All language subtitles for Unearthed The Hunt for King Arthurs Castle 720p

¶¶

Narrator: STIRLING CASTLE
IN SCOTLAND --

A MIGHTY AND MYSTERIOUS
MEDIEVAL FORTRESS,

FORGED BY CENTURIES OF WARFARE.

Cook: THIS IS THE LOCATION
ON WHICH HISTORY IS WRITTEN.

HEROIC DEEDS, BLOODY ACTS
ARE FOCUSED HERE.

Narrator: STIRLING IS FAMOUS
FOR EPIC BATTLES

AND THE GREAT HEROES
IMMORTALIZED

IN THE MOVIE "BRAVEHEART."

BUT WHAT AGE-OLD SECRETS
DOES IT HOLD?

THIS IS A FAIRLY YOUNG AGE
TO DIE.

IT'S AN UNUSUAL AGE TO DIE,
EVEN IN THE PAST.

Narrator:
CAN NEW TECHNOLOGY REVEAL

THE MIGHTY WAR MACHINE
THAT ONCE STOOD HERE...

Cox: GOSH, 2 METERS,
THAT'S AMAZING.

...AND DISCOVER THE TRUTH BEHIND

ONE OF THE GREATEST LEGENDS
OF ALL TIME,

KING ARTHUR?

Cook: IF ARTHUR EXISTS,
THIS IS THE SORT OF LOCATION,

THIS IS THE SORT OF PLACE
THAT HE WOULD BE FAMILIAR WITH.

Narrator: THE ONLY WAY
TO UNRAVEL THESE MYSTERIES

IS TO PRY OPEN
THIS MIGHTY MEDIEVAL FORTRESS

STONE BY STONE.

DIVING DEEP THROUGH
ITS WALLS AND DEFENSES,

WE'LL UNEARTH
THE ASTONISHING SECRETS

AT THE HEART
OF THIS LEGENDARY CASTLE.

-- Captions by VITAC --
www.vitac.com

CAPTIONS PAID FOR BY
DISCOVERY COMMUNICATIONS

AT THE ENTRANCE TO
THE SCOTTISH HIGHLANDS

STANDS A MAJESTIC FORTRESS --

STIRLING,

ONE OF THE FINEST CASTLES
IN EUROPE.

BUT IT'S SURROUNDED

BY AN ANCIENT
AND MYSTERIOUS LANDSCAPE,

WHICH HAS SHAPED
SCOTLAND'S DESTINY.

WHY IS SO MUCH MYTH AND HISTORY
CONCENTRATED IN THIS ONE PLACE?

EVERY SIGNIFICANT EVENT
IN SCOTTISH HISTORY

FOR THE LAST 2,000 YEARS

HAS EITHER IMPACTED
OR BEEN IMPACTED BY STIRLING.

Narrator: ENTERING THROUGH
THE CASTLE'S MIGHTY GATEHOUSE

IS LIKE TRAVELING BACK IN TIME

TO A GOLDEN AGE
OF KNIGHTS IN ARMOR.

ITS HUGE MEDIEVAL HALL
IS THE LARGEST IN ALL SCOTLAND.

BUT STIRLING'S TRUE POWER LIES
UNDERNEATH THESE BUILDINGS.

THEY ALL STAND ON A MIGHTY
AND IMMOVABLE VOLCANIC ROCK.

FORGED AROUND
300 MILLION YEARS AGO,

IT'S A NATURAL FORTRESS.

BUT WHAT MAKES THIS ROCK

THE FOUNDATION STONE
OF SO MANY LEGENDS,

AND HOW MANY SECRETS ARE
STILL LOCKED INSIDE IT?

THE ROCK OVERLOOKS
ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT

RIVER CROSSINGS
IN THE BRITISH ISLES --

STIRLING BRIDGE,

WHERE 700 YEARS AGO,

A LEGENDARY WARRIOR
CALLED WILLIAM WALLACE

WON A STUNNING VICTORY.

TODAY WE KNOW HIM BETTER

AS THE HERO
OF THE FILM "BRAVEHEART."

BUT LITTLE PHYSICAL EVIDENCE

FOR THE BATTLE
OR THE WARS THAT FOLLOWED

HAS EVER BEEN FOUND.

WE CAN SEE STIRLING BRIDGE.

WE CAN SEE THE BATTLEFIELD
OVER THERE.

WE KNOW
THE 11th OF SEPTEMBER, 1297,

SOME-5,000 TROOPS DIED THERE.

Narrator:
NOW AN ASTONISHING DISCOVERY

INSIDE THIS CASTLE

COULD REWRITE THE HISTORY BOOKS.

UNDERNEATH THE OLD KITCHENS,

INVESTIGATORS STUMBLED ACROSS
A REMARKABLE SECRET...

...HUMAN SKELETONS

BURIED IN THE FOUNDATIONS

OF A LOST ROYAL CHAPEL.

BUT THESE BURIALS DON'T APPEAR
TO BE OF KINGS OR QUEENS.

THEIR BONES BEAR MARKS
OF BRUTAL AND HORRIFIC DEATHS.

SO WHO WERE THESE
FORGOTTEN INDIVIDUALS,

AND COULD THEY REWRITE
WHAT WE KNOW

ABOUT WALLACE'S FAMOUS VICTORY?

¶¶

AT BRADFORD IN ENGLAND,

OSTEOARCHAEOLOGIST
DR. JO BUCKBERRY

INVESTIGATES
THE STIRLING COLD CASE.

THE FIRST THING FOR ME
IS TO ALWAYS REMEMBER THAT

THIS IS A PERSON
THAT YOU'RE DEALING WITH.

IT'S PIECING TOGETHER A STORY
ABOUT THAT PERSON'S HISTORY,

AND THEN I THINK IT'S A REALLY
IMPORTANT THING TO DO

BECAUSE IT'S KIND OF
GIVING THEM A VOICE

LONG AFTER THEY'VE DIED.

Narrator: JO STARTS BY LOOKING
AT THE EARLIEST SKELETON --

A MAN WITH NEARLY 100 INJURIES.

Buckberry: THIS SKELETON
REALLY STANDS OUT

JUST BECAUSE
OF THE SHEER NUMBER OF FRACTURES

THAT WE CAN SEE ON THE BODY.

WE'VE GOT OVER 40 FRACTURES
IN THE CRANIUM.

WE'VE GOT THREE FRACTURES
IN THE MANDIBLE.

HE'S FRACTURED
BOTH OF HIS COLLARBONES,

BOTH OF HIS SHOULDER BLADES.

HE'S FRACTURED HIS HUMERUS
AND THEN ALSO HIS RADIUS ULNAR

ON THE OTHER SIDE.

