1
00:00:40,920 --> 00:00:44,435
No one knows why 15,000 years ago
2
00:00:44,520 --> 00:00:49,036
human beings painted the walls of caves
in Spain and France
3
00:00:49,120 --> 00:00:51,236
with designs like these.
4
00:00:51,320 --> 00:00:55,154
Whatever reason they had
to crawl into the inky blackness,
5
00:00:55,240 --> 00:00:57,834
lit only by tiny, flickering lamps,
6
00:00:57,920 --> 00:01:00,957
it surely could not have
been just a trivial one.
7
00:01:01,040 --> 00:01:05,511
Almost all the animals represented
are those that were hunted for food.
8
00:01:05,600 --> 00:01:07,318
So an obvious explanation is
9
00:01:07,400 --> 00:01:11,154
that painting was part of magic
designed to bring success in hunting
10
00:01:11,240 --> 00:01:14,676
or to maintain the fertility of the herds.
11
00:01:14,760 --> 00:01:16,193
One thing is certain...
12
00:01:16,280 --> 00:01:18,874
the animal that dominates
this cave in Lascaux
13
00:01:18,960 --> 00:01:22,999
is not the reindeer or the ibex
or even the horse
14
00:01:23,080 --> 00:01:25,833
but the great wild boar.
15
00:01:25,920 --> 00:01:29,276
In life, it stood over six feet
at the shoulder
16
00:01:29,360 --> 00:01:31,351
and weighed about a ton.
17
00:01:31,440 --> 00:01:33,590
But these astonishing images
18
00:01:33,680 --> 00:01:36,114
are even bigger than life... size.
19
00:01:36,200 --> 00:01:39,556
Confronted by them,
it's difficult not to believe
20
00:01:39,640 --> 00:01:41,915
that the artist regarded this animal
21
00:01:42,000 --> 00:01:45,470
with deep, almost religious awe.
22
00:01:45,560 --> 00:01:49,473
It must have been the most formidable
and dangerous animal in the forest,
23
00:01:49,560 --> 00:01:53,473
the very embodiment
of fertility and strength.
24
00:02:20,120 --> 00:02:23,715
These bulls, running wild
in the Camargue in southern France,
25
00:02:23,800 --> 00:02:26,234
are descended from domesticated stock,
26
00:02:26,320 --> 00:02:28,914
but they give some idea
of the formidable character
27
00:02:29,000 --> 00:02:30,956
of their truly wild ancestors,
28
00:02:31,040 --> 00:02:34,589
which were even bigger
and surely just as aggressive.
29
00:02:36,680 --> 00:02:38,636
(Men shouting and whooping)
30
00:02:42,880 --> 00:02:45,030
(Cowbells clanking)
31
00:02:57,680 --> 00:03:01,229
Around 10,000 years ago,
somehow or another,
32
00:03:01,320 --> 00:03:03,595
men managed to tame the bull.
33
00:03:03,680 --> 00:03:07,878
The process started, doubtless, by rearing
the calves of cows killed in the hunt,
34
00:03:07,960 --> 00:03:11,714
but even so, controlling animals
of such strength and ferocity
35
00:03:11,800 --> 00:03:15,429
and keeping them penned
in an enclosure in order not to lose them
36
00:03:15,520 --> 00:03:17,476
must have been very difficult and hazardous
37
00:03:17,560 --> 00:03:20,632
for people who had not yet
tamed horses to help them do so.
38
00:03:25,080 --> 00:03:29,392
In the forest... covered mountains, they also
found another animal they could tame.
39
00:03:30,200 --> 00:03:31,997
A wild sheep.
40
00:03:32,080 --> 00:03:35,470
This is the mouflon, probably the best living
approximation
41
00:03:35,560 --> 00:03:37,676
that we have to that wild ancestor,
42
00:03:37,760 --> 00:03:42,151
which today lives in the remoter parts
of the islands of Corsica and Sardinia.
43
00:03:46,120 --> 00:03:49,635
It's a very shy creature
with extremely acute eyesight,
44
00:03:49,720 --> 00:03:51,676
so it's very difficult to approach.
45
00:04:11,480 --> 00:04:15,996
In spite of its timidity,
it may have been relatively simple to tame.
46
00:04:16,080 --> 00:04:17,752
For one thing, it's a mountain animal,
47
00:04:17,840 --> 00:04:20,195
adapted to picking its way
through difficult country,
48
00:04:20,680 --> 00:04:23,240
so it's built for agility rather than speed.
49
00:04:24,040 --> 00:04:27,112
0nce caught, therefore,
it's relatively easy to control.
50
00:04:27,200 --> 00:04:29,350
Easier than, say, an antelope.
51
00:04:29,440 --> 00:04:33,911
Furthermore, pasture in this kind of
country is scattered and difficult to find,
52
00:04:34,000 --> 00:04:38,710
so the animals do not have small, permanent
territories which they mark and defend,
53
00:04:38,800 --> 00:04:41,075
but wander about over a wide range.
54
00:04:41,760 --> 00:04:44,558
In consequence, they were
ready to accept being moved
55
00:04:44,640 --> 00:04:47,996
if their human owners wanted
to drive them to new pastures.
56
00:04:51,880 --> 00:04:54,110
And they have one further characteristic
57
00:04:54,200 --> 00:04:56,998
that must have helped
early man to control them.
58
00:04:57,080 --> 00:05:01,119
The females and their young
live together in a small permanent herd.
59
00:05:01,200 --> 00:05:03,270
The male is a solitary animal,
60
00:05:03,360 --> 00:05:05,749
and only visits the herd
during the breeding season,
61
00:05:05,840 --> 00:05:09,549
when he leads or drives them
and defends them against other rivals.
62
00:05:20,760 --> 00:05:23,513
Men simply took over
his position of authority,
63
00:05:23,600 --> 00:05:25,511
and by 8,000 years ago,
64
00:05:25,600 --> 00:05:27,795
people were herding groups of tame sheep
65
00:05:27,880 --> 00:05:30,440
in many parts of the
eastern Mediterranean.
66
00:05:43,480 --> 00:05:46,950
Wild pig also lived
in the prehistoric forests of Europe,
67
00:05:47,040 --> 00:05:51,397
rootling around for acorns, nuts and roots,
just as they do today.
68
00:05:51,760 --> 00:05:54,718
They were one of the favourite targets
for the early hunters.
69
00:05:58,520 --> 00:06:01,717
Their young are striped,
presumably for camouflage
70
00:06:01,800 --> 00:06:03,916
when for the week or so
after they are born
71
00:06:04,000 --> 00:06:06,195
the mother leaves them
in a nest in the undergrowth,
72
00:06:06,280 --> 00:06:10,478
and they must be virtually invisible
if they're not to be taken by predators...
73
00:06:10,560 --> 00:06:13,552
wolves or bears... or men.
74
00:06:15,000 --> 00:06:18,197
They soon learn to follow their mother
around as she searches for food,
75
00:06:18,280 --> 00:06:21,192
as they have to
if they themselves are to get a meal.
76
00:06:21,280 --> 00:06:23,999
After about three months,
they will stop suckling
77
00:06:24,080 --> 00:06:26,036
and then their stripes will fade.
78
00:06:33,160 --> 00:06:36,072
Pigs are far from being fussy feeders.
79
00:06:36,160 --> 00:06:39,550
They will tackle almost anything,
animal or vegetable.
80
00:06:39,640 --> 00:06:44,031
These are seeing what they can find
in the shrinking waters of a drying pond.
81
00:07:12,240 --> 00:07:16,438
Wild pigs must have scavenged for scraps
around the hunting camps of early man,
82
00:07:16,520 --> 00:07:18,476
and doubtless they soon became accepted
83
00:07:18,560 --> 00:07:21,836
and were thrown regular food
to induce them to stay,
84
00:07:21,920 --> 00:07:24,753
so that they could be killed and eaten
when needed.
85
00:07:30,720 --> 00:07:32,278
9,000 years ago,
86
00:07:32,360 --> 00:07:35,716
the shores of the western Mediterranean
were covered with forest,
87
00:07:35,800 --> 00:07:40,237
and the people lived in
settlements of flimsy huts built in clearings.
88
00:07:40,320 --> 00:07:42,117
But at the eastern end of the sea,
89
00:07:42,200 --> 00:07:46,557
some cattle... owning tribes were developing
a much more elaborate way of life
90
00:07:46,640 --> 00:07:49,154
in the grasslands of the Nile delta.
91
00:08:03,400 --> 00:08:06,153
Nonetheless, they still worshipped the bull.
92
00:08:07,400 --> 00:08:09,356
(Thunder crashing)
93
00:08:09,440 --> 00:08:13,399
The bull god was sent to earth, they believed,
into the womb of a mortal cow.
94
00:08:13,480 --> 00:08:17,393
He had a triangular mark
on his forehead, double hairs on his tail,
95
00:08:17,480 --> 00:08:21,359
and the shape of a vulture with
outstretched wings clasping his shoulders.
96
00:08:24,640 --> 00:08:27,438
The priests were responsible
for finding this holy calf
97
00:08:27,520 --> 00:08:29,476
as soon as his predecessor died.
98
00:08:29,560 --> 00:08:32,233
0nly one bull god could rule at a time.
99
00:08:32,320 --> 00:08:33,833
His name was Apis
100
00:08:33,920 --> 00:08:37,037
and his discovery
was the cause for national rejoicing.
101
00:08:37,120 --> 00:08:39,873
Children born on that auspicious day
102
00:08:39,960 --> 00:08:42,520
might be given the name "Apis Is Found"
103
00:08:42,600 --> 00:08:44,750
to mark such a happy coincidence.
104
00:08:48,160 --> 00:08:49,673
Once he was identified,
105
00:08:49,760 --> 00:08:52,194
he was brought to the great temple at Memphis
106
00:08:52,280 --> 00:08:54,669
and kept in a stall quite near here.
107
00:08:54,760 --> 00:08:58,309
He was fed on special foods
and regularly anointed,
108
00:08:58,400 --> 00:09:00,356
and on all great festivals and occasions
109
00:09:00,440 --> 00:09:02,396
he was led forth in front of the people
110
00:09:02,480 --> 00:09:06,871
with garlands around his neck
and golden regalia between his horns.
111
00:09:06,960 --> 00:09:09,758
The people consulted him as an oracle.
112
00:09:09,840 --> 00:09:13,276
They would recite questions to him
and interpret his answers
113
00:09:13,360 --> 00:09:15,590
as to whether he advanced or retreated.
114
00:09:15,680 --> 00:09:19,309
They would write questions on pieces of pottery
and put them beside his path
115
00:09:19,400 --> 00:09:23,359
to see whether he veered towards them
or away from them.
116
00:09:23,440 --> 00:09:27,149
And when he died,
his great body was brought here
117
00:09:27,240 --> 00:09:30,357
to this immense mortuary table.
118
00:09:32,080 --> 00:09:34,753
It weighs about 50 tons,
119
00:09:34,840 --> 00:09:38,753
it was brought here from 250 miles upriver,
120
00:09:38,840 --> 00:09:42,150
and on each side it carries a lion,
121
00:09:42,240 --> 00:09:45,835
the guardian of the dead
and the symbol of the resurrection.
122
00:09:47,960 --> 00:09:52,272
The body was then mummified, using
exactly the same embalming techniques
123
00:09:52,360 --> 00:09:55,432
as were used for the bodies
of the god kings, the pharaohs.
124
00:09:56,120 --> 00:09:57,678
After the removal of the viscera,
125
00:09:57,760 --> 00:10:00,797
scented embalming fluid
was poured over the corpse,
126
00:10:00,880 --> 00:10:05,192
which drained through this runnel here,
and were collected in this basin.
127
00:10:05,280 --> 00:10:08,272
For, having passed over the body of a god,
128
00:10:08,360 --> 00:10:11,033
they were very magical and precious.
129
00:10:11,120 --> 00:10:13,395
Then the body was wrapped in bandages
130
00:10:13,480 --> 00:10:16,870
and carried in procession
to its last resting place.
131
00:10:27,720 --> 00:10:32,111
For over a thousand years,
the mummified bodies of the bulls
132
00:10:32,200 --> 00:10:35,476
were brought down here
in these limestone galleries
133
00:10:35,560 --> 00:10:37,710
cut deep below ground.
134
00:10:37,800 --> 00:10:41,952
Once their walls were covered
with tablets, like this one,
135
00:10:42,040 --> 00:10:46,556
erected by the priests
or devotees or workers,
136
00:10:46,640 --> 00:10:50,428
as acts of devotion
to the spirits of the bull gods.
137
00:10:53,680 --> 00:10:56,114
Preparations to receive
the body of the bull
138
00:10:56,200 --> 00:10:59,670
had been going on for some time,
perhaps as much as a year,
139
00:10:59,760 --> 00:11:02,718
perhaps even before the bull itself had died.
140
00:11:02,800 --> 00:11:06,190
A huge granite sarcophagus
had been quarried upriver
141
00:11:06,280 --> 00:11:08,236
and brought down here on barges.
142
00:11:08,320 --> 00:11:11,118
This is just the lid of one
143
00:11:11,200 --> 00:11:13,998
that for some reason,
had been abandoned here.
144
00:11:14,080 --> 00:11:17,117
The main part of it lies deeper
in these galleries.
145
00:11:24,480 --> 00:11:26,277
This huge block,
146
00:11:26,360 --> 00:11:29,511
although it's hollowed out inside
and is without its lid,
147
00:11:29,600 --> 00:11:33,434
must weigh, nonetheless,
between 60 and 70 tons.
148
00:11:33,520 --> 00:11:37,957
It was dragged here
by the dozen or so masons who made it,
149
00:11:38,040 --> 00:11:40,713
and it would have taken them
about four days
150
00:11:40,800 --> 00:11:43,519
to pull it all the way to its appointed vault.
151
00:12:04,480 --> 00:12:07,153
When the sarcophagus
reached this position,
152
00:12:07,240 --> 00:12:09,515
this vault was full of sand.
153
00:12:09,600 --> 00:12:12,319
The sarcophagus was hauled across
on top of it
154
00:12:12,400 --> 00:12:15,278
and then the sand removed
from either side
155
00:12:15,360 --> 00:12:19,558
so that this huge block
sank slowly to its final position.
156
00:12:20,520 --> 00:12:23,717
On its side are inscribed in hieroglyphs,
157
00:12:23,800 --> 00:12:28,555
Apis, beloved of Osiris...
158
00:12:29,960 --> 00:12:31,871
given...
159
00:12:31,960 --> 00:12:35,236
all... life...
160
00:12:35,320 --> 00:12:37,151
stability...
161
00:12:38,000 --> 00:12:39,592
power...
162
00:12:39,680 --> 00:12:41,955
and all joy...
163
00:12:43,160 --> 00:12:44,752
forever.
164
00:12:45,440 --> 00:12:49,911
Then the bull, in its wrappings and adornments,
was placed inside,
165
00:12:50,000 --> 00:12:55,358
and this immense lid
hauled across to seal it.
166
00:12:55,440 --> 00:12:57,158
But not forever.
167
00:12:57,240 --> 00:13:01,279
For, a century or so later,
in Christian or Roman times,
168
00:13:01,360 --> 00:13:04,318
thieves came and pulled back this lid,
169
00:13:04,400 --> 00:13:07,756
and stripped the bull
of all its golden finery.
170
00:13:12,400 --> 00:13:14,391
The falcon was also worshipped.
171
00:13:14,480 --> 00:13:18,439
Hovering aloft in the sky,
ceaselessly scanning the earth beneath,
172
00:13:18,520 --> 00:13:21,876
and on occasion flying so high
that it disappeared from sight,
173
00:13:21,960 --> 00:13:24,235
the people identified it with the sun
174
00:13:24,320 --> 00:13:27,357
and worshipped it as Horus,
lord of the sky.
175
00:13:30,960 --> 00:13:33,349
It too had temples dedicated to it,
176
00:13:33,440 --> 00:13:37,513
where priests kept captive falcons
and revered them as gods.
177
00:13:40,240 --> 00:13:43,994
As the centuries passed,
these cults changed in character.
178
00:13:44,080 --> 00:13:47,038
Instead of choosing
one representative bird,
179
00:13:47,120 --> 00:13:49,475
all birds of a particular species
180
00:13:49,560 --> 00:13:52,552
were believed to contain
something of the god's spirit.
181
00:13:52,640 --> 00:13:56,349
So all falcons, for example,
merited mummification.
182
00:13:57,440 --> 00:14:01,399
They lie here in Saqqara in immense stacks,
183
00:14:01,480 --> 00:14:06,918
each eviscerated, embalmed,
and sealed in its own pottery sarcophagus.
184
00:14:07,760 --> 00:14:12,151
There are estimated to be
800,000 falcons here,
185
00:14:12,240 --> 00:14:15,550
and they're not only falcons,
they're birds of prey of all kinds.
186
00:14:15,640 --> 00:14:17,915
Some of the bigger pots
contain vultures,
187
00:14:18,000 --> 00:14:20,468
a bird that was sacred
to the kingdom of Upper Egypt.
188
00:14:20,560 --> 00:14:23,518
But, above all, there are ibis.
189
00:14:24,320 --> 00:14:26,470
There are so many
that it's impossible to believe
190
00:14:26,560 --> 00:14:28,516
that they all met a natural death,
191
00:14:28,600 --> 00:14:32,036
yet Herodotus the Greek historian
was absolutely clear...
192
00:14:32,120 --> 00:14:35,954
even the accidental killing
of a sacred ibis in ancient Egypt
193
00:14:36,040 --> 00:14:38,395
was a crime punishable by death.
194
00:14:39,800 --> 00:14:42,155
But the devotees of the ibis cult
195
00:14:42,240 --> 00:14:44,993
flocked to this temple in huge numbers,
196
00:14:45,080 --> 00:14:48,356
and each wanted to
gain merit with the ibis god
197
00:14:48,440 --> 00:14:50,670
by presenting an embalmed bird
198
00:14:50,760 --> 00:14:53,274
and depositing it in these vaults.
199
00:14:53,360 --> 00:14:56,158
So it seems that the priests
200
00:14:56,240 --> 00:14:58,834
maintained a kind of
ibis breeding station,
201
00:14:58,920 --> 00:15:02,708
a sort of sacred zoo on a lake near here.
202
00:15:02,800 --> 00:15:06,156
And then, when devotees came,
they were able to supply
203
00:15:06,240 --> 00:15:08,800
a bird ready... mummified and sealed,
204
00:15:09,240 --> 00:15:10,832
for a price.
205
00:15:10,920 --> 00:15:14,549
These galleries have not yet
been fully explored,
206
00:15:14,640 --> 00:15:17,313
but it's estimated that, at very least,
207
00:15:17,400 --> 00:15:21,279
there are four million mummified ibis here,
208
00:15:21,360 --> 00:15:24,033
and the true number may be twice that.
209
00:15:31,080 --> 00:15:33,833
The ibis uses its long, curved bill
210
00:15:33,920 --> 00:15:36,639
to probe in mud and find its food.
211
00:15:36,720 --> 00:15:39,314
The Egyptians watching it
do so in their fields
212
00:15:39,400 --> 00:15:42,676
interpreted its action
as a continuous search for the truth,
213
00:15:43,120 --> 00:15:48,148
and so they regarded the bird
as the incarnation of Thoth, the god of wisdom.
214
00:15:48,240 --> 00:15:52,950
We still call this handsome
black... and... white species the sacred ibis,
215
00:15:53,040 --> 00:15:57,352
but it no longer lives in Egypt and has retreated
to more southerly parts of Africa.
216
00:16:08,200 --> 00:16:11,237
The papyrus swamps that existed
throughout the Nile delta
217
00:16:11,320 --> 00:16:13,914
were rich in wildlife of all kinds,
218
00:16:14,000 --> 00:16:18,073
and the Egyptians found in them
a great source of delight and wonder.
219
00:16:18,800 --> 00:16:20,995
Certainly, they deified and worshipped
220
00:16:21,080 --> 00:16:23,150
many of the animals that they saw here.
221
00:16:31,600 --> 00:16:35,673
The hippopotamus
with its swollen belly was Tawaret,
222
00:16:35,760 --> 00:16:39,275
the protector of pregnant women,
who, if suitably propitiated,
223
00:16:39,360 --> 00:16:42,079
could make the trial of childbirth
less difficult.
224
00:16:43,160 --> 00:16:47,199
The crocodile, not surprisingly,
was the god of evil, Sobek.
225
00:16:57,480 --> 00:17:01,393
The cat, which had come to live
alongside people in their houses,
226
00:17:01,480 --> 00:17:04,278
was also a suitable subject
for mummification.
227
00:17:04,880 --> 00:17:08,236
It was an associate
of the goddess of war, Pasht.
228
00:17:15,320 --> 00:17:20,519
There were lion gods and ram gods,
hawk gods and goat gods.
229
00:17:20,600 --> 00:17:23,910
The images of them
that stood in temples were given human bodies
230
00:17:24,000 --> 00:17:28,551
to show that they represented
not ordinary animals but divine beings.
231
00:17:36,880 --> 00:17:40,031
But though the people saw divinity
in all the creatures around them,
232
00:17:40,120 --> 00:17:43,556
that didn't stop them
from handling and exploiting animals.
233
00:17:43,640 --> 00:17:45,870
Indeed, they were expert farmers.
234
00:17:51,320 --> 00:17:53,993
They handled wild animals with equal skill.
235
00:17:54,080 --> 00:17:56,435
Judging from carvings such as these,
236
00:17:56,520 --> 00:17:59,273
they kept several kinds of antelope in captivity,
237
00:17:59,360 --> 00:18:02,272
even though they never
succeeded in domesticating them.
238
00:18:03,680 --> 00:18:07,116
And here they appear
to be force... feeding hyenas.
239
00:18:11,320 --> 00:18:15,711
0ne of their favourite pastimes
was to go hunting in the swamps of the delta.
240
00:18:15,800 --> 00:18:19,236
They used throwing... sticks
to bring down flying ducks.
241
00:18:30,520 --> 00:18:32,909
And they caught fish with harpoons.
