Original subtitles

*

Narrator: THE ANCIENT CITY OF ROME.

FOUNDED NEARLY 3,000 YEARS AGO.

FOR FIVE CENTURIES, THE ROMAN EMPIRE

WAS THE MIGHTIEST ON EARTH.

AND ONE EXTRAORDINARY BUILDING STANDS AT ITS HEART --

THE COLOSSEUM.

THIS BUILDING REPRESENTS THE EVOLUTION OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE

FROM ITS RISE THROUGH ITS FALL.

Narrator: FOR CENTURIES, THIS ANCIENT THEATER HAS HELD DARK SECRETS

ABOUT THE EMPIRE THAT BUILT IT

AND THE THOUSANDS WHO DIED WITHIN IT.

IF PEOPLE HAD TO BE KILLED, THEY WERE KILLED.

THE ROMANS DIDN'T HAVE ANY PROBLEMS WITH DOING THAT.

Narrator: TODAY, ADVANCED TECHNOLOGY IS HELPING SCIENTISTS

MAKE BRAND-NEW DISCOVERIES WITH UNIQUE ACCESS

TO THE BONES OF FALLEN WARRIORS.

HOW DID THE ANCIENT ROMANS PRESENT MAGICAL SPECTACLES

IN THIS GIANT ARENA

AND CREATE ENTERTAINMENT WITH THE POWER

TO SPREAD ROME'S MESSAGE ACROSS THE WHOLE EMPIRE?

THE ONLY WAY TO SOLVE THESE MYSTERIES

IS TO DISMANTLE THE COLOSSEUM BRICK BY BRICK.

WE'LL BLOW APART ITS ARCHES AND TUNNELS TO EXPERIENCE LIFE

AND DEATH WITHIN ITS WALLS

AND REVEAL THE SECRETS HIDDEN INSIDE THIS ANCIENT WONDER.

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

CAPTIONS PAID FOR BY DISCOVERY COMMUNICATIONS

*

Narrator: THE COLOSSEUM.

A GIANT COMPLEX AT THE HEART OF THE ANCIENT CITY OF ROME.

THIS WAS AN ARENA OF DEATH AND MAGIC,

OF POTENT SPECTACLES WITH THE POWER TO SUSTAIN AN EMPIRE.

BURIED WITHIN ITS WALLS ARE CLUES THAT REVEAL

THIS WAS MUCH MORE THAN JUST A THEATER.

THE COLOSSEUM STILL STRIKES OUR HEART TODAY.

YOU CAN STILL FEEL THE SAME FEELING

THAT THE ROMAN SPECTATORS FELT AT THE TIME

OF THE PERFORMANCES.

TODAY, TEAMS OF EXPERTS ARE EXPLORING DEEPER

THAN EVER INTO THE HEART OF THE BUILDING,

SOLVING THE MYSTERIES OF THIS ANCIENT ARENA

TO REVEAL HOW, FOR 500 YEARS, THE HIDDEN SECRETS OF THIS VAST

RUIN HELPED ROME BUILD AN EMPIRE ACROSS EUROPE AND BEYOND.

CONCEALED UNDER ITS MONUMENTAL SKIN

IS A COMPLEX SYSTEM OF PILLARS, ARCHES, AND VAULTS.

THEY SPREAD THE COLOSSAL LOAD OF NEARLY A QUARTER

OF A MILLION TONS OF STONE,

ALLOWING THIS BUILDING TO TOWER 160 FEET

ABOVE THE STREETS OF ROME.

IN THE STADIUM, SPACE FOR UP TO 80,000 SPECTATORS,

BIG ENOUGH TO HOLD THE SUPER BOWL.

BUILT INTO THE ARENA FLOOR,

A SUBTERRANEAN MAZE OF TUNNELS AND CHAMBERS,

THE SECRET DOMAIN OF THE EMPIRE'S MOST DEADLY SERVANT --

THE GLADIATOR.

THE COLOSSEUM AND THE MEN WHO FOUGHT IN IT

ARE THE MOST ICONIC SYMBOLS OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE.

EVEN TODAY, THE COLOSSEUM IS AN IMPRESSIVE STRUCTURE.

BUT PERHAPS ITS GREATEST MYSTERY IS NOT HOW IT WAS BUILT,

BUT WHY IT WAS BUILT IN SUCH A STRANGE PLACE.

GEOLOGIST GUIDO GIORDANO HAS SPENT YEARS

STUDYING THIS EXTRAORDINARY BUILDING.

HIS THEORY IS THAT ITS LOCATION IS NO ACCIDENT

AND MAY EVEN EXPLAIN A KEY MOMENT

IN THE RISE OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE.

YOU CAN SEE BACK THERE, THE COLOSSEUM, AND BEYOND THAT,

THERE IS THE BUSINESS CENTER FOR ROME.

Narrator: THE COLOSSEUM WAS BUILT RIGHT IN THE CENTER

OF ANCIENT ROME'S GOVERNMENT DISTRICT.

THIS IS A STRANGE PLACE TO BUILD AN ARENA FOR ENTERTAINMENT,

SO WHY WAS IT BUILT HERE?

GUIDO THINKS THERE MAY BE ANSWERS HIDDEN IN THE PARKLANDS

THAT SURROUND THE COLOSSEUM.

Giordano: WE HAVE CLUES HERE.

THIS IS AN EXCAVATION SITE, AND WHAT'S BENEATH IS EXTRAORDINARY.

Narrator: THESE EXCAVATORS ARE REMOVING HEAVY BANKS OF SOIL

FROM THE HILLSIDE NEXT TO THE COLOSSEUM.

UNDER THE WEIGHT OF THIS SOIL, THE BANKS HAD BEGUN TO COLLAPSE,

REVEALING A HIDDEN, SUBTERRANEAN WORLD --

A WORLD THAT GUIDO FEELS CAN SHED LIGHT

ON THE COLOSSEUM'S PUZZLING LOCATION.

THIS IS GRAND.

LOOK AT THIS CAVE.

FRESCOES EVERYWHERE HERE.