HE'S GOT FRACTURES
IN HIS LEFT HAND.

HE'S GOT A COUPLE OF FRACTURES
IN HIS SPINE

AND MULTIPLE FRACTURES
RUNNING THROUGHOUT THE RIBS.

Narrator: THESE INJURIES
ARE CATASTROPHIC,

BUT WHAT CAUSED THEM
IS A MYSTERY.

HOW DID THIS MAN DIE?

WAS IT MURDER
OR SIMPLY A TERRIBLE ACCIDENT?

JO THINKS THE ANSWER LIES
WITH A SECOND SKELETON,

THE REMAINS OF A WOMAN.

ON THE SIDE OF THE HEAD,
WE'VE GOT THIS LARGE ROUND HOLE,

WHICH INITIALLY WE THOUGHT
WAS JUST SOME DAMAGE

TO THE SKULL
IN THE BURIED ENVIRONMENT.

BUT WHEN LOOKED AT THE EDGES
OF THE SMALL PIECES OF BONE,

THE TEXTURE OF THAT
AND HOW IT ALL FITS TOGETHER,

IT LOOKS AS THOUGH
THIS LADY WAS HIT

ON THE SIDE OF THE HEAD

ONCE, POSSIBLY TWICE,

CAUSING THE SIDE OF THE CRANIUM
TO FRAGMENT.

THIS KIND OF BLUNT FORCE TRAUMA
IS SIMILAR TO THE WOUNDS

ON THE FIRST SKELETON,

BUT THIS WOMAN'S DEATH
WAS NO ACCIDENT.

SHE ALSO HAS PUNCTURE MARKS
CAUSED BY A WEAPON.

Buckberry: SO, ON THE OUTSIDE
OF THIS CRANIUM,

THERE ARE TWO RECTANGULAR HOLES.

WE DON'T EXACTLY KNOW
WHAT CAUSED THE TWO INJURIES.

IT WAS PROBABLY SOMETHING
WITH A SPIKE ON THE END

THAT HAD
A RECTANGULAR-CROSS SECTION.

AND IT WAS DELIVERED
WITH ENOUGH FORCE

TO ACTUALLY GO ALL THE WAY
THROUGH THE SKULL

INTO WHERE THE BRAIN IS.

Narrator: MOST OF THE SKELETONS

HAVE THIS
PUZZLING COMBINATION OF WOUNDS.

SO, HOW DID THEY DIE?

¶¶

MOST MEDIEVAL BATTLES
WERE FOUGHT HAND TO HAND.

THE WEAPONS INVOLVED LEFT
UNIQUE AND BRUTAL SIGNATURES.

SWORDS CAUSED SLASHING INJURIES,

FRACTURING AND SPLITTING BONES

ALONG EXISTING WEAKNESSES,

WHILE SPEARS AND HALBERDS
CAUSED PUNCTURE WOUNDS

TO THE HEAD AND LOWER BODY.

BUT BLUNT TRAUMA WOUNDS ARE

MUCH LESS COMMON
ON THE BATTLEFIELD.

THEY'RE MORE ASSOCIATED
WITH HEAVY OBJECTS.

JO THINKS THE INJURIES
ON THE STIRLING SKELETONS

HINT AT A UNIQUE TYPE
OF FIGHTING

NOT SEEN ON THE BATTLEFIELD.

WERE THESE SKELETONS HIT
BY FALLING DEBRIS

OR EVEN ARTILLERY?

Buckberry:
THE OVERALL PATTERN OF TRAUMA

IS NOTHING LIKE
WHAT WE EXPECT TO SEE

IN A MEDIEVAL BATTLEFIELD.

ONE OF THE POSSIBILITIES
IS THAT WE'RE ACTUALLY

LOOKING AT EVIDENCE
OF A SIEGE AT STIRLING CASTLE.

SO THE TYPE OF FIGHTING
IS DIFFERENT.

WHEN THESE PEOPLE DIED,

THEY WERE UNABLE TO BE
BURIED OUTSIDE OF THE CASTLE.

PEOPLE WERE STILL
WITHIN THE CASTLE GROUNDS,

AND THAT'S WHY THEY WERE BURIED

IN THAT CHAPEL,
INSIDE THE CASTLE ITSELF.

Narrator: JO BELIEVES
A SIEGE MIGHT EXPLAIN

WHY THESE ORDINARY SOLDIERS
WERE BURIED

IN THE MOST UNLIKELY OF PLACES,

A ROYAL CHAPEL.

BUT WHEN DID THESE PEOPLE DIE?

JO ONLY NEEDS A TINY FRAGMENT
FROM EACH SKELETON.

THIS HOLE HERE WAS MADE
WHEN THEY TOOK A SAMPLE FOR AGE,

CARBON DATING
FOR THIS INDIVIDUAL.

Narrator: BY ANALYZING
THE BONE'S CHEMICAL COMPOSITION,

SHE CAN WORK OUT
WHEN A PERSON DIED.

SO, SEVEN OF THE SKELETONS DATE

TO THE SCOTTISH WARS
OF INDEPENDENCE.

AND WE KNOW,
FROM THE HISTORICAL RECORDS,

THAT VIOLENCE WAS
ACTUALLY HAPPENING

IN THE LOCATION OF THE CASTLE
ON A FAIRLY FREQUENT BASIS.

Narrator: JO'S RESULTS PAINT
A VERY DIFFERENT PICTURE

TO THE "BRAVEHEART"
OF HOLLYWOOD.

SCOTLAND'S FREEDOM WAS WON,

NOT WITH A SINGLE
HEROIC BATTLE OR TWO,

BUT OVER 40 YEARS
OF SIEGE WARFARE.

WHAT MADE THIS ROCK
WORTH DYING FOR

TIME AND AGAIN?

COULD A CLUE LIE HIDDEN
IN THE FAMOUS ROCK ITSELF?

¶¶

Narrator: 700 YEARS AGO,
WILLIAM WALLACE,

THE HERO IMMORTALIZED
IN "BRAVEHEART,"

WON A FAMOUS BATTLE
BELOW STIRLING CASTLE.

TWO GREAT ARMIES --
ONE SCOTTISH, ONE ENGLISH --

CLASHED FOR THE RIGHT
TO RULE SCOTLAND.

BUT NEW DISCOVERIES
INSIDE THIS FORTRESS REVEAL

HOW HIS VICTORY...

WAS FAR FROM DECISIVE.

ARCHAEOLOGIST GORDON EWART
THINKS THAT DEFENSES

OF EARTH AND WOOD MATTERED

JUST AS MUCH
AS SWORDS AND SPEARS.

