- 13 minutes ago
Category
📺
TVTranscript
00:02Archaeologists working on a metro expansion below the streets of Copenhagen Denmark make
00:08a surprising discovery. 19 feet below Oosterport station they came across a wood-lined square
00:15tunnel only three feet wide and three feet high. In a city that's been documented for centuries
00:21it seems like this tunnel was meant to stay hidden but why was it built and what purpose
00:27did it serve. Excavations beneath the former dormitory in Williamsburg Virginia uncover a
00:33mysterious cellar. The cellar contained artifacts and everyday objects from across centuries including
00:40pottery fragments buttons and even jewelry which provided a glimpse into the lives of
00:46the people who once used this space. What was this space really for and how could these finds
00:52reshape what we know about America's early years. In the small town of Salofenland a landowner
00:59digging on his property makes a remarkable find. Further excavation revealed human bones,
01:05fragments of clothing, blade pieces and traces of a wooden coffin. So who was buried here and what
01:13can this burial ground tell us about Finland's early history of belief and identity? Below the busy streets
01:21of the world cities exists a hidden realm of wonder. Sprawling ancient complexes, mysterious tombs,
01:33top-secret military bases, strange structures and lost artifacts buried beneath our feet and long forgotten
01:44until now. Underground models are exposed to reveal what lies hidden beneath the cities.
02:01On the straits between the North and Baltic seas, Copenhagen's journey from a medieval fishing village to Denmark's capital and
02:10largest city is one of survival and reinvention.
02:15Copenhagen emerged as a Viking outpost and fishing village. Over the first few centuries after that it grows
02:24thanks to a healthy trade in salted herring and that success makes it a target for nearby nations. In particular
02:32it provokes the Hanseatic League. That's a powerful alliance of North
02:36German towns and the merchants who banded together to control a lot of Europe's trade. They repeatedly
02:43attacked Copenhagen and that culminated in the fortress's destruction in 1369. But by the early 1700s,
02:52Copenhagen was one of Europe's busiest trading hubs with the stock exchange, new districts and grand buildings
02:59lining its streets. However, the same ships that brought wealth also carried disease.
03:06In 1711, the plague killed nearly a third of the city's population. Disaster then followed in quick
03:13succession. A fire in 1728 destroyed a third of Copenhagen and another in 1795 leveled much of what had
03:21just been rebuilt. In 1894, Denmark was a constitutional monarchy. Copenhagen expanded into new districts
03:29under a municipal council, while industry and labor movements helped reshape it into the modern city of
03:36around 1.3 million people you see today. In 2020, during excavations for a new metro link, archaeologists
03:44reveal something unlike anything seen in the city before. Nineteen feet below Oosterport Station, they came
03:53across a wood-lined square tunnel only three feet wide and three feet high. At first, they thought it might
04:01date to the 1600s, but analysis of the timber confirmed that it had come from a tree that was cut
04:08down in the 19th
04:10century. One end passes below what used to be Copenhagen's old defensive walls, and the other
04:17continues beneath Ustbanagea. That's a street that runs north alongside the railway tracks. We don't know
04:25yet if it turns or even where it finally ends. So far, they've only exposed about 10 feet of it.
04:32The Oosterport Tunnel is the first of its kind ever found in Copenhagen, and it doesn't appear in any
04:38maps or records. In a city that's been documented for centuries, it seems like this tunnel was meant
04:44to stay hidden. In a century marked by political unrest, a hidden root of this scale may have served
04:51certain private interests. From 1885 to 1894, Denmark's constitutional order was rocked by the
05:00provisional period, during which the prime minister bypassed parliament and ruled by decree. His actions
05:07sparked intense political conflict and opposition to his conservative government. In that atmosphere,
05:13a hidden passage in Oosterbrough might have offered officials or confidants discrete movements or
05:19protection. Is it possible that this tunnel was a private commission? Copenhagen had been devastated
05:26earlier in that century. By British bombardment in 1807, by bankruptcy in 1813, and by the loss of Norway
05:37a year later. Concealed passage, big enough for someone to fit inside, may have been useful as a protection
05:45against unrest or sudden violence. Almost like a safe room. In 1853, Copenhagen faced its deadliest epidemic.
