All language subtitles for Drain the Oceans Series 2 10of12 Londons Secret History 1080p

Narrator: No place on the
planet has shaped the world

Quite like this one.

And this bustling,
self-confident city...

Has an extraordinary
story to tell.

Simon: London is an
archaeological gold mine.

Narrator: London's
secret ingredient,

The mighty river thames.

Where its deepest and
darkest mysteries

Lie waiting to be found.

Imagine if we could
empty the oceans.

Letting the water drain away.

To reveal the secrets
of the sea floor.

Now we can.

Using accurate data and
astonishing technology,

To bring light once
again to a lost world.

Why is this one of
the most dangerous
shipwrecks in the world?

Can these century old
remains cast light on

London's pirate past?

Eric: The queen and
her major advisors,

They were all tied up
in this violent trade.

Narrator: And how did
london's favorite warship

Explode into 1,000 pieces?

(theme music plays).

Rich with history
and tradition.

Today, london is a global
center of tourism,

Fashion, music and commerce.

Home to more than
eight million people,

Famous for their eccentricity.

And attitude.

And it all starts with
fast flowing water.

Simon: The river thames
is absolutely vital to
the story of london,

Without the river thames
there would be no london.

Narrator: For thousands of
years people have lived along

The banks of the thames.

But how does the
city of london begin?

Could some extraordinary
ruins hold the answer?

As new buildings rise they
expose evidence of the past.

On the north bank
of the river thames,

In the heart of the
financial district,

Workers digging new foundations
unearth something surprising.

They call in the experts.

The lead archaeologist
is gustav milne.

Gustav: Before the
new buildings went up,

A series of archaeological
excavations took place here,

And they revealed some
amazing discoveries.

Narrator: When gustav's team
arrives only part of the

Remains are exposed.

Gustav: Archaeological
excavations are a bit like

Crime scene investigations,

We like to tape off the area to
stop people trampling over it,

And we like to record
all sorts of information,

Which at the time might
not seem relevant.

Narrator: The best way to
see this remarkable find

Is to drain away the city.

The london pavement cracks.

Soft, alluvial soil
begins to crumble away.

Based on highly accurate
archaeological data,

We can peer below
the modern city.

And witness the
origins of london.

Huge wooden timbers,

Clearly part of something
very big and very old.

Gustav: We can count
the tree rings,

This is a system called
dendrochronology,

You have to slice them up by
chainsaw, and then look at

The distance between each
of the rings and match that

To a master chronology.

Narrator: These trees
are chopped down almost
2,000 years ago,

A time when something
very important happened
in southern England.

The arrival of a super power.

Andrew: The romans came
to britain to asset strip,

They plundered its
rich resources, and

They were going to use
it to sustain the rest
of their empire.

Narrator: The romans
come looking for riches.

But what they find is trouble.

Simon: Roman britain was the
wild west of the roman empire.

Narrator: The roman army
builds an imposing settlement

On the river thames.

And they call it londinium.

The giant timbers are unique
evidence of this moment.

Gustav: There is no surviving
documentary record that tells

Us when london was founded,

We rely entirely on
archaeological evidence to

Build up the real
story of londinium.

Narrator: Removing even
more of the modern city

Other clues emerge.

The timbers are part
of a 7 foot high wall.

Behind it, the remains
of roman buildings.

Gustav: Those buildings were
not residential buildings,

They didn't have mosaic
floors or hearths in.

Narrator: So what are
these structures for?

Clues lie in bore
samples taken from soil

Next to the timber wall.

Virgil: We found
things like ostracods,

Which are millimeter
sized crustaceans,

And diatoms, which are
single celled algae remains.

Narrator: Many of
these creatures thrive
in tidal estuaries,

But, the archaeological
site is over 300 feet

From the modern estuary river.

The explanation,

In roman times the thames
was much wider and ran

Right alongside
this timber wall.

Gustav: If only you could
remove all these buildings,

Drain the river thames,

You would get a perfect
view of what we found.

Narrator: The wall
is a roman quayside,

Almost 200 feet long.

Set alongside ten
stone buildings.

Gustav's team hasn't just found
some ancient pieces of wood,

They've discovered the
site of the city's first

Major harbor facility.