HE'S SPENT 40 YEARS HUNTING
FOR THE ORIGINAL CASTLE

THAT HELPED WIN
SCOTLAND'S FREEDOM,

BUT NO TRACE OF IT
HAS EVER BEEN FOUND.

WHAT YOU SEE THESE DAYS
IS WHAT YOU MIGHT SAY

A LATE-MEDIEVAL CASTLE.

THE EARLY MEDIEVAL CASTLE,

THE CASTLES OF THE WARS
OF INDEPENDENCE,

THE CASTLE THAT MIGHT
HAVE BEEN WITNESSED

BY WILLIAM WALLACE,

IS SIMPLY NOT HERE.

Narrator: THE FIRST CASTLES
WERE SIMPLE TIMBER STRUCTURES

WITH FOUNDATIONS DUG DEEP
INTO STEEP MOUNDS OF EARTH

CALLED MOTTES.

THEY WERE DESIGNED TO REPEL

EVEN THE MOST DETERMINED
ATTACKER.

BUT STIRLING'S ROCKY OUTCROP

WOULD'VE MADE THIS KIND
OF LAYOUT IMPOSSIBLE.

SO, HOW DID THEY DO IT?

¶¶

STIRLING BELONGS
TO A SMALL BUT FAMOUS

COLLECTION OF EUROPEAN CASTLES
BUILT ON ROCKS,

LIKE MONT SAINT-MICHEL IN FRANCE

AND LICHTENSTEIN CASTLE
IN GERMANY.

EACH ONE IS UNIQUE.

THEIR DESIGN DEPENDS
ON THE NATURAL GEOLOGY.

THEY'RE NOT EASY TO BUILD,

BUT THEIR IMPOSING HEIGHT
MAKES THE EFFORT WORTHWHILE.

GORDON BELIEVES THAT A CLUE

TO HOW THE SCOTS BUILT
THE FIRST CASTLE HERE

COULD LIE BENEATH THE GROUND.

Ewart: WELL,
THIS IS THE UPPER SQUARE,

THIS BEING THE HIGHEST POINT
OF THE CASTLE COMPLEX.

AND THE BUILDINGS THAT YOU SEE

ARE ARRANGED AROUND,
WHAT SEEMS TO BE,

THE NATURAL SUMMIT
OF THE ROCKY OUTCROP.

Narrator: GORDON'S CONVINCED
THE SCOTTISH BUILDERS

HAD TO MODIFY THE NATURAL ROCK

TO BUILD THE FIRST CASTLE HERE.

HIDDEN UNDER THE UPPER SQUARE
LIES A TANTALIZING CLUE,

THE SLOPING GROUND
BENEATH THE COURTYARD

ISN'T ROCK.

IT'S A MAN-MADE MOUNTAIN
OF EARTH...

...DESIGNED TO TURN
AN UNEVEN PEAK

INTO A SMOOTH PLATFORM.

COULD THIS BE THE REMAINS
OF A MOTTE,

THE EARTHWORKS
OF THE ORIGINAL CASTLE?

GORDON FOLLOWS THIS SLOPE
AS FAR AS IT GOES,

TO A FORGOTTEN CORNER CALLED
"THE DOUGLAS GARDEN."

MY HOPE IS, ANYWAY,

THAT SOMEWHERE TOWARDS
THIS SORT OF AREA

WILL BE THE HIGHEST POINT.

Narrator: THE BEST WAY
FOR GORDON TO PROVE

THIS REALLY WAS A MOTTE

IS TO FIND THE REMAINS
OF THE CASTLE IT ONCE SUPPORTED.

BUT THERE'S A PROBLEM.

NO ONE IS ALLOWED TO DIG HERE.

SO GORDON WORKS WITH
GEOPHYSICST SUSAN OVENDEN.

SHE USES
GROUND-PENETRATING RADAR

TO HELP ARCHAEOLOGISTS
SEE UNDERGROUND.

MOST PEOPLE,
WHEN THEY THINK OF RADAR,

THEY THINK OF SUBMARINES
AND AEROPLANES.

EXACTLY THE SAME PRINCIPLE,

WE ARE FIRING A SIGNAL
INTO THE GROUND.

AND AS IT TRAVELS THROUGH,

IF IT HITS ANYTHING
THAT'S DIFFERENT,

ANY SORT OF
DIFFERENT INTERFACE,

IT BOUNCES BACK UP.

Narrator: THE TEAM GETS READY,

AND THE RADAR BEEPS INTO LIFE.

OKAY.
YEP.

THERE YOU GO.

IT'S A CHALLENGING PROCESS,

NAVIGATING AROUND TREES,
ROOTS, AND MODERN POWERLINES.

I'M HOPING THESE ARE WIRED
THROUGH THE WALL, MAYBE.

IT'S SOON CLEAR THAT THERE'S
SOMETHING ODD DOWN THERE.

BUT WHAT?

WHEN WE LOOK ON THE DATA
COMING THROUGH ON THE SCREEN...

UH-HUH.

...WE SEEM TO BE GETTING
QUITE A BIT

OF PROMISING
LOOKING REFLECTIONS.

GOOD.

GORDON IS
MORE CONVINCED THAN EVER

THAT THIS QUIET GARDEN

IS WHERE DEFENDERS
ONCE RAINED DOWN FIRE

ON THE ENEMY BELOW.

FROM THIS ANGLE, YOU GET A SENSE

OF WHAT MAY BE THE MOTTE
I'VE DESCRIBED EARLIER.

IN THE DAYS BEFORE ARTILLERY,

THIS IS AS GOOD
AS YOU WOULD GET.

Narrator: SO IS THERE A CASTLE
HIDING BENEATH THE SURFACE?

THE RADAR RESULTS
ARE INTRIGUING.

¶¶

AT FIRST, IT DOESN'T LOOK GOOD

FOR A WOODEN BUILDING.

THE YELLOW AREAS INDICATE STONE
JUST BENEATH THE SURFACE.

AS WE GO A BIT DEEPER,

YOU'VE, THEN GOT THIS

VERY WELL-DEFINED
RECTANGULAR FEATURE

ABOUT 4 METERS
OR 6 METERS.

BUT SUSAN THINKS SHE CAN
PICK OUT A SERIES OF BLUE DOTS

THAT INDICATE DISTURBED EARTH.

COULD THEY BE SIGNS
OF AN OLDER WOODEN STRUCTURE?

AS WE LOOK AT SORT OF
THE DIFFERENT DEPTHS...

Ewart: MM-HMM.

...THERE IS A CLEAR CHANGE
IN WHAT IS HAPPENING

THIS SIDE
TO THAT SIDE.

THEY COULD BE POSTHOLES
FOR A TIMBER BUILDING.

YOU CAN SEE
A WHOLE CLUSTER HERE.