05:54In decades, cholera killed nearly 5,000 people. It caused about 70 percent of all the deaths in that city
06:02that year. Overcrowding inside old fortifications and leaking cesspools made the city a breeding ground for
06:10that disease. In the decades that followed, Oosterbrough rose as a wealthier district. And for those who had
06:17the means, a private enclosed passage could have offered refuge from the city outside. In a city shaped
06:25by trade and restrictions, the tunnel may have offered a path tied to the underground economy.
06:31In the 19th century, sailors routinely smuggled alcohol, tobacco, coffee and textiles into Denmark
06:39from England and Germany. And meanwhile, contraband was flowing out towards Sweden. So could a hidden
06:46tunnel beneath the city have been part of that system of illegal trade? After World War I, heavy Danish
06:52taxes on alcohol, combined with prohibition across Scandinavia, fueled a thriving black market.
06:59By the 1920s, smuggled spirits from Germany reportedly supplied nearly half of Denmark's consumption.
07:06In that climate, a concealed passage near Oosterport could have been built or adapted to move goods
07:11beyond official oversight. Over 700 miles southwest in the Welsh town of New Key, flooding in the basement
07:20of a local shop revealed a long forgotten passage. During the cleanup, the shop's owner uncovered a doorway
07:28leading to a tunnel nearly nine feet high and stretching some 50 feet toward the sea. Some local
07:35historians suggest it may date to the 17th or 18th century, when smuggling in wine, spirits and salt was
07:42widespread along Cardigan Bay. In August 1704, Customs Officers reported some 150 men with horses unloading
07:52salt at New Key. Outnumbered the officers fired shots only to be arrested by local constables and even
08:01dragged before court, which goes to show how strongly the community backed the trade. In New Key, the smuggling
08:08theory makes sense because the tunnel is tall enough to walk through and it runs directly to the sea. But
08:14Copenhagen's passage is different. It's a cramped shaft. It's only three feet across. It's way too tight
08:20to move large contraband in bulk. So I think we'd be smart to explore some alternative possibilities.
08:27The tunnels positioned beneath Copenhagen's former ramparts, the line where the city once defended itself,
08:34could be the strongest clue to its purpose.
08:37For thousands of years, tunnels have been a tool of war, a fourth domain alongside land, sea and air.
08:45They were used to breach walls, infiltrate fortifications or provide hidden escape routes.
08:51Could Copenhagen's undocumented tunnel belong to that tradition?
08:56Copenhagen's defenses began in 1167 with ramparts and a moat shielding the town. Over the centuries,
09:03they were tested during the Reformation under Swedish siege in 1659 and in British bombardment
09:10during the Napoleonic Wars. Through the 17th century, Copenhagen's fortifications were modernized
09:16and expanded. They grew into a full ring of ramparts, bastions and moats and closing the capital as it
09:25rose into a major commercial and administrative hub. With such a fortified perimeter, the idea of hidden
09:32passages built for protection in wartime is entirely plausible. The newly discovered tunnel runs beneath
09:39the line of the eastern ramparts near the old Oosterport Gate, which was dismantled in 1857.
09:46That location and its narrow, confined dimensions suggest that it may have served as an escape route during
09:56conflict. During World War I, as the Western Front devolved into a grinding stalemate, trenches and tunnels
10:04etched into the earth defined the conflict. At Vimy Ridge, over 500 miles from Copenhagen,
10:11an underground labyrinth became the lifeline of the battle. Between 1915 and 1917, Allied and German forces dug
10:20dozens of tunnels at Vimy Ridge. Early on, they were used to plant explosives or to counter enemy mining,
10:27with some reaching depths of over 130 feet. By late 1916, British tunneling companies began constructing
10:3413 communication tunnels, or subways, along the northern ridge to move troops and supplies to the front lines.
10:42Inside, these subways were fitted with power, water, and even light rail. They held cookhouses,
10:49reservoirs, medical posts, ammunition stores, and even communication centers. Above all, they provided
10:56shelter from German artillery and a relatively secure base for operations beneath the battlefield.
11:02The Grange subway was one of the largest. Nearly a mile long and buried more than 25 feet underground,
11:10it was slightly arched, reinforced with wooden beams, and measured 5 feet wide and 6.5 feet high.