BEAUTIFULLY PAINTED, BEAUTIFULLY PRESERVED.

Narrator: INCREDIBLY, BURIED UNDER THE HILLS

THAT RISE NEXT TO THE COLOSSEUM IS A VAST, ABANDONED PALACE,

LOST FOR 1,400 YEARS.

Giordano: HERE WE HAVE A CROWN, AN EAGLE HERE.

THE BEAUTY OF THESE FRESCOES SHOWS

THIS DEFINITELY MUST BE THE RESIDENCE

OF A VERY, VERY IMPORTANT PERSON.

*

Narrator: HOW DID THIS LAVISH, ROYAL PALACE END UP BEING BURIED

BENEATH THE COLOSSEUM?

GUIDO THINKS THAT THE ANSWER LIES IN ITS SHEER EXTRAVAGANCE.

Giordano: THIS MUST HAVE BEEN A WATERFALL,

SHOOTING WATER RIGHT INTO THIS PIPE.

AND THEN GET PRESSURIZED,

AND THEN SHOOTING RIGHT IN THE MIDDLE OF THE ROOM,

SPRAYING UP IN THE AIR.

Narrator: GUIDO THINKS THE COLOSSEUM

WAS BUILT ON TOP OF THE PALACE GROUNDS

TO MAKE A HUGE STATEMENT TO THE PUBLIC.

BECAUSE COMPARED TO THE PALACE,

THE THEATER LOOKED VERY DIFFERENT.

IN THE COLOSSEUM, THERE WAS NO PERSONAL INDULGENCE.

INSTEAD, THERE WAS SCALE AND AMBITION.

THIS BUILDING SENT A MESSAGE TO ORDINARY ROMANS.

IT WAS A PALACE FOR THEM,

DESIGNED TO WIN THEIR HEARTS IN EXCHANGE FOR ENTERTAINMENT.

AT ITS ENTRANCE ONCE STOOD A COLOSSUS --

A MONUMENTAL STATUE THAT GAVE THE BUILDING ITS NAME.

TALLER THAN THE STATUE OF LIBERTY,

THIS BRONZE BEHEMOTH WAS A STATUE OF THE SUN GOD SOL.

BUT IT HAD ONCE PORTRAYED AN EMPEROR.

*

ITS STORY IS A CLUE TO THE FATE OF THE PALACE.

GUIDO BELIEVES IT HAD BEEN BUILT BY EMPEROR NERO,

ONE OF THE MOST HATED LEADERS OF ROME.

THE PALATIAL ROOMS REVEAL EVIDENCE

OF HOW MUCH HE WAS DESPISED.

THIS IS ALL BACK FILLING.

SOMEONE FILL UP THIS BEAUTIFUL AND HUGE ROOM.

Narrator: THE PEOPLE OF ROME HATED EMPEROR NERO,

EVENTUALLY DRIVING HIM TO SUICIDE.

THEN THEY DESTROYED HIS PLAYBOY PALACE,

WHICH WAS BUILT ON LAND HE HAD STOLEN FROM THEM.

[ FIRE CRACKLING ]

THE LAND HAD BEEN DEVASTATED BY THE GREAT FIRE OF ROME

IN 64 A.D.

BUT INSTEAD OF REBUILDING HOUSES FOR THE PEOPLE,

NERO BUILT A PALACE OF HIS OWN,

COMPLETE WITH A GIANT BOATING LAKE

AND A STATUE OF HIMSELF.

AFTER NERO'S DEATH, HIS SUCCESSOR TORE DOWN THE PALACE,

BUT SAVED THE STATUE.

RETURNING THE LAND TO THE PEOPLE, HE DRAINED NERO'S LAKE

AND BUILT AN AMPHITHEATER IN ITS PLACE,

AND HE PUT THE GIANT STATUE OUTSIDE,

DISGUISED AS THE SUN GOD SOL.

*

THE COLOSSEUM WAS BUILT AS A GIFT TO ROMANS,

TO WIN BACK THEIR SUPPORT.

THE NEW EMPEROR, VESPASIAN,

UNDERSTOOD THAT TO STAY IN POWER,

HE HAD TO PROVE HE WASN'T SELFISH LIKE NERO.

Giordano: LATER EMPEROR WANTED TO ERASE THE MEMORY OF HIM.

NOW IT'S A BIRD AND DARKNESS.

Narrator: AFTER NERO'S SELFISH EXCESS,

THE COLOSSEUM MARKED A TURNING POINT.

IT WAS A BUILDING FOR ORDINARY ROMANS

TO CELEBRATE THE MIGHT OF THEIR GROWING EMPIRE.

AND WHAT THEY CAME TO SEE WERE PEOPLE WILLING TO DIE

IN THE EMPIRE'S HONOR -- GLADIATORS.

VERY LITTLE IS KNOWN ABOUT THESE DEADLY MESSENGERS OF ROME

BECAUSE IN THE RUINS OF THE GREAT COLOSSEUM,

NOT A SINGLE GLADIATOR BONE HAS EVER BEEN FOUND.

BUT NOW, EXPERIMENTS ON UNIQUE REMAINS FOUND IN TURKEY

REVEAL INCREDIBLE NEW INSIGHTS

INTO THE MYSTERIOUS LIVES OF THESE WARRIORS.

THE COLOSSEUM OF ANCIENT ROME --

A THEATER FOR THE PEOPLE AND AN ARENA OF DEATH.

THE GIANT AMPHITHEATER CARRIED A MESSAGE FROM ROME'S LEADERS --

FOLLOW US, AND WE WILL KEEP YOU THRILLED.

AND THE STARS OF THE SHOW WERE THE GLADIATORS.

*

BUT VERY LITTLE IS KNOWN ABOUT THESE LEGENDARY WARRIORS.

HIDDEN IN THE VAULTS AND COLUMNS OF THE COLOSSEUM

ARE TANTALIZING CLUES INTO THE WORLD OF THE GLADIATOR.

*

THESE WARRIORS WERE THE BIGGEST ATTRACTION IN THE EMPIRE.

INSIDE THE ARENA, THEY BECAME THE STARS OF A TRUE SPECTACLE.

DEEP WITHIN THE MAZE OF BRICK WALLS UNDER THE COLOSSEUM

LIES A SECRET ENTRANCE TO THEIR MYSTERIOUS WORLD --

A DOORWAY CONNECTING A 180-FOOT-LONG TUNNEL

THAT BROUGHT THE FIGHTERS INTO THE ARENA.

2,000 YEARS AGO, THIS WOULD HAVE LED TO ROME'S

FABLED FIGHTING SCHOOL, THE LUDUS MAGNUS.

STANDING RIGHT NEXT TO THE COLOSSEUM,

THIS WAS THE BREEDING GROUND

OF THE MOST POWERFUL ROMAN PROPAGANDA TOOL --

THE GLADIATOR.

BUT THERE'S A MYSTERY.

NO BONES HAVE EVER BEEN DISCOVERED AT THE COLOSSEUM

TO TELL US MORE ABOUT THE LIVES OF THE GLADIATORS.

WERE THEY JUST THE EMPIRE'S DISPOSABLE THUGS?

FABIAN KANZ WANTS TO FIND OUT WHO THESE WARRIORS WERE.

FABIAN HAS UNEARTHED SOMETHING ASTONISHING --

THE ONLY GLADIATOR BONES THAT HAVE EVER BEEN FOUND.

THEY WERE DISCOVERED IN THE GROUNDS OF AN AMPHITHEATER

THAT ONCE SAT ON THE EDGE OF THE EMPIRE

IN WHAT'S NOW MODERN-DAY TURKEY.

THESE PRECIOUS REMAINS GIVE FABIAN A UNIQUE OPPORTUNITY.

HE WANTS TO UNLOCK NEW SECRETS ABOUT THE LIFE OF A GLADIATOR

IN ANCIENT ROME.

FABIAN THINKS THIS HEALED SKULL MAY REVEAL MORE ABOUT THE WAY

THESE MEN WERE TREATED BY THE EMPIRE THAT USED THEM.

*

AND THAT MEANS SLICING A CROSS-SECTION

FROM THE BONE ITSELF.

UNDER THE MICROSCOPE, THE SKULL FRAGMENT

REVEALS SOMETHING EXTRAORDINARY.

WHAT'S REMARKABLE IS THAT MANY OF THE GLADIATOR'S BONES

FROM THE SITE IN TURKEY SHOW

SIMILAR SIGNS OF HEALED INJURIES LIKE THIS.

FAR FROM BEING DISPOSABLE THUGS,

FABIAN THINKS THE MEN WERE TEATED

MORE LIKE RESPECTED ATHLETES.

TURNING THESE MEN INTO GLADIATORS

WAS AN INVESTMENT ROME COULD AFFORD.

WITH ITS EXPANDING EMPIRE, IT HAD NO SHORTAGE OF NEW STOCK.

SLAVES, CONVICTS, AND CAPTURED SOLDIERS WERE SHIPPED IN

FROM ACROSS THE EMPIRE

TO PLAY A PART IN THE GREAT SPECTACLE.

IN GLADIATOR SCHOOL, THEY WERE TURNED INTO FIGHTING MACHINES

WITH CAREFULLY DESIGNED STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES.

THE NIMBLE RETIARIUS, ARMED WITH TRIDENT AND NET,

WOULD FIGHT THE SECUTOR, AN ARMORED JUGGERNAUT

WIELDING A HEAVY SHIELD AND SWORD.

EACH PAIR WAS CAREFULLY MATCHED TO GUARANTEE SPECTACULAR COMBAT

THAT COULD LEAD TO GLORY OR DEATH.

AND FABIAN'S DISCOVERED THAT THESE INCREDIBLY RARE BONES

CAN TELL HIM EVEN MORE ABOUT THEIR LIVES AND THEIR DIET.

CHEMICAL TRACES OF A PERSON'S FOOD

ALWAYS BUILD UP IN THEIR BONES.

TO ANALYZE THE CHEMICALS IN THESE GLADIATOR SKELETONS,

HE GRINDS A BONE SAMPLE INTO A POWDER AND ADDS IT TO A LIQUID.

WHEN HE SPRAYS THE LIQUID INTO A FLAME,

IT WILL BURN WITH A SIGNATURE COLOR,

A FINGERPRINT THAT REVEALS THE CHEMICALS

LOCKED INSIDE THE BONE.

STRONTIUM IS A MINERAL SIMILAR TO CALCIUM

WHICH STRENGTHENS BONE.

BECAUSE ITS PRESENCE HERE IS SO HIGH,

FABIAN CONCLUDES THE GLADIATORS

WERE GIVEN A LITTLE EXTRA HELP WITH THEIR DIET.

THE GLADIATORS WHO FOUGHT IN THE COLOSSEUM STARTED LIFE

AS OUTCAST OF ROMAN SOCIETY,

BUT CAREFUL NURTURING TURNED THEM

INTO ELITE FIGHTING MACHINES,

FIT TO DELIVER THE EMPIRE'S MESSAGE OF POWER.

THESE NEW HEROES OF THE COLOSSEUM PROVIDED A SPECTACLE

THAT SHOWED OFF THE MIGHT OF THE EMPIRE

AND ROUSED PATRIOTIC PASSION IN ITS CITIZENS.

THE COLOSSEUM HAD BECOME ROME'S MOST SUCCESSFUL

MARKETING CAMPAIGN.

BUT BEYOND THE SPECTACLE, WHAT IMPACT DID THE COLOSSEUM

HAVE ON THE EVERYDAY LIVES OF ROMANS?

NOW NEW EVIDENCE REVEALS HOW THE COLOSSEUM FUELED

THE EXPLOSION OF A WHOLE NEW INDUSTRY

TO POWER THE EMPIRE ACROSS EUROPE.

Narrator: THE COLOSSEUM, BUILT IN 80 A.D.

AS A GIFT TO WIN THE HEARTS OF THE CITIZENS OF ROME,

TO ENTERTAIN AND THRILL WITH ASTONISHING BATTLES

AND TERRIFYING CARNAGE.