242
00:18:34,720 --> 00:18:38,395
As well as abundant wildlife,
the Nile brought other treasure.
243
00:18:38,480 --> 00:18:42,109
Every year, hundreds of miles
away upstream to the south,
244
00:18:42,200 --> 00:18:45,192
abundant rains fell.
245
00:18:45,280 --> 00:18:48,670
And so, every year, in a way that
must have seemed almost magical
246
00:18:48,760 --> 00:18:51,399
to these people living here
where there is no rain,
247
00:18:51,480 --> 00:18:53,755
the river rose between its banks,
248
00:18:53,840 --> 00:18:58,038
here and the upper part of its valley,
by as much as 20 feet or so.
249
00:18:58,120 --> 00:19:00,714
And every year, a high official
of the state would come
250
00:19:00,800 --> 00:19:03,360
and ceremonially break the banks
251
00:19:03,440 --> 00:19:06,477
to allow the waters to flow over the fields.
252
00:19:07,600 --> 00:19:09,875
They lay there for two months or so,
253
00:19:09,960 --> 00:19:12,952
and when the river began to fall again
and the waters to retreat,
254
00:19:13,040 --> 00:19:16,396
they left behind what was perhaps
the Nile's greatest treasure of all...
255
00:19:16,480 --> 00:19:19,597
a thick layer of rich, fertile mud.
256
00:19:20,280 --> 00:19:23,511
And so the people here
were able to grow the plants
257
00:19:23,600 --> 00:19:27,912
that now are being domesticated all round
the eastern end of the Mediterranean.
258
00:19:30,640 --> 00:19:32,870
Wheat and barley grew abundantly,
259
00:19:32,960 --> 00:19:35,838
and the people were able to
plough and sow not only once
260
00:19:35,920 --> 00:19:37,876
but twice in a year.
261
00:19:58,880 --> 00:20:01,189
We know how they worked
in the fields
262
00:20:01,280 --> 00:20:04,590
from the way in which they chose
to be buried in their tombs.
263
00:20:05,680 --> 00:20:08,513
They believe that scenes
painted on the tomb walls
264
00:20:08,600 --> 00:20:10,591
would be repeated in the afterlife.
265
00:20:12,120 --> 00:20:14,953
So the nobleman who once lay here
266
00:20:15,040 --> 00:20:17,076
chose to be surrounded in death
267
00:20:17,160 --> 00:20:21,119
by pictures of some of
the most important and delightful times
268
00:20:21,200 --> 00:20:22,952
that he spent on earth,
269
00:20:23,040 --> 00:20:25,554
and that included cultivating the crops.
270
00:20:28,600 --> 00:20:30,670
The heads of grain
were cut with sickles
271
00:20:30,760 --> 00:20:32,830
that initially were made of flint.
272
00:20:34,920 --> 00:20:38,276
Cattle, yoked together,
pulled the wooden ploughs,
273
00:20:38,360 --> 00:20:42,478
and they too trod the grain to loosen
the kernels from the seed heads.
274
00:20:53,120 --> 00:20:55,111
Winnowing, to get rid of the chaff,
275
00:20:55,200 --> 00:20:57,270
was done exactly as it is now.
276
00:21:13,000 --> 00:21:16,436
Away to the northwest,
400 miles across the Mediterranean,
277
00:21:16,520 --> 00:21:18,829
lay a scatter of islands.
278
00:21:18,920 --> 00:21:20,876
The nearest and biggest of them was Crete,
279
00:21:20,960 --> 00:21:23,474
itself 200 miles long.
280
00:21:23,560 --> 00:21:27,678
Tribes of people from the mainland on the other
side of the sea, from Greece and Turkey,
281
00:21:27,760 --> 00:21:30,672
had reached Crete about 9,000 years ago,
282
00:21:30,760 --> 00:21:33,797
even before the Egyptians
had begun building their cities.
283
00:21:44,240 --> 00:21:47,232
For a long time after their arrival here,
however,
284
00:21:47,320 --> 00:21:51,393
the Cretans had lived simple lives
in small hamlets of wooden huts,
285
00:21:51,480 --> 00:21:53,596
for their land was far less
kind to them
286
00:21:53,680 --> 00:21:56,558
than the valley of the Nile
was to the Egyptians.
287
00:22:05,520 --> 00:22:09,752
Here, there was no annual flood
of fertile mud.
288
00:22:09,840 --> 00:22:13,628
The land was stony, the soil was thin,
289
00:22:13,720 --> 00:22:16,632
and when people first began
to build the cities here,
290
00:22:16,720 --> 00:22:19,188
some 4,000 years ago,
291
00:22:19,280 --> 00:22:21,874
all this land was covered with forest,
292
00:22:22,520 --> 00:22:26,069
and in that forest grew trees like these.
293
00:22:26,160 --> 00:22:29,311
They are amongst the longest living
of Mediterranean trees,
294
00:22:29,400 --> 00:22:32,073
living for as long as 1,000 or 1500 years.
295
00:22:32,520 --> 00:22:34,556
And they bear great wealth...
296
00:22:34,640 --> 00:22:36,596
their olives.
297
00:22:41,520 --> 00:22:43,476
The people, then as now,
298
00:22:43,560 --> 00:22:46,313
harvested them by beating
the branches with sticks
299
00:22:46,400 --> 00:22:48,436
to knock down the ripened fruit.
300
00:22:52,320 --> 00:22:54,709
The olives were then crushed in mills,
301
00:22:54,800 --> 00:22:58,475
using not horses as they use today,
but oxen.
302
00:22:58,560 --> 00:23:01,028
(People chatting in Greek)
303
00:23:14,160 --> 00:23:17,675
The final squeezing of the pulp
is done in a press,
304
00:23:17,760 --> 00:23:21,469
which extracts the last drops
of this clear, precious oil.
305
00:23:23,240 --> 00:23:27,438
In ancient times, this oil was the main form
of wealth on the island.
306
00:23:27,520 --> 00:23:30,080
By now, there were many cities in Crete,
307
00:23:30,160 --> 00:23:33,675
and people paid their taxes
to the king in this oil.
308
00:23:36,280 --> 00:23:38,032
The most important of these cities
309
00:23:38,120 --> 00:23:41,476
stood near the north coast, at Knossos.
310
00:23:46,520 --> 00:23:50,593
The oil was stored in gigantic pots
like these.
311
00:23:50,680 --> 00:23:57,358
420 of them stood in
18 long, narrow chambers like this one.
312
00:23:57,440 --> 00:23:59,715
So this, in effect, was the treasury
313
00:23:59,800 --> 00:24:02,360
of the palace and the state.
314
00:24:02,440 --> 00:24:04,635
It was used, of course, for cooking,
315
00:24:04,720 --> 00:24:06,950
just as it is today
in this part of the world.
316
00:24:07,040 --> 00:24:10,555
But it was also used for lighting,
being burnt in small, pottery lamps,
317
00:24:10,640 --> 00:24:14,633
of which hundreds have been found
in ruins such as this one.
318
00:24:14,720 --> 00:24:17,154
And it had another use...
319
00:24:17,240 --> 00:24:20,277
purified and scented with crushed herbs,
320
00:24:20,360 --> 00:24:23,193
the people used it to anoint
their bodies.
321
00:24:23,280 --> 00:24:26,192
That not only gave them
a pleasant perfume,
322
00:24:26,280 --> 00:24:29,272
but it also helped
in keeping themselves clean.