Now it's possible to recreate
the first port of london

As it looked in the
late first century ad.

On its north bank,

The thames floods back to
its ancient, original width.

And londinium rises
from the tidal mud.

Cargo ships from all over
the known world unload

Along the wooden quayside.

Along ten large
stone warehouses.

Where goods are
stored and processed.

Simon: Roman london
is an emporium,

It's a place of trade,

And therefore the port
is absolutely vital.

Narrator: The port gives
london power and importance.

A place to live and defend.

It transforms a simple,

River settlement
into a thriving town.

Andrew: We often get obsessed
about roman temples and

Amphitheaters,
but actually,

Building a port is the thing
that really makes britain work.

Narrator: But for london to
become the dominant roman city

Of britain it needs
something else.

Close to the dock,

Archaeologists unearth more
game changing evidence that's

Been hidden for centuries.

The drained site
reveals what they found.

Part of a 20 foot
rectangular wooden box.

Gustav: The timbers were felled
in about 85 ad or thereabouts.

Narrator: The new
structure is also roman.

And around the same
age as the dock.

But what is it?

Gustav turns to
other archaeological
evidence found nearby.

Narrator: Remnants of roman
roads right across london.

One runs close to the
wooden box and stops dead

At the river's northern bank.

Another does the same
on the southern bank.

Solid proof of a
river crossing.

But not by boat.

Gustav: We think that
the timber structure was

A pier base for a roman bridge.

Narrator: Now, using all
of the latest research,

We can run the clock
backwards and highlight

The crowning glory
of roman london.

The first ever permanent
thames crossing

Stretches for over 12,000 feet.

The 20 foot wide
superstructure is supported by

20 massive timber piers,

With bases like the one
found by gustav's team.

There's nothing else
like it in roman britain.

It's an ancient
engineering marvel.

A marvel that rises
from the ashes of war.

In 60 ad, queen boadicea
and her powerful tribe

Rebel against roman rule.

And burn london to the ground.

After finally defeating
her in battle

The romans rebuilt their city.

Simon: So, london becomes the
provincial capital because

London is the place where
all the rebuilding starts
for roman britain.

Narrator: The bridge is a key
part of this rebuilding program,

Sending a message about
the enduring power of rome.

Simon: This is monumentalization
on a huge scale for the romans,

Saying we are here,

We're controlling
this river crossing,

This is our
provincial capital.

Narrator: Incredibly,
it's the city's only bridge

For almost 1,000 years.

It's what ties london and the
rest of roman britain together.

Cementing london's place as
the centerpiece of the country

And, along with the nearby port,

Kick starting the city's
remarkable growth.

1400 years later and london
is still going strong.

Its success now
fueled by violent,

Swashbuckling adventurers.

Can some mysterious remains
in the thames estuary

Expose one of its
darkest secrets?

Narrator: Just as
in roman times,

The modern river thames is
london's transport artery.

Today, the heavyweight
shipping action happens

20 miles out of town
in the thames estuary.

Every year, giant vessels carry
50 million tons of cargo

Through these dangerously
shallow, tidal waters.

Captain: And we're now
outbound for sea reach 4.

Narrator: The thames
is patrolled by the

Port of london authority.
Or pla.

Monitoring the ever-changing
river bed to keep shipping
channels clear.

In 2003, a pla survey
vessel discovers

A mysterious object in the
busy prince's channel.

John: What we're looking
at here is an area in the

Prince's channel,
which we're going to dredge.

We'd surveyed it,

We'd found something that
didn't look quite right,

And that's this relatively
small obstruction.

Narrator: Further sonar scans
reveal it's a shipwreck.

John: These are
manmade structures
we're looking up here,

And they turned out to
be the ribs of a ship.

That's when it all got very
exciting and that's when all

The follow up investigations
started to happen.

Narrator: The pla calls in
archaeologist jens auer.

Jens: Everything was
mysterious in the beginning,

Unknown wreck,
where is it from?

What could it be?
What did it carry?

I can remember my
first dive very well.

Couldn't see very much and it
looked extremely confusing,

There were timbers everywhere
and bits of metal everywhere.