BUT THE GAMES WERE ONLY A PART

OF WHAT THE COLOSSEUM HAD TO OFFER

TO CITIZENS THAT TRAVELED FROM ALL CORNERS OF THE EMPIRE.

*

SO HOW DID THE COLOSSEUM CONTINUE TO INFLUENCE THE PEOPLE

ONCE THEY HAD LEFT THE ARENA?

SOMETIMES THE GAMES ACTUALLY LASTED FOR WEEKS,

BUT IT WAS REALLY BIG ACTIVITY DAY AND NIGHT.

Narrator: THE TOWERING REMAINS OF THE COLOSSEUM STILL IMPRESS US,

EVEN TODAY.

1,900 YEARS AGO, IT WOULD HAVE LOOKED EVEN MORE MAGNIFICENT.

THE STONE, NOW WEATHERED AFTER TWO MILLENNIA,

WOULD HAVE SHOWN BRIGHTLY POLISHED.

IN THE PERFECT ARCHWAYS, STATUES OF MARBLE AND GOLD

TRUMPETED THE GLORY OF ROME.

ITS WALLS STRETCHED NEARLY 2,000 FEET AROUND THE OUTSIDE,

RISING HIGHER THAN ANY OTHER STRUCTURE IN THE CITY.

THIS WAS THE BIGGEST SINGLE BUILDING

EVER CREATED BY THE EMPIRE.

*

*

TODAY IN ROME, LITTLE TRACE EXISTS

OF ANYTHING BEYOND THE AMPHITHEATER WALLS.

*

BUT WOLFGANG NEUBAUER THINKS THERE WAS MUCH MORE

TO ROME'S SPECTACLE OF ENTERTAINMENT.

NEAR VIENNA, AUSTRIA, HE IS HOPING TO FIND NEW EVIDENCE

OF HOW THE EMPIRE DESIGNED

AND LAID OUT THE COMPLEX OF BUILDINGS

SURROUNDING THE AMPHITHEATER.

IN THESE FIELDS LIE THE REMAINS OF A MYSTERIOUS LOST ROMAN TOWN

CALLED CARNUNTUM,

COMPLETE WITH ITS OWN AMPHITHEATER

MODELED ON THE COLOSSEUM.

Neubauer: ALL THE REMAINS OF THESE BUILDINGS, ALL THE WALLS,

ALL THE FLOORS, THEY ARE INVISIBLE TO THE EYE.

IT'S JUST A GREEN FIELD, BUT WE HAVE A HUGE TOWN HERE.

THE CENTRAL AREA OF CARNUNTUM IS SPREADING ALL OVER

ABOUT 10 SQUARE KILOMETERS.

Narrator: BUT UNLIKE IN ROME, THE RUINS HERE HAVE NEVER BEEN BUILT ON.

UNDERGROUND, THE REMAINS OF EVERY BUILDING LIE INTACT.

THIS LOST TOWN CAN GIVE WOLFGANG CLUES ABOUT THE NETWORK

OF BUILDINGS AROUND THE COLISEUM AND THE ROLE THEY PLAYED.

HE'S SEARCHING FOR HIDDEN BUILDINGS

USING GROUND-PENETRATING RADAR.

THIS IS THE LARGEST SURVEY

EVER UNDERTAKEN ON A ROMAN TOWN SO FAR.

EVERYTHING IS PRESERVED IN THE GROUND.

THE ONLY TASK WE HAVE TO DO IS TO MAKE IT VISIBLE AGAIN.

Narrator: HIS SCANS REVEAL A MASSIVE BUILDING

SURROUNDING THE AMPHITHEATER ITSELF.

Neubauer: WE CAN NOW DEPICT HERE COMPLETE NEW QUARTER OF CARNUNTUM.

IT'S OUTSIDE OF THE TOWN,

AND IT'S BUILT DIRECT IN RELATION TO THE AMPHITHEATER.

*

Narrator: AN ENTIRE VILLAGE GREW AROUND THE AMPHITHEATER TO CATER

FOR THE VAST CROWDS THAT WOULD FLOCK HERE,

JUST LIKE AT A MODERN-DAY FOOTBALL GAME,

THE SAME AS AT THE COLOSSEUM.

THE SCANS OF THIS INVISIBLE TOWN ALSO REVEAL

THAT THE STARS OF THE GAMES,

THE GLADIATORS, WERE GIVEN SPECIAL PRIVILEGES.

Neubauer: THIS IS THE FIRST SCHOOL OF GLADIATORS THAT WE FOUND

OUTSIDE OF ROME THAT HAS BEEN COMPLETELY SURVEYED.

YOU CAN CLEARLY SEE A LINE OF SMALL ROOMS.

SO THIS MUST HAVE BEEN THE CELLS FOR THE GLADIATORS.

HERE WE HAVE ROOMS THAT THEY MIGHT HAVE USED

FOR MEDICAL CARE.

BUT, ALSO, THERE IS A BIG HALL WHERE THEY COULD EAT TOGETHER.

THE GLADIATORIAL SCHOOL IN CARNUNTUM IS ABSOLUTELY UNIQUE.

WOLFGANG'S WORK IS BRINGING TO LIFE

THE INTRICATE DETAIL OF THE GLADIATOR SCHOOL.

BUT HIS SCANS ALSO REVEAL THE ROLE PLAYED

BY ALL THE BUSINESSES THAT GREW AROUND THE AMPHITHEATER.

THE REMAINS REVEAL AN ENTIRE TOWN THAT, LIKE THE COLOSSEUM,

HELD GLADIATOR GAMES.

THIS WAS THE FOURTH BIGGEST AMPHITHEATER IN THE EMPIRE.

THERE WAS AN ENTIRE STREET SYSTEM,

A MAIN ROAD INTO TOWN WAS LINED WITH FAST-FOOD OUTLETS,

SOUVENIR STALLS, SHOPS,

AND BUSINESSES CATERING FOR THE COLOSSAL CROWDS.