323
00:24:29,360 --> 00:24:33,911
After heavy exercise,
they would take an instrument such as this
324
00:24:34,000 --> 00:24:36,275
and scrape away the oil,
325
00:24:36,360 --> 00:24:39,875
so carrying away the perspiration
and the dirt.
326
00:24:40,760 --> 00:24:44,070
Not all these pots had oil in them.
327
00:24:44,160 --> 00:24:49,154
0thers contained
that other very precious liquid, wine.
328
00:24:49,240 --> 00:24:51,196
(Animated chatter)
329
00:24:57,760 --> 00:25:00,593
In Crete today,
as almost everywhere else
330
00:25:00,680 --> 00:25:02,636
that grapes are grown and wine made,
331
00:25:02,720 --> 00:25:05,871
happy parties are held
to celebrate the harvest.
332
00:25:05,960 --> 00:25:11,239
While some drink, others, fortified and
encouraged by the taste of last year's crop,
333
00:25:11,320 --> 00:25:15,313
tread the grapes to produce the juice
for this year's vintage.
334
00:25:15,400 --> 00:25:17,436
(Animated chatter)
335
00:25:29,760 --> 00:25:32,672
The wild vine grew originally
as a creeper
336
00:25:32,760 --> 00:25:35,672
in the forests around the eastern shores
of the Mediterranean.
337
00:25:36,240 --> 00:25:38,196
Somehow, people discovered very early
338
00:25:38,280 --> 00:25:41,829
that it could be propagated
with cuttings grafted onto root... stocks.
339
00:25:41,920 --> 00:25:44,673
So if a man happened to find
in the forest a vine
340
00:25:44,760 --> 00:25:48,719
that produced particularly abundant,
big or sweet grapes,
341
00:25:48,800 --> 00:25:51,598
he could cut the stem
and graft it onto a plant
342
00:25:51,680 --> 00:25:53,477
that grew beside his house.
343
00:26:01,720 --> 00:26:05,315
0ver the years, this steady collection
of selected vines
344
00:26:05,400 --> 00:26:07,391
produced crops
which had a high proportion
345
00:26:07,480 --> 00:26:09,755
of large, elongated pips,
346
00:26:09,840 --> 00:26:12,035
and from finding such evidence as that,
347
00:26:12,120 --> 00:26:15,237
archaeologists deduce
that the domestication of the vines
348
00:26:15,320 --> 00:26:18,198
started around 8,000 years ago.
349
00:26:18,280 --> 00:26:20,794
(Men chatting and laughing)
350
00:26:28,920 --> 00:26:31,070
There are many palaces in Crete,
351
00:26:31,160 --> 00:26:33,116
some say over a hundred.
352
00:26:33,200 --> 00:26:36,078
This one is at Phaestos
on the southern coast,
353
00:26:36,160 --> 00:26:39,470
and it was only a little less magnificent
than that at Knossos.
354
00:26:39,560 --> 00:26:43,712
They had upper storeys supported by long lines
of wooden columns.
355
00:26:43,800 --> 00:26:47,873
Inside, they were magnificently decorated
with frescoes.
356
00:26:47,960 --> 00:26:50,474
And all those that have been
excavated so far
357
00:26:50,560 --> 00:26:52,915
have one thing in common
in their layout...
358
00:26:53,000 --> 00:26:56,879
they are centred around
one large, paved arena.
359
00:26:58,520 --> 00:27:00,795
Here, many archaeologists believe,
360
00:27:00,880 --> 00:27:04,873
was held the great ritual
which dominated the lives of the people.
361
00:27:04,960 --> 00:27:07,872
It was a blend of religious devotion,
362
00:27:07,960 --> 00:27:11,748
athletic prowess and great bravery.
363
00:27:11,840 --> 00:27:14,479
For these people,
like the Egyptians before them,
364
00:27:14,560 --> 00:27:16,516
worshipped the bull.
365
00:27:23,080 --> 00:27:26,072
Young men would seize a charging bull
by its horns,
366
00:27:26,160 --> 00:27:29,675
somersault over its back
and then land on their feet behind it.
367
00:27:30,760 --> 00:27:33,228
(Crowd chattering, bugle plays fanfare)
368
00:27:42,480 --> 00:27:45,392
(Crowd jeering and whistling)
369
00:27:47,480 --> 00:27:50,392
4,000 years later, in southern France,
370
00:27:50,480 --> 00:27:52,869
men still taunt bulls.
371
00:27:53,560 --> 00:27:56,233
(Crowd jeering and whistling)
372
00:28:03,520 --> 00:28:06,114
The bull carries a red rosette
on its forehead
373
00:28:06,200 --> 00:28:08,668
and white tassels
on the points of its horns.
374
00:28:08,760 --> 00:28:12,116
If the men, skilled athletes
who specialise in this sport,
375
00:28:12,200 --> 00:28:14,760
manage to snatch off a tassel
or a rosette
376
00:28:14,840 --> 00:28:16,831
they win considerable prizes,
377
00:28:16,920 --> 00:28:19,480
and the crowd lays bets
on who will do so.
378
00:28:39,920 --> 00:28:41,239
There's real danger.
379
00:28:41,320 --> 00:28:44,118
If the men are caught,
they may be severely gored
380
00:28:44,200 --> 00:28:46,156
and even tossed and killed.
381
00:28:57,400 --> 00:28:59,391
(Crowd cheering)
382
00:29:02,600 --> 00:29:04,556
(Bugle playing fanfare)
383
00:29:10,520 --> 00:29:13,193
After a carefully timed period
of 15 minutes,
384
00:29:13,280 --> 00:29:15,077
the bull is let out of the ring
385
00:29:15,160 --> 00:29:17,469
and goes back to its pen, uninjured.
386
00:29:17,560 --> 00:29:20,120
But it will return several times later
in the season
387
00:29:20,200 --> 00:29:23,272
to fight again
in this extraordinary tournament.
388
00:29:26,240 --> 00:29:28,674
The ancient Cretans
were skilled fishermen.
389
00:29:28,760 --> 00:29:31,115
They probably copied their ships
from those of the Egyptians,
390
00:29:31,200 --> 00:29:34,909
who had developed a technique
of sailing in the calm waters of the Nile.
391
00:29:35,000 --> 00:29:38,834
But the Cretans ventured out
into the rough and unpredictable open sea
392
00:29:38,920 --> 00:29:41,309
and were greatly rewarded.
393
00:29:47,320 --> 00:29:49,311
From deep water around their coasts,
394
00:29:49,400 --> 00:29:52,233
they occasionally hauled up red coral.
395
00:29:52,320 --> 00:29:54,595
They used it for jewellery and for trade.
396
00:29:54,680 --> 00:29:57,194
Eventually, people as far away
as central Asia
397
00:29:57,280 --> 00:29:59,669
came to prize
this extraordinary substance,
398
00:29:59,760 --> 00:30:03,673
so like a stone, yet so unlike
anything dug from the earth.
399
00:30:06,360 --> 00:30:11,036
Cretan pots carried pictures
of the products the people specially valued.
400
00:30:11,120 --> 00:30:13,588
At the bottom of this one,
among the twigs of coral,
401
00:30:13,680 --> 00:30:16,638
is a particularly precious sea snail.
402
00:30:21,120 --> 00:30:23,190
This is murex.
403
00:30:23,280 --> 00:30:25,350
At first sight, it looks very similar
404
00:30:25,440 --> 00:30:27,476
to many other kinds of whelk... like molluscs
405
00:30:27,560 --> 00:30:29,869
that crawl about on the sea floor.