And because of the strong
currents things are

Moving around constantly.

Narrator: Despite the
challenging conditions,

Jens immediately knows
that the wreck is very old.

But what is it?

And why is it here?

The poor visibility and fast
currents make it difficult

To get the full picture.

But now, using
dive survey data

And powerful
computer software...

We can make the thames
estuary drain away.

And expose a remarkable sight.

As the murky waters recede...

Part buried in shifting
sands, an 80 foot skeleton.

Floor timbers and
adjoining frames remain.

To an expert its design
gives clues to its age.

Jens: This type of construction,
this joining of the frames

And some other features
in the construction,

The little details,

They sort of pointed
to the 16th century.

Narrator: In the 16th
century England is ruled by

Ruthless tudor monarchs.

Under their command,

London's wealth and global
ambition skyrockets.

The mystery wreck is a chance
to learn more about this

Dramatic age, so jens
wants to identify it.

Between the ship's timbers
he finds some striking clues.

Tin, lead ingots and iron bars.

It's carrying a small
fortune in metal.

Jens: The cargo told us we were
looking at a merchant vessel.

Narrator: But exploring
the drained wreck further

Reveals this is no
ordinary trading ship.

In the nearby sand, cannons,

Engraved on one of the guns,

The initials tg, and the
symbol of a grasshopper.

Jens: Did some research
and found out that tg

Stands for thomas gresham,
sir thomas gresham.

Narrator: Sir thomas
gresham is a key figure
in 16th century london,

One of the men who first
turn England into a
global power house.

Eric: Thomas gresham
was one of the greatest
financiers of his day.

He was an entrepreneur and a
very successful one at that.

Narrator: In 1566,
gresham establishes

England's first purpose
built trading center,

Called the royal exchange.

It's such an important
moment for the country

That it's opened by
queen elizabeth herself.

Studying the wreck
in greater detail

Reveals something astonishing.

Gun ports.

Narrator: The merchant
vessel isn't trading cannon,

It's armed with them.

Now using jens'
forensic research,

We can dial back time
and restore this relic of

Elizabethan london
to her former glory.

Rising from her resting place,

A state of the art 16th
century merchantman.

115 feet long.

Weighing 200 tons.

Carrying over a dozen cannon.

An ocean going trader from a
time when England is making

Its presence felt
on the world stage.

Jens: Ships were the most
advanced means of transporting

And of communicating,

You could compare it
to a rocket nowadays.

Narrator: But why does a
merchant ship need so many guns?

The answer exposes the
brutal truth that lies behind

London's rise to power.

Narrator: Identifying the
16th century mystery wreck

Might explain why it's armed.

Investigator jens auer,

Asks archaeologist
gustav milne, for help.

Gustav: We have got a little bit
of litigation which we found.

Narrator: In 1603,
a similar sized vessel sinks,

Just outside london in
the prince's channel.

Gustav: And the name of
the ship is the cherubim,

It was what we
call a levanter.

That is to say a merchantman
which sailed to turkey and

Back with the levant company.

Narrator: The cherubim isn't
owned by thomas gresham.

But there is a connection.

The levant company uses cannon
from gresham's iron foundry.

But why would it need them?

Gustav: It wasn't just a
levanter, it was a privateer.

Jens: A privateer.

Gustav: Or pirate, whatever
you wanna call it, yeah.

In 1591 it joined the
azores campaign to attack,

With its guns,
spanish galleons

Coming back from the
caribbean with bullion in it.

Narrator: Like other
english vessels of her time,

The cherubim is also a
part time pirate ship.

Targeting England's enemies
and looting their treasure.

Eric: The world had first
been conquered by the
spanish and the portuguese,

Which, towards the end of the
16th century came together

In a single empire.

So, if England wanted to play
a part in this increasingly

Global trade she had
to play catch up.

She had to raid the empires
that already existed.

The queen and her major
advisors, the lord admiral,

They were all tied up
in this violent trade.

Narrator: Some of the most
famous english sea captains

Are also part time pirates.

Or, to use the politer
phrase, sea dogs.

Eric: When francis drake
sailed around the world

He made a profit for
his investors,

Including the queen,
of 4,700%.

You're talking about the
equivalent really of billions

Of pounds by modern standards.

This was big money indeed.

And the fruits of
piracy were very good.

Narrator: By the
late 16th century,

Between 10 and 15% of all
the goods brought into the

Port of london are the
result of privateering.

Making the city,
the crown and

Merchants, like thomas
gresham, filthy rich.

But the cherubim's
buccaneering adventures

Come to a sudden end in 1603.

Leaving london,
heavy with a valuable cargo,

She is caught in a storm
in the thames estuary and

Disappears from
view for centuries.

Fast forward 60 years,

London is a center of world
trade and opportunity,

Its population swelling
from 200,000 to 350,000.

The era of state
piracy is over.

And now it's England's
turn to be the target of
greedy rival powers.

To protect her merchants the
royal navy must expand, fast.

Can these shattered remains
explain how britannia

Came to rule the waves?

In 2005, a port of london survey
ship is scanning the riverbed.

When its sonar picks
up something big.

Man: Just coming up
to it now, paul.

There's the wreck.

Narrator: The remains
are 40 miles from london,

In the thames estuary.

Archaeologist alison james, and
diver steve ellis investigate.

Their job is to find
out whether the site is

Historically important.

Alison: We're taking
the clues that we find,

In this case on the seabed,

Because we're
working underwater,

And using it to build up
a picture of the wreck,

So, every single clue
could be very significant.

Narrator: They use a
side scan sonar to
gather more information.

Steve: This is the data that's
coming from the tow fish.

It's just like one massive
underwater jigsaw puzzle.

And it's just a
challenge, I love it.

Man: Okay,
diver into water.

Alison: It takes a certain
type of diver to want to

Dive in the thames.

Visibility is fairly poor,
it's highly tidal,

And the location of the
vessel does make it a

Challenging environment to dive.

Narrator: First, giant
timbers come into view.

Then something intriguing.

Narrator: Along
with cannonballs,

Personal belongings
litter the sea bed.

A sailor's clay pipe.

A navigational divider.

There's evidence everywhere.

The best way to make sense of
this underwater jigsaw puzzle

Is to see all the
pieces clearly.

As the estuary
water pours away,

The carcass of an
old wooden ship

Emerges into the
light once again.

A 65 foot section of the hull
lies semi buried in silt.

It was once a large vessel.

But now it's in pieces.

Inside the main
section of the hull...

Shoes, books, and
a sundial compass,

All signs that
passengers and crew had
little time to escape.

Back on shore,

Specialists try to id the
wreck by analyzing relics

Pulled from the river bed.

Ramrods, cannonballs.

All examined in
forensic detail.

One of the most crucial pieces
of evidence, leather shoes.

Angela: We have a large
number of shoes which are

Of a very similar
construction and style.

And they are very typical
for the 17th century.

Alison: It's incredibly
special to be able to find a

17th century vessel lying on
the sea bed in this country.

Narrator: And records reveal
that one heavily armed warship

Did sink in these waters
in the 17th century,

And, appropriately,
she's called the london.

Alison: The london is the only
candidate of the right size

And scale and period
that's in the vicinity.

Narrator: In the
mid-17th century,

England's rulers invest heavily
in the navy to protect trade.

Eric: If England was
going to be a great power

It had to be a naval power.

Narrator: Calling one of
England's latest warships

The london is a symbol of the
city's ever-growing influence.

Andrew: The london is
a heavyweight bruiser,

It's gonna go forward and
it's gonna smash the enemy.

Narrator: So, how did such a
heavyweight champion end up

At the bottom of the estuary?

The drained wreck
reveals a clue.

The ship is in pieces.

One fragment and some
cannon lie 1300 feet

From the main body of the wreck.

The vessel has
been ripped apart.

Alison: It is really
clear that a catastrophic
event has occurred.

Narrator: So catastrophic that
the ship's plight is recorded

In one of the most famous
diaries of the age,

Written by the secretary to
the admiralty, samuel pepys.

Pepys: This morning is
brought me to the office the

Sad news of the london,

In which sir joe lawson's men
were all bringing her from

Chatham to the hope,

And thence she
suddenly blew up.

About 24 men and a woman that
were in the roundhouse and

Coach saved, the rest,
being above 300, drowned.

Narrator: But in
friendly waters,

What could have caused such
a devastating explosion?

Narrator: In the
mid-17th century England
and holland are at war.

The london is preparing for a
battle in the english channel

When it suddenly blows up.

Archaeologists
want to know why.

Clues lie inside the wreck.

Buried in one small section,

A gunner's kit.

Breaching ropes
to reduce recoil,

Hand spikes to move the cannon,

And lint stocks to
help fire the guns.

But the equipment is not
located near the gun stations,

Where it would be on a
ship ready for battle.

Alison: We'd expect to find
a hand spike, a lint stock,

By every cannon effectively,

But that's not
what we're seeing,

We're seeing everything
in one very small area.

Narrator: One possibility
is that the items are
still in storage.

Alison: We found all of
these things in a
relatively small area,

Possibly the gunner's store,

But it clearly shows the
ship was not ready for war.

Narrator: With the help
of historical records it's

Possible now to dial back
the centuries and reveal

The anatomy of a disaster.

Alison: The london was making
its way up to the hope from

Chatham where it would have
taken on board senior officers

Ready to set sail and
take part in the war.

Narrator: With the leaders
due on board shortly the crew

Urgently prepare the ship.

Alison: This is a very busy
ship getting ready to go to war,

With large amounts of
gunpowder on board and

A huge hive of activity.

Narrator: No-one knows what,
but something causes a fire.

Alison: It's very
cramped conditions,

The men are working in deck
areas with very low ceilings,

It would have been
lit by candles,

They may have been smoking.

Narrator: The fire quickly
spreads to the magazine.

Packed with 12
tons of gunpowder.

After the london disaster,

The royal navy
standardizes tactics,

Procedures and equipment
to try and improve safety.

Alison: Because of
accidents like the london,

They started to introduce
tests to have more
professional officers,

So you really start to see
the navy changing after the
loss of the london.

Narrator: The royal navy
evolves into one of the

Greatest military forces
ever to go to sea.

And it's this maritime
strength that allows britain

To build a vast empire.

London continues to grow.

Spectacularly.

By 1840, 2 million
people live in the city,

Making it the biggest and
most powerful in the world.

Throughout the 19th and
early 20th centuries,

Britain's power draws her
into numerous conflicts.

Some very close to home.

One and a half miles
off the coast of kent

Is a rusting hulk that still
threatens london today.

Naval architect,
dr. Nick bradbeer,

Has spent his
life studying ships.

But he's never been face to
face with one as deadly as this.

Nick: Right now I'm out
in the thames estuary,

And just over there we
can see the three masts

Still above the waves.

These buoys mark the edge
of the exclusion zone,

Inside which boats are
not allowed to enter.

Narrator: The semi-submerged
vessel is a permanent hazard

To passing ships.

Nick: The wreck is monitored
by cctv constantly,

To avoid the risk of
somebody coming out
and colliding with it.

Narrator: What kind
of ship is this?

Why is it here?

And why is it so dangerous?

Diving is difficult,
visibility appalling,

But, using 3d scan data we
can reveal explosive secrets

Hidden under water.

The metal hull of an enormous,
14,000 ton cargo ship emerges.

The ss richard montgomery.

Unseen for 75 years.

From a time when london is in
the front line of a global war.

In 1940, nazi germany has
taken over much of europe.

Next, hitler's air force, the
luftwaffe, targets britain.

Eric: What the germans
were trying to do was

Starve britain out,

Because britain depended
on overseas supplies.

So, therefore, if you
could destroy the docks

And if you could stop shipping
coming up and down the thames,

Then you would really affect
the british economy and

Hopefully coerce britain
into a political
settlement with hitler.

Narrator: The thames
becomes a battlefield.

Cargo ships entering the estuary
must run the risk of nazi fire.

The details from the drained
wreck suggest that the

Richard montgomery is not a
victim of an enemy attack.

She's lying in two pieces,
with a clean break.

The damage is not typical
of world war ii bombs,

Torpedoes or sea mines.

The drained wreck
site reveals a clue.

She's sitting astride
a large sandbank.

