.
05:12These gates and these towers would have been extraordinarily high, clearly built to withstand a siege, and indeed a series
05:20of sieges over time.
05:23But although the citadel looks the part, it only covers five acres, about four football fields.
05:30It's not big enough to be the great city Homer describes.
05:35Archaeologists continue their search, convinced there's more to this site than first meets the eye.
05:41We started looking outside the walls of the citadel, and we found this enormous lower city,
05:46where there are defensive systems surrounding Bronze Age houses and the pottery that the residents were using,
05:52which showed that the city was far larger than we had expected.
05:55The lower city covers 75 acres, and is large enough for 10,000 inhabitants.
06:01There were two main zones of occupation.
06:04The citadel, which is where the wealthy and powerful would have lived,
06:07and the lower city, which surrounds us, which is where the lower classes would have lived.
06:12This groundbreaking discovery proves this site really is big enough to be the magnificent city of Troy.
06:21But is it old enough?
06:23Experts believe Homer sets his story around the beginning of the 13th century BC.
06:30But finding out if the age of this city matches is a challenge.
06:35Excavating in the city is one of the most difficult things that an archaeologist can do,
06:40because it's not just one city, but rather nine of them.
06:43One built on top of the other.
06:45And when we dig down, we encounter a series of layers.
06:48Each one is a different city.
06:50And some lasted for a few decades, and some lasted for a few centuries.
06:56Archaeologists number the layers from one to nine.
06:59Each layer is a city from a different period in history.
07:02The city that we're interested in is from layers six and seven.
07:07That coincides with the Late Bronze Age or the 13th and 12th centuries BC.
07:14The magnificent citadel matches the date of the Trojan War.
07:18But there's one more piece of the puzzle.
07:21Is this powerful metropolis in the right location to be Homer's legendary city?
07:30Ancient texts locate Troy in modern-day Turkey.
07:34East of Greece and southwest of the Black Sea.
07:37Right on the Aegean coast.
07:42Homer says the city overlooks the Dardanelles Strait.
07:45And sits at the mouth of a mighty river.
07:48The Scamanda.
07:52During the Trojan War, the Greek fleet hides behind the island of Tenidos.
07:57Putting Troy within striking distance.
08:03And legend has it that the gods watch the war from Mount Ida.
08:08The final clue in the hunt for Troy.
08:15Homer's description of the geography of Troy matches very closely this archaeological site.
08:21The Aegean is right over there.
08:23The Dardanelles is only four miles to the north.
08:26The Ida Mountains only 20 miles to the south.
08:29And the island of Tenidos is just over there.
08:33The location fits.
08:35The place is real.
08:37This really is the legendary lost city of Troy.
08:40But what can discoveries around the walls tell us about whether the epic Trojan War actually takes place here?
09:04The legendary Trojan War.
09:07An epic siege that's said to end with a cunning trick.
09:10A gift of a horse full of warriors.
09:14Archaeologists unearth the ruins of Troy in modern-day Turkey.
09:19Now they search for new evidence of the war around the city walls.
09:27Legend has it these mighty walls are the work of the gods Apollo and Poseidon.
09:32Thousands of large, close-fitting limestone blocks form an impenetrable barrier.
09:37At the height of Troy's power, they're over 16 feet thick and 32 feet high.
09:43Taller on average than the Great Wall of China.
09:47Inside the walls, archaeologists unearth piles of slingshot ammunition.
09:52Classical siege defense weapons.
09:55And outside they find bronze arrowheads and spearheads, more than 3,000 years old.
10:02Are these missiles evidence of the legendary siege of Troy?
10:10Troy's site director Rustam Aslan has been investigating this lost city for 30 years.
10:16He's amazed to find metal weapons here.
10:19In archaeology, especially in late Bronze Age, it's not usually that you can find much weapons and so on.
10:26It's not used because the metal is a very available object.
10:30Most of them, they collect them for their use again.
10:34Finding Bronze Age weapons confirms a bloody war takes place here.
10:39And the citadel's solid high walls show the Trojans are prepared to withstand a siege.
10:46But what about in the lower town, where most of the inhabitants live?
10:51Is there evidence of an attack here?
10:53You can see the artificial ditch.
10:56The ditch is surrounded all the lower town from the west until the east part.
11:04The ditch is an impressive feat of Bronze Age engineering.
11:07It measures 13 feet wide and 8 feet deep, carved by hand directly into the bedrock.
11:14Fully completed, it runs the perimeter of the lower city, about seven and a half miles.
11:21This ditch cannot be an irrigation channel because it's surrounded all the lower town.
11:27Such a ditch system can be only for fortification aims against the enemy.
11:33Rustam believes there's only one reason to dig a ditch this big.
11:37To defend the city against the ancient world's most terrifying weapon, the chariot.
11:46The chariot is the tank of the Bronze Age.
11:51A lightweight wheeled wooden platform pulled by two or four horses.
11:59One charioteer holds the reins, while a warrior in full bronze armor wields a long deadly spear.
12:09With a top speed of almost 30 miles an hour, a few chariots can decimate infantry on an open battlefield.
12:20But a simple ditch with steep sides can stop a speeding chariot in its tracks.
12:33Troy's defensive ditch and strong walls show the city is designed to withstand a well-equipped army, just as Homer
12:40says.
12:42But these defenses are only half the story.
12:47Historian Nigel Tallis is an expert in Bronze Age warfare.
12:52He thinks Troy's residents can't afford to wait for their city to be overrun by galloping chariots.
12:59They must strike first.
13:03If you sit inside your city, you're going to run out of food.
13:07There's a danger of disease and plague.
13:09As they say, the best form of defense is attack.
13:13You have to take the fight to the enemy.
13:16Nigel believes bands of Trojan warriors leave the city to take on the enemy on the plains outside.
13:24Sometimes their leaders might engage each other in single combat.
13:29It's an age of kings and heroes and champions.
13:32And this is the way you win a great name.
13:35This is how you win wealth and fortune is through showing your prowess in battle.
13:42In the Bronze Age, the outcome of such a duel can settle the entire war.
13:48It's a practical way to avoid bloodshed.
13:51Most of the soldiers are militia and they're conscripts.
13:55These are your farmers and people who make things back at home.
14:00You don't want them to be needlessly slaughtered.
14:04Nigel investigates how the Trojan champions might prepare for this life or death battle.
14:10He works with historic weapons expert Hamish McCloud, who builds replica Bronze Age armor.
14:18This is made of a solid plate.
14:21In the time it would have been bronze.
14:23And this suit over here is made out of the individual small plates sewn onto a leather bodice underneath.
14:30This amount of bronze would be fantastically expensive.
14:35Only the very richest and the most important warriors would have this sort of gear.
14:40As well as armor, the fighters also protect themselves with heavy shields.
14:46So this shield here is big enough to hide behind.
14:51It's also being covered with cowhide.
14:55Incredibly tough.
14:57And now looking at this shield, very distinctive shape.
15:00Could I ask you, please, could you adopt the on guard position?
15:05Now, our warrior is getting the full protection width of that shield.
15:10But with that cut out, he's now able to present his thrusting sword forward.
15:17Each soldier also carries a sharp sword.
15:21It would have been cast out of bronze.
15:24Bronze is quite a brittle material.
15:26If you hit it on the side, it will either bend or shatter.
15:31That's not good.
15:32The best way to get the sword to last in combat is to make sure you're always fighting edge on
15:37edge.
15:37That's why this blade is a lot fatter in the center than it is at the edge.
15:41That's literally to give it strength.
15:43Each champion's aim is to find his opponent's weak spot.
15:47When we look at our character here in his full plate armor,
15:50we can see that really the only place where you're going to successfully take him out is here.
15:57The neck, the thrust, here.
15:59And that's what it's all about.
16:02Nigel believes these battles are short but deadly.
16:06The actual combat itself might be over in seconds if you get a lucky shot.
16:10Or it can go on for perhaps ten minutes or so
16:14until the stress and the heat exhaustion takes its toll and you finish your enemy or your enemy finishes you.
16:22These bloody duels don't end the Trojan War.
16:25The siege of Troy goes on for ten years.
16:28But who are the attackers?
16:30Are they Greek as the legend says?
16:33Can evidence found near the coast reveal their identity?
16:54The ancient city of Troy.
16:56Scene of the epic Trojan War.
17:01Searching for truth in the legend, experts locate the city in modern Turkey
17:05and find the remains of a deadly siege.
17:09But who are the invaders?
17:11Homer writes that a huge Greek army attacks Troy.
17:16What evidence is there that the army is really here?
17:22Close to the shoreline, investigators unearth a strange burial site of 95 bodies.