THERE WAS EVEN ACCOMMODATION FOR GLADIATORS

WITH A HEATED TRAINING HALL, A GARDEN, AND A BATH AND SPA.

*

THESE GLADIATORS ENJOYED EVERY HOME COMFORT YOU COULD WANT.

*

WOLFGANG'S DISCOVERIES HERE REVEALED

THE FULL STORY OF ROME'S COLOSSEUM.

Neubauer: THE COMBINATION OF ALL THIS DATA

AND THE IMAGERY THAT WE PRODUCED OUT OF IT,

THIS IS A LOOK INTO THE DAY OF THE SPECTACLE THAT HAPPENED,

REALLY ON AN INDUSTRIAL SCALE.

Narrator: AND ALL ACROSS EUROPE, COPIES OF THE COLOSSEUM OFFERED

NEW ROMAN CITIZENS A PART IN THAT INDUSTRY.

Neubauer: SUCH A DAY WAS REALLY IMPORTANT FOR THE WHOLE SOCIETY HERE.

IT'S JUST AMAZING TO BRING THIS TO LIFE AGAIN,

TO SEE HOW THIS ALL WORKED AND ON WHAT HIGH INDUSTRIAL LEVEL

THIS ENTERTAINMENT BUSINESS ACTUALLY WAS.

Narrator: WITH SUCH A HUGE INDUSTRY IN PLACE,

MANY LIVELIHOODS DEPENDED ON THE GAMES HERE AND IN ROME.

THE COLOSSEUM AND THE THEATERS THAT COPIED

IT WERE THE LIFEBLOOD OF THE EMPIRE.

Neubauer: THESE FINDINGS HERE IN CARNUNTUM CLEARLY CHANGED OUR IMAGE

OF HOW THE GLADIATORIAL GAMES IN THE PROVINCES WAS ORGANIZED.

SO IT WAS NOT PEOPLE TRAVELING AROUND,

GLADIATORS WHICH WERE BROUGHT IN.

IT WAS REALLY STABLE.

IT WAS AN INFRASTRUCTURE THAT WAS SET UP.

YEAH, IT WAS A BIG BUSINESS.

Narrator: OUT OF THIS VAST BUSINESS GREW EQUALLY HUGE LEGENDS

OF REMARKABLE EVENTS STAGED INSIDE THE COLOSSEUM.

AND MYSTERY STILL SURROUNDS ONE OF THE GREATEST.

COULD THEY PERFORM GIANT SEA BATTLES INSIDE THE ARENA?

AND HOW DID THE ERA OF THE GLADIATOR FINALLY COME TO AN END

FOR THE GREATEST EMPIRE ON EARTH?

*

Narrator: THE COLOSSEUM, CENTERPIECE TO A VAST INDUSTRY OF PROPAGANDA

AND ENTERTAINMENT.

ANCIENT ROMANS FLOCKED HERE IN THEIR THOUSANDS TO BE AMAZED

BY THE EMPIRE'S MOST LEGENDARY STARS --

GLADIATORS.

BUT ONE COLOSSEUM LEGEND IS CLOAKED IN MYSTERY.

WERE GIANT SEA BATTLES STAGED INSIDE THE ARENA?

Higgins: THE COLOSSEUM WAS A REAL SHOWPIECE,

SO I THINK IT'S NOT IMPROBABLE AT ALL

THAT THE ROMANS WOULD HOLD SUCH A SEA SPECTACLE.

Narrator: HOW COULD THIS STADIUM POSSIBLY BE FILLED WITH BATTLESHIPS?

THERE'S A CLUE BURIED RIGHT NEXT TO THE COLOSSEUM --

A THREE-FOOT-WIDE TUNNEL THAT RUNS RIGHT BENEATH THE WALLS.

*

ARCHAEOLOGISTS BELIEVED THAT IT MAY FEED INTO A LABYRINTH

OF STRANGE, SHALLOW CHANNELS --

CHANNELS THAT LEAD TO THE CENTER OF THE ARENA.

COULD THESE BE THE REMAINS OF A GIGANTIC SYSTEM WITH THE POWER

TO FLOOD THE COLOSSEUM WITH WATER...

*

...SO THE EMPEROR COULD STAGE FULL-BLOWN SEA BATTLES,

THE ULTIMATE DISPLAY OF ROMAN MIGHT AND INGENUITY?

*

THE LEGEND OF THE COLOSSEUM'S SEA BATTLES

COMES FROM A SINGLE ANCIENT TEXT.

IT DESCRIBES THE ARENA FLOODING IN A MATTER OF HOURS.

HOW COULD THIS BE POSSIBLE?

HIGH UP IN THE MOUNTAINS OUTSIDE ROME,

VALERIE HIGGINS IS TRYING TO FIND THE ANSWER.

SHE STARTS AT ONE OF ROME'S FAMOUS AQUEDUCTS,

THE AQUA CLAUDIA.

IT'S THE BIGGEST OF 11 GIANT CHANNELS

THAT PIPED WATER INTO THE ANCIENT CITY.

Higgins: WE WANT TO UNDERSTAND HOW MUCH WATER COULD GO THROUGH IT.

WE WANT TO UNDERSTAND HOW IT DELIVERED WATER INTO ROME.

HOW DIFFICULT IS IT FOR THE ROMANS TO FILL AN ARENA?

Narrator: HELPING VALERIE IS ADRIANA MORABIDO,

AN EXPERT IN ROMAN SUBTERRANEAN TUNNELS.

THIS ANCIENT AQUEDUCT ONCE CHANNELED FRESH WATER 46 MILES

INTO THE CENTER OF ROME.

Higgins: ALONG HERE, WE CAN SEE THE LEVEL OF THE WATER GOING ALONG.

MAXIMUM HALF A METER OF WATER,

AND THEN THE REST WAS JUST EMPTY.

OBVIOUSLY, IT WAS GOING DOWN BY GRAVITY, NOT BY PRESSURE.

Narrator: VALERIE WANTS TO WORK OUT WHETHER THIS AQUEDUCT

COULD HAVE SUPPLIED ENOUGH WATER TO FILL THE COLOSSEUM

IN JUST A FEW HOURS.