To an expert, the montgomery's
design is familiar,

It's called a liberty ship.

And dr. Nick bradbeer
believes this could shed
light on why it sank.

Liberty ships are
american made.

An emergency response to the
large number of merchant ships

Being sunk by the enemy.

Us shipyards produce
over 2700 liberty ships
during world war ii.

The most ever made
to a single design.

The quickest build takes
just four and a half days

From start to finish.

Liberty ships help break
hitler's stranglehold of europe.

Eric: They were vital components
of the allied merchant fleet

That effectively provided
the foundations of victory.

Narrator: But building quick
and cheap leads to problems.

Nick: Liberty ships have
a couple of well-known
design flaws,

They were made of a grade
of steel which became quite

Brittle in low temperatures.

Narrator: The ships are not
riveted but welded together,

Which makes them weaker.

Nick: Some of the ships
simply broke in half at sea.

Narrator: Delving into
historical records,

Nick pieces together the
montgomery's last voyage.

August 1944, the ship leaves
hog island, philadelphia.

After crossing the atlantic
it joins a convoy in the

Thames estuary
destined for France.

While moored up, strong
tidal currents cause
her to drag her anchor.

Nick: She ran aground over
the rafter on a a sandbar,

And that probably didn't
damage her very badly.

But, that stuck her in place.

Narrator: As the tide goes out
the 7000 tons of cargo in the

Ship's hold is no longer
supported by water.

Nick: She started to
bend and bend, and then

Eventually bent beyond
her ability to withstand.

Narrator: Under high stress,
the deck plates fracture.

As time passes,
the fracture grows.

Until the ship rips apart.

Just one question remains,

What is it about this wreck
that makes it so dangerous?

The answer lies in
her deadly cargo.

Narrator: The wreck of
the montgomery endangers

Shipping and lives.

The drained vessel
explains why.

Some of her cargo can
be glimpsed through
cracks in the hull.

Bombs.

Further research uncovers the
full inventory of explosives.

Almost 300 2,000 pounders,

Over ten times as
many 1,000 pounders

And 2,500 cluster bombs.

In total, 1400 tons
of explosives

Lying at the bottom
of the thames.

Eric: Given the combination of
the amount of explosives still

On the ship and the location
of the ship I would say she is

Probably the most dangerous
ship in british waters.

Narrator: To make
matters worse...

The wreck lies just 1.5 miles
from the town of sheerness.

And four miles from a
huge natural gas terminal.

Colin: It's been suggested
it could be the biggest

Non-nuclear explosion
in peace time.

People have actually left the
island in fear that something

Was going to happen.

Narrator: It wouldn't
be the first time a
liberty ship explodes.

In 1944, us war operations
continued to expand,

Liberty ships, many
packed with ammunition,

Set off around the world.

Near san francisco,

The ss ea bryan and
the ss quinault victory

Are being loaded with ammunition
when they both explode.

320 die.

And in the philippines the
liberty ship ss john burke

Is hit by a kamikaze aircraft,

Causing the explosives
on board to detonate.

68 are killed.

So, could the
montgomery also blow?

More clues lie in
the drained wreck.

Close examination reveals a
disintegrating deck house.

And a collapsing deck plate.

Failing parts of the ship
could eventually hit or

Dislodge the bombs.

Whether it's enough to
cause them to detonate,

And what the impact of what
such an explosion would be,

Is impossible to know.

Clive: Lots of people
have looked at this,

But nobody can give you a
guarantee about anything.

Narrator: To avoid a disaster,
the british government's

Policy is to cordon off
and monitor the wreck.

Nick: It's a difficult
situation to know what to do,

The risk always has to
be balanced between

Doing something and that
potentially actually

Making the situation worse,

Or, doing nothing,
and monitoring.

Clive: Nothing's happened
much in the last 70 years,

That's a fact,

And trying to predict
the future is difficult.

I think if it's monitored
and it's managed sensibly

It will be fine.

Narrator: Bloodshed, piracy,
ruthless ambition and war.

The story of
london has it all.

And whatever fate
has in store,

This city and its adaptable,

Enterprising people,

Will be at the heart of a
world they helped create.

Captioned by cotter
captioning services.