11:19In the 36 hours before the assault on Vimy Ridge, troops and ammunition moved through the subways toward
11:26the front. The Grange subway station alone held about 950 Canadian soldiers. And on April 9, 1917, nearly
11:3510,000 Canadians emerged from the tunnels within striking distance of German lines. They were concealed
11:42until the last moment. And they seized that ridge in a surprise assault that was a decisive victory. I mean,
11:50it's Vimy Ridge. That is a defining chapter in Canada's history. The Copenhagen Tunnel shares some
11:57similarities with those on the western front. And its position beneath the old ramparts adds weight to the
12:03theory of military escape. But the evidence complicates the picture. The timber lining dates to 1874,
12:11decades after the defenses were dismantled. And nothing like it has ever been found in the city.
12:17So whether it was privately commissioned, tied to smuggling, or meant for something else entirely,
12:23its true purpose remains a mystery. At least for now. Copenhagen has been bombarded, rebuilt,
12:32and reshaped for centuries. The city's history is well documented. But the Oosterport Tunnel is a reminder
12:40that it's still incomplete. Roughly 45 miles southeast of Richmond, Virginia, Williamsburg embodies both
12:56colonial authority and America's fight for independence. Virginia's colonial era stretched from
13:02the founding of Jamestown in 1607 to 1776, when Virginia, along with the rest of the 13 colonies, declared
13:10independence from Great Britain. But Williamsburg's story began in the 1630s, when English colonists
13:17established Middle Plantation, a fortified settlement between the James River and the York River.
13:22In 1676, Bacon's Rebellion erupted as falling tobacco prices, mercantile restrictions, natural disasters,
13:29and disputes with Native Americans fueled anger at the governor. Nathaniel Bacon's followers torched
13:34Jamestown's state house. And when the fire struck again in 1698, the capital was moved to Middle
13:40Plantation. It was eventually renamed Williamsburg after King William III, and it became the center of
13:45Britain's largest American colony. In the 18th century, Williamsburg became a seat of learning and
13:52authority. Its main street served as a thoroughfare between the reconstructed capital and the college of
13:58William and Mary. The first American college with a full faculty, a fraternity, and an honor system.
14:04But behind that image of refinement was a darker truth. Roughly half the town's residents were enslaved.
14:12In the spring of 2025, beneath William and Mary's Robert M. Gates Hall, formerly the Brown Hall dormitory,
14:20archaeologists uncover a hidden trace of Williamsburg's complicated past.
14:26Excavations uncovered the near complete foundation of an 18th century structure and a previously
14:33undocumented cellar measuring 36 by 18 feet with at least two floor levels. Even the chimney base survived
14:43intact. The cellar contained artifacts and everyday objects from across centuries, including pottery fragments,
14:50buttons, and even jewelry, which provided a glimpse into the lives of the people who once used this space.
14:57They also uncovered brooches, white clay pipes, even flatware with Greek motifs, and a glass shard depicting the Roman
15:04goddess Minerva. These likely belonged to the women students who lived here in the 1920s and could have fallen through
15:10the
15:10floorboards, where they've remained for roughly a century. This wasn't the first time archaeologists
15:15have excavated here. Since 2012, they've uncovered outbuildings and other structures nearby,
15:21hinting at steady use in the colonial era. Now, with a foundation and cellar added to that record,
15:28the picture gets more complicated. What was this space really for? And how could these finds reshape
15:34what we know about America's early years? Between 2012 and 2014, excavations behind the former Brown Hall
15:43uncovered the partial foundations of two 18th century outbuildings. These were interpreted as a kitchen
15:51and a dairy or smokehouse, the kinds of service spaces you might expect behind domestic buildings in
15:59colonial Virginia. So maybe the foundation and cellar are remnants of a storage space in an ordinary home?