YEAH, WELL, SUE,
LOOKING AT THESE RESULTS,

THEY LOOK TO ME TO BE
PRETTY IMPRESSIVE.

THE RESULTS SUGGEST
THAT THE ORIGINAL STIRLING

LOOKED VERY DIFFERENT
FROM A TRADITIONAL CASTLE.

GORDON THINKS THAT
A SMALL BUT COMPACT FORTRESS

WAS SQUEEZED
ON TOP OF THE ROCK,

EXPLOITING THE HEIGHT
OF THE NATURAL GEOLOGY

TO DOMINATE THE LAND AROUND IT.

GORDON IS CONVINCED
THAT THIS QUIET GARDEN

IS THE OLDEST PART
OF THE CASTLE.

THERE ARE DIFFICULTIES IN
OCCUPYING A SITE LIKE THIS,

BUT THE DIVIDEND,
THE PAYBACK,

IS CLEARLY ITS PROMINENCE

IN BOTH PHYSICAL

AND, PERHAPS, IN SYMBOLIC TERMS.

IT STANDS OUT.

STIRLING CASTLE MUST BE
REGARDED AS ONE

OF THE MOST CELEBRATED CASTLES

IN BRITAIN AND NORTHERN EUROPE.

Narrator: STIRLING
WAS A MAGNIFICENT PRIZE,

A SYMBOL OF POWER
FOR WHOEVER HELD IT.

BUT HOW DID THIS SIMPLE FORTRESS
MADE OF WOOD AND STONE

ENDURE NOT ONE,

BUT THREE SIEGES IN 50 YEARS?

WHY DID THIS CASTLE HOLD OUT

WHEN SO MANY OTHERS CRUMBLED?

¶¶

Narrator:
AT STIRLING CASTLE IN SCOTLAND,

ARCHAEOLOGISTS UNCOVER
THE UNIQUE MEDIEVAL FORTRESS

THAT WILLIAM WALLACE KNEW.

YEAH.

THEY THINK THEY'VE FOUND
THE HEART OF IT.

BUT WHERE WAS THE OUTER WALL

THAT ALLOWED STIRLING
TO RESIST SIEGE AFTER SIEGE?

ARCHAEOLOGIST ADRIAN COX THINKS

THE LOCATION
OF THIS ORIGINAL CASTLE WALL

WAS THE SECRET
TO STIRLING'S SURVIVAL.

BUT NO ONE HAS EVER FOUND IT.

Narrator: THE MAGNIFICENT
GATEHOUSE WE SEE TODAY

WAS BUILT
HUNDREDS OF YEARS LATER,

IN THE 1500s.

LOOKING AT THE GATEHOUSE ITSELF,

IT'S COMPOSED
OF A VERY FINELY JOINTED,

VERY HIGH-QUALITY WORK,

DEFINITELY AN ENTRANCE
WHICH WAS DESIGNED TO IMPRESS.

Narrator: BUT ADRIAN THINKS
THERE'S SOMETHING ODD

ABOUT THIS ENTRANCE.

TODAY'S GATEHOUSE
IS MASSIVELY BUILT,

DESIGNED TO SURVIVE
THE ONSLAUGHT

OF THE MOST
DETERMINED ATTACKERS.

ON THE OUTSIDE,

IT STILL BEARS THE SCARS
OF FEROCIOUS BATTLES.

BUT THE STONE BLOCKS
IN THE WALLS AROUND IT

LOOK STRANGE.

THE BLOCKS THAT MAKE UP
THE BOTTOM OF THE WALL

ARE MADE FROM ROUGH RUBBLE...

WHEREAS THE BLOCKS
THAT SIT ON TOP OF THEM

ARE FINELY CUT.

COULD THE ROUGH BASE
OF THIS OTHERWISE PERFECT WALL

BE EVIDENCE
OF A MUCH OLDER STRUCTURE,

A WALL DEFENDED
WITH SWORDS AND SPEARS?

IT WOULD BE FASCINATING TO KNOW
WHETHER THIS LINE,

THIS ENTRANCEWAY
WOULD'VE BEEN THE SITE

WHERE WILLIAM WALLACE
WOULD'VE ENTERED THE CASTLE.

Narrator:
IT'S AN INTRIGUING IDEA.

BUT HOW CAN ADRIAN PROVE
THE EXISTENCE OF AN OLDER WALL

WITHOUT TAKING
THE CURRENT ONE APART?

THE SOLUTION COULD LIE
WITH INGENIOUS TECHNOLOGY.

TODAY, ADRIAN'S COLLEAGUE,
JAMES HEPHER,

LASER SCANS THE CASTLE
WITH MILLIMETER PRECISION.

IT'S AN INCREDIBLE
PIECE OF TECHNOLOGY.

THIS LASER SCANNER,
IT CAN FIRE UP

TO A MILLION MEASUREMENTS
A SECOND.

Narrator: JAMES' LASER SCANNER
CREATES VIRTUAL IMAGES

CALLED "POINT CLOUDS,"

MADE FROM MILLIONS
OF TINY LASER HITS.

THEY ALLOW ARCHAEOLOGISTS
TO SLICE THROUGH

ENTIRE BUILDINGS
IN A DIGITAL WORLD.

SO WHAT YOU CAN SEE HERE IS,

WE HAVE THE BUILDING ITSELF.

WE CAN PAN RIGHT.

WE CAN ZOOM IN,

DEPENDING ON WHAT RESOLUTION
WE SCANNED AT.

DEPENDING ON THE RESOLUTION
THAT YOU CHOOSE,

A SCAN CAN TAKE BETWEEN
33 SECONDS AND 30 MINUTES.

Narrator:
ARMED WITH THIS TECHNOLOGY,

ADRIAN AND JAMES HEAD OVER
TO ONE OF THE CORNER TOWERS.

THEY CAN'T GET INTO THE BASEMENT
OF THE GATEHOUSE.

SO THEY WANT TO TRY
TO INVESTIGATE

THE STRANGE RUBBLE LAYER
FROM INSIDE HERE.

[ BEEPS ]

WHILE JAMES SETS UP HIS SCANNER,

ADRIAN HEADS EVEN DEEPER
INTO THE BUILDING.

Cox: WE'RE IN THE BASEMENT
OF THE TOWER.

THIS PART WOULD'VE BEEN USED
AS THE KITCHENS,

THE LOWER KITCHENS
OF THE SELF-CONTAINED RESIDENTS.

SO ABOVE THESE VAULTED CEILINGS

WOULD'VE BEEN
THE LIVING ACCOMMODATION,

WHICH WE THINK
WOULD'VE BEEN RESERVED

FOR THE CONSTABLE
AND HIS FAMILY.