17:30Huge clay jars contain jumbled human skeletons.
17:38It's a traditional style of burial in the Bronze Age.
17:47Nearby, carved beads, seals and fragments of pottery painted with ochre date this graveyard to the time of the Trojan
17:54War.
17:54But they are not Trojan.
17:57Can these be the graves of Troy's attackers?
18:07Archaeologist Louise Schofield has been studying the Bronze Age Greeks for 40 years.
18:12She investigates the area where the burial site is found.
18:16She thinks the shape of the bay could be evidence that Homer's tale of an invading Greek army is true.
18:24In the story, Homer describes how the Greeks set up their camp in the sheltered bay, protected on both sides
18:31by headlands.
18:32And it has fresh water nearby, both of the people and the horses.
18:37Louise believes this location perfectly fits that description.
18:42And if you look at where we are now, you've got a lovely sheltered bay, protected by headlands, and a
18:47water source nearby.
18:48So it fits the account in the story very well.
18:52But is this really the site of an army camp?
18:56A clue may lie in the types of objects found here.
19:00When this area was excavated, lots of burials were found, pottery, weapons, but no permanent structures.
19:07So that suggests to me that it may well have been a campsite where people were living without permanent structures
19:12because they had no idea how long they were going to be there.
19:19Louise investigates whether any of the grave goods can reveal the identity of these mysterious attackers.
19:25Are they Greek, as Homer says?
19:27The pottery we see here is the material that was found in the excavations on one of the big headlands.
19:34And it's very distinctive pottery, but it's surprising to find it in such quantities on the shores of Troy.
19:41As an expert on the ancient Greeks, Louise has seen these designs before.
19:47This style of pottery exactly matches the style of pottery that we find at sites like Mycenae in Greece.
19:56At the time of the Trojan War, the Mycenaeans are a formidable people who control most of southern Greece and
20:03the surrounding islands.
20:07Their capital city, Mycenae, is a mighty fortress with huge walls that legend says can only be the work of
20:14giants.
20:18They lay the foundations for the ancient Greek language, and they produce intricate pottery and metalwork.
20:29Their fearsome fleet rules the Aegean Sea, and is easily able to sail the 200 miles to Troy.
20:43Louise believes finding this much Greek pottery on the shores of Troy proves the Greeks are here.
20:50But why have they come?
20:53In the legend, the war starts because Prince Paris of Troy runs away with the beautiful Greek queen, Helen.
21:03Everybody loves the story, and everybody loves a good romance.
21:06But would the Greeks of the Bronze Age really have come here and started a war over a woman?
21:12Louise thinks the war might be less about love and more about geography.
21:18Just down here, this piece of water, this is the Dardanelles, and it's the boundary between Asia and Europe.
21:25So on the far side of the water, we've got Europe, and on this side, we have Asia.
21:31The Dardanelles Strait connects the Black Sea to the Mediterranean.
21:35Today, it's one of the most important shipping lanes in the world, carrying oil and a fifth of all the
21:41world's grain exports from Russia to Africa and Western Europe.
21:46Around 50,000 ships pass through here every year.
21:51In the Bronze Age, it would have been no different.
21:54So this would have been a very busy waterway, ships from various nationalities traveling through the Dardanelles to get access
22:00to the Black Sea.
22:05The site of Troy is just four miles from the entrance to the Dardanelles.
22:10It's a vital strategic location.
22:14Close to Troy was the last safe harbor before entering into the Dardanelles and going into the Black Sea.
22:20And the Greeks would wait there for the winds to be in the right direction and to get supplies and
22:26to make any repairs to their ships.
22:29Troy is in the perfect place to control this vital trade route.
22:34Its rulers take full advantage, levying a tax on any passing ships.
22:39The city becomes rich and powerful, an obvious target for the warlike Greeks.
22:47I think they probably felt two things that A, they wanted to teach Troy a lesson and B, Troy would
22:52have been a very rich prize for them to take.
22:55For Louise, this is the most likely reason for the Trojan War.
23:00Although it's a lovely romantic story that the Greeks came here for love, they're much more likely to have come
23:04here in search of wealth and riches.
23:08The evidence shows the story of the Trojan War is based on real events.
23:13But what can clues from deep below the city reveal about how the war plays out?
23:19Does this epic siege really last ten years as Homer says?
23:39The historic city of Troy.
