Original subtitles

Narrator: THE MYSTERIOUS RING FORT OF TRELLEBORG...

AN EXTRAORDINARY MONUMENT BUILT BY A PEOPLE

WHO HAVE FADED INTO LEGEND...

THE VIKINGS.

TRELLEBORG STILL HAS SO MANY SECRETS.

THERE'S SO MUCH MORE WE DON'T KNOW.

Narrator: THE VIKINGS ARE FAMOUS FOR BEING MARAUDING PIRATES

WHO PLUNDERED WITHOUT MERCY.

BUT WHY DID THEIR REIGN OF TERROR COME TO AN END?

NOW, NEW INVESTIGATIONS COULD REVEAL THE ANSWER.

DID THIS MIGHTY FORTRESS SPARK A REVOLUTION THAT CHANGED

THE TRADITIONAL VIKING WAY OF LIFE FOREVER?

THEY REALLY DO TELL US AN AWFUL LOT

ABOUT THE VIKING SOCIETY AT THE TIME.

Narrator: AND WAS THE MOST FAMOUS AND FEARED

OF ALL THE VIKING KINGS -- HARALD BLUETOOTH --

BEHIND THE BUILDING OF THESE MAGNIFICENT FORTS?

TO UNCOVER THE VIKINGS' DEEPEST SECRETS...

WE WILL DECONSTRUCT THIS GREAT MONUMENT LAYER BY LAYER.

WE WILL DIVE INSIDE ITS HIGH WALLS

AND BENEATH THE FROZEN GROUND

TO UNEARTH THE ASTONISHING STORY

OF THE END OF THE VIKING AGE.

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

CAPTIONS PAID FOR BY DISCOVERY COMMUNICATIONS

Narrator: TRELLEBORG IN DENMARK IS A MIGHTY,

BUT MYSTERIOUS MEDIEVAL MEGA-STRUCTURE...

AN ENORMOUS CIRCULAR FORT BUILT BY A PEOPLE

WHOSE NAME STILL STRIKES FEAR INTO THE HEART...

THE VIKINGS.

MORE THEN 1,200 YEARS AGO,

THESE LEGENDARY WARRIORS TERRORIZED MEDIEVAL EUROPE...

SAILING FROM ICY SCANDINAVIA TO RAID AND PILLAGE.

BUT TRELLEBORG'S TRUE PURPOSE REMAINS A MYSTERY.

WHY DID A PEOPLE BETTER KNOWN AS SEABORNE RAIDERS AND TRADERS

BUILD SUCH A GIGANTIC STRUCTURE?

WHEN PEOPLE FIRST FOUND TRELLEBORG,

THEY COULDN'T BELIEVE WHAT THEY SAW.

IT WAS NOTHING LIKE WHAT YOU EXPECTED FROM THE VIKINGS.

Narrator: NOW, NEW DISCOVERIES ARE STARTING TO REVEAL

WHY THIS ENORMOUS FORT AND OTHERS LIKE IT

SUDDENLY APPEARED AT THE HEIGHT OF THE VIKING AGE

IN THE LATE 10th CENTURY.

DID MASSIVE MONUMENTS LIKE THIS

HERALD A TRANSFORMATION IN VIKING SOCIETY

THAT BROUGHT ALMOST 300 YEARS

OF INDEPENDENT VIKING RAIDS TO AN END?

♪♪

AT TRELLEBORG, ALMOST 900,000 CUBIC FEET OF EARTH, STONE,

AND CLAY MAKE UP NEARLY A THIRD OF A MILE

OF 56-FOOT-THICK EARTH RAMPARTS.

♪♪

JUST OUTSIDE THE WALLS LIES A BURIAL SITE

WITH OVER A HUNDRED SKELETONS, SOME IN MASS GRAVES.

♪♪

CLUES SUGGEST THAT 16 VIKING LONG HOUSES

SIT BEHIND HEAVILY-DEFENDED WALLS.

♪♪

SO WHAT EXACTLY IS TRELLEBORG?

AND WHY WAS IT BUILT?

♪♪

TRELLEBORG DOESN'T APPEAR IN ANY WRITTEN RECORDS.

ARCHEOLOGISTS DIDN'T EVEN REALIZE

IT WAS A VIKING STRUCTURE

UNTIL THE 1930s.

Narrator: ANNE-CHRISTINE LARSEN IS TRELLEBORG'S DIRECTOR.

UNTIL EXPERTS STARTED DIGGING HERE,

IT WAS THOUGHT MOST VIKINGS ONLY LIVED

IN SMALL FARMS AND VILLAGES.

Narrator: TRELLEBORG LOOKS LIKE A SIMPLE STRUCTURE WITH RAMPARTS

MADE OF EARTH AND PILED STONES.

BUT ARCHEOLOGISTS LIKE ANNE-CHRISTINE

CAN TELL FROM DETAILED SURVEYS

THAT TRELLEBORG IS A MASTERPIECE OF ADVANCED ENGINEERING.

A GEOMETRICALLY PERFECT CIRCLE SOME 450 FEET ACROSS

ALIGNED TO THE COMPASS.

Narrator: ANNE-CHRISTINE THINKS TRELLEBORG SHOWCASES

AN ASTONISHING NEW LEVEL OF SOPHISTICATION

IN VIKING ARCHITECTURE.

Narrator: A RING IS THE PERFECT SHAPE FOR A FORTRESS

WITH A CLEAR LINE OF SIGHT FROM EVERY POINT ON THE WALL.

BUT ANNE-CHRISTINE SUSPECTS

THAT TRELLEBORG'S PRECISE GEOMETRY GOES FAR

BEYOND WHAT'S NEEDED FOR DEFENSE.

THIS WAS DESIGNED TO DISPLAY PRESTIGE AND POWER.

SO WHAT EXACTLY WENT ON HERE?

A CLUE MIGHT BE HIDDEN ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THESE RAMPARTS.

OUTSIDE THE VIKING STRUCTURE...

ARCHEOLOGISTS HAVE UNCOVERED A GRISLY SURPRISE...

♪♪

157 SKELETONS IN A MAJOR VIKING CEMETERY.

BURIED WITH ONE OF THE BODIES

ARE THE REMAINS OF A MASSIVE BATTLE AXE

ADORNED WITH INTRICATE SILVER INLAY.

ITS BLADE OVER A FOOT LONG.

IN ITS DAY, THIS WOULD HAVE BEEN A VALUABLE

AND LETHALLY EFFECTIVE WEAPON.

BUT WERE ALL OF THE PEOPLE BURIED HERE WARRIORS?

AND CAN THEY REVEAL WHY TRELLEBORG WAS BUILT?

♪♪

TODAY, THE HUNDREDS OF BONE FRAGMENTS DISCOVERED

AT TRELLEBORG

ARE LOCKED AWAY SECURELY UNDERGROUND...

HERE AT THE UNIVERSITY OF COPENHAGEN.

FORENSIC ANTHROPOLOGIST NIELS LYNNERUP

IS TRYING TO SOLVE THE MYSTERY

OF WHAT THESE WARRIORS WERE DOING HERE.

HAVING THE BONES REALLY ADDS AN EXTRA DIMENSION

TO WHAT WE KNOW ABOUT TRELLEBORG.

Narrator: THE SHEER NUMBER OF BONE FRAGMENTS

MAKES IT DIFFICULT TO WORK OUT

HOW MANY INDIVIDUALS

WERE BURIED AT TRELLEBORG.

Lynnerup: IN THIS BOX HERE, FOR INSTANCE,

IT'S CