- 15 hours ago
Category
📺
TVTranscript
00:00It's the middle of the night, and a heavy transporter is rolling through the city of Cannes.
00:06The world-famous Croisette is deserted.
00:09The casino and the luxury hotels are silent witnesses to the police guiding this very special cargo through the city.
00:17A replica of a Roman ship.
00:20A team of researchers and scientists want to investigate the capability and performance of the Roman fleet
00:26and the gigantic logistic system behind it.
00:31Ancient Rome's life relied heavily on ships to feed the eternally insatiable city.
00:38They were the backbone of the Roman Empire.
01:02It's usually million-dollar yachts that are launched here on the Côte d'Azur.
01:07Christoph Schäfer, the initiator of the project, is bursting with excitement waiting for the first test run.
01:16After years of work, this is really a huge moment to launch the ship into the Mediterranean and run our
01:23tests.
01:24We're checking the planks again for possible leaks, making sure the key is watertight.
01:30The long transport has dried out the ship, and that's always a problem.
01:39The crane starts to move. The tension is palpable.
01:45Has the ship really made the journey of over 1,000 kilometers without damage?
01:51Are there any leaks?
01:57In spite of the fact the ship has taken on water, the crew continues with their preparations,
02:02lowering heavy blocks of concrete into the boat's hull under deck.
02:13This makes the 8-ton replica even heavier, but this is a must.
02:21Without ballast, this ship becomes unstable, and that makes it hard to sail.
02:26The ancient ships typically used stones for ballast whenever they were not full of cargo.
02:33Securing the concrete slabs is essential.
02:39Loose cargo moving around, loose ballast is every sailor's nightmare,
02:43and also posed a highly dangerous risk in ancient times.
02:49So many goods were shipped across the Mediterranean
02:52because the Roman Empire stretched out across the entire sea.
02:56The Romans called it Mare Nostrum, our sea, and not without pride.
03:02It linked all the major coastal cities.
03:05For a long time, it was assumed that Roman ships sailed almost exclusively
03:10along the coast during daylight hours, with good visibility and favorable winds.
03:16They were powered by mussel, or sails.
03:21The bisula, the name of the replica, is equipped with a 15-meter mast,
03:26which is hoisted in the ancient way, by hand.
03:35The trunk of a white fur is meant to hold the yard with the sail.
03:38But to tow the ship to its berth at the Casino of Cannes, a motor is used.
03:53One anxious issue remains.
03:55Are there any leaks in the hull,
03:57because it was out of water for weeks during its transport,
04:00causing the wood to shrink?
04:10The water level is rising.
04:12Christoph Schaefer has the pumps turned on
04:14to bail the incoming water out of the ship.
04:17Should this not work,
04:19the test runs would have to be put on ice for the time being.
04:23He hopes that the planks will swell back up
04:25the longer the hull floats in the water.
04:31Motor and ship's propeller are here for safety reasons only.
04:35As soon as the motor is shut off,
04:37the propeller folds to avoid distorting the results from sailing tests.
04:43The bisula is the replica of a small Roman merchant ship,
04:4816 meters long and 5 meters wide,
04:51with a load capacity of 25 tons.
04:53The Roman superfreighters were able to transport up to 1,300 tons
04:58and were much, much longer.
05:01One of the surprisingly exact numbers
05:04is known through a find near the mouth of the Rhone River.
05:07There was a small harbor located there in the Bay of Laurent.
05:12French archaeologists made a spectacular discovery there in 1978,
05:17the wreck of a Roman merchant ship.
05:23Together with his French colleague, Pascal Arnaud,
05:26a specialist for ancient sources on maritime shipping,
05:30Professor Schaefer returns to the place
05:32that made the bisula possible to begin with.
05:34The Roman ship probably sank here in the 3rd century AD,
05:39well within sight of the harbor.
05:42This unique find made a replica possible
05:45that was precise down to the exact centimeter.
05:47The wreck had been found lying on its side,
05:51the sunken ship's hull preserved in the silt for almost 1,800 years.
05:57The reason why the ship sank is still unclear.
06:00There's only speculation.
06:07The Gulf of Lyon is really a dangerous area for sailing,
06:10and since we have a perfect gateway here for the Mistral wind,
06:14then even such a well-sheltered bay such as the Bay of Laurent
06:18could turn into a trap for the ship that drifts across the bay and then sinks.
06:24It could have been the Mistral,
06:26a northwestern downwind that blows into the lower Rhone valley
06:29that spelt the end for the freighter.
06:32Maybe its rudder broke on account of the heavy sea,
06:35or the cargo shook loose and started slipping.
06:38The ship tilts to the side and becomes a plaything for the waves.
06:43Breakers flood the deck.
06:46Through the loading bays,
06:47the ship takes on a lot of water quickly
06:49and sinks within sight of a safe harbour.
06:54For the researchers, however, this disaster is a stroke of luck.
06:58With the help of all the data gleaned from the wreck,
07:01Markus Altmann, Matthias Helderhof and Christoph Schäfer,
07:05together with their students and experts from the University of Trier,
07:09were able to build a replica of the cargo sailing ship
07:12down to the last detail.
07:18Construction took three years,
07:20using only traditional craftsman techniques.
07:25During the building phase,
07:27sea-worthiness tests are run with scale models of the Bistula
07:30in a 280-metre-long tank.
07:37Normally, modern container ships are optimised here,
07:41but now the researchers are collecting data
07:44on the flow properties of the Roman hull
07:46and how it behaves on waves.
07:52To the breaking point.
07:56We want to take the models to the limit, of course.
07:59We want to know how great the risks will be
08:02when we sail the original-sized replica on the open ocean.
08:07To gather even more detailed data,
08:09they use a one-to-three scale model.
08:12This allows the ship's behaviour
08:14and its position in the water
08:16to be measured under various stress situations.
08:25At least in the towing tank,
08:27there are no problems.
08:33In Cannes, the moment has arrived.
08:35A big day for ship and crew.
08:38No leaks in the hull,
08:39and the weather report is favourable.