WHAT WE WOULD LIKE TO DO

IS MEASURE THE HEIGHT OF THE AQUEDUCT,

AND THEN MEASURE IT IN ANOTHER PLACE, AS WELL,

SO WE CAN WORK OUT THE GRADIENT.

THE SLOPE OF THE TUNNEL FLOOR WILL HELP THEM CALCULATE

HOW FAST WATER FLOWED INTO ROME.

SO HERE IS 110, AND THERE IS 87.

SO WE HAVE A 23 CENTIMETERS' DIFFERENCE IN 9 METERS.

BUT WHAT THEY FIND IS A VERY GENTLE SLOPE,

A GRADIENT OF ONLY 1 IN 40.

THEY DIDN'T ACTUALLY WANT THE GRADIENT TO BE TOO STEEP.

WATER THAT'S FLOWING TOO FAST ERODES THE STRUCTURE.

[ BEEPING ]

VALERIE'S WORK SHOWS THE WATER HERE

WOULD HAVE FLOWED FAR TOO SLOWLY

TO FILL THE COLOSSEUM AS THE LEGEND DESCRIBES.

Higgins: IT'S AN EXTRAORDINARILY LARGE ARENA.

IT ISN'T FILLED VERY HIGH.

IT'S ONLY FILLED TO LIKE A METER AND A HALF.

BUT NEVERTHELESS, IT'S REALLY HARD TO IMAGINE WATER

COMING THROUGH HERE FILLING THE COLOSSEUM.

BUT VALERIE BELIEVES THE AQUEDUCT

MAY NOT TELL THE WHOLE STORY.

SHE THINKS THERE MAY BE A CRUCIAL PIECE MISSING

FROM THIS COMPLEX PUZZLE OF ROMAN PLUMBING.

*

MULTIPLE AQUEDUCTS, 11 IN TOTAL,

CHANNELED FRESHWATER DIRECTLY INTO ANCIENT ROME.

VALERIE'S THEORY IS THAT WHEN THE COLOSSEUM WAS BUILT,

A HUGE WATER TANK WAS ADDED SOMEWHERE NEAR THE AMPHITHEATER.

THE TANK STORED ENOUGH WATER TO FLOOD THE COLOSSEUM IN ONE SHOT.

BENEATH THE AMPHITHEATER, THE NETWORK OF CIRCULAR CHANNELS

DISTRIBUTED THE STORED WATER QUICKLY

AND EVENLY INTO THE ARENA FLOOR,

READY FOR A SPECTACULAR SEA BATTLE.

THEN, FOUR HUGE DRAINAGE CHANNELS

OPENED TO FLUSH THE WATER AWAY AGAIN

IN TIME FOR THE NEXT GAMES.

*

BUT IF A GIANT STORAGE TANK WAS THE KEY TO FILLING THE COLOSSEUM

WITH WATER, WHERE IS IT?

WITH THE HELP OF DR. MATEO BARONI,

VALERIE FOLLOWS THE ROUTE OF THE AQUEDUCT THROUGH URBAN ROME.

NEAR THE COLOSSEUM, SHE DISCOVERS THE PARTIAL REMAINS

OF A MUCH LARGER STRUCTURE THAT ONCE EXISTED HERE.

COULD THIS BE THE MISSING PIECE OF THE JIGSAW?

Higgins: WE HAVE SOME REMAINS OF A MONUMENTAL FOUNTAIN.

WHAT IS INTERESTING ABOUT THE MONUMENTAL FOUNTAIN

IS THERE WAS A WATER STORAGE UNIT IN IT.

Narrator: VALERIE THINKS THE ORIGINAL STRUCTURE IS NOW MISSING,

BUT WOULD HAVE BEEN BIG ENOUGH TO HOLD THE 3.5 MILLION GALLONS

NEEDED TO FILL THE COLOSSEUM.

WE'VE GOT THE COLOSSEUM OVER THERE,

SO THIS COULD QUITE EASILY BE DIVERTED

TO BE USED IN THE COLOSSEUM.

Narrator: BUT IT WOULD HAVE TO FLOW FAST TO DO THE JOB

IN JUST A FEW HOURS.

SHE MAKES ONE FINAL MEASUREMENT TO WORK OUT THE SLOPE

BETWEEN THE TANK AND THE FLOOR OF THE COLOSSEUM.

IT'S SIX METERS DIFFERENCE BETWEEN HERE AND THE COLOSSEUM.

IT'S VERY STEEP GOING DOWN HERE.

IT DESCENDS QUITE FAST.

YOU COULD GET A BIG, HYDRAULIC PRESSURE FROM HERE

THAT WOULD PUSH THE WATER INTO THE COLOSSEUM VERY QUICKLY.

SO I THINK IT'S A FEASIBLE PROPOSITION.

*

Narrator: THANKS TO THE INGENUITY OF ROMAN WATER ENGINEERS,

THE COLOSSEUM STAGED SPECTACLES

THAT BECAME LEGENDARY ACROSS THE EXPANDING EMPIRE.

BUT SEA BATTLES COULDN'T BE STAGED AT EVERY AMPHITHEATER.

HOW DID THE EMPIRE CAPTIVATE ITS CITIZENS WITHOUT THEM?

NOW, NEW CLUES IN NAPLES REVEAL THE MAGICAL TECHNIQUES

ONCE USED TO STRIKE AWE AND WONDER

INTO THE COLOSSEUM'S CROWDS.

*

Narrator: THE COLOSSEUM.

A SPECTACULAR BUILDING THAT HELPED ESTABLISH

THE GREATEST EMPIRE IN HISTORY.

THIS IS WHERE THE ROMAN EMPIRE CAST ITS SPELL ON ITS CITIZENS.

*

INSIDE, A MYSTERIOUS MAZE OF WALLS

AND PASSAGES FILLS THE FLOOR OF THE ARENA.