SO VERY LARGE SPACES,

VERY LARGE, LUXURIOUS SPACES.

¶¶

Narrator: NO ONE HAS EVER
SCANNED THESE CHAMBERS BEFORE.

HERE,
IF WE PICK TWO POINTS...

Cox: THAT'S AMAZING.

LASER SCANNING ALLOWS ADRIAN

TO LOOK AT A CROSS SECTION
OF THE TOWER.

COULD THIS UNIQUE VIEW
REVEAL EVIDENCE

OF THE ORIGINAL CASTLE WALL?

GOSH, IT'S OVER 2 METERS THICK,
WHICH IS SURPRISING.

IT'S CLEARLY
A MASSIVELY BUILD STRUCTURE.

IT IS.
THAT'S AMAZING.

THAT'S A LOT OF MASONRY
BETWEEN US AND ANY ARTILLERY

THAT'S OUT THERE,
TRYING TO BESIEGE THE CASTLES.

AT THE VERY BOTTOM OF THE WALL,

ADRIAN THINKS HE CAN IDENTIFY
THE SHAPE OF A NOT-SO-PRETTY

BUT EVEN THICKER STRUCTURE.

JUST IN FRONT OF THE WALL,

YOU CAN SEE
THERE'S A LITTLE STEP OUT.

IT'S NOT VERY THICK,
BUT THE LASER SCANNER

HAS PICKED IT UP
REALLY QUITE WELL.

THERE IS A POSSIBILITY
THAT WE'RE PICKING UP

SOMETHING LIKE
AN EARLIER DEFENSIVE LINE

IN THAT LITTLE PROJECTION,
IF YOU LIKE,

AT THE VERY FRONT
OF THE BUILDING.

Narrator: BUT WHY DID THE SCOTS
BUILD THE NEWER WALL

DIRECTLY ON TOP OF THE OLD ONE?

ADRIAN THINKS THAT
BUILDING A WALL ANYWHERE ELSE

WOULD HAVE WEAKENED THE CASTLE.

Cox: CERTAINLY,
THERE IS THE POSSIBILITY

THAT THE STRUCTURE
THAT WE'RE IN NOW WAS

BUILT ON A VERY SOLID PART
OF THE BEDROCK,

PERHAPS EVEN A LITTLE RISE

OR A LITTLE RIDGE
IN THE BEDROCK.

Narrator: ARCHAEOLOGISTS THINK
STIRLING'S INNER DEFENSES

COULD SIT ON A HIDDEN CLIFF,

THE STRONGEST PLACE
TO BUILD A WALL.

STIRLING'S RULERS TRANSFORMED

AN INHOSPITABLE RIDGE
OF VOLCANIC ROCK

INTO THE PERFECT WAR MACHINE,

AN IRRESISTIBLE PRIZE
FOR ANY INVADING ARMY.

THESE WALLS HAD TO BE THICK
TO PROTECT IT

FROM THE MOST FEARSOME WEAPONS
OF THE AGE,

MASSIVE CATAPULTS,
KNOWN AS TREBUCHETS.

NO ONE COULD CLAIM
TO RULE SCOTLAND

WITHOUT HOLDING
THIS TERRIFYING CITADEL.

STIRLING WAS KEY
TO POWER IN SCOTLAND.

BUT DID THIS REMARKABLE LAND
GIVE RISE TO A MUCH OLDER HERO,

WHO PERHAPS INSPIRED
THE RESISTANCE

OF WILLIAM WALLACE
IN THIS VERY SPOT?

LOCAL LEGEND CLAIMS
THAT STIRLING

HAS FAR MORE ANCIENT ORIGINS

THAT STRETCH BACK
TO THE GREATEST HERO OF ALL,

KING ARTHUR.

¶¶

Narrator:
AT STIRLING CASTLE IN SCOTLAND,

AN MYSTERIOUS STRUCTURE EMERGES
FROM THE VALLEY BELOW.

IT'S CALLED THE KING'S KNOT.

LEGEND SAYS THAT

ONE OF HISTORY'S
GREATEST TREASURES

ONCE STOOD RIGHT HERE --

THE ROUND TABLE
OF KING ARTHUR AND HIS KNIGHTS.

IS IT POSSIBLE THAT STIRLING
WAS FOUNDED

HUNDREDS OF YEARS EARLIER,

AT THE DAWN OF THE MIDDLE AGES?

UNDER THE GRASS AND SOIL
OF THE KING'S KNOT,

INVESTIGATIONS HAVE DETECTED
A SERIES OF MYSTERIOUS DITCHES.

THEY COULD BELONG
TO AN ANCIENT RITUAL SITE

THAT USE TO HAVE A RING OF
STANDING STONES AT ITS CENTER.

BUT THE KNOT ALSO STANDS
NEXT DOOR

TO WHAT WAS ONCE
A JOUSTING GROUND.

ARTHUR AND HIS KNIGHTS
WERE CONNECTED WITH JOUSTING.

SO IS THIS A COINCIDENCE

OR A CLUE TO THE ORIGINS
OF THE ROUND TABLE STORY?

HI, ROB.
HOW ARE YOU GETTING ON?

HI. PRETTY WELL.

MURRAY COOK IS
STIRLING COUNCIL'S

CHIEF ARCHAEOLOGIST.

HIS TEAM TRIES TO UNRAVEL
THIS TANGLED LANDSCAPE

AND THE SECRETS
HIDDEN UNDERGROUND.

TODAY, MURRAY INVESTIGATES

THE MODERN FOOTPATH
THAT SEPARATES

THE KING'S KNOT FROM THE CASTLE.

UNDERNEATH,

HE'S DISCOVERED,
WHAT APPEARS TO BE,

A MUCH OLDER ROAD
CONNECTING THE TWO SITES.

SO, WE HAVE THERE,
THE ROAD HERE RUNNING ALONG

AND THEN ACTUALLY TURNING
AND GOING UP THE SLOPE.

I EXPOSED IT ALL,
GOT A TURN IN THE ROAD,

LOOKS LIKE IT'S SWINGING
UP THE HILL THERE.

WOW, THAT'S VERY GOOD.

SO, HOW OLD IS THIS TRACK?

COULD IT BE MEDIEVAL
OR EVEN ARTHURIAN?

IT'S HARD TO TELL BECAUSE
SO LITTLE OF IT REMAINS.

MURRAY TAKES A CLOSER LOOK.

Cook: THIS STONE HERE
AND THESE SURFACES BEHIND ME

ARE VERY, VERY SMOOTH.

IT'S SMOOTH BECAUSE
OF THE PASSAGE OF FEET,

BECAUSE OF THE PASSAGE
OF HOOVES,

BECAUSE OF THE PASSAGE
OF TRAFFIC

OVER HUNDREDS OF YEARS.