08:45The professor and his students
08:47want to avoid sailing into a storm
08:49on their maiden voyage.
08:51The fate of the historical original
08:53serves as a strong warning.
08:56They leave the Cannes yacht harbour by motor,
08:59and then the real business starts.
09:13The first setting of the sail at sea
09:15is still a bit halting.
09:17But then it finally happens.
09:19A moderate wind is billowing the square sail.
09:30The maiden voyage on the Mediterranean,
09:32where once the Roman original
09:34of the Bissula used to sail.
09:41To set sail on the sea for the first time
09:44is a very special feeling.
09:46We deliberately picked a phase
09:47where there is only a little wind.
09:49But even that's a challenge.
09:51Low winds.
09:52You have to do some good sailing, then.
09:56Sailing.
09:57This is what the next few days and weeks
09:59will be all about
10:00in one of the largest experiments
10:02on the Roman fleet.
10:04And to answer the question
10:05how fast the ship can sail,
10:07how seaworthy it is,
10:09and how it can be navigated
10:11in inclement weather
10:12and difficult waters,
10:13infamous since antiquity.
10:23One of these spots
10:24lies in the straits
10:25between Corsica and Sardinia,
10:28the Strait of Bonifacio.
10:30The approximately 12-kilometer-wide passage
10:33is infamous for its shoals,
10:35rocks, and reefs.
10:42It has been the doom
10:43for many ships since antiquity,
10:45as the marine historian
10:47Pascal Arnault knows.
10:49And yet it was,
10:50and still is, crossed.
10:55It was a great shortcut
10:57that mariners took
10:58to sail between Italy and Spain,
11:00but also between the south of Gaul,
11:02in particular the Gulf of Lyon,
11:04and Italy.
11:08A fast and direct connection.
11:10Mariners still appreciate that today.
11:13For the Roman fleet,
11:15the Strait of Bonifacio
11:16was a key location
11:17on the way to and from the west.
11:19But you have to think twice
11:21before you dare the crossing,
11:22because the strait works like a funnel,
11:25increasing the wind's strength.
11:28If the wind is not favorable,
11:30it is never very smart
11:32to sail through a strait.
11:34Yes, not just dangerous,
11:35but also stupid.
11:36And the captains in ancient times
11:39were normally not stupid.
11:44One of their strategies
11:45was to be wise
11:46and wait for the winds
11:47to be favorable
11:48before they sailed through it.
11:52Modern boats can tack
11:54against the wind.
11:55This was probably not true
11:56for Roman square riggers.
11:58Even the greatest commanders
12:00needed patience.
12:05There's a story of Julius Caesar,
12:07who, returning from the African war,
12:09had to wait for almost a month
12:11before he could sail
12:13through the Strait of Bonifacio.
12:17But even with favorable winds,
12:19the passage remains dangerous.
12:22It is full of shoals,
12:24reefs, and craggy cliffs.
12:26A conspicuous number of lighthouses
12:29and sea marks warn sailors
12:30of the dangers along the coast.
12:33And the Strait of Bonifacio
12:35is by far not the only strait
12:37where ancient sailors risked their lives.
12:44Homer himself describes a place
12:46in his odyssey
12:47where two sea monsters,
12:49Scylla and Charybdis,
12:50live across from each other
12:51on two cliffs.
12:54Scylla was depicted
12:55as a death-bringing
12:56six-headed monster.
13:00Charybdis is reported
13:01to suck in gigantic amounts
13:03of water three times a day
13:05and to then spew it out
13:06with a deafening roar.
13:09Ships caught up in that maelstrom
13:10were doomed beyond hope.
13:13A god advises Ulysses
13:15to sail past Scylla.
13:16She kills six of his men,
13:18but the rest of the crew
13:20is able to escape.
13:24Deciding between Scylla and Charybdis
13:26to this day
13:27is the definition of a dilemma.
13:30There actually is a real place
13:33called Scylla.
13:35It's located at the narrowest point
13:38on the Strait of Messina,
13:40which separates Italy from Sicily.
13:42Was the legend born here?
13:51Pascal Varnking from the Bissula team
13:53wants to explore this question.
13:56Together with a fisherman from Scylla,
13:58he travels to that infamous strait
14:00to follow in Homer's footsteps.
14:04It's a very precise set
14:05of sailing directions, actually.
14:08Ulysses is advised to sail
14:09very close to the Scylla cliffs
14:11because even though
14:12that can be dangerous,
14:13it can also be survived,
14:14whereas Charybdis
14:15always means certain death.
14:20In the Straits of Messina,
14:22masses of cross-current waters
14:23from the Tyrrhenian
14:24and Ionian seas
14:25crash into one another.
14:32The currents here
14:33can be strong enough
14:34to push a ship
14:35directly onto the rocky coast,
14:37to be crushed,
14:38courtesy of Charybdis.
14:40The fishermen's many years
14:42of experience
14:43match up with the map of currents.
14:50Closing in on the narrow point
14:52in the strait,
14:53one can feel a choppy sea,
14:55result of two opposing currents.
14:57The fishermen change his course.
15:00Could Scylla be waiting
15:01at the opposite shore?
15:06Scylla is very dangerous
15:07and he can find currents there as well.
15:10But what Homer describes
15:11is a genuine monster
15:12that pulses men up into the air.
15:15One explanation might very well be
15:17the frequent occurrence
15:18of tornadoes in this area
15:20of the Mediterranean,
15:21which would explain
15:22the upwards pull.
15:24A quick internet search
15:26reveals dozens of tornadoes
15:28here in the region
15:29in late summer and fall,
15:30when the cold,
15:31high-altitude air
15:32flows over the warm ocean waters.
15:37To this day,
15:39the Strait of Messina
15:40is deemed dangerous
15:41and is one of the best
15:42monitored shipping lanes.
15:44The Italian Coast Guard
15:46patrols the narrow
15:47three-kilometer-wide passage
15:48day and night.
15:50Officers tell Pascal Van King
15:52that the strait
15:53can be dangerous
15:54for ships of every size,
15:56including container ships.
