All language subtitles for Unearthed.2016.S08E03.Legend.of.King.Midas.720p.WEBRip.x264-KOMPOST_[English] (SUBRIP-CLEANER)-AR

Narrator:
A mysterious ruined citadel.

Could this be the home of
the legendary king Midas?

The story of Midas
and the golden touch is

one of the most famous
in Greek mythology.

Narrator:
It's said that everything

king Midas touches
turns to gold.

But where does this outlandish
claim originate?

Most myths have got
some kind of basis in truth.

Narrator:
Is Midas a real person?

And is this his tomb?

This monument is one of
the most spectacular

discoveries of the 20th century.

Narrator: Today, experts peel
back the layers of

a lost kingdom to reveal
the surprising truth

behind the myth

and travel deep inside
strange ancient mounds

to discover whether these
ruins really do run with gold.

On the quest for clues,
we reconstruct a lavish city.

We explore its dark tombs,

come face to face
with a long-dead king,

and investigate glittering
treasures to unearth

what really lies behind

the story of king Midas
and his golden touch.

In central Turkey lie
the ruins of a powerful,

fortified city... Gordion.

It's nearly 3,000 years old
but only recently discovered.

Just over 100 years ago,

workers building a new
railroad stumble across

an enormous mound
of ancient pottery.

When the archaeologists
began excavating here,

even though they didn't know
it on the first day,

they were about
to discover one of

the major power centers
of the ancient world.

Narrator: Gordion is a city
of over 10,000 people

and the heart
of a powerful kingdom.

Towering over the city is
a fortified citadel

protected by a stone wall
over 16 feet high.

According to Greek myth,

the city's most famous ruler
is Midas,

a king who wishes for
everything he touches

to turn to gold.

It's an incredible story.

Can it be based in truth?

The story of Midas
and the golden touch

is one of the most famous
in Greek mythology.

Narrator: Today, Brian Rose
leads investigations at Gordion.

He's been working here
for 15 years,

uncovering why the city
rises to prominence.

When visitors came to Gordion,

they would have passed through
a giant citadel gate,

one of the largest citadel
gates anywhere in the near east.

Narrator: The huge gateway
is over 30 feet high,

and the walls more than
20 feet thick.

Inside, there's an area
for workers and another

for the palaces and public
buildings of the elite.

Gordion is the capital city of
the ancient kingdom of Phrygia,

which covers much of
modern-day Turkey.

It's an hour's drive from
the Turkish capital, Ankara.

So why did Gordion
become so important?

One of the reasons
is that it's right in

the middle of the eastern
world and the western world.

All the trade routes between

east and west pass
through Gordion.

Narrator: Unlike the Greeks
and Egyptians,

the people of Gordion leave
very few written records.

Their lives are still
shrouded in mystery.

Yet one story is passed down
for generations.

When Midas does a favor
for the Greek god Dionysus,

he is granted a wish.

Midas asks for a magic power,

to turn everything
he touches to gold,

making him rich beyond measure.

But when he tries to eat,
his food turns to gold.

When he hugs his daughter,

she turns into a golden statue.

Dionysus has mercy and tells
Midas to wash in the river,

which runs gold
as the wish drains away.

I do believe that most
myths probably

almost have got
some kind of basis in truth.

Narrator: Julian Bennett
searches for evidence

in the hills outside Gordion.

First, he needs to find out
if Midas is a real person.

An astonishing monument cut into

the cliff face may offer clues.

It's nearly 60 feet tall
and covered with

an intricate geometric design
of squares and crosses.

Bennett: They represent
buildings or temples,

wooden buildings
or wooden temples.

Narrator: Julian thinks
the monument could prove

that Midas is real.

Bennett: From the style of
this monument, we can

date it to about
the eighth century B.C.

Gordion reaches its peak
round about

the eighth century B.C.,

which we are told
was ruled by a Midas,

so the dates match.

Narrator: An inscription
at the top of

the monument provides
a further clue.

It's written in Phrygian, the
ancient language of the area.

Phrygian is not fully known,

but its similarity to
languages like ancient Greek

means it can be understood.

Bennett: What we have is

a declaration of a ruler

called Midas
who's obviously in command

of this area called Phrygia.

Narrator: This giant
monument proves that

Midas is not
a mythological figure.

He's real flesh and blood.