406
00:30:29,960 --> 00:30:31,996
But in its mantle
it has a special gland
407
00:30:32,080 --> 00:30:36,198
from which comes a substance
that will dye fabric a rich purple.
408
00:30:36,280 --> 00:30:38,111
Royal purple, it was called,
409
00:30:38,200 --> 00:30:40,031
and for the next thousand years or so,
410
00:30:40,120 --> 00:30:43,112
the murex was regarded throughout
the Mediterranean lands
411
00:30:43,200 --> 00:30:46,397
as one of the most valuable things
to come from the sea.
412
00:30:52,680 --> 00:30:55,513
Another creature they collected
still entices men
413
00:30:55,600 --> 00:30:58,068
to dive deep at the risk of their lives.
414
00:31:19,120 --> 00:31:22,271
Holding a lead weight in one hand
to keep him down,
415
00:31:22,360 --> 00:31:26,353
with bursting lungs
and seeing only blearily without goggles,
416
00:31:26,440 --> 00:31:28,476
he's searching for sponges.
417
00:31:32,920 --> 00:31:34,876
That's one.
418
00:32:00,280 --> 00:32:03,317
Divers in Tunisia
still work without face masks,
419
00:32:03,400 --> 00:32:07,871
let alone any breathing equipment,
just as they once did in ancient times.
420
00:32:13,320 --> 00:32:17,074
The length of time they can manage
to stay below is quite extraordinary.
421
00:32:19,400 --> 00:32:21,197
He takes his breath...
422
00:32:21,280 --> 00:32:23,111
now.
423
00:33:35,680 --> 00:33:38,035
And only now can he breathe again.
424
00:33:43,120 --> 00:33:46,476
0ctopus appear again and again
on Cretan pots.
425
00:33:46,560 --> 00:33:50,678
And they were, then as now, one of the most
favoured foods that the sea had to offer.
426
00:34:02,920 --> 00:34:05,798
The method used for catching them
has also not changed
427
00:34:05,880 --> 00:34:08,872
since ancient times, nor does it need to.
428
00:34:08,960 --> 00:34:10,916
It's simplicity itself
429
00:34:11,000 --> 00:34:13,878
and requires nothing more
than an earthenware pot.
430
00:34:26,240 --> 00:34:30,870
The octopus likes to hide inside
small dens on the sea floor,
431
00:34:30,960 --> 00:34:35,511
and these pots, apparently,
suit it so well, they are irresistible.
432
00:34:37,520 --> 00:34:40,956
All the fisherman has to do
is to return after a few hours
433
00:34:41,040 --> 00:34:42,996
and haul up the pots.
434
00:34:57,680 --> 00:35:00,717
The way to get an octopus
out of the pot is also easy.
435
00:35:00,800 --> 00:35:05,157
Pour in a little extra... salty water
through a hole in the bottom
436
00:35:05,240 --> 00:35:07,196
and out it comes.
437
00:35:36,320 --> 00:35:40,472
The most valuable fish in the sea,
then as now, is the tunny.
438
00:35:40,560 --> 00:35:44,872
Every year in the early the summer,
they swim in from the Atlantic to spawn.
439
00:35:44,960 --> 00:35:48,430
They are immense,
some as much as 12 feet long.
440
00:35:48,520 --> 00:35:52,069
Because of the shape of the coastline
and the topography of the sea floor,
441
00:35:52,160 --> 00:35:56,392
in some places they have to swim along
a restricted and predictable route,
442
00:35:56,480 --> 00:35:59,278
and there, the people wait for them.
443
00:36:01,720 --> 00:36:05,793
Nets hanging from floats are stretched
diagonally across the migration path
444
00:36:05,880 --> 00:36:07,836
for as much as three miles.
445
00:36:07,920 --> 00:36:11,276
The fish swim along the face of them,
seeking a way past,
446
00:36:11,360 --> 00:36:14,796
until they enter a corridor
that not only has an end wall,
447
00:36:14,880 --> 00:36:16,836
but a floor of netting.
448
00:36:16,920 --> 00:36:20,993
0nce they have started down it,
the fishermen pull up the end of the floor
449
00:36:21,080 --> 00:36:23,036
and the tunny are trapped.
450
00:36:23,120 --> 00:36:25,554
(Men shouting)
451
00:36:35,120 --> 00:36:37,076
(Shouting)
452
00:37:14,920 --> 00:37:18,993
The net is pulled in,
forcing the fish closer to the surface.
453
00:37:22,000 --> 00:37:25,959
As they thrash about in panic,
the fish so exhaust themselves
454
00:37:26,040 --> 00:37:28,474
that some are already close to death.
455
00:38:55,840 --> 00:38:59,958
0ne single chamber may have trapped
a hundred of these giant fish,
456
00:39:00,040 --> 00:39:02,873
30 tons of prime... quality meat.
457
00:39:25,640 --> 00:39:29,076
When the last have been collected,
the netting floor is dropped again
458
00:39:29,160 --> 00:39:33,597
to wait for the next shoal,
which may well arrive within a few hours.
459
00:39:40,840 --> 00:39:44,071
The harvest of the Mediterranean
has always been rich.
460
00:39:44,160 --> 00:39:46,913
The Romans were particularly fond
of fishing scenes
461
00:39:47,000 --> 00:39:51,391
for the mosaics with which they decorated
the floors of their sumptuous villas.
462
00:39:51,480 --> 00:39:54,313
And these give a good idea
of the range of sea creatures
463
00:39:54,400 --> 00:39:56,675
that they knew and relished.
464
00:40:02,320 --> 00:40:05,471
Hunting, too, was a Roman passion.
465
00:40:23,520 --> 00:40:26,478
Many of the animals they caught alive.
466
00:40:31,840 --> 00:40:34,274
By the beginning of the first century AD,
467
00:40:34,360 --> 00:40:37,716
the Romans had become the dominant nation
in the Mediterranean,
468
00:40:37,800 --> 00:40:40,473
ruling all the lands right round the sea.
469
00:40:40,560 --> 00:40:43,472
And they ransacked their vast empire
for animals,
470
00:40:43,560 --> 00:40:46,677
the stranger and the more ferocious
the better.
471
00:41:02,000 --> 00:41:06,630
The fate of these creatures
was to be transported to huge cities
472
00:41:06,720 --> 00:41:09,154
that now stood
in all parts of the empire,
473
00:41:09,240 --> 00:41:11,470
and there to be taken to the arenas
474
00:41:11,560 --> 00:41:13,869
that were the centres
of mass entertainment.
475
00:41:16,640 --> 00:41:21,270
This, one of the most perfectly preserved,
is at El Jem in Tunisia.
476
00:41:24,840 --> 00:41:26,876
The Roman public's thirst for blood
477
00:41:26,960 --> 00:41:29,235
and pleasure in witnessing pain
478
00:41:29,320 --> 00:41:32,869
seems to have been unquenchable
and without limit.
479
00:41:32,960 --> 00:41:36,714
The caged animals were kept in dungeons
below the main arena.
480
00:41:36,800 --> 00:41:41,669
When this place was in use, timbers were laid
across to roof this underground passage.
481
00:41:41,760 --> 00:41:43,876
And when the day of the spectacle came,
482
00:41:43,960 --> 00:41:47,270
30,000 people were packed into the terraces.
483
00:41:47,840 --> 00:41:52,789
And then, to the sound of blaring trumpets
and roars from the crowd,
484
00:41:52,880 --> 00:41:57,396
the terrified animals in their cages
were hoisted up from this pit.