Narrator: CENTURIES
OF WIND AND RAIN

HAVE LEFT THEIR MARK.

BUT MURRAY THINKS THIS PATH
MATCHES THE DESCRIPTION

OF A 16th-CENTURY ROAD

THAT ONCE LINKED THE CASTLE
TO A JOUSTING GROUND.

1531, A ROAD IS CONSTRUCTED
BY ORDER OF THE CROWN.

IT'S TO FACILITATE JOUSTING.

Narrator: ALTHOUGH JOUSTING IS
ASSOCIATED WITH ARTHUR,

MURRAY IS CONVINCED
POPULAR HISTORY HAS IT WRONG.

ARTHUR WOULD'VE BEEN BORN
TOO EARLY TO JOUST.

Cook: THIS IS THE CLASSIC
EUROPEAN MEDIEVAL JOUSTING.

YOU'VE GOT PEOPLE
IN SHINING ARMOR.

THERE'D BE FIGHTS.
THERE'D BE RIVALRY.

ALL OF WHICH
GETS EXPRESSED ON THE FIELD.

WHO WILL WIN?
WHO WILL LOSE?

BLOOD IS SHED.

YOU KNOW, FAIR MAIDENS SWOONING,

ALL THAT SORT OF ROMANTIC STUFF
HAPPENED HERE.

¶¶

Narrator: MURRAY ALSO SUSPECTS
THE KING'S KNOT IS JUST A GARDEN

FROM AROUND THE SAME TIME.

BUT THE JOUSTING
THAT WENT ON NEXT TO IT

MIGHT EXPLAIN
THE ARTHUR STORIES.

THE KING WHO BUILT
THE JOUSTING GROUND

WAS CALLED JAMES IV,

ONE OF SCOTLAND'S
GREATEST RULERS.

JAMES ADORED TOURNAMENTS
AND THE TALES OF KING ARTHUR.

JAMES IV,
HE REORGANIZES THIS LANDSCAPE.

HE SETS UP THE MAJESTY,
THE PAGEANTRY OF STIRLING,

THE PAGEANTRY
OF THE JOUSTING GROUND.

BUT IT'S HIS SON WHO DEVELOPS

THE VERY, VERY ELABORATE
TOURNAMENTS.

HE DEVELOPS
THIS KING ARTHUR THEME.

¶¶

MURRAY THINKS THAT
THIS IS A ROYAL PLAYGROUND.

SCOTTISH KINGS HELD
ARTHURIAN-THEMED TOURNAMENTS

RIGHT HERE,
CALLED ROUND TABLES.

BEHIND ME IS THE KING'S KNOT.

IT'S ACTUALLY BUILT
ON A MUCH OLDER ROYAL GARDEN,

AND THIS IS THE GARDEN
THAT APPEARS TO BE LINKED

TO THE ROUND TABLE,
TO KING ARTHUR.

SO WHAT WE HAVE
IS A VERY ELABORATE

THEATRICAL LANDSCAPE.

Narrator: WHY WERE
THE SCOTTISH KINGS

SO INTERESTED IN ARTHUR?

THE ORIGINAL STORIES
OF HIM AT STIRLING

GO BACK WELL BEFORE THE 1500s.

SOME EVEN CLAIM THAT STIRLING

WAS ONCE AN ARTHURIAN CASTLE
CALLED "SNOWDEN."

DO MORE SECRETS LIE
INSIDE THIS MYSTERIOUS FORTRESS?

¶¶

Narrator:
STIRLING CASTLE IN SCOTLAND

IS HOME TO ONE
OF THE GRANDEST PALACES

IN THE BRITISH ISLES.

BUT LEGEND SAYS KING ARTHUR
HAD AN EVEN GREATER CASTLE HERE,

CALLED "SNOWDEN."

MOST OF WHAT WE SEE TODAY

WAS BUILT BY TWO
OF SCOTLAND'S GREATEST KINGS,

JAMES IV AND HIS SON,
WHO LOVED THE TALES OF ARTHUR.

WHY WAS IT SO IMPORTANT FOR THEM
TO HARK BACK TO A BYGONE AGE?

¶¶

NICKI SCOTT BELIEVES
THAT HEROES LIKE ARTHUR

WERE USED AS A POLITICAL WEAPON
IN THE ROYAL ARSENAL.

SHE LOOKS FOR CLUES
IN STIRLING'S ARCHITECTURE.

Scott: GRANDEUR IS...
HUGELY IMPORTANT.

THIS IS HOW KINGS AND QUEENS

IN MEDIEVAL
AND RENAISSANCE EUROPE

SHOW OFF.

THIS IS HOW THEY SHOW
WHO THEY ARE.

THIS IS HOW THEY SAY,
"I'M HERE. I'M POWERFUL.

I'M IN CONTROL OF MY KINGDOM."

YOU KNOW,
"YOU BETTER NOT MESS WITH ME."

Narrator: SO,
WAS THE ROYAL PALACE DESIGNED

TO HAVE A HIDDEN MEANING?

THE ANSWER COULD BE LOCKED
INSIDE ITS STONEWORK.

HIGH ABOVE THE COURTYARD
LOOMS STRANGE STATUES,

CENTURIES OF WIND AND RAIN
HAVE WORN AWAY THEIR FEATURES.

BUT INVESTIGATORS THINK THEY
MIGHT REPRESENT MYTHICAL HEROES

SURROUNDING KING JAMES V
HIMSELF.

WERE THESE JUST
LEGENDARY BEASTS,

LIKE THE LAUGHING DEVIL
THAT GREETS VISITORS?

OR WERE THEY MEANT TO HERALD

THE DAWN OF A NEW GOLDEN AGE
IN SCOTLAND?

¶¶

NICKI BELIEVES A CLUE COULD LIE
INSIDE JAMES' PALACE.

THESE ARE THE MAGNIFICENT
STIRLING HEADS.

NICKI THINKS
THE KING USED ICONS LIKE THESE

AS A STATEMENT
OF HIS RIGHT TO RULE.

JAMES CARVED IMAGES OF HIMSELF

SURROUNDED
BY HISTORY'S GREATEST RULERS,

SUCH AS JULIUS CAESAR.

THE STIRLING HEADS ARE
REALLY ONE OF THE GLORIES

OF STIRLING CASTLE.

THIS IS THE PEOPLE
THAT JAMES V IS SAYING,

"I'M CONNECTED TO THESE PEOPLE.
I AM LIKE THESE PEOPLE."

Narrator: KING JAMES
REALLY DID BELIEVE

THAT HE HAD FAMOUS ANCESTORS

AND THAT HIS PALACE ALSO BEGAN
IN THE MISTS OF TIME.