Brian Rose believes
further clues to establishing

the truth behind the tale

may lie in
an intriguing connection

between the monument

and Midas's
capital city, Gordion.

Rose: The facade of
the Midas monument

is covered by
geometric decoration.

We think that it's
a reproduction of what

the monumental buildings on

the citadel of Gordion would
have looked like during

the reign of Midas.

Narrator: The fortified citadel
covers an area

the size of 20 football fields.

Behind its huge gates
are the city's most

dazzling buildings.

They stand over 50 feet high.

Striking patterns cover
the roofs of the buildings,

And stunning geometric designs
decorate their fronts.

It's a lavish display of status,

a way for Midas to show off
his wealth for all to see.

Under the rule of Midas,
the kingdom of Phrygia

is successful,
innovative, powerful.

Phrygia features in
the greatest epic of the era.

The kingdom is an ally of Troy

in the Trojan war.

During the reign of Midas,
Gordion would have been

a truly dazzling city,
built to impress

any diplomat
or tourists who came here.

Narrator: Can Gordion's
extraordinary wealth be

the origin of the story
of the golden touch?

Do dozens of colossal mounds
outside the city walls

reveal more about the truth
behind the Midas myth?

Narrator:
Gordion, a wealthy city

ruled by king Midas
3,000 years ago.

Gareth Darbyshire has been
working at Gordion for 20 years,

searching for
the evidence behind

the myth of the man with
the golden touch.

He investigates just outside
the city walls.

Here, dozens of strange mounds
of earth seem to stand guard.

Surrounding the city on
the high ground and along

ancient routeways are over
120 of these mounds.

They're obviously man-made
because of their shape.

Narrator:
They are burial mounds,

the tombs of the elite of
Gordion society.

One mound,
visible for miles around,

dominates all the others.

Darbyshire:
This monument is one of

the largest burial mounds
in the world.

It's one of
the most spectacular discoveries

of the 20th century.

Narrator: The mound is built
by piling high

hundreds of thousands
of tons of earth.

Experts estimate
it takes around 1,000 people

a year and a half to build.

The mound may conceal
important clues about Midas,

but excavating it presents
a major challenge.

You can't simply just dig into
the side of it or on the top.

You need to do it
very carefully.

There's the risk of the entire
mound collapsing in on you.

These kinds of excavations
can kill people.

Narrator:
There's another challenge.

The tomb could be anywhere
inside the huge mound,

a strategy to fool
ancient grave robbers.

For archaeologists,
it's like trying to

find a needle in a haystack.

They turn to modern technology
for a solution.

Darbyshire: We decided to get
an oil prospecting drill,

which is a very long drillbit,
from Texas,

because that instrument
can reach straight from

the top of the mound right
down to the bottom.

Narrator: The drill bores dozens
of holes, probing for the tomb.

On the 96th attempt,
it hits something solid.

Drilling stops.

Now they have their target,
and they start to dig.

Local miners tunnel in
from the side.

Excavating from the top
will destroy the mound.

What they find is astonishing.

Hidden beneath the mound,

under thousands
of tons of earth,

is a thick Clay core
shaped like a dome.

Digging through this layer

reveals a mysterious
wooden chamber.

Inside, archaeologists come
face-to-face

with the skeleton of a man.

Around him, lavish grave goods
litter the floor.

Who is this man, and why is
he surrounded by treasures?

Can this be the tomb
of king Midas?

The tomb chamber lies at the end

of the 100-foot-long
excavation tunnel.

It's so fragile that
it's off limits to visitors.

But Gareth is given rare access.

The tomb is enclosed by
a barrier constructed of

Juniper logs.

Darbyshire: The reason
there are these enormous,

very hard Juniper logs is
to protect the tomb

and its contents from robbing.

This protection and the massive
scale of the mound,

it's very similar to
the pyramids

of the Egyptian kings
or pharaohs.

Narrator: Sealed inside
an airtight mound for nearly

3,000 years, the tomb is
perfectly preserved.

But is it the right date
for Midas?

Archaeologists turn to tree
ring dating for an answer.

If they can date
the wood in the tomb,

it will provide vital evidence
of who this man is.

Every year, a tree produces
a growth ring, a tree ring.

If you still have the bark
preserved, as we do here with

the Juniper logs in this tomb,

then you can calculate
the felling date,

the date at which that tree
was cut down and killed.