23:43Not just a myth, but a real place.
23:46Site of the real Trojan War.
23:50According to the story, this epic battle rages for ten years.
23:55How can the city and its inhabitants survive a siege that lasts that long?
24:02Normally, Troy had access to plenty of food and water.
24:04There were fields that surrounded the site and two rivers that bordered it.
24:08But what do you do if the Greek army is camped outside your battlements?
24:12How do you survive through a ten-year war?
24:16In the search for clues, archaeologist Brian Rose returns to Troy's lower city.
24:23Here, he investigates a mysterious entrance.
24:26Looks like no one's been here for decades, and I've never seen so many cobwebs in my life.
24:32Whatever lies behind the entrance is off-limits to visitors.
24:35But Brian's been given unique access to investigate.
24:40I can see a little bit of light, so I should be able to navigate the corridor.
24:47Brian wants to find out what's inside, and if it can explain how the Trojans endure a ten-year siege.
24:56This is incredible.
24:58A long, dark tunnel stretches deep into an underground world.
25:03Could this be the key to how the Trojans survive?
25:08I can see water. Not terribly much of it, but there is some.
25:14The claustrophobic labyrinth runs for over 500 feet right beneath the city.
25:21Brian believes it's not an escape tunnel, but a vast underground reservoir.
25:29It's summer now, so the level is low.
25:32But in the wet season, this would be full of water.
25:35The water comes from an underground water source as well as from rainwater that collects in the cave through several
25:42holes in the ceiling,
25:43and then ushers out through the mouth of the cave.
25:47The tunnel could supply the inhabitants of Troj with all the fresh water they need.
25:53What this means is that if there had been a siege, the residents would have had plenty of fresh water
25:59to survive no matter how long the siege lasted.
26:02The Trojans have enough water to hold out for ten years, just as Homer describes.
26:09But how do they get enough food?
26:11The answer may lie in objects unearthed back in the upper citadel.
26:19These enormous storage vessels are called pithoi.
26:22They were designed to hold grain primarily, but also lentils, dried fruits and other foodstuffs.
26:29The residents buried the jars in the ground to save space and protect the contents from the hot sun.
26:35Some of these storage vessels are over six feet tall, and in one of the houses, we found as many
26:41as 23 pithoi sunk into the floor.
26:44Brian believes these underground larders could explain how the Trojans are able to survive being cut off from the outside
26:51world.
26:52The fact that they had so many of these suggests that the residents were concerned about surviving a very long
26:58siege and having enough to eat.
27:00These storage jars mean the Trojans can last for months, or even years, without running out of food.
27:09But experts believe surviving a siege is about more than just holding out until the enemy gives up.
27:15It's about fighting back.
27:19The Trojan defenders sneak out at night.
27:24To seize or destroy the invaders' weapons.
27:30And they target the Greek fleet.
27:35Attacking and wrecking their ships.
27:41But the Greeks are still determined to take the city.
27:45They attack with siege towers, battering rams, and ladders.
27:53They even consider building earth ramps.
27:57To get their forces over Troy's mighty walls.
28:02But does this war of attrition really go on for ten straight years, as the story says?
28:09Brian believes Homer bases his tale not on one epic siege, but a series of wars.
28:15Homer describes the Trojan War as lasting for ten years, but this is probably just dramatic license.
28:20We typically speak of one Trojan War, but in fact there were many.
28:24Lasting probably for two centuries, from about 1400 to 1200.
28:29For the defenders, these repeated short attacks have one advantage.
28:33They don't need enough food to last a full ten years.
28:38During this period, there would have been opportunities for the Trojans to restock the settlement.
28:44Because the wars would not have continued for that entire period.
28:50The evidence unearthed at Troy shows that the Trojan War really happens.
28:55But does it end with a cunning trick, as the legend says?
28:59Can cutting-edge computer modeling finally reveal the truth about the Trojan horse?
29:19The tale of the Trojan War.
29:22One of the most famous stories in history.
29:27Archeologists have shown there really is a war here at Troy.
29:31But how does it end?
29:35According to the legend, after ten long years, the Greeks appear to abandon their siege.
29:42They leave behind an offering.
29:45A gigantic wooden horse.
29:48But this gift hides a deadly secret.
29:55Stuffed inside are thirty Greek warriors, taking up all available space.
30:05They hope they can fool the Trojans into taking them into the city.