485
00:41:57,480 --> 00:41:59,948
And not only animals. Human beings too.
486
00:42:00,040 --> 00:42:03,112
Criminals, slaves and prisoners of war.
487
00:42:03,200 --> 00:42:06,476
And here in this arena,
they were set one upon the other,
488
00:42:06,560 --> 00:42:10,473
to provide the crowd with spectacles
of the most appalling carnage.
489
00:42:11,080 --> 00:42:13,036
(Crowd cheering)
490
00:42:14,080 --> 00:42:16,355
(Animals roaring)
491
00:42:36,600 --> 00:42:39,194
(Applause)
492
00:42:49,200 --> 00:42:52,158
It still continues in Spain.
493
00:42:52,240 --> 00:42:56,472
Even sometimes in the very arenas
built by the Romans.
494
00:44:00,920 --> 00:44:02,876
(Crowd roaring)
495
00:44:17,120 --> 00:44:21,079
The Romans built huge cities
all around the shores of the Mediterranean.
496
00:44:21,160 --> 00:44:23,674
Here, at Ephesus,
in what is now Turkey,
497
00:44:23,760 --> 00:44:27,070
they took over a Greek town
around a great religious centre,
498
00:44:27,160 --> 00:44:30,470
sacred to the goddess of fertility
and nature, Artemis.
499
00:44:31,720 --> 00:44:34,075
Her temple here was so rich and splendid,
500
00:44:34,160 --> 00:44:37,038
it was listed as
one of the Seven Wonders of the World.
501
00:44:39,840 --> 00:44:42,479
Roman copies in marble
of the wooden statue
502
00:44:42,560 --> 00:44:45,677
that once stood in her temple
still survive.
503
00:44:46,920 --> 00:44:49,275
And very strange they are too.
504
00:44:51,600 --> 00:44:55,229
Heads of bulls are clustered
around her ankles.
505
00:44:55,320 --> 00:44:58,153
Above them are lionesses,
506
00:44:58,240 --> 00:45:01,596
mythical winged creatures like griffins,
507
00:45:01,680 --> 00:45:03,591
and then the heads of lions.
508
00:45:03,680 --> 00:45:07,275
For she had all nature,
tame and wild, in her charge.
509
00:45:09,320 --> 00:45:12,278
The strange objects above them
510
00:45:12,360 --> 00:45:15,989
were for a long time thought
to be multiple breasts,
511
00:45:16,080 --> 00:45:18,799
a kind of expression of her huge fertility,
512
00:45:18,880 --> 00:45:21,758
in spite of the fact
that they aren't shaped like breasts,
513
00:45:21,840 --> 00:45:25,116
they don't have nipples,
they are so low down on her body
514
00:45:25,200 --> 00:45:27,156
and there are so many of them.
515
00:45:27,240 --> 00:45:32,075
But recently we've learnt more
about the cult of Artemis.
516
00:45:32,160 --> 00:45:34,310
Excavations at Ephesus in her shrine
517
00:45:34,400 --> 00:45:38,678
have revealed a great number
of skeletons of bulls.
518
00:45:38,760 --> 00:45:43,470
It seems that they were not only sacrificed
in her honour, but castrated.
519
00:45:43,560 --> 00:45:46,791
And, as part of the ritual,
her image was hung
520
00:45:46,880 --> 00:45:51,715
with the parts of their body that were
the very source of their power and fertility,
521
00:45:51,800 --> 00:45:53,756
their testicles.
522
00:45:56,880 --> 00:45:59,678
People were now travelling
widely around the sea,
523
00:45:59,760 --> 00:46:02,354
protected by the peace
imposed by Roman rule,
524
00:46:02,440 --> 00:46:04,670
and religious ideas were spreading.
525
00:46:04,760 --> 00:46:09,311
Visitors to Ephesus might well have carried
bull worship back to western Europe,
526
00:46:09,400 --> 00:46:12,790
if indeed the practice of it,
once so strong in earlier times,
527
00:46:12,880 --> 00:46:14,916
had ever ceased.
528
00:46:15,520 --> 00:46:17,715
During the first century BC,
529
00:46:17,800 --> 00:46:20,678
a bull cult appeared in Rome itself
530
00:46:20,760 --> 00:46:23,479
and was soon spreading
all over the empire.
531
00:46:23,560 --> 00:46:26,552
In underground temples
like this one near Rome,
532
00:46:26,640 --> 00:46:31,236
devotees gathered to worship this god,
Mithras.
533
00:46:31,320 --> 00:46:34,949
The legend of Mithras originated,
like that of Artemis,
534
00:46:35,040 --> 00:46:40,512
in the eastern Mediterranean,
and it told how the god fought a great bull,
535
00:46:40,600 --> 00:46:42,192
stabbing it in the throat
536
00:46:42,280 --> 00:46:46,717
so that its blood gushed onto the earth,
giving life to the animals,
537
00:46:46,800 --> 00:46:49,473
here represented by the snake
and the dog
538
00:46:49,560 --> 00:46:51,516
which are lapping up the blood.
539
00:46:52,440 --> 00:46:55,876
So the bull is still seen
as the source of all life,
540
00:46:55,960 --> 00:47:00,909
but now it requires a god in human form
to release its fertility.
541
00:47:03,240 --> 00:47:06,118
At this time,
Rome was at the height of her power,
542
00:47:06,200 --> 00:47:08,668
her empire extending across the Mediterranean
543
00:47:08,760 --> 00:47:10,591
to the North African shore.
544
00:47:10,680 --> 00:47:13,274
And here there were some
600 great cities,
545
00:47:13,360 --> 00:47:15,828
the biggest of all being this, Leptis Magna,
546
00:47:15,920 --> 00:47:19,071
with a population of around 100,000 people.
547
00:47:19,160 --> 00:47:22,709
And in the first year of the Christian era,
AD 1,
548
00:47:22,800 --> 00:47:26,873
one of the wealthiest of them,
a man by the name of Annobal Rufus,
549
00:47:26,960 --> 00:47:30,873
built for the benefit of the citizens,
and doubtless for his own greater glory,
550
00:47:30,960 --> 00:47:35,511
this splendid theatre
which could accommodate 7,000 spectators.
551
00:47:37,800 --> 00:47:41,076
Here, pantomimes and ballets
were performed.
552
00:47:41,160 --> 00:47:43,435
Elaborate scenery was set on the stage,
553
00:47:43,520 --> 00:47:46,796
and screens of canvas
stretched between sticks
554
00:47:46,880 --> 00:47:50,350
were raised in front of the stage
to allow settings to be changed.
555
00:47:50,440 --> 00:47:52,476
There was a magnificent basilica
556
00:47:52,560 --> 00:47:54,790
and huge municipal baths.
557
00:47:59,560 --> 00:48:02,632
In the city centre stood
a splendid marketplace
558
00:48:02,720 --> 00:48:07,077
with marble colonnades adorned
with statues of distinguished citizens.
559
00:48:07,160 --> 00:48:09,196
This city, in Libya in fact,
560
00:48:09,280 --> 00:48:11,589
was one of the wealthiest
in the whole of the empire.
561
00:48:14,840 --> 00:48:17,752
That wealth was based directly on the land.
562
00:48:17,840 --> 00:48:21,230
Into this marketplace
flooded produce of all kinds,
563
00:48:21,320 --> 00:48:23,959
figs and pomegranates,
chicken and sheep,
564
00:48:24,040 --> 00:48:26,759
and this stone was used
for measuring olive oil...