16:01Many clues support the idea
16:03that the ancient legend
16:05of Scylla and Charybdis
16:06originated in the Strait of Messina.
16:08However,
16:10a historian has suggested
16:11another location,
16:13the Strait of Rion,
16:14between the Gulf of Patras
16:16and the Gulf of Corinth
16:17in Greece.
16:20These days,
16:21a highway bridge
16:22spans the most narrow spot
16:24in the Strait of Rion.
16:27Just like the seafarers
16:28of antiquity,
16:30Pascal Van King
16:30observes the currents
16:32and winds changing
16:33throughout the day
16:34from the shore.
16:42The data gathered
16:44and experiences gained
16:45from sailing with the Bissula
16:46brings him
16:47to a very clear conclusion
16:49regarding the Strait of Rion.
16:54Narrow sections
16:55become a problem
16:55if I have to change course.
16:57Depending on the wind direction,
16:58that can be difficult
16:59or even impossible
17:00on ancient ships.
17:02You're being pushed
17:03towards land.
17:04Then there's the current,
17:05which makes it even more dangerous.
17:06But the current can be helpful.
17:08It carries me in one direction
17:09in the morning
17:09and in the other
17:10in the afternoon.
17:12Scylla and Charybdis
17:14were not lying in wait
17:15in Rion.
17:17Real danger, however,
17:18is waiting deep
17:19in the south
17:20of the Peloponnese
17:21at the infamous
17:22Cape Malia.
17:24Under these circumstances,
17:26sailing is out of the question.
17:27Even the motor yacht
17:29that Pascal Warnking
17:30and Christoph Schaefer
17:31used to explore the area
17:32struggled.
17:34Changing weather
17:35is the norm
17:36at Cape Malia.
17:37But this still used to be
17:38one of the most travelled
17:39shipping lanes
17:40of antiquity.
17:45The weather
17:45takes a turn
17:46for the worse.
17:50The skipper is worried
17:51that it will be even worse
17:52close to the Cape.
17:53A gale force 10 storm
17:56is already raging there.
17:59Circumnavigating the Cape
17:59is way too risky.
18:01There is a reason
18:03why one of the tallest
18:04lighthouses in ancient times
18:05was located here.
18:07Sailors were meant
18:08to see the danger
18:09from far away.
18:11Today we can see
18:12with our own eyes
18:13how dangerous
18:14Cape Malia is.
18:15What challenges
18:16it posed to the ancient marinas
18:18who didn't have a motor
18:19to help bring themselves
18:20to safety.
18:22That was a true challenge.
18:25Cape Malia
18:26was infamous.
18:28It was very dangerous.
18:29It was like
18:29the Cape Horn
18:30of the antiquity.
18:31Two seas meet there,
18:32the Aegean
18:33and the Ionian Sea.
18:34Two different directions
18:35in which the wind blows
18:36and the waves run.
18:38And that turns the Cape
18:39into a boiling cauldron
18:41for any sailor.
18:42In particular
18:43for ships like
18:44the Bistula
18:45which have only
18:46one square sail.
18:48The limited
18:48maneuverability
18:49in combination
18:50with abruptly changing
18:51winds and waves
18:52were also responsible
18:54for turning the ocean
18:55around Cape Malia
18:56into a watery grave
18:58for countless sailors.
19:08And it's not the only graveyard
19:10in the Mediterranean.
19:12Wrecks can be found
19:13all along the coast
19:14between Turkey and Rhodes
19:16and the southern tip
19:17and the southern tip
19:17of the Peloponnese.
19:18And at the Strait of Messina
19:20and the Strait between Sardinia
19:22and Corsica, of course.
19:24The Gulf of Lyon
19:25was also one of the most dangerous
19:27sailing areas in antiquity.
19:37The rich and beautiful
19:39in Cannes
19:40are probably unaware
19:41of that story.
19:43Today's yachts
19:44worth millions of euros
19:45may easily withstand
19:47the wind and waves.
19:48But they don't usually
19:49sail in bad weather anyway.
19:56The research crew
19:57on the Bissula
19:58also checks the weather,
20:00wind and waves
20:01before each test run.
20:06The Bissula
20:07may be an exact replica
20:09of an ancient freighter,
20:10but in the tests
20:11high-tech is used.
20:13Digital measuring methods
20:15also used during
20:16the America's Cup event
20:17help track
20:18the ship's performance.
20:29We are sailing
20:31with a wind beam,
20:32meaning the wind
20:33comes from the side.
20:34The ship is making good speed.
20:37Data shows that
20:3850% of the wind speed
20:39is converted
20:40into forward motion.
20:42That's respectable,
20:43but compared to
20:44a modern sailing ship,
20:46the replica of an ancient ship
20:47is noticeably slower.
20:55But in the ancient world
20:57it was not so much
20:58about racing,
20:59even though time
20:59definitely played
21:00an important role.
21:02The fleet was the backbone
21:03of the Roman Empire.
21:05On its ships,
21:05the Romans transported goods
21:07and soldiers.
21:10Supplying the capital
21:11with grain from Egypt
21:12was particularly important.
21:15Year in and year out,
21:16the freighters were awaited
21:18at the Ostia Harbour,
21:19at the mouth of the Tiber.
21:27The huge warehouses
21:29on the edges
21:30of the hexagonal harbour basin
21:32were called Horera.
21:34They stored the 80,000 tonnes
21:36of grain that arrived annually
21:38on ships from Alexandria,
21:39as well as other goods
21:41from all over the Empire.
21:46The nearby Ostia Antica
21:49is one of the most important
21:50archaeological digs
21:52in the Roman world.
21:54About two-thirds
21:54of the ancient city
21:55have been explored so far.
21:57But some things
21:59hidden in the ancient ruins
22:00are still waiting
22:01to be discovered.
22:05Pascal Van King learns
22:07from the archaeologist
22:08Marina Lobundo
22:09that many buildings
22:10were already built
22:11earthquake-proof back then.
22:13That's one of the reasons
22:15so many structures
22:16are still in good repair.