Taking several samples
from these Juniper logs,

we counted the tree rings,
and they all date

to the same time.

Narrator: The tests allow
the archaeologists to date

the construction of the tomb

to the year 740 B.C.,

making this the oldest
standing wooden structure

in the world.

But this date means
it cannot be Midas.

With the dating about 740 B.C.,
it's too early to be

king Midas... we know
from a Syrian record that

Midas was still operational
in 709 B.C.

So this tomb cannot
belong to Midas.

Narrator: King Midas
succeeds to the throne

after the tomb is sealed.

He rules for another 40 years.

So whose skeleton
is it in this tomb?

Brian Rose investigates.

Experts use
the dead man's skull to

recreate his appearance
in plaster and Clay.

Brian thinks it can help
identify the man.

Rose: This is
the reconstructed face of

the man who was buried
in the tomb.

We've analyzed the bones,

and we've determined that
the man died between the ages of

60 and 65, which is quite old
for the eighth century B.C.

Narrator: On close examination,
Brian discovers

there's something unusual

about the shape of
the man's skull.

It's been
deliberately elongated,

probably when he was an infant.

Narrator: The Gordion elite bind
the heads of their babies so

that the bone permanently
hardens into an unusual shape.

The man's oddly-shaped skull

and the enormous size
of his burial mound

enables Brian
to identify the body.

Our conclusion is that it's
likely the father of Midas,

a man whose name was Gordias.

Narrator: Gordias rules in
the mid-eighth century B.C.

His story also enters
into legend.

When an earlier ruler dies
without an heir,

the people consult the oracle,

who declares that
the next man driving

an ox cart into the city
should be made king.

At that moment,

a peasant steers his ox cart
through the gates.

He is Gordias.

The people choose him
as their king,

and in his honor, they rename
their city Gordion.

When Gordias died, his son,
Midas, would have

become king,
and even though Midas

wasn't buried in the tomb,

it is very much a Midas mound,
because it was the first major

building project of his reign.

Narrator: So far, only 46

of the 125 burial mounds

in Gordion have been excavated.

Midas's final resting place
remains to be discovered.

Do further clues
to the legend of

king Midas still lie
in his father's tomb?

Can the remains of
a burial shroud unearthed

with his body help separate
fact from fiction?

Narrator: Gordion...

Once the capital of
the kingdom of

Phrygia and the home of
king Midas.

Archaeologists want to know if

the myth of Midas's golden touch
is grounded in truth.

Answers may lie hidden in

the burial mound of
Midas's father, Gordias.

Locked in the tomb is
a treasure trove

of burial goods that,

when polished, shine like gold.

Over 150 exquisite objects

surround the king's body,

and right next to him are
small pieces of fabric,

the fragments of a burial shroud

that, in its prime, glitters
with golden threads.

What can these treasures
tell us about

the origin of the story
of Midas's golden touch?

Experts face
a daunting challenge

analyzing what little remains
of the burial shroud.

Darbyshire: Just as the body
in the burial mound

had decayed down to just
the skeleton,

it turns out that the textile
itself had decayed,

and so what our scientific
team analyzed

wasn't the textile itself,
it was the hardened coating.

Narrator: Tests on this coating
reveal the shroud

is colored by a mineral
called Goethite.

Today, it's used to
create yellow

paint colors like
Ochre and Sienna.

Darbyshire: So this is Goethite.

It's an iron oxide,
and you can see

that it has this lovely
golden-yellow color.

We know from analysis of
the textiles that the bedding

and probably the shroud on
the king's body

was coated with this pigment.

Narrator: Gareth believes that
the manufacture of pigment from

this raw iron oxide
is a vital clue

to help explain the origin
of the golden touch.

You heat the ore with formic
acid and urea to

a temperature of about
90 degrees Celsius,

and that creates your pigment.

But even just raw, it's still
very hard to get it off

my hands...
It's still not going.

Wow.

It's possible, then, that you
could recognize those who are

involved in the manufacture of

the high-status cloth of
the high-status clothing,

because they're walking around
with yellow hands,

and perhaps it is this
that gave rise

to the legend of
the golden touch.

Narrator: It's one explanation
for the myth.

Darbyshire: This wonderful
golden yellow color...