565
00:48:26,840 --> 00:48:29,752
pouring the oil in at the top
566
00:48:29,840 --> 00:48:32,798
and collecting it by removing
the bung at the bottom,
567
00:48:32,880 --> 00:48:35,348
so forming a standard unit.
568
00:48:35,440 --> 00:48:37,715
But above all there was grain.
569
00:48:37,800 --> 00:48:41,429
Pliny, the Roman historian,
said that the land here was so rich
570
00:48:41,520 --> 00:48:43,954
that if you planted one grain of wheat,
571
00:48:44,040 --> 00:48:48,192
from it would sprout
a stem carrying 150 grains.
572
00:48:48,280 --> 00:48:50,191
By the end of the first century AD,
573
00:48:50,280 --> 00:48:55,195
North Africa was producing
half a million tons of grain every year
574
00:48:55,280 --> 00:48:58,352
and supplying
the densely populated city of Rome,
575
00:48:58,440 --> 00:49:03,116
which had long since outstripped
its own resources, with two thirds of its wheat.
576
00:49:06,240 --> 00:49:08,629
The southern shores
of the Mediterranean, in fact,
577
00:49:08,720 --> 00:49:13,077
were among the most fertile territories
in the whole of the Roman Empire.
578
00:49:14,400 --> 00:49:18,757
Their produce was brought to the great ports
like this one at Leptis.
579
00:49:18,840 --> 00:49:22,071
Then, the sea lapped this jetty,
580
00:49:22,160 --> 00:49:24,754
and alongside it were moored
the great ships.
581
00:49:24,840 --> 00:49:27,513
Onto to them were loaded
hundreds of tons of wheat,
582
00:49:27,600 --> 00:49:29,750
thousands of gallons of olive oil,
583
00:49:29,840 --> 00:49:32,832
ivory for the craftsmen
of the imperial city,
584
00:49:32,920 --> 00:49:37,038
caged wild beasts such as lions
and leopards and rhinoceroses
585
00:49:37,120 --> 00:49:40,476
to be tormented and put to death
in the arenas of the empire.
586
00:49:41,760 --> 00:49:45,435
And yet, today the harbour
is silted up,
587
00:49:45,520 --> 00:49:48,557
most of the city lies buried
beneath sand dunes
588
00:49:48,640 --> 00:49:50,915
and the land has become a desert.
589
00:49:52,240 --> 00:49:55,596
As the population had grown
and more people wanted more fields,
590
00:49:55,680 --> 00:49:59,559
so more of the forest that once stood
around the city was cut down
591
00:49:59,640 --> 00:50:02,313
until, eventually, it was all gone.
592
00:50:02,400 --> 00:50:06,029
With no roots to hold the soil
and no attempt to conserve it,
593
00:50:06,120 --> 00:50:09,237
it was carried away
by the wind and the rain.
594
00:50:09,320 --> 00:50:11,515
And this is where it went.
595
00:50:16,520 --> 00:50:19,318
In bays all around
the eastern Mediterranean
596
00:50:19,400 --> 00:50:21,834
the sea is separated from
the hills inland
597
00:50:21,920 --> 00:50:25,310
by strips of flat marshy land like this,
598
00:50:25,400 --> 00:50:29,279
made up of the soil that once clothed
the rocks of the hills beyond.
599
00:50:30,440 --> 00:50:34,433
All this was deposited
during the last 2,000 years,
600
00:50:34,520 --> 00:50:39,071
for this is the marsh that now separates
the sea from the city of Ephesus.
601
00:50:41,400 --> 00:50:44,039
These ruined buildings mark
the edge of the quay
602
00:50:44,120 --> 00:50:46,953
where once merchant ships lay moored.
603
00:50:47,040 --> 00:50:51,511
As the harbour died, so did the trade
on which the city's wealth was based,
604
00:50:51,600 --> 00:50:54,273
and so, ultimately, did Ephesus itself.
605
00:50:55,040 --> 00:50:58,669
What was once one of the most splendid cities
of the Roman Empire
606
00:50:58,760 --> 00:51:01,911
fell into decay and was abandoned.
607
00:51:20,960 --> 00:51:25,238
The city was approaching
the height of its wealth and prosperity
608
00:51:25,320 --> 00:51:27,914
when, in the year 53 AD,
609
00:51:28,000 --> 00:51:29,956
St Paul settled here.
610
00:51:30,040 --> 00:51:33,237
Not only was there great wealth
coming from the port,
611
00:51:33,320 --> 00:51:35,834
even though the harbour
was rapidly silting up,
612
00:51:35,920 --> 00:51:39,390
but every year
thousands of devotees came here
613
00:51:39,480 --> 00:51:43,234
to worship at the ancient shrine
of Artemis of Ephesus,
614
00:51:43,320 --> 00:51:45,436
the goddess of fertility.
615
00:51:45,520 --> 00:51:47,476
But St Paul's message of Christianity
616
00:51:47,560 --> 00:51:49,835
began to strike at that trade.
617
00:51:49,920 --> 00:51:54,630
The silversmiths who made images
of the goddess for sale to the pilgrims,
618
00:51:54,720 --> 00:51:57,029
complained that it was ruining their trade,
619
00:51:57,120 --> 00:52:01,989
and eventually they organised a riot
right here in this very theatre.
620
00:52:02,080 --> 00:52:05,709
Two of Paul's companions
were badly beaten up,
621
00:52:05,800 --> 00:52:09,190
and although the authorities eventually managed
to restore order,
622
00:52:09,280 --> 00:52:14,070
the situation remained so tense
that Paul had to leave.
623
00:52:14,160 --> 00:52:17,357
But, in truth, it was the
Ephesians themselves
624
00:52:17,440 --> 00:52:20,557
who were flouting
the principles of fertility
625
00:52:20,640 --> 00:52:24,030
by what they were doing
to the land around their city.
626
00:52:25,160 --> 00:52:28,197
It used to be said that in places like this,
627
00:52:28,280 --> 00:52:32,193
nature eventually failed to support man.
628
00:52:32,280 --> 00:52:34,714
The truth is exactly the reverse...
629
00:52:34,800 --> 00:52:38,110
here, man failed to support nature.
630
00:52:39,320 --> 00:52:43,154
10,000 years ago,
man regarded the natural world as divine.
631
00:52:43,240 --> 00:52:45,959
But, as he domesticated
animals and plants,
632
00:52:46,040 --> 00:52:48,429
so nature lost something of its mystery
633
00:52:48,520 --> 00:52:52,479
and seemed to be little more than a larder
that could be raided with impunity.
634
00:52:52,560 --> 00:52:57,076
The bull, once the most important
of the gods, was dethroned.
635
00:52:57,920 --> 00:53:01,310
So today, castrated and subdued,
636
00:53:01,400 --> 00:53:03,914
it works out its days in harness
637
00:53:04,000 --> 00:53:06,389
as man's patient slave.
638
00:53:06,480 --> 00:53:08,436
But at the other end
of the Mediterranean,
639
00:53:08,520 --> 00:53:10,476
the sun was just a little less harsh,
640
00:53:10,560 --> 00:53:12,949
the rainfall a little more generous,
641
00:53:13,040 --> 00:53:18,319
and so, there, nature is able a little better
to withstand man's assaults.
642
00:53:18,400 --> 00:53:21,198
And so, over the next few centuries,
643
00:53:21,280 --> 00:53:24,158
the centres of human power and population
644
00:53:24,240 --> 00:53:27,073
slowly moved to the other end of the sea.