22:18From a bird's eye view,
22:20you can easily make out
22:21the hexagonal shape
22:22of the harbour basin
22:23built in the 2nd century AD
22:25under Emperor Trajan.
22:27It covers an area
22:29of 30 hectares
22:30and is 700 metres across.
22:32A megaport
22:33to supply the megacity of Rome.
22:37This is a city
22:38that since the mid-1st century AD,
22:41during the Roman Imperial period,
22:43had become the metropolis
22:45and over time reached
22:46a population of 1 million.
22:48That required
22:49a harbour infrastructure
22:50that could manage goods
22:51coming in from all parts
22:53of the Mediterranean,
22:54from all corners of the Empire,
22:56to receive those goods
22:58and store them.
22:59You can really say
23:00that without the harbour of Ostia,
23:03Rome would not have developed
23:04into the capital of the Empire.
23:08The goods arrived in Rome
23:10on riverboats via the Tiber.
23:12The Eternal City
23:13could not survive
23:14without its fleet.
23:15This is why
23:16only the best engineers
23:17were employed
23:18in the building
23:19of the harbour facilities.
23:21These unassuming walls
23:23in the now silted-up harbour
23:24of Ostia
23:25are a testament
23:26to their skill.
23:31In antiquity,
23:32they served as moulds
23:33that were built in the sea
23:34using cement
23:35that hardened underwater.
23:40This is how
23:42the Roman master builders
23:43were able to build structures
23:45that survived millennia.
23:50Millions of bricks
23:51for warehouses
23:52for warehouses
23:52and houses.
23:53In its golden age,
23:55more than 50,000 people
23:56lived in this city
23:57that was of such great importance
23:59for the Roman Empire.
24:03Not only bags of grain
24:05and amphoras of wine
24:06were shipped to this place,
24:08but also people came in
24:09from all regions
24:10of the Empire,
24:12enriching it
24:12with their ideas,
24:14cultures,
24:14and religions.
24:15It was an empire,
24:17and no surprise here,
24:18that was multi-ethnic
24:20and multi-cultural.
24:22Religions existed side by side,
24:24and you could hear
24:25all kinds of different languages.
24:29Records on shipping activities
24:31in ancient Rome
24:32were preserved in Ostia
24:34and other places as well
24:35that gave the Bisula team
24:37valuable pointers.
24:38Take Pompeii, for example,
24:40where Vesuvius erupted
24:42to extinguish all life
24:43there in 79 AD.
24:46Drawings and graffiti, however,
24:48have remained
24:49on the walls of houses
24:50to this day.
24:51One depiction
24:52was of special interest
24:54to the researchers.
24:56It showed an ancient
24:57predecessor of the Bisula,
24:58and in surprising detail.
25:01Judging from the precise lines
25:03and the exact execution,
25:05you could get the impression
25:07that it's a design plan.
25:08The author must have possessed
25:10enormous technical expertise
25:12in shipbuilding.
25:21Was he just a regular resident
25:23of the city?
25:24Or maybe even the captain
25:26of the ship?
25:27That remains a secret.
25:29Just like so many other things
25:31in this once flourishing city
25:32that the eruption of the volcano
25:34turned into a graveyard.
25:40Inside of the volcano,
25:42an anecdote unfolded
25:43that reflects the zeitgeist
25:45of the first century AD
25:47for Professor Van King.
25:49When Emperor Augustus' ship
25:51encountered a freight ship,
25:53the merchants were reported
25:54to have shouted,
25:55it's you we have to thank
25:57for our lives,
25:58our freedom,
25:59and our belongings.
26:00This shows that Augustus
26:03used the Mara Nostrum
26:05to really make free trade
26:06and free traffic
26:07on the high seas possible.
26:10That was an important
26:11precondition for trade
26:12and became,
26:13you might say,
26:14a turbo booster
26:15for the Roman economy.
26:19Free passage
26:20during the Pax Romana,
26:22a period of peace
26:23for almost 200 years
26:25after the Christian calendar began,
26:27led to the first effects
26:29of globalisation
26:30thanks to the ever-growing
26:32size of ships.
26:36In the eternal city of Rome,
26:38huge warehouses
26:39were also erected
26:40that primarily stored amphoras
26:42from the four corners
26:44of the world.
26:45They were used
26:46for the transport of oil,
26:47wine,
26:48and other goods
26:49across large distances.
26:56For the Spanish researcher,
26:58José Remesal Rodriguez,
27:00they are the disposable
27:01bottles of antiquity.
27:07Amphoras
27:09were containers
27:10of no return.
27:11That's what they were
27:12when they arrived
27:13at their destination.
27:14They were destroyed
27:16since it was easier
27:17to make new ones
27:18than to transport them
27:19back to their place
27:20of origin.
27:22The extent
27:23of this ancient
27:24throwaway mentality
27:25is best demonstrated
27:27with the Monte Testaccio
27:28in Rome.
27:29This hill
27:30is 50 metres high
27:31and is made
27:32completely
27:33of the shards
27:33from 25 million amphoras.
27:36Many bear the weight,
27:38content,
27:38origin,
27:39or name
27:40of the merchants.
27:41For us,
27:43Monte Testaccio
27:44is the best archive
27:45of the economic history
27:47of the ancient world.
27:51This hill of amphoras
27:53is a case of serendipity
27:54for archaeologists
27:55and historians
27:56who want to recreate
27:58the Roman economy.
28:00Amphoras such as this
28:01very common type
28:02were known
28:03as the container
28:04of antiquity
28:04and ubiquitous.
28:06But were they also
28:07as standardised
28:08as today's shipping containers?
28:11A simple experiment
28:13can answer this question.
28:15You simply fill
28:17several of the amphoras
28:18of the same type
28:19up to the lip
28:20using a standardised
28:22measuring cup.
28:27The result
28:28is definitive.
28:29It takes
28:30exactly 14
28:31of these 5 litre
28:32measuring cups
28:33to fill
28:34the respective amphora.
28:38This means
28:39this type of container
28:41holds
28:41exactly 70 litres.