You can imagine the Phrygian
royalty and nobles,

the elite wearing
these golden-colored garments.

Narrator: They dress richly

in decorative weaving
and embroidery.

The evidence from
ancient texts is

that the Phrygians invent
both techniques.

Darbyshire: We're told this
by the Roman writer,

Pliny the elder,

and also the Latin word for
embroiderer is Phrygio.

Narrator:
King Midas and his courtiers

are enviably rich,

and the funeral of the king is

when that wealth
is most on show.

When the king dies, he lies
in state for all to see,

covered in his golden shroud.

The city's elite,

colorfully
and extravagantly dressed,

gather for a gala
funerary banquet.

They dine on spicy goat stew

and drink barley beer
and honey mead.

Then the king and the remains of

the feast are carefully laid
out inside the wooden tomb.

The tomb is sealed
and the body left

to rest for eternity.

Gordion's funeral feasts
and the city itself

are ablaze with gold and color.

Darbyshire: Of course,
Midas didn't really

turn things to gold
by touching them,

but perhaps this story of
the golden touch is really

a metaphor for the fabulous
wealth of the Phrygian kings.

Narrator:
But could the story be about

more than just gold
and untold riches?

Can strange discoveries
beneath the city

reveal that it's about power
and politics, too?

Narrator: Gordion,

once a dazzling city
of golden color.

Now researchers want to know
if its king,

Midas, is as greedy
as the story says.

Mythology depicts Midas

as a... kind of a nasty,
scary, unpleasant person.

The question is,
was he really like that?

Narrator: What is it about Midas
that inspires this myth?

Could the story conceal
a deeper truth

about the king and his rule?

Hidden beneath the ruins of
Midas's city

lie the remains of another
that is decades older.

Its layout is almost a carbon
copy of the city above.

In between the two lies
a 15-foot-thick layer of Clay.

But discoveries in this layer
puzzle archaeologists.

Fragments of pottery,
which date to the bronze age,

hundreds of years older
than either city.

Why are these ancient shards

sandwiched between
the ruined cities?

And what can they reveal
about Midas

and the violent world
he lives in?

Elif Denel has been
studying the ancient

history of the region
for two decades.

She believes the pottery
belongs to

a much earlier people,

the Hittites, who rule
the area centuries before.

They couldn't understand
why the Hittite pottery,

which is several hundred years
earlier than the ninth century

city, over which this
was constructed,

how did it get there?

So archaeologists were like,

wow, what's going on?

Narrator: Elif searches for
answers in the ruins of Gordion.

Solving the mystery
may shed more light on

the legend of Midas
and his golden touch.

A destruction layer
provides a clue,

the Mark of an enormous
disaster that befalls the city.

We found evidence for
a huge, massive fire.

There was burnt bricks,
evidence of burnt beams,

roofs collapsed, burnt pottery.

Narrator: In around 800 B.C.,

a devastating fire rips
through Gordion.

Residents flee for their lives,

abandoning their homes
and belongings.

At first, archaeologists believe

it's caused by an enemy army
attacking Gordion.

They, interestingly,

didn't find
any deceased human beings,

any remains of people.

Narrator: There's no proof
of fighting in the area.

We know that this wasn't
caused by any conflict now,

because if there was any
conflict, we would have

evidence of military activity.

But we don't have any... any
evidence for that in this area.

Narrator: But in a world of
constant warfare, the city

and its defensive walls
must be rebuilt, and quickly.

The hasty rebuild explains
the mystery pottery.

It was most probably
that the workers brought

the Clay from an area where
there were remains of

Hittite people,
Hittite settlements.

They scooped up the Clay
and brought it here

and dumped it on top of
the ninth-century settlement.

Narrator: As a result,
Gordion stands nearly

20 feet higher
than before the fire.

Denel: They did not just
rebuild the city.

They raised the whole city
on top of

a platform of
4 to 5 meters high.

Whoever came to the city
could probably

see the city from kilometers,
miles away.

Narrator: Gordion is now
an immense citadel.

Its defenses are among

the most formidable
in the ancient world.

But when Midas takes the throne,

the city is under threat.

A rival power threatens
Midas's kingdom.

To survive,
he needs a golden touch.

To fight the mighty
Assyrian empire

to his east, Midas forms
an alliance with local kings.

But then he signs a peace
treaty with the Assyrian ruler

when he becomes
too powerful to oppose.