THEY SUGGEST THAT SOMETHING EXTRAORDINARY

ONCE HAPPENED HERE,

BUT THESE REMAINS HAVE CRUMBLED TOO MUCH

TO REVEAL THEIR SECRETS.

*

HEINZ BESTE HAS COME TO THE CAPUA AMPHITHEATER,

A TWIN ARENA TO THE COLOSSEUM.

HE BELIEVES THERE IS EVIDENCE HERE

THAT THE ROMANS COULD MAKE EXOTIC ANIMALS,

LIKE LIONS AND TIGERS,

SUDDENLY APPEAR OUT OF NOWHERE IN THE ARENA.

THESE UNDERGROUND WALLS ARE DOTTED WITH CLUES THAT CAN TELL

HEINZ HOW THE EMPIRE DAZZLED ITS AUDIENCES WITH SHOWS

DESIGNED TO DEMONSTRATE THE MIGHT OF ROME.

AND IT'S NOT LONG BEFORE HE STARTS TO SEE TELLTALE PATTERNS

EMERGE IN THE MASONRY MARKINGS.

THESE SMALL HOLES IN THE WALLS ARE CRUCIAL CLUES TO HEINZ.

THEY REVEAL THAT THE SHAFTS AND COLUMNS

ONCE SUPPORTED COMPLEX THEATRICAL MACHINERY,

LIFTS, TRAP DOORS, AND RAMPS.

THESE THEATRICAL MACHINES WERE THE KEY

TO THE UNBELIEVABLE SPECTACLE STAGED IN THE ARENA,

AND HE THINKS THAT SOME NEW CLUES

REVEAL THE SCALE OF THE MACHINES THAT WERE USED

AND HOW THEY MANAGED TO RAISE HUGE,

WILD BEASTS TO THE ARENA FLOOR.

*

BENEATH THE ARENA FLOOR

AND AMONG THE DENSE MAZE OF CONCRETE SHAFTS...

...ENGINEERS BUILT INSIDE EACH CHAMBER

ELABORATE WOODEN ELEVATORS

TO RAISE DANGEROUS BEASTS TO THE ARENA.

SLAVES DROVE A CAPSTAN THAT WINCHED THE CAGED ANIMAL

UP TO A TRAP DOOR BENEATH THE ARENA FLOOR...

[ ANIMAL GROWLS ]

*

...MAKING BEASTS AND FIGHTERS APPEAR AS IF BY MAGIC.

[ BLADES CLANKING, CROWD CHEERING ]

*

THIS UNDERGROUND LABYRINTH WAS THE BAKING-HOT SWEATSHOP

THAT DROVE THE ARENA,

AND IT WOULD HAVE LOOKED VERY DIFFERENT

FROM HOW IT APPEARS TODAY.

BELOW THE ARENA, EVERYTHING HAD TO RUN LIKE CLOCKWORK

BECAUSE HERE AND AT THE COLOSSEUM,

ONLY A PERFECT SHOW WOULD DO.

AUDIENCES WOULD ROAR WITH EXCITEMENT,

IN AWE AT THE BREATHTAKING POWER OF THEIR ROMAN MASTERS.

[ CROWD CHEERS ]

HEINZ'S DISCOVERIES REVEAL HOW THE COLOSSEUM

WAS DESIGNED WITH ONE PURPOSE --

TO DEFY BELIEF.

WITHIN ITS WALLS AND THOSE OF AMPHITHEATERS ACROSS EUROPE,

AUDIENCES WOULD FALL UNDER THE SPELL

OF THE MIGHTY ROMAN EMPIRE.

*

BUT THE COLOSSEUM DID NOT LAST FOREVER.

CAN NEW EVIDENCE BENEATH THE STREETS OF ROME

REVEAL WHAT LED TO THE COLLAPSE OF THIS ONCE MIGHTY STRUCTURE?

AND DID IT CRUMBLE AS THE ROMAN EMPIRE CRUMBLED AROUND IT?

Narrator: THE COLOSSEUM, ONCE A SYMBOL OF ANCIENT ROMAN POWER.

FIRST BUILT TO WIN OVER THE CITIZENS OF ROME,

IT BECAME THE BLUEPRINT FOR MANY AMPHITHEATERS

CONSTRUCTED ACROSS THE EMPIRE.

AND LIKE THE EMPIRE, IT BECAME A WAY OF LIFE.

NOW, IT LIES IN RUINS.

Giordano: THIS BUILDING IS ICONIC AS IT REPRESENTS

THE EVOLUTION OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE

FROM ITS RISE THROUGH ITS FALL.

Narrator: WAS IT THE END OF THE EMPIRE ITSELF

THAT TRIGGERED THE COLLAPSE OF THE COLOSSEUM?

OR DO CLUES INSIDE THE ARENA ITSELF SUGGEST

THAT AN ACT OF NATURE BROUGHT DOWN ITS WALLS?

*

UNDER THE QUARTER OF A MILLION TONS OF MASONRY

SIT TRULY COLOSSAL FOUNDATIONS.

A GIGANTIC DOUGHNUT OVER HALF A MILE AROUND, 100 FEET THICK

AND 40 FEET DEEP, MADE FROM THE ROMANS' TOUGHEST CONCRETE.

BUT EXPERTS BELIEVE IT WASN'T TOUGH ENOUGH,

CAUSING CRACKS TO FORM,

WHICH DIVIDED THE FOUNDATION IN HALF

AND RUINED THE STABILITY OF THE STRUCTURE ABOVE.

BUT WHAT COULD HAVE CAUSED THESE CRACKS?

HOW DID THE GREATEST EMPIRE BUILDERS MAKE A MISTAKE

THAT ULTIMATELY BROUGHT DOWN THE ARENA'S GIANT WALL?

GEOLOGIST GUIDO GIORDANO HAS STUDIED THE LANDSCAPE

AROUND THE COLOSSEUM FOR SEVERAL YEARS.

HE THINKS CRACKS IN THE FOUNDATION OF THE COLOSSEUM

WOULD EXPLAIN WHAT CAUSED THE AMPHITHEATER'S COLLAPSE.