HE BOASTED THAT STIRLING CASTLE
WAS ONCE CALLED SNOWDEN,

A FAMOUS ARTHURIAN FORTRESS.

THE SCOTTISH KING SHOWED
A GREAT DEAL OF INTEREST

IN ARTHURIAN LEGENDS.

STIRLING, PARTICULARLY,

THEY TRIED
TO CONNECT WITH ARTHUR.

THEY PROMOTED THE IDEA
OF STIRLING BEING SNOWDEN,

THIS SORT OF FICTITIOUS PLACE
FROM ARTHURIAN LEGEND.

Narrator: IN MEDIEVAL SCOTLAND,

MANY PEOPLE BELIEVED THAT
STIRLING REALLY WAS SNOWDEN,

A MYTHICAL FORTRESS
ASSOCIATED WITH ARTHUR.

BUT WHERE DID THIS
INCREDIBLE STORY BEGIN?

THE TRAIL LEADS
HUNDREDS OF MILES AWAY,

TO PARIS IN FRANCE,

WHERE HISTORIAN KATIE STEVENSON

INVESTIGATES THE ORIGINS
OF THE SNOWDEN MYTH.

KATIE'S ON HER WAY
TO NATIONAL LIBRARY OF FRANCE.

INSIDE
IS A MYSTERIOUS MANUSCRIPT,

THE FIRST TO IDENTIFY STIRLING
AS KING ARTHUR'S SNOWDEN.

INTO THE...

YEAH.

AND THE LEGEND.

THIS 600-YEAR-OLD POEM

IS THE STORY OF A TOURNAMENT
AT STIRLING CASTLE.

IT WAS WRITTEN
BY A FRENCH CHRONICLER

NAMED FROISSART,

WHO HAD VISITED SCOTLAND

AND BROUGHT HOME TALES
OF WHAT HE HAD SEEN.

THAT COULD BE THERE
TO EVOKE STIRLING.

SO THIS IS NOT WHAT
STIRLING CASTLE LOOKS LIKE...

YES.
...BUT IT IS EVOCATIVE

OF WHAT SOMEONE BEING
TOLD STIRLING WOULD LOOK LIKE.

IT'S A CASTLE
ON TOP OF A ROCK.

THAT CERTAINLY WOULD TEND
TO SUGGEST THIS IS MEANT

TO REPRESENT
SNOWDEN OR STIRLING.

KATIE THINKS THIS POEM

IS A CRUCIAL PIECE
IN THE ARTHURIAN PUZZLE.

THE STORY ITSELF IS A WORK
OF ROMANTIC FICTION,

BUT THE AUTHOR WROTE IT
JUST AFTER SCOTLAND'S WARS

OF INDEPENDENCE.

AND HE GOT HIS INFORMATION

FROM NONE OTHER
THAN THE SCOTTISH KING HIMSELF.

HE CAME TO THE SCOTTISH COURT.

HE SPENT A COUPLE OF WEEKS
AT STIRLING CASTLE.

AND HE HAD BEEN INSPIRED
DURING THIS PERIOD,

HAVING BEEN TOLD
THAT STIRLING WAS SNOWDEN

AND WHERE ARTHUR'S KNIGHTS
OF THE ROUND TABLE JOUSTED.

Narrator: IT APPEARS THAT
THE SCOTTISH KINGS THEMSELVES

WERE EAGER
TO SPREAD THE LEGEND OF SNOWDEN

TO FOREIGN GUESTS

AND PERHAPS, IN DOING SO,
BOOST SCOTLAND'S CLAIMS

TO SELF-RULE
IN THE EYES OF THE WIDER WORLD.

Stevenson: ARTHUR REPRESENTS
A UNIFIED BRITAIN.

ARTHUR CAN BE USED TO SAY
THAT THE KINGS OF SCOTLAND

OR THE KINGS OF SCOTS

COULD HAVE CLAIM
OVER THE THRONE OF ENGLAND.

Narrator: IT'S AN EXTRAORDINARY
POSSIBILITY.

WERE SCOTLAND'S KINGS
RESPONSIBLE

FOR STIRLING'S
ARTHURIAN STORIES?

THEY CERTAINLY USED ARTHUR

TO CONTINUE THE STRUGGLE
FOR INDEPENDENCE

THAT BEGAN WITH WILLIAM WALLACE.

BUT WAS THERE A REAL ARTHUR,

A MAN BEHIND THE MYTH?

SOME INVESTIGATORS THINK
THAT IF HE DID EXIST,

THIS WAS THE LAND
HE WOULD'VE KNOWN.

¶¶

Narrator: STIRLING CASTLE IS
A SYMBOL OF SCOTLAND'S FREEDOM,

A CASTLE SO POWERFUL

THAT SCOTTISH KINGS INVENTED

A LEGENDARY PAST FOR IT.

BUT COULD THE STORIES
OF KING ARTHUR AT STIRLING

SOMEHOW BE TRUE?

THE RIVER BELOW THE CASTLE
HAS BEEN A NATURAL FRONTIER

SINCE PREHISTORIC TIMES,

AND ON THE OPPOSITE HILL
STANDS A CLUE.

THIS IMPOSING TOWER
IS CALLED THE WALLACE MONUMENT.

BUILT IN MODERN TIMES,

IT COMMEMORATES
WHERE WILLIAM WALLACE

MADE HIS HEADQUARTERS
DURING THE BATTLE FOR STIRLING.

BUT BENEATH IT
LIES SOMETHING FAR OLDER...

...A RING OF STONE WALLS

BUILT BY AN ANCIENT
BRITISH TRIBE.

THESE ARE THE RAMPARTS
OF A HILL FORT,

A 260-FOOT BANK,

10 FEET WIDE,
MADE OF MASSIVE STONES.

COULD THIS BE A REAL-LIFE
ARTHURIAN CASTLE?

ARCHAEOLOGIST MURRAY COOK TRIES

TO PIECE TOGETHER THE EVIDENCE.

MURRAY'S INVESTIGATIONS SUGGEST

THAT THESE EARTH-COVERED
STONE RAMPARTS

ARE AT LEAST 1,300 YEARS OLD.

THIS IS AN EARLY
MEDIEVAL CITADEL.

THIS IS A PLACE
WHERE AN EARLY MEDIEVAL LORD

WOULD IMPRESS PEOPLE,

WOULD HOST PEOPLE,

WOULD GO OUT ON
HUNTING EXPEDITIONS,

WOULD GO OUT ON WARFARE.

THE EVES OF THE HALL
WOULD RING WITH SONG.