28:44In order
28:45for the valuable cargo
28:47to arrive safe
28:48and at a low cost
28:49at its destination,
28:50the Romans first
28:51had to secure
28:52military control
28:53over the entire
28:54Mediterranean.
28:55Case in point,
28:57the sea battle
28:58at the Agadean Islands
28:59at the western tip
29:00of Sicily.
29:02Their enemy
29:03had been dominating
29:04large parts
29:04of the trade
29:05along the coast
29:06of the Mediterranean
29:07for centuries.
29:08This adversary
29:09had to be defeated.
29:12The famous orator,
29:14Cato the Elder,
29:16continued to make
29:17the point
29:17at the Roman Senate
29:18again and again.
29:20He considered
29:21the Empire of Carthage
29:23with its capital
29:23in North Africa
29:24as the greatest threat
29:26to Rome.
29:27Once,
29:28while giving a speech
29:29at the Senate
29:29and to the surprise
29:30of all the other senators,
29:32he dropped a fresh fig
29:34and then mentioned
29:35that it had been plucked
29:36only three days before
29:38in Carthage.
29:39His intention
29:40was not to praise
29:41the speed
29:42of Roman merchant ships
29:43but to give a warning
29:45that the worst enemy
29:46of Rome,
29:47Carthage,
29:48could stand before
29:49the city gates
29:49in only three days.
29:52Cato never grew tired
29:53of repeating a sentence
29:54that was his claim
29:55to fame.
29:56Furthermore,
29:58I am of the opinion
29:59that Carthage
30:00must be destroyed.
30:07Ancient Carthage
30:08was located
30:09in the north
30:10of today's Tunisia.
30:12It was the capital
30:13and navy base
30:14at the same time.
30:16The Carthaginian navy
30:17launched their ships
30:19from this circular,
30:20heavily fortified harbor.
30:26back then,
30:28it was considered
30:29to be the most powerful
30:30navy in the world.
30:31Its ships were equipped
30:33with ramming bows
30:34and manned
30:34with seasoned sailors.
30:36It was this navy
30:38that the Roman fleet
30:39engaged off the Agadean
30:41islands
30:41in the year
30:43241 BC.
30:46Research divers
30:47have found debris
30:48stemming from this sea battle
30:49in which 400 warships
30:51clashed with their ramming bows.
30:57Since the ramming bows
30:59were made of solid bronze,
31:00they have withstood
31:01thousands of years
31:02underwater.
31:03Today,
31:04they continue to bear witness
31:06to the force
31:06of those clashes.
31:10And they also vindicate
31:12what the ancient historians
31:14of the day reported.
31:16That the Romans carried the day
31:18and won the battle hands down.
31:21They only lost 30 ships
31:23compared to the 100 ships
31:24in the lost column
31:25of the Carthaginians.
31:27Instead of using
31:28only ramming bows,
31:30the Romans also relied
31:31on the superior strength
31:33of their soldiers.
31:37An important victory,
31:40one of many to follow,
31:42in which the naturally
31:44sheltered bay of Mycenaeum
31:46in the Gulf of Naples
31:47played a very special role.
31:57Mycenaeum was the most important
31:59naval port of Rome.
32:00The largest war fleet
32:01was stationed here
32:02with 10,000 troops,
32:04the equivalent of two legions,
32:05elite soldiers,
32:06marines,
32:07and sailors.
32:09From here,
32:10a fleet under the command
32:11of Octavius,
32:12who later became
32:12Emperor Augustus,
32:13was launched
32:14into a legendary sea battle.
32:16In a fight
32:17against Mark Antony
32:18and Cleopatra,
32:19the fleet occupied
32:20important harbors
32:21in Greece
32:21to cut off the troops
32:22of the Roman-Egyptian lovers
32:24from any supplies.
32:25Off the coast of Actium,
32:26it came down
32:27to the final encounter
32:28in 31 BC.
32:31On site,
32:33the experienced sailors,
32:34Christoph Schaefer
32:35and Pascal Varnking,
32:36wanted to assess
32:37the situation
32:38with their own eyes
32:39and to put
32:40the traditional sources
32:41to the test.
32:46It begs the question
32:47if and how
32:48it really happened
32:49the way ancient sources
32:50such as Plutarch,
32:52Cassius Dio
32:52and others claim.
32:54Plutarch, for example,
32:56reported that Cleopatra,
32:57against better counsel,
32:59insisted on challenging
33:00Octavius in a sea battle
33:02in order to finally decide
33:04Caesar's succession.
33:07When the fleets
33:09finally faced each other
33:10and the battle began,
33:11the Egyptian queen
33:13was said to have fled
33:14with her 60 ships
33:15through the thick
33:16of the battle,
33:17even though the fight
33:19had not been decided yet.
33:21The love-drunk Antonius,
33:23so it is told,
33:24abandoned his troops
33:26to hurry after Cleopatra.
33:29That flight
33:30helped Octavius
33:31to win the battle.
33:33According to the historic
33:42account.
33:43With the equipment
33:44brought along
33:45with the Bissula,
33:46the researchers
33:47are now measuring
33:48the currents and winds
33:49in the Bay of Actium.
33:51When Cleopatra,
33:52as claimed,
33:53fled in panic
33:54and Mark Antony
33:55followed her,
33:56600 ships
33:57are said to have
33:58faced each other
33:59in an orderly formation.
34:01A very specific detail
34:03in the ancient texts
34:05gave Schaefer pause.
34:08Our historical sources
34:09very clearly state
34:11that Mark Antony
34:12carried sails
34:13on his ships.
34:14That's peculiar,
34:15since normal sea battles
34:17are fought
34:17with galleys
34:18propelled by oars.
34:20This is obvious
34:22because they can move
34:23in all directions
34:23while sails
34:24limit any maneuverability.
34:26That's why you normally
34:27left sails behind
34:28on land
34:29before you went
34:30into battle,
34:31since they were
34:31always easy flammable.
34:36Why then
34:37would Mark Antony
34:38and Cleopatra
34:39carry sails
34:40on their ships?
