Original subtitles

*

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.

*

*

*