16:09In front of the site, archaeologists uncovered a late 18th century well that remained in use into the
16:1520th century. Excavations also revealed two small buildings, one 16 by 6 feet with a subfloor pit,
16:21the other 8 by 8 feet. Taken together with the most recent discoveries, these features suggest the land
16:28could have been used for storage, water access, and everyday work at a private home. The cellar itself
16:35was unlined, suggesting it was dug soon after the foundations were laid. Excavations also revealed its
16:40floor to be nearly 18 inches higher than documented in earlier investigations. Features of this size and form
16:47could be used to store food, taking advantage of cool, stable conditions. Tens of thousands of artifacts
16:52have come out of these excavations. Animal bone, oyster shell, and fragments of German stoneware. But the
16:59presence of English salt glazed stoneware, first produced around 1720, helps fix the date when the
17:05cellar was in use. Mixed in were glass shards, clay marbles, and even doll parts, the kinds of everyday
17:13items you might expect in a household. In 2024, nearly 1600 feet southeast of the Gates Hall site,
17:22a construction project for Colonial Williamsburg's new archaeology center uncovered another cellar.
17:29Two feet below what had been a parking lot since the 1960s, archaeologists uncovered the brick
17:36foundation of a 17th-century home measuring 32 by 24 feet. The structure included a cellar, and about 40 feet
17:46away, they uncovered a 40-foot deep well, which was still intact with its cap on it. Excavations unearthed
17:56Chinese export porcelain, teewares, dozens of clay wig curlers, leaded casement windows with diamond-shaped
18:03window glass, and the handle of a silver teaspoon. These finds indicate that it was a household of
18:09considerable wealth and status. It's believed that the house may have been built as early as 1660,
18:15when the area was still known as Middle Plantation, and that it remained standing into the 1720s or 1730s.
18:22Because it predates detailed 18th-century maps, little is known about its occupants. But it now stands at
18:28the oldest documented colonial structure in the region. At the site beneath the parking lot, the
18:33evidence paints a pretty clear picture. A brick foundation, a cellar, and a well, all reinforced by
18:40artifacts from a wealthy household. While the Gates Hall site shares some similar features, the presence of
18:46other kinds of artifacts complicates the picture and forces us to consider other explanations about the
18:53site's purpose. The discoveries also opened the possibility that this ground was once tied to the
18:59lives and labor of enslaved people in colonial Virginia. Enslaved Africans and their descendants
19:07made up a significant portion of Virginia's population, with most living in rural quarters
19:13beside the fields where they worked. A common feature of these dwellings was the subfloor pit
19:20dug beneath the houses for the storage of food, personal items, and other purposes. So given that
19:28context, could the foundation and cellar at Gates Hall be the remnants of an early plantation quarter?
19:38Subfloor pits were once thought to be simple storage features. But more recent research shows that they
19:44could serve multiple roles, including shrine-like spaces that echo West African traditions. In those
19:51traditions, ancestors were honored as intermediaries between the living and the divine. And pits like
19:57these may have been places where that connection was maintained. Many enslaved people on Virginia's lower
20:03peninsula came from the Bight of Biafra, today's eastern Nigeria, Cameroon, equatorial Guinea, and Gabon.
20:10Excavations at 18th century slave sites have revealed pits filled with white stones, fossilized shells,
20:17chalk, intact wine bottles, and iron tools, along with oyster shells just like those recovered at Gates
20:23Hall. In West African traditions, such items carry deep symbolic meaning. Among the Gates Hall finds were
20:29fragments of Kelownaware pottery, handmade vessels often made by enslaved and indigenous communities in the U.S.
20:36from the mid-17th to the mid-19th century. Viewed alongside the cellar and nearby features,
20:43they suggest this ground may have once been connected to plantation labor and to the endurance of African
20:49cultural traditions. In 2021, over a hundred miles northwest of Williamsburg in Arlington, Virginia,
20:57archaeologists uncover a subfloor pit used by an enslaved family, revealing traces of both daily life
21:04and spiritual practice. Archaeological work at Arlington House, which was a mansion built between 1802
21:12and 1818 to serve as the first memorial to George Washington, identified a subfloor pit cut beside the
21:21hearth in the south slave quarters. Inside were four intact glass bottles, most likely linked to the family of
21:30Selina Gray, who was the second generation enslaved person and maid to Robert E. Lee's wife.
21:38The location of the pit and the arrangement of the bottles suggest that it functioned as a spiritual or
21:44religious shrine. All four were placed side by side with their openings facing north, a direction
21:50associated with freedom. Set north and east of the hearth, their placement may also be symbolic. East
21:57evoked sunrise and ancestral homelands in Africa. This was likely what's called a spirit bundle,
22:05made up of conjuring bottles. These were used to ward off evil or cast spells or for self-preservation.