He reaches out
to the Greek kingdoms

in the west and marries
a Greek Princess,

An alliance that gives
Midas's landlocked

kingdom invaluable access
to the sea.

Elif believes the myth is
a metaphor for Midas's

diplomatic skills and his
ability to defend his city.

Denel: If we look at the history
of king Midas,

he probably had the golden
touch, because he was building

up this monumental,

substantial, amazing city.

Narrator:
Gordion reaches the height of

its power and prestige
under Midas.

Legend says he washes away
the golden touch in the river.

Could a discovery in
the citadel at Gordion show

this part of the myth
is also based in truth?

Narrator:
King Midas's golden touch

may be a metaphor for
the wealth of Gordion

and his diplomatic skills.

But one final part of the myth
needs more examination.

Grieving because he has turned
his daughter to gold,

Midas begs Dionysus to relieve
him of the golden curse.

The god tells him to wash
in the river Pactolus,

and the river runs with gold
as the wish flows away.

Clues found in Gordion
may shine a new light

on this final piece of
the legend.

Kerem Oguz is an expert in gold.

He wants to see if the river

Pactolus really does
flow with gold

as the myth says.

If the legend is true,
Midas washed his hands

into this river,

then there should be some gold
in this water.

Narrator: Kerem needs
to collect river sediment

and sift it to look
for tiny gold flakes.

In the time of king Midas,
to retrieve gold,

they used sheepskins.

They put the sheepskin
into the river.

Narrator: The idea is
to trap any grains

of gold that flow
down the river.

After a few months,
the sheepskin is taken

out of the water.

Oguz: They used to put
the sheepskin in the sun,

let it dry, and comb it and
shake it to get the gold out.

Narrator: There's no pure gold
in the sheepskin today,

but gold can be found
in a different form.

The gold actually is found

in two different combinations
in nature.

One is pure gold,
and one is called electrum.

Narrator: Electrum is
a naturally occurring alloy

of gold and silver,

known as white gold
to the ancient Greeks.

Can electrum explain the myth of

Midas ridding himself of
the golden touch?

Answers may lie
200 miles from Gordion

in a city through which
the river Pactolus flows,

Sardis.

Cahill: Sardis one of
the biggest cities in

the ancient world.

It was famous in Greece,
for instance,

as the place where you would
go to buy perfumes

and exotic textiles.

Narrator: Nick Cahill
has studied Sardis,

the capital of the kingdom of
Lydia, for over 40 years.

Nick believes a world-changing
technology develops here

that explains the final part
of the Midas myth.

He uncovers evidence in this
unusual building in Sardis.

When this was excavated,
we found furnaces,

and in those furnaces were, uh,

pieces of cooking pots.

Narrator: Ancient people use
carefully measured amounts of

precious metals to pay for
goods and services.

But Nick thinks
that using electrum

gives the Lydians a problem.

Cahill:
If you're a Lydian trader,

it's hard to use
this silver-rich gold.

You might get ripped off,
because you don't know how much

gold and how much silver
there is in the metal

you're using to trade
for your sheep.

Narrator: A discovery
in this building gives clues

to how the Lydians
solve the problem.

We found traces of gold foil
and other equipment

that makes us think
that this area

was a workshop
for separating electrum into

pure gold and pure silver.

Narrator: Lydian metal workers
take raw electrum

and heat it to separate it
into gold and silver.

And from this ancient alchemy,

they create the first known
coins in the western world.

Cahill: This is a replica
of a Lydian coin.

It's got a design stamped
on the front of it.

And on the back, it's got
a couple of punches.

It's got about 55% gold
and 45% silver,

and that stamp on it
guarantees to the user

that it has this proportion

of gold and has
a certain value you can

guarantee by the state.

Narrator: The invention of
coinage with a standard purity

of gold revolutionizes
how we do business.

Lydian people can rely on
these hallmarked gold coins,

and so their economy booms.

The invention of coinage
and currency

makes the Lydians
and their king rich.

You might have heard
the expression, rich as Croesus,

and Croesus was the king
of Lydia and becomes synonymous

with just fabulous wealth.

Narrator: Another spectacular
discovery in Gordion,

Midas's city,

reveals the impact of
this invention of money.

Archaeologists unearth
a horde of 45 gold coins.