34:42Most marine historians
34:44assume that they
34:45had a plan.
34:45And the currents
34:47and winds
34:47they have measured
34:48justify doubting
34:49the reported
34:50rigid battle formation.
34:55The Battle of Actium
34:57could definitely
34:57not have happened
34:58the way the ancient
34:59sources describe it.
35:01The following course
35:02of events
35:03seems much more plausible.
35:05Mark Antony's fleet
35:06rose from the sheltered gulf
35:07into the open sea,
35:09followed by Cleopatra's ships.
35:11The Octavia ships,
35:13helped by a strong current,
35:14are there to meet them
35:15and heavy fighting
35:16ensues on the northern flank.
35:19Since Mark Antony
35:20and Cleopatra
35:21launched around noon,
35:22Cleopatra could use
35:23the sea winds
35:24that come up
35:25at this time of day
35:26to set sails.
35:27Other units of Mark Antony
35:29follow suit
35:30and thus withdraw
35:31from the battle.
35:32The wind blowing up
35:34from the northwest
35:35speeds up their voyage
35:36towards Africa.
35:40Right from the start,
35:42Mark Antony
35:43had planned to carry sails
35:44on board
35:44to sail off from here.
35:46Cleopatra follows
35:47this plan exactly
35:48and that's bringing
35:49her most valuable units
35:50to safety.
35:51They have her war chest
35:52with them
35:53and elite soldiers
35:54of the Roman infantry.
35:56They needed to stay safe
35:57and so she sails off
35:59exactly as planned.
36:01And Antony tries
36:02to stall the enemy
36:03as long as necessary
36:04to allow the larger part
36:05of his fleet
36:06to escape.
36:08That's the real objective
36:09and that objective
36:10was met.
36:11So to speak of fleeing,
36:13panic,
36:14complete frustration
36:15or even desertion
36:16is not the case
36:17at all here.
36:19As is so often the case,
36:21history is written
36:22by the victors
36:23and makes the losers
36:24look bad.
36:30In Cannes,
36:31Christoph Schaefer
36:32is awaiting the next outing
36:33on the Bissula.
36:35At the harbour master's office,
36:36he obtains the current
36:38weather prediction
36:38for the bay
36:39since the general weather report
36:40says stormy
36:41and that would endanger
36:43the replica ships.
36:48But the wind plays along
36:49and the crew
36:50can run its next test.
36:52In spite of having
36:53GPS available,
36:55they want to navigate
36:56the ship
36:56the way the ancient Romans did.
36:58They observe the sun,
37:00the stars
37:01and everything else
37:02you can see
37:02when on board.
37:06Close to the coast,
37:08the captains
37:08use landmarks
37:09for orientation,
37:11in particular
37:12mountain ranges
37:13or temples
37:14and of course
37:15lighthouses
37:16at night.
37:20Lighthouses.
37:21The probably
37:22most famous one
37:23stood in Alexandria
37:24and is one
37:25of the seven wonders
37:26of the ancient world.
37:28The more than
37:29100 meter tall
37:30structure
37:31on the island
37:31of Pharos
37:32symbolizes progress
37:34and power.
37:36Alexandria
37:37was one of the most
37:38important harbors
37:39of the Roman trade network
37:40with Egypt
37:41supplying Rome
37:42with grain
37:42vital to its existence.
37:47Close to 50 kilometers away
37:49in Tapos Iris Magna,
37:50a markedly smaller tower
37:52rises into the sky
37:53that is considered
37:55a possible sibling
37:56of its bigger brother
37:57in Alexandria.
37:58Researchers still disagree
38:00if it's really a lighthouse
38:01or maybe a burial site
38:03since graves
38:04can be found
38:05below the structure.
38:14The situation
38:15at the opposite edge
38:16of the Mediterranean
38:17on the southern coast
38:18of Turkey however
38:19does not leave
38:20any room for doubts.
38:21In ancient Patara
38:23experts are rebuilding
38:25the Roman lighthouse
38:26that was erected
38:27under Emperor Nero
38:28during the first century AD
38:30at the harbour entrance
38:32of the city.
38:34The ancient harbour
38:35silted up already
38:36centuries ago
38:37and a tsunami
38:38caused by an earthquake
38:39destroyed the lighthouse
38:41completely
38:41in 1481.
38:44Nonetheless,
38:452,500 stones
38:46of this Roman structure
38:47have survived,
38:49covered by the sand
38:50of the dunes
38:51and scattered around
38:52the former site
38:53of the lighthouse.
38:55The archaeologist
38:56Hava Isik
38:57and her team
38:58are rebuilding
38:58the almost 2,000-year-old tower
39:01using the original stones
39:03at the original site,
39:04a huge 3D jigsaw puzzle.
39:10It is hoped
39:12that the rebuilding
39:13of the 26.5-metre-tall structure
39:16will provide important
39:18scientific insights.
39:22For the first time
39:23in the history
39:24of archaeology,
39:25this lighthouse
39:26offers us
39:26the unique opportunity
39:28to study this type
39:29of building
39:30and its architecture
39:31in detail
39:31and analyze it
39:33using state-of-the-art
39:34technology.
39:41Other structures
39:42from Roman times
39:43have survived
39:44earthquakes
39:45and tsunamis
39:46in somewhat
39:46better shape.
39:48Here, too,
39:49you could find
39:49large warehouses
39:50where grain
39:51from Anatolia
39:52was waiting
39:53for shipment
39:53to Rome.
39:57A magnificent gate
39:59marks the entrance
40:00to the city.
40:02Streets lined
40:03with columns
40:03lead to an amphitheater
40:05and the bouletarian,
40:07the assembly hall
40:08for the up to 250
40:09members of the city's council.
40:13Witnesses
40:13to Patara's riches
40:14of yore.
40:18Not only during
40:19Roman history,
40:20but throughout all time,
40:21this city lived
40:23militarily
40:24and commercially
40:24from its harbor.
40:26The city has the harbor
40:28to thank
40:28for founding
40:29and flourishing.