22:11They could also entrap harmful spirits, invoke powers, or act as talismans of resistance.
22:16These were small but powerful ways to confront the dehumanizing realities of slavery and to safeguard
22:23the future. The Arlington Find shows how enslaved people carried Western African traditions into new
22:29settings, turning their quarters into sacred spaces of resilience and resistance. At Gates Hall,
22:36artifacts like Kelownaware and Oyster Shell, along with the unlined cellar, suggest ties to enslaved life,
22:43too. But without clear spiritual markers, the evidence may instead point to other aspects of
22:48daily life and survival. As the investigation of the site continues, the researchers find out that
22:55sometimes the smallest items tell the biggest story. They found nearly 50 fragments of slate pencils,
23:03more than at any other site in Williamsburg. In the 18th century, reading and writing were taught
23:10separately, with writing usually withheld from enslaved students. The concentration of writing
23:16implements considered alongside the other evidence strongly supports the identification of this site
23:24as the Williamsburg Bray School, one of the earliest schools for black children in North America.
23:30It also suggests that its students may have practiced literacy in ways that went beyond the school's design.
23:39From 1760 to 1774, the school enrolled hundreds of enslaved and free black children.
23:46They studied reading, sewing, and catechism, all within a pro-slavery curriculum designed to foster
23:53obedience. For those who managed to learn writing, it could be very helpful. One could use it to forge a
23:59manumission document, which granted freedom. Or it may have helped navigate escape routes or communicate with
24:04sympathetic individuals. In Virginia, ads designed to capture self-emancipated people sometimes describe
24:11them as able to read or write. Interestingly, for decades, the Bray School building was thought
24:16destroyed. Originally built on North Boundary Street, it was moved to Prince George Street in 1930,
24:23and later absorbed into William and Mary's campus, where renovations obscured its 18th century core.
24:29In 2020, researchers tested the timbers of the building, which confirmed it dated to late 1759 or
24:36early 1760. This aligned perfectly with the school's opening in September 1760 and proved that it had been
24:44hiding in plain sight all along. The foundations beneath Gates Hall reveal how a system built to deny
24:52humanity inadvertently ceded new claims to it. A legacy of literacy and defiance that reshaped the course of the nation.
25:09Over 60 miles west of Helsinki, in southwestern Finland, lies Salo, a town defined by its forests, rivers,
25:18rivers, and a long history of exchange and settlement. The name Salo means woodland or wooded island,
25:25so it got its name as a reference to its forested terrain. People first reached Finland around 9,000
25:32years ago, drawn by rich hunting and fishing grounds. By the Viking Age, the southwest coast near Salo lay on
25:38the edge of trade routes leading into Russia. Local communities supplied furs while Swedes, Danes,
25:43and others passed through as traders or raiders. From the 12th century onward, Finland became a frontier
25:50between two worlds. Sweden pressed Catholic conversion and political control from the west,
25:57while Novgorod in northwestern Russia advanced orthodox influence from the east. By the mid-13th
26:03century, Swedish castles anchored the south into their realm, while the eastern frontier remained contested.
26:11In 2023, after a rainy day, a landowner installing geothermal pipes on his property in Salo notices
26:18something strange sticking out of the ground and decides to take a closer look.
26:24The piece of iron turned out to be an ancient 12th century sword with a straight hilt, a cross guard,
26:31and a three-sided knob known as a pommel. Remarkably, the sword's sheath was also recovered,
26:38an incredible find after centuries underground. Further excavation revealed human bones, fragments
26:45of clothing, blade pieces, and traces of a wooden coffin. Most striking was a partially intact leather
26:53belt fitted with 30 bronze ornaments decorated with rosettes along with animal head buckles and strap
27:00dividers. All of these objects came from a single grave, but as excavations continued, eight burials
27:06emerged. It's believed there could be dozens, even up to 200 others. So who was buried here? And what can
27:13this burial ground tell us about Finland's early history of belief and identity? Researchers suspect
27:19the bones and artifacts date to between 1050 and 1150 CE. The site may simply reflect Iron Age Finland's
27:28long tradition of weapon burials, where elite men were laid to rest with swords, spears, and other symbols
27:34of rank. With dozens or hundreds of graves, perhaps this was a cemetery where warrior identity was
27:41reinforced across generations. At this time, weapon burials reflected the warrior ideology and the male
27:49norms of the era. They also signaled status, serving as a way for emerging elites to display power during
27:56periods of instability while reinforcing authority among the living and sanctifying the cemetery itself.