THE NORTH SIDE IS BUILT ON THE SAME ROCK THAT MAKE THIS HILL,

WHICH ARE STRONG, GOOD BEDROCK.

BUT ON THE SOUTH SIDE, THE COLOSSEUM

IS BUILT ON VERY SOFT SEDIMENT.

Narrator: SOFT, MUDDY RIVER DEPOSITS BENEATH THE SOUTHERN

HALF OF THE COLOSSEUM

MAKE THIS PART OF THE BUILDING VERY UNSTABLE.

DID ONE OF THE MANY EARTHQUAKES THAT ROCKED ANCIENT ROME

CRACK THE COLOSSEUM IN TWO?

Giordano: DURING THE BIG EARTHQUAKE THAT STRUCK ROME,

THE SHAKING OF THE GROUND WAS SUBSTANTIALLY DIFFERENT

FROM THE NORTH SIDE ON THE SOLID ROCK,

WHERE THE SHAKING WAS JUST LIKE THIS,

TO THE SOUTH SIDE ON THE SOFT ROCK,

WHERE THE SHAKING WAS LIKE THAT.

AND YOU CAN SEE BIG CRACKS RUNNING THROUGH.

THIS IS WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU HAVE A BIG SHAKING

AND DIFFERENTIAL SUBSIDENCE.

Narrator: IN FACT, AN EARTHQUAKE DID BRING DOWN THE SOUTH WALL,

BUT ONLY CENTURIES AFTER THE END OF THE EMPIRE.

DID SOMETHING ELSE CATASTROPHIC END THE ERA OF THE COLOSSEUM

MUCH EARLIER?

GUIDO'S HUNTING FOR CLUES IN OTHER ANCIENT RUINS

CLOSE TO THE AMPHITHEATER.

Giordano: THIS IS THE THEATER OF MARCELLUS,

THE LARGEST THEATER OF ANCIENT ROME,

SIMILAR TO THE COLOSSEUM.

IT HAS SEEN A LOT OF CHANGES.

Narrator: LIKE THE COLOSSEUM, THE THEATER OF MARCELLUS

WAS ONCE A GRAND SYMBOL OF AN EMPIRE AT ITS PEAK,

BUT SOMETHING CHANGED,

SENDING THIS MAGNIFICENT BUILDING

INTO DECLINE, TOO.

YOU CAN SEE AROUND HERE THAT THERE ARE A LOT OF ROCKS

SCATTERED, THAT SORT OF LITTERED THE GROUND.

THESE HOLES USED TO HOIST METAL CLAMPS

THAT THE ROMANS USED TO CONNECT THESE TRAVERTINE BLOCKS

IN ORDER TO STABILIZE THE STRUCTURE.

THIS IS ONE OF THE FIRST THINGS THAT WERE STOLEN

FROM THE MONUMENT.

Narrator: DESPITE 300 YEARS

AS THE HEART OF ROME'S VIBRANT ENTERTAINMENT INDUSTRY,

GUIDO BELIEVES THE MARCELLUS AND THE COLISEUM

SUFFERED A SUDDEN TWIST OF FATE.

IF YOU LOOK AT THE TOP,

YOU WILL NOTICE THAT THERE ARE APARTMENTS.

THOSE ARE CLEARLY NOT PART

OF THE ORIGINAL STRUCTURE OF THE THEATER.

BEEN BUILT UP LATER ON TO REPLACE THE TOP PART

OF THE THEATER THAT AT SOME STAGE COLLAPSED,

WHEN THIS BEAUTIFUL THEATER WAS PROGRESSIVELY ABANDONED.

Narrator: GUIDO THINKS THE THEATER WAS ABANDONED FOLLOWING A DECISION

TO MOVE POWER AND WEALTH AWAY FROM ROME.

NEARBY, AT AN ANCIENT BRIDGE, GUIDO FINDS FURTHER CLUES

ABOUT THE FATE OF THE THEATER.

CONSIDER THIS NICE LAYERING.

THE BLOCK THAT MAKE THE COLUMNS OF THE THEATER

JUST 500 METERS AWAY FROM HERE ARE REMARKABLY SIMILAR.

CONSIDERING THE AMOUNT OF MATERIAL NEEDED FOR THIS BRIDGE,

YOU CAN IMAGINE THAT POSSIBLY THE THIRD LAYER OF THE THEATER,

WHICH IS PRESENTLY MISSING,

WAS ACTUALLY THE SITE

WHERE MOST OF THESE BLOCKS HAVE ACTUALLY BEEN TAKEN.

Narrator: WITH THE EMPIRE'S WEALTH IN DECLINE,

THE LUXURIES OF LIFE, THEATER, AND FUN

WERE SACRIFICED FOR BASIC BUILDING MAINTENANCE.

Giordano: PEOPLE DID NOT HAVE THE WEALTH TO GO TO THEATER

OR TO GO TO OTHER KIND OF PERFORMANCES.

ENTERTAINMENT STRUCTURE LIKE THE COLOSSEUM STARTED TO DECLINE,

DETERIORATE, AND EVENTUALLY, THROUGH TIME, EVEN COLLAPSE.

*

Narrator: THE CRACKS IN THE EMPIRE WERE SHOWING,

AND THE COLOSSEUM WAS ABANDONED.

AND WITH THAT, THE GOLDEN ERA OF THE GLADIATOR WAS OVER.

THESE ROCKS ARE WITNESS OF A VERY COMPLEX AND LONG HISTORY.

Narrator: YET, ALMOST 2,000 YEARS LATER,

THE COLOSSEUM'S RUINS HAVE LOST NONE OF THEIR MAGIC.

*

BUILT TO ERASE THE MEMORY OF A SELFISH EMPEROR,

THE COLOSSEUM WAS DESIGNED TO ENTERTAIN THE PEOPLE

AND TO FUEL THE RISE OF AN EMPIRE.

ITS HIDDEN SECRETS STILL THRILL US EVEN TODAY.

REMINDING US THAT THE ROMAN EMPIRE

WAS, INDEED, THE GREATEST ON EARTH.

*

*

*