30:11Can there be any truth in this legend?
30:16Archeologist Louise Schofield searches for evidence that the Trojans might really fall for the famous trick.
30:24Chilling remains found in the citadel hint at an answer.
30:28During the excavations at Troy, dozens and dozens of horse skeletons were found, of which these are two skulls.
30:34The fact that we found so many is really unusual for a Bronze Age site.
30:39And it backs up the importance of horses to the culture of the Trojans.
30:45Horses are a significant part of Bronze Age culture and economy.
30:49They also play a vital religious role.
30:52People make statues of them, or even sacrifice them, to seek favor from the gods.
30:59It would make perfect sense that the Greeks would leave a large statue of a wooden horse on the plains
31:05of Troy as an offering to their gods.
31:07Also, given the importance of the horse to the Trojans, you can see why they would want to bring it
31:12within their city and offer it to their goddess themselves.
31:16But the legend says that in just three days, the Greeks build a horse big enough to conceal around 30
31:23warriors.
31:25Could such a feat be possible for Bronze Age engineers?
31:29A clue could lie in the nearby town of Chinakale.
31:33When Hollywood decided to make their epic movie Troy, this is the way that they envisaged the famous Trojan horse
31:40as looking,
31:41made of the remains of several dismembered Greek ships.
31:46The Greeks are expert engineers and boat builders.
31:51Louise believes they used this incredible shipbuilding talent to break the terrible siege of Troy.
31:57I don't think they could have built a wooden horse from scratch in just three days.
32:02But they had their warships, and they could have dismantled those to build such a horse.
32:09But is this replica horse the right size?
32:14Wow, this thing is huge. It's nearly 40 feet tall.
32:18I wonder if it would have needed to be this big to house 30 Greek warriors, or whether it's a
32:22Hollywood exaggeration.
32:27At Nottingham Trent University, England, head of engineering Neil Mansfield gears up to undertake a unique experiment
32:36to investigate how big the Trojan horse has to be.
32:41The question is, can we really build a wooden horse that will fit 30 men and to get it through
32:47those gates to the city of Troy?
32:50Neil starts with a modern day comparison.
32:54OK, so we're going to be getting into the van.
32:57He wants to know what size vehicle will hold 30 people.
33:01In you come.
33:02He estimates this empty van could be a good starting point for the body of the horse.
33:0921, 22.
33:12But we've only got 22 crammed into this van.
33:15So if you make it even bigger to fit 30 in, it's going to be enormous.
33:19Feel the heat already up here.
33:24Neil wants to know what size the horse needs to be, and whether it will fit through the city gates.
33:29See what you up to.
33:31He works with human ergonomist John Lovegrove.
33:35So how big does a Trojan horse need to be to fit 30 Greek soldiers inside?
33:40That's a really good question.
33:42The first thing you have to do is think about the size of the people inside the horse.
33:47Skeletal remains show that 3,000 years ago the average Greek soldier was around 5 foot 7 inches tall.
33:54They would be fit, smaller than today.
33:57Next, John works out how the Greeks would design their horse.
34:01He bases his model on a ship.
34:03In this model, I placed the boat hole inside the horse and then sat the Greek soldiers side by side
34:10down both sides of the boat.
34:12And in the center, we were able to put a third rope.
34:15And while the soldiers are in here, they probably wouldn't be wearing their armor.
34:19No.
34:20Storing their armor separately would keep the warriors cool and prevent them from being heard by the Trojans.
34:27So if we put them all together, how big is it?
34:30We had an approximate height of 5 meters to the back of the horse and then 6, 6.5 meters
34:37to the head.
34:38About 15, 20 feet. That's pretty big.
34:41Yeah, it's huge.
34:42Question is, would that fit through the gates of Troy?
34:49Archaeologists think the main gate at Troy is about 13 feet wide and 16 feet high, with a mud brick
34:55arch over the top.
34:57At 20 feet tall, John's design is too big.
35:01But he believes with some adjustments, the Trojan horse could be a success.
35:06It could have been that the Trojans removed the top of the gates of Troy to allow the horse to
35:13pass through.
35:14Or, I personally think that it was actually a much smaller group of soldiers.
35:21According to the story, all this squad needs to do is overpower the guards and open the city gates.
35:28So you're saying, with fewer soldiers, we get a smaller horse, it fits through the gate, and that would have
35:35worked?
35:35Yes.