28:02With the Salo sword dating to an age of religious upheaval in Finland, its presence, along with the belt,
28:09may reflect an Iron Age tradition of using burial rites to assert power at moments of transition.
28:16In 1968, workers digging for a water pipe in Hatula, Finland, just over 60 miles northeast of Salo,
28:25accidentally uncovered an early medieval grave site dating to between 1050 and 1300 CE.
28:32The Suantaka grave, as it became known, contained brooches linked to female dress alongside two swords,
28:40including one with a bronze hilt, which is typically wielded by men. This combination puzzled archaeologists
28:47for decades. Some saw it as proof of a powerful woman who might have been a warrior, while others
28:53argued it was a double burial of a man and a woman. The individual at Suantaka was clearly someone of
28:59high standing. They were dressed in wool garments and animal pelts and laid to rest on a feather blanket with
29:05furs. Notably, the ornate bronze hilted sword was added to the grave after the original burial,
29:11an act that may have shown reverence for the person long after death.
29:14A DNA analysis in 2021 found the Suantaka individual may have had Klinefelter syndrome,
29:22meaning XXY chromosomes. The condition can involve traits including lower testosterone, reduced body hair,
29:29or breast development, which may have set them apart in life. This challenges earlier assumptions about
29:36rigid gender roles in medieval Finland and may indicate that people who did not fit traditional
29:42categories could still hold respected, even honored positions within their communities.
29:48We don't know how the Suantaka individual identified in life, but the burial shows that weapons could
29:54symbolize status, respect, and admiration in ways that may not be so straightforward. At Salo,
30:03the sword and belt may indeed signify warrior burials, but they could also point to other forms of
30:09status or esteem within the community. Given the broader historical context and other details at the site,
30:15we may have to look at possibilities beyond martial rank alone.
30:20As the researchers continue their investigation, they can't help but notice that the sword appears to
30:26have been damaged. In Iron Age cremation graves, weapons were often bent, broken, or fire patinated.
30:34This was a ritual killing or destruction of the weapons, and it was done to ensure that the object went
30:40with the deceased. Or it could have been done to guard the living from the return of the dead.
30:46Between the 11th and 15th centuries CE, burial customs in Finland gradually shifted from cremation to
30:52inhumation. Across Scandinavia, this marked the move from paganism to Christianity. But in Finland,
30:58the process of Christianization was slower. That raises the possibility that the Salo burials,
31:03outwardly Christian in form, concealed older rituals, a quiet negotiation with, or even resistance to,
31:10the new faith. For much of the Finnish Iron Age, cremation was the dominant custom. Often in large,
31:17below-ground, collective cemeteries, where individuals are hard to distinguish. But for
31:23centuries, you have this kind of overlap, when inhumation and cremation are practiced simultaneously,
31:29sometimes even within the same cemetery. The result is a complicated burial record,
31:34and that ambiguity can shape how we interpret the inhumations at Salo. Nearly 200 miles west,
31:41at Gamla Uppsala in Sweden, two Viking Age boat burials revealed the same tension. Pagan traditions
31:50carried forward even as Christianity began to take root. One boat was damaged, but the other lay intact.
31:58Findings included a man buried in the stern, a horse and dog in the bow, a sword, a spear,
32:05shield, and even an ornate comb. Most remarkable, though, is that in a region where cremation had been
32:12the norm for centuries, the bodies in boats were left unburned. Boat burials were a hallmark of pagan
32:21tradition. The animal offerings and weapons followed that older pattern, signaling status,
32:26as well as belief in the customary way of doing things. But the decision not to cremate likely
32:33reflects the layering of a new Christian influence onto this ritual. At Salo, that type of hybridity
32:40isn't as clear. Burial practices varied widely across Scandinavia, and while the bent sword recalls
32:46older Finnish customs, it may have been an isolated gesture rather than evidence of a community
32:51resisting Christianity, suggesting the cemetery could represent a different stage in Finland's
32:56Christianization. One of the strongest clues comes not from the soil, but from what still stands above it.