40:30It was its lifeblood.
40:32The city's beating heart.
40:37Many inscriptions
40:38are testament
40:39to the important role
40:41of the harbor city.
40:42Nero
40:43had himself
40:44immortalized
40:45for all of eternity
40:46and for everyone
40:47to see
40:48as the builder
40:49of the lighthouse.
40:50And he also
40:51announced the purpose
40:52of the lighthouse
40:53since it also reads,
40:54I have built this
40:56for the welfare
40:57of all marons.
40:59The bright stones
41:00of the lighthouse
41:01could be seen
41:02from afar
41:02during the day.
41:04The beacon,
41:05burning almost
41:0530 meters above ground,
41:07made sailing much safer
41:09even at night.
41:10And the lighthouse
41:11also served
41:12another important end.
41:15The task of the stately
41:18monument
41:18was to demonstrate
41:19not only
41:20to the citizens
41:21of Patara
41:22but to everybody
41:23arriving here
41:24from distant shores
41:25that they were
41:26under Roman rule
41:27and subject
41:28to Roman law.
41:36In the rebuilding
41:37of the lighthouse
41:38cutting-edge
41:39computer technology
41:40and AI
41:41is being used
41:42to place
41:43the 2,500 stones
41:44in their correct position.
41:47Every individual block
41:49has been measured
41:50down to millimeter
41:51precision
41:51using a 3D scanner.
41:54Missing stones
41:54were manufactured
41:55but they account
41:56for only 15%
41:58of the whole structure.
42:04Today,
42:05blocks weighing tons
42:06are hoisted
42:07into their place
42:08by crane.
42:09How much harder
42:10it must have been
42:11to build
42:12under Emperor Nero.
42:16And still,
42:18dozens if not hundreds
42:19of such lighthouses
42:20were erected
42:21along the coast
42:22of the Mediterranean
42:23and farther away too
42:25on the coast
42:26of the Black Sea
42:27even the Atlantic.
42:28all of this
42:30only to make
42:31Romans seafaring safer.
42:36On Sardinia too,
42:38at the important
42:39Strait of Bonifacio,
42:41there also must have
42:42been lighthouses
42:43even though only
42:44sea marks remain
42:45that were built
42:46much later.
42:52These steep pyramids
42:53warned sailors
42:54of cliffs,
42:55rocks and shoals
42:56on the Costa Smeralda,
42:58the Emerald Coast.
43:03And precautions
43:05were taken
43:05for the night as well.
43:07On a hill
43:08near the coast,
43:09you can find
43:09a structure
43:10that archaeologists
43:11long believed
43:12to be the remains
43:13of a watchtower
43:14until they had
43:15the chance
43:15to examine
43:16the structure
43:17more thoroughly.
43:19It's a simple
43:20platform for beacon fires
43:21as used by the
43:22Phoenicians
43:23and Carthaginians.
43:24This proves
43:25they had already
43:26been in operation
43:27centuries before
43:28the Romans.
43:30Our colleagues
43:31involved in the
43:32excavation
43:32of this monument
43:33are sure
43:34that it was intact
43:35well into the Roman
43:36imperial period
43:37and probably still
43:38operational then.
43:40Pascal Arnaud
43:41assumes that
43:43the Romans
43:43possessed a
43:44sophisticated system
43:45of sea marks.
43:46They were not
43:47standardized,
43:48but met the needs
43:49of the site
43:50in question.
43:50You can see that
43:51once again
43:52in Fréjoux,
43:53in the south of France.
43:54Here you can find
43:56the so-called
43:56Augustus Lantern
43:58in the Roman harbor,
43:59which has long ago
44:00silted over.
44:01It looks very different
44:03from the lighthouses
44:04in Taposiris,
44:05Magna and Patara.
44:09You have to
44:10distinguish between
44:11two types of
44:12vertical buildings
44:13that can be seen
44:14during the day
44:14and, if possible,
44:17also during the night.
44:18The lighthouse
44:20that guides ships
44:21from a great distance
44:22and smaller marks
44:24that allow more
44:25detailed orientation
44:26day and night.
44:32Orientation,
44:33navigation, that is,
44:34is one thing.
44:35But to do it,
44:36you need to
44:37maneuver.
44:38This is why
44:39the Bissula crew
44:40is testing
44:40the maneuverability
44:41of the Roman freighter
44:42on this cloudless day
44:44with gusty winds.
44:49It's all hands on deck
44:50for the turning maneuver.
44:52The important thing,
44:53good coordination
44:54between the two helmsmen
44:56and the crew
44:57at the ropes
44:57who changed the position
44:59of the square sail.
45:02of the sail.
45:02In ancient times,
45:03it probably only took
45:04half the number
45:05of people.
45:06But the type of sail
45:07limited and still
45:08limits maneuverability
45:10now and then.
45:13attacking against the wind
45:14is not really possible
45:15with the Bissula,
45:16but we still want
45:17to give it a try
45:18to see how far
45:19we can take it.
45:20How far can we go
45:21against the wind?
45:22Can you remain up,
45:23as the sailor would say,
45:25so that you can wait
45:25for a more favorable
45:26wind direction
45:27and then continue
45:28on your original course?
45:31A huge obstacle
45:33is looming
45:34in the direction
45:34the ship is going.
45:36Now the Bissula crew
45:38has a vital interest
45:39in testing the maneuverability
45:41of the square rigor.
45:51Change of course successful.
45:53Collision avoided.
46:00Every test run
46:01offers new insights
46:03into the capabilities
46:04of the replica Roman ship
46:05and instills respect
46:07for the skills
46:08of those ancient sailors.
46:16Knowledge that at
46:18the Leibniz Center
46:19for Archaeology,
46:20Liza for short,
46:21is more than welcome.
46:24Christoph Schaefer
46:24and Pascal Van King
46:26closely collaborate
46:27with this competent
46:28center for Roman ships.
46:30Together with Liza director
46:33Alexandre Busch
46:34and Roland Boccius
46:35for the Museum
46:36for Antique Ships,
46:37they are planning
46:38future exhibition spaces.