FAR FROM BEING CAMELOT,

MURRAY BELIEVES THAT THE FORTS
OF THE ARTHURIAN AGE

WERE SETTLEMENTS SURROUNDED
BY STONE CIRCLES.

TO MAKE THE WALLS STRONG,

THEY LAYERED EARTH AND STONE

AND REINFORCED THEM
WITH TIMBER BEAMS.

THIS STONE, WE GOT FROM
AN EXCAVATION DOWN SLOPE,

BUT IT COMES
FROM THIS RAMPART.

THIS IS A RAMPART DESTROYED
BY FIRE

IN THE 6th AND 7th
CENTURIES A.D.

THIS STONE IS FROM THE COLLAPSE

AND THE DESTRUCTION
OF THIS RAMPART.

Narrator: THE FORT DATES
TO A TIME LONG BEFORE

SCOTLAND EVEN EXISTED,

WHEN STIRLING WAS PART
OF ANCIENT BRITAIN.

IN THE VIOLENT CHAOS
OF THE 6th CENTURY,

ONE MAN IS SAID
TO HAVE STOOD OUT

AS A BEACON OF HOPE --

ARTHUR.

WHOEVER KING ARTHUR IS,
HE IS A WAR LEADER

WHO IS VERY SUCCESSFUL
AT THE END OF THE 5th CENTURY.

CERTAINLY, IF ARTHUR EXISTS,

THIS IS THE SORT OF LOCATION,

THIS IS THE SORT OF PLACE
THAT HE WOULD BE FAMILIAR WITH.

Narrator: MURRAY THINKS
THE ANCIENT STONE REVEALS

A SOCIETY FIGHTING FOR SURVIVAL.

I THINK THIS IS WHAT
WE CALL VITRIFIED STONE.

SEE, HERE I THINK
WE HAVE THREE STONES.

WE HAVE ONE STONE HERE,
ONE STONE HERE,

AND THEN THIS IN THE MIDDLE

THAT SEEMS TO HAVE MELTED
AND FUSED THESE TWO TOGETHER.

Narrator: MURRAY THINKS THAT
WHEN INVADERS ATTACKED THE FORT,

THEY SET FIRE
TO THE REINFORCED DEFENSES.

LOCKED INSIDE THE EARTH,

THE TIMBER BURNED
WITH SUCH FIERCE HEAT

IT MELTED THE STONE.

BUT IS THIS MELTED STONE REALLY
EVIDENCE OF AN ANCIENT BATTLE

OR JUST AN ACCIDENTAL FIRE?

MURRAY WANTS TO CHECK IT OUT.

SO HE HEADS TO
STIRLING UNIVERSITY,

WHERE HE JOINS SPECIALIST
AMANDA DOLAN.

-IT IS AMAZING.
-YEAH.

Cook: IT'S A KALEIDOSCOPE
REALLY, ISN'T IT?

YEAH.

Narrator: THEY START BY LOOKING
AT A SLICE OF STONE TAKEN

FROM A SIMILAR
SCOTTISH HILL FORT.

THE FIRE THAT MELTED THIS STONE

WAS SO HOT,
IT CHANGED THE MINERALS INSIDE.

IT WAS AS FIERCE AS A VOLCANO.

AMANDA SUSPECTS SOMETHING
SIMILAR HAPPENED

TO MURRAY'S ROCK.

THE STIRLING FIRE MUST'VE BEEN
DELIBERATELY STOKED FOR DAYS

TO PRODUCE SUCH INTENSE HEAT.

AND SQUEEZING ITS WAY OUT
LIKE A WEE BIT OF TOOTHPASTE.

YES, INDEED.

WELL,
THAT'S HORRIFYING.

IT'S ABSOLUTELY AMAZING.

ARE WE SUGGESTING
THAT THIS IS DONE BY SOMEONE

WHEN THEY'VE CAPTURED
THE FORT?

IS THIS, IN EFFECT,
A U.N. WAR CRIME?

IT'S A PUNISHMENT
DESTRUCTION.

SOMEONE HAS TAKEN
A BEATING, YOU KNOW?

THE VIOLENT END OF THE FORT
UNDER THE WALLACE MONUMENT

COINCIDES WITH THE VERY
FIRST MENTION OF ARTHUR,

A HEROIC POEM WRITTEN

ABOUT THE PEOPLE HERE
IN THE YEAR 600.

FOR THE PEOPLE, ARTHUR
BECOMES AN IMPORTANT FIGURE.

WHETHER OR NOT
YOU REALLY BELIEVE

THERE WAS AN ARTHUR,

YOU'RE IDENTIFYING YOURSELF
WITH A HISTORIC FIGURE,

WITH A FIGURE
THAT LEADS RESISTANCE.

Narrator: IT'S AN EXTRAORDINARY
FINAL TWIST.

WOW.

THAT'S AMAZING.

STIRLING MAY NOT
BE CAMELOT OR SNOWDEN.

BUT DID THE VIOLENT WORLD
AROUND IT

CREATE THE ARTHUR MYTHS?

THE GEOGRAPHY,
THE GEOLOGY OF STIRLING,

FOR 2000 YEARS HAS BEEN CENTRAL
TO SCOTLAND'S DESTINY.

THIS IS THE ONLY PLACE

WHERE ARMIES CAN CROSS,
ALL FIGHTING,

ALL DYING TO CONTROL
THIS LOCATION,

THIS STIRLING,
THIS PLACE OF STRIFE.

Narrator: MURRAY THINKS
THIS LANDSCAPE

SHAPED SCOTLAND'S IDENTITY.

JUST AS ARTHUR WAS 600,
700 HUNDRED YEARS BEFORE HIM,

WALLACE IS THIS
ENORMOUS HEROIC FIGURE.

SO WALLACE, IN EFFECT,

BECOMES THE INHERITOR
OF A TRADITION OF RESISTANCE.

HISTORY IS REINVENTED
BY EACH SUCCESSIVE GENERATION.

Narrator: STIRLING'S
IMPOSING ARCHITECTURE MAKES IT

ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT
MEDIEVAL CASTLES IN THE WORLD.

BUT NEW DISCOVERIES INSIDE IT

CONTINUE TO EXCITE
ARCHAEOLOGISTS

AND TRANSFORM OUR UNDERSTANDING

OF SCOTLAND'S WARS
OF INDEPENDENCE.

FROM ITS EARLIEST DAYS,

BRAVE WARRIORS HAVE ALWAYS
FOUGHT TO CONTROL THIS ROCK.

STIRLING'S HISTORY HAS CREATED
POWERFUL LEGENDS

THAT ARE STILL WITH US TODAY.

SCOTLAND AS WE KNOW IT

MIGHT NOT EXIST
WITHOUT THIS TOWERING FORTRESS.

¶¶

¶¶

¶¶