33:03The cemetery sits beside a medieval stone church dated to the 15th century. In Finland, once Christianity
33:11took hold, cemeteries were moved close to the first churches. If burials here date to the 11th or 12th
33:18century, it points to a much earlier church presence in the region than previously thought. So Salo may offer
33:25some of the clearest evidence yet of Christianity taking root in this area. But the question remains, were these
33:31local converts or outsiders tied to the Crusader campaigns? The Crusader era in Finland refers to the period
33:39when Christianity spread under Swedish influence, often associated with the so-called first Swedish
33:45crusade in the 1150s. Whether that crusade actually took place is uncertain. There's no archaeological evidence,
33:53and the first written accounts come more than a century later. What we do know is that during the 12th
33:59and 13th
33:59centuries, the Swedish crown and the Catholic Church carried out campaigns that gradually expanded their
34:05authority across Finland. Against that backdrop, the sword from Salo takes on new significance. Its
34:12three-sided oval pommel is a form consistent with what a Swedish crusader would have carried into battle.
34:18And the preliminary dating places it right at the threshold of that period of Christian expansion.
34:25X-ray analysis revealed an inscription interpreted as, in the name of Jesus Christ. Considered alongside
34:32the weapon's form and date, it points to a clear connection between Salo and the expanding world of
34:37Christian Europe. This is the first confirmed grave field in the Salo region from the end of the Iron
34:43Age to be found in such close proximity to a medieval stone church. What we know so far points to
34:49overlapping traditions. Elite display, blended customs, and crusader influence. But who these people were,
34:57and what their burials truly reveal about Finland's passage into a new faith, remains unclear. Recent work
35:04on the site has revealed important new details. Radiocarbon dating dates the burial to the crusade period,
35:11between 1025 and 1200 CE. Falling late within Finland's Iron Age, which spanned roughly 500 BCE to 1200 CE.
35:22Further investigation of the site has been limited by resources, but archaeologists hope to carry out
35:27DNA and strontium isotope analysis in the future. At Salo, a sword, a belt, and bones trace the tension between
35:37belief and change. Evidence of a community and transition, but leaving us unsure of the status
35:44or role these graves were meant to express.
35:54In southern Wales, about 10 miles from the capital city of Cardiff, is the stunning Fonmon Castle.
36:02Fonmon Castle is a medieval fortress built in 1180 and nestled in Wales's Vale of Glamorgan.
36:08It was built by the St. John family, but changed hands when it was sold to Colonel Philip Jones
36:13during the English Civil War, between the royalists and Oliver Cromwell's parliamentarians.
36:19A lot of Welsh castles were destroyed in the war, but Fonmon Castle survived. It was modified later on
36:25during the Georgian era, but you can still find features from the original fortress, like defensive ditches,
36:30and slits for archers. In 2019, the castle was bought by a wealthy Welsh businessman,
36:39who turned the castle into a public attraction, complete with historical tours, medieval reenactments,
36:44and a menagerie of wild animals. In 2021, the castle's new owner is interested in knowing more
36:51about his centuries-old residence, and extends an invitation to archaeological researchers from the nearby
36:58Cardiff University to survey the castle grounds. In a field close to an airport runway,
37:04there appeared to be the remnants of a farmstead. But when the topsoil was slowly brushed away,
37:11something far more intriguing was revealed. A cluster of graves began to emerge from the soil.
37:19What's remarkable is that these burial plots were cut right into the limestone bedrock.
37:2841 sets of human remains were uncovered. There were two children, there was one adult male,
37:33and the other 38 bodies were those of women. Now, a lot of the bodies were carefully posed in specific
37:39burial postures. Sometimes they were curled up or crouching, often lying on their side with their knees
37:44tucked into their chest. But one woman was buried differently. Unlike all the others, she seems to
37:51have been basically just tossed into a ditch with no apparent care at all. Surveys of the area showed
37:59ditches surrounded the graves, which suggested that these graves made up a community cemetery.