Their telltale design,

a lion's head,
reveals they are Lydian.

Can these coins shed light on

the final part
of the Midas myth?

The coins are evidence that
the Lydians now control Gordion.

Cahill: We see the rise of Lydia
and a new dynasty of kings.

This is what allows them to
conquer western Turkey

and also Gordion, where we find
those Lydian coins.

Narrator: Nick believes
the story of Midas washing away

the golden touch is really that

of wealth draining away
from Gordion to Sardis.

Cahill: We have this myth that
Midas came to rid himself of

the golden touch,
and that he washed

the golden touch into the river,

which from then on
ran with gold,

and this might be something like

a metaphor for the transfer
of power

from Gordion to Sardis.

Narrator: People once believed
the story of Midas to be a myth.

Now, new archaeological
evidence shows

that much of it
is grounded in fact.

Can investigators
throw light on another

ancient myth,

the legend of the Gordian knot?

And can it reveal the fate of
Midas's capital city?

Narrator:
The ancient city of Gordion...

3,000 years ago,

this is the home of king Midas.

It is a region plagued
by constant war,

fought over by powerful kings
and mighty empires.

Now investigators want to know
what happens to Gordion

after Midas.

Scattered among
the ruins of Gordion,

archaeologists discover
dozens of bronze arrowheads.

Some of them are embedded
in the walls,

and inside the fortress,

the skeletons of soldiers.

Is this evidence of
Gordion's destruction?

Brian Rose returns
to Gordion to find out.

A huge construction by
the city walls may

provide answers.

In addition to the many
arrowheads and skeletons of

soldiers that were found in
the excavations of the fort,

we have a giant siege mound
leading up into the fort.

Narrator: A siege mound or ramp
is built by ancient armies

so they can storm their
enemies' city walls.

We have to remember that
the fort that you see

behind me was originally
positioned on

a 12-meter-high platform.

Then you have to restore four
stories above that.

In order to destroy

a fort this high and this
monumental, an enormous

siege mound would have
been necessary.

Narrator: The mound is about
150 yards in length.

It's built of stones and logs
and topped with Clay.

Brian wants to know who are

the powerful mystery attackers
building it,

and if their identity can reveal

the fate of Midas's one-time
capital, Gordion.

Rose: When we studied
the arrowheads,

we found that they were of
a distinctive design,

a distinctive type.

We can associate them
with the Persians,

and we know that the Persians
swept through this area in

the middle of the sixth century
B.C., building siege ramps to

destroy the cities
that stood in their path.

Narrator:
The Persian empire is one of

the most powerful in
the ancient world.

In the sixth century B.C.,
under Cyrus the great,

its army sweeps across central
and Western Asia,

taking everything in its path.

Gordion,

once king Midas's
golden city, falls.

Yet Gordion's story doesn't end
with the Persian conquest.

200 years after that,
another army attacks the city.

This army is Greek.

It's led by one of the most
famous warriors in history,

Alexander the great.

It will be Alexander who writes

the final chapter in this story.

When Midas's father,
Gordias, is crowned,

his ox cart is placed
in a temple

and tied with
a complicated knot.

It's said that whoever unties it

will rule Asia.

Many come to try, but all fail.

Then, in the third century B.C.,

Alexander arrives in the city,

intent on conquering
the Persian empire.

Faced with Gordian's knot,

Alexander simply draws his sword

and cuts right through it.

He could not unravel it,
so he took out his sword

and sliced through it,

thereby giving rise to
the expression cutting

the Gordian knot, finding a fast

and efficient solution
to an intractable problem.

Narrator: Alexander goes on to
conquer vast swaths of Asia,

just as the prophecy foretold.

People often ask if the story

of the Gordian knot could
be true.

It's told by a number of
ancient Greek historians.

The stories are
more or less identical,

so we have no reason to doubt
that Alexander came here,

found a Gordian knot,

was intent on fulfilling the
prophecy, and cut through it.

Narrator: Today, here in Turkey,
archaeologists uncover

new evidence that brings

the legends of
the past to light.

King Midas,
a ruler who wishes for

everything he touches
to turn to gold.

Now experts have found
his capital city,

the huge tomb he builds
for his father,

and evidence of his vast wealth.

The story of Midas
is more than a myth.

It's based on the true story
of a king with a golden touch.