35:38John's new design shows the ingenious Trojan horse really could be the stealth weapon that ends the brutal siege of
35:45Troy.
35:47Maybe there weren't 30 soldiers inside the Trojan horse. Maybe it was a smaller number.
35:51But we can't forget these Greeks. They were outstanding engineers.
35:55They knew what they were doing, and I think they could have done it.
35:59Building a big wooden horse is one thing.
36:02Tricking the Trojans into taking it into their city is another.
36:08According to legend, after the Greeks retreat, the Trojans come out to admire the mysterious horse.
36:20Laakoan, a Trojan priest, suspects Greek foul play,
36:24and hurls a spear at the horse to prove there are men hidden inside.
36:30But suddenly, two giant serpents emerge from the sea and kill Laakoan and his sons.
36:42Worried about angering the gods, the Trojans accept the horse as a gift and drag it inside.
36:52Myths like this are often based in truth.
36:56Bronze Age societies frequently give horses as gifts.
37:00But does this Greek gift of a horse succeed in tricking the Trojans?
37:05Can new archaeological evidence reveal what really happens in Troy's final hours?
37:10hin 최ff socioe, the Trojan War
37:37Troy.
37:39And the iconic Trojan horse could also be based in truth.
37:44But how does it all end?
37:49According to the story, the unsuspecting Trojans accept their gift and bring it within the city walls.
38:00But under the cover of darkness, its stowaways emerge.
38:06A small squad of warriors cannot take the city alone.
38:13All they must do is open the gates for the Greek army that has approached the walls in secret.
38:22Taking the Trojans by surprise, they storm the city and set fire to it.
38:28Does this furtive act spell the end for Troy?
38:35Archaeologist Brian Rose wants to find out what really happens next.
38:40Is the mighty city burnt to the ground by an attacking army, as the story says?
38:49When Brian and his team dig into the city's remains, they find a clue.
38:53When we first came here to excavate, the entire area was completely covered.
38:58But over the course of the dig, we found the thick destruction level up to four feet high in some
39:04places,
39:04in which we found blackened earth, burned wood, probably from the roof of the building.
39:09You don't see it now because, of course, it's all been excavated.
39:14The charred layer shows this city is destroyed by a major fire, just as Homer describes.
39:21But what happens to its heroic defenders?
39:24In the story, the Trojans are massacred by the Greek invaders.
39:29In this area, as well as at the south gate and at the east gate, skeletons have been found.
39:35Two skulls at the south gate, a full skeleton here, part of a skeleton at the east gate.
39:40And what's unusual is that they weren't buried.
39:42Does the way these people are left unburied show they're slaughtered by an attacking army?
39:48The fact that they weren't buried in these three cases means that there was no one around to bury them.
39:53And they were all at gates, so it seems reasonable that they were defending the city and died during an
39:59attack.
40:00The brave Trojan warriors fight to the death defending their city, just as Homer says.
40:08Troy may be destroyed, but its story doesn't end here.
40:12A few settlers return to live in the ruins, and later a new city is built on top.
40:20In 750 BC, Homer writes his epic tale and puts Troy on the map.
40:26The residents of the city sell the city as the location of the Trojan War and the tourist industry takes
40:32off.
40:33The Persian king Xerxes, on his way to conquer Greece in the 5th century BC, visits the must-see site.
40:42And the Greek king, Alexander the Great, comes here 100 years later on his way to attack the Persians.
40:51Then as well as now, the Trojan War stands as an endless source of fascination.
40:57But the famous city's fortunes don't last forever.
41:01After a series of earthquakes in the 5th century, the site is abandoned and its location is lost.
41:08Troy's story passes into legend.
41:10Its name assumed to be no more than fiction.
41:14Until now.
41:16Not all of the details in Homer's Iliad are true.
41:19Many of them are mythological.
41:20But Homer was writing about a real city.
41:23And this is that city.
41:25The city of Troy.
41:27Its legend recorded in one of the most famous tales ever written.
41:32A mighty fortress.
41:35A bloody siege.
41:37One with a cunning trick.
41:39For thousands of years, this story is thought to be just a fairy tale.
41:44But now the truth is revealed.
41:49The Trojan War is real.
41:51And so is the historic city of Troy.
42:12The Trojan War is real.
42:24The Trojan War is real.
42:26The Trojan War is real.
42:28The Trojan War is real.
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