38:06Some graves contained shards of glass and pottery. Animal bones were also found in the soil,
38:13many of which appear to show signs of being butchered and cooked. So who were these people,
38:20and why do the majority of the remains belong to women? Dating of the bones is cross-referenced with
38:27the style of the glass and pottery found on the site, placing the cemetery between the 6th and 7th
38:33century CE. The almost uniformly female occupants of the cemetery could suggest it belonged to a local
38:41nunnery or religious community. The rise of Celtic Christianity led to the establishment of monastic
38:48learning centers across the country. A subatomic analysis of tooth enamel determines that these
38:55individuals had a diet high in carbohydrates, but low in meat protein, with a complete absence of fish.
39:02Within the context of a religious community, there may have been strict rules around the consumption of
39:07meat products. That and the signs of hard labor on the skeletons align with the rules of monastic life
39:14within the Celtic tradition. In this scenario, the single male skeleton may have been a visiting patron
39:20or priest, while the woman tossed in the ditch may have been excommunicated and denied a proper burial.
39:26Early medieval monasteries were often powerful and rich institutions. Whitby Abbey, for example, was one of the
39:35most important religious centers in Britain during the 7th century. It was home to both nuns and monks,
39:43but its founder was a powerful abbess named Saint Hilda. Under her leadership, Whitby greatly enriched itself and
39:52even maintained connections to the royal Northumbrian family. The women buried at Funmen may have had a
40:00similar accumulation of wealth and influence, which could explain the fine glass and pottery found at the site.
40:07But putting aside the fact it's rare to find evidence of nunneries in Wales, if these burial grounds
40:14belong to a powerful religious institution, where are the signifiers or markers of the Christian faith?
40:20There's a complete absence of religious insignias or artifacts. No crosses or inscribed stones were
40:26found on the site, which would understandably be present if these graves represented ritualistic
40:32Christian burials from this period. Along with the rise of Christianity, this era in Welsh history
40:39was marked by calamity, thanks to a silent killer that had arrived on its shores. Historical records indicate
40:47that the Justinian plague landed in Wales in the year 547, killing the ruler of the Kingdom of Gwynedd.
40:54It's conceivable that these people at the Funmen site had fallen victim to a catastrophic epidemic.
41:00The disease may have overwhelmingly afflicted the women in this community,
41:04or perhaps these women had cared for the sick before contracting the plague themselves.
41:09The Justinian plague and the more infamous Black Plague 800 years later actually share the same bacterium,
41:18Yersinia pestis. Using something called archaeogenic testing, England's Ettyx Hill Cemetery was the
41:26first site in Britain to definitely show evidence of Yersinia pestis. Like the Funmen Cemetery,
41:33it contained human remains from the 6th century. And while some of the graves contained multiple burials,
41:40Ettyx Hill is not simply a chaotic mass grave inside a single pit. Given the fear of the plague,
41:47it seems incredible that the Funmen community would have engaged in funeral meals at the burial site of
41:53members who had died from exposure to the deadly disease. But the real issue with the plague theory is
41:58that unlike the Ettyx Hill Cemetery, there's been no reported evidence of Yersinia pestis on any of
42:05the human remains at the Funmen site. DNA analysis may one day change this, but for now, we just don't
42:12know for sure.
42:13What does seem likely, however, is the well-connected social status of the community members who were buried here.
42:20The radiocarbon dating suggests these remains span multiple generations. Carving their graves right out of
42:27the limestone bedrock would have been a monumental undertaking. But the people buried here were apparently
42:32held in high enough esteem by their community to justify the labor. An analysis of the glass shards determined
42:39that the material had originated in what is now Egypt and Syria. The pottery was also determined to have
42:46come from North Africa. So this group at Funmen would have had to have considerable resources, either economic
42:53or even just social, in order to acquire goods from that far away. But how do we explain the fact
42:59that the majority of the people who are buried at Funmen are women? It's very likely that the women
43:07played a leadership role in this community. Published in 2025, genetic testing conducted on individuals
43:14buried in cemeteries in Dorset, England revealed a strong maternal lineage in that Celtic community,
43:22with men primarily marrying into the community from outside. The evidence of physical labor found on the
43:28remains could be an indicator of how this family or community built its fortune. Even the most compelling
43:36explanation for the Funmen cemetery leaves many questions unanswered. But the excavation is only half
43:43finished. There are an estimated 80 graves in total, so there are many more to be explored, which may provide
43:50additional insight into the people who lived here through an important transitional period in Welsh history.
Comments