46:43The models underline
46:44the versatility
46:45of the Roman fleet
46:46and its role
46:47in that ancient society.
46:50Mobility on water
46:52allows for so many things.
46:54It creates cultural encounters,
46:56economic zones,
46:57exchange.
46:58These are the things
47:00that interest us
47:01because they are the engines
47:02for the development
47:03of communities.
47:05Cargo ships,
47:06such as the Bisula,
47:07did not only supply
47:08the Romans
47:09with products
47:10from the Mediterranean region.
47:11They,
47:12and other types of ships,
47:13sailed throughout
47:14the entire Roman Empire.
47:18The Roman imperial period
47:20is interesting
47:20because here,
47:21for the first time,
47:22we can grasp something
47:23like an early form
47:24of globalization.
47:25People are on the move,
47:26goods in transit,
47:27and also,
47:27of course,
47:28ideas.
47:30To protect their freighters,
47:32the Romans had warships
47:33both at sea
47:34and on rivers.
47:35In particular,
47:36in border regions,
47:38for example,
47:39by the Rhine River.
47:41Bear in mind
47:42that when you walk
47:43up to the bank
47:44of the channeled Rhine River
47:45nowadays,
47:46you may see
47:47a couple of trees,
47:48but it is still
47:48a man-made environment
47:50that has been
47:50completely landscaped.
47:52In ancient times,
47:53it was all natural landscape
47:55with vegetation.
47:59The river banks
48:00were densely overgrown.
48:02The Romans patrolled
48:03these banks regularly,
48:04since you could only
48:05defend a wet border
48:06if you are present
48:08and mobile.
48:14Through the rivers,
48:15the Romans controlled
48:16their thousand-kilometer-long
48:18border against the barbarians.
48:20The so-called wet limes
48:22featured numerous military
48:24harbors
48:25and fortified docking places.
48:27Thousands of such boats
48:28were used on the rivers
48:29Rhine,
48:30Main,
48:31and Danube.
48:37Narvis Lusoria,
48:39the dancing ship,
48:40was the name
48:41the Romans gave them.
48:42With their help,
48:43controlling the border
48:44was a light-footed affair.
48:50Years ago,
48:51replica of this type of ship
48:52were built
48:53at the University of Trier
48:54under the direction
48:55of Christoph Schaefer.
48:56But now,
48:57it's about the Bissula
48:58and the insights gained
48:59from its test trips.
49:01Using specially developed
49:03computer software,
49:04Pascal Van King
49:05recreates the sea routes
49:06of ancient ships
49:07that sailed the Mediterranean.
49:09Here,
49:10wind and weather data
49:11as well as flow properties
49:12are combined with the data
49:13from the test trips
49:14of the Bissula.
49:15They prove
49:16that the Romans
49:17also sailed
49:18on the high-sea shipping routes
49:20as well as on those
49:21going from Brindisi
49:22to Alexandria.
49:25It actually seems
49:26to have been
49:26some kind of a highway,
49:28one that Mark Antony
49:29also used
49:30to return to Egypt
49:31after the Battle of Actium.
49:35The journey from Rome
49:36to Alexandria
49:37took 13 days
49:38on average
49:39with tailwinds.
49:40The results
49:41from the return trip
49:42are even more exciting.
49:47The computer simulation
49:48brought some
49:49very surprising results,
49:51in particular
49:51on the return trip
49:52to Rome.
49:53Sailing to Alexandria
49:55was easy.
49:56Sailing back was hard
49:57since the prevailing wind
49:58came from northwest.
49:59It has been assumed
50:00for a long time
50:01that more than anything else,
50:02you had to circumnavigate
50:04Cyprus to return back home.
50:05The computer simulation
50:07has found a much better way.
50:08It's better to sail
50:09westwards a bit
50:10from Alexandria
50:11and then north
50:12towards the southern
50:13coast of Turkey.
50:14This way you sail
50:15directly towards Patera.
50:17Patera is of particular
50:18interest because
50:19we found a lighthouse there.
50:20And this lighthouse
50:21makes perfect sense
50:22if you set a course
50:23from south
50:23across the open ocean
50:25towards the southern
50:26coast of Turkey.
50:30The result from the computer
50:31simulation is indisputable.
50:34The Romans did not
50:35exclusively sail
50:36along the coast
50:37as had mostly been
50:38assumed until today.
50:40Quite the opposite.
50:41The most important
50:42trade routes
50:42crossed the open sea.
50:44These were the vital
50:45arteries of the Roman Empire
50:47in the Mare Nostrum
50:48and beyond.
50:54The research team
50:55sailed the Bissula
50:56for more than a month.
50:58The test trips
50:59gave important insights
51:00into the Roman fleet
51:01and its shipping routes.
51:03But for the crew
51:04this experiment
51:05was so much more.
51:09It was like
51:10time travelling.
51:13Time travel
51:14that became
51:14a success story
51:15thanks to
51:16international collaboration.
51:23The Bissula
51:24is a model
51:25for cooperation
51:26within Europe
51:26and I believe
51:27the exchange
51:28between Germany
51:29and France
51:30is second to none
51:31within Europe
51:32and I hope
51:32there will be
51:33many more projects
51:34of that kind.
51:36And how would
51:37the captain
51:37of the Bissula
51:38sum up
51:39the five weeks
51:39at sea
51:40off the coast of Cannes?
51:43At the end
51:44of our test runs
51:45on the Mediterranean
51:46I'm extremely happy.
51:48I'm glad
51:48that nothing bad
51:49happened.
51:50No one got hurt.
51:51Everything worked out great
51:52and we achieved
51:53fantastic results.
51:55Next,
51:56PBS America explores
51:57the rising threat
51:58of extreme weather
52:00through powerful
52:00real stories
52:02from across the US
52:03in Weathered.
52:04Earth's Extremes.
52:06After the break.
52:19I put the wind
52:19in the U.S.
52:20and the wind
52:20and the wind
52:20in the wind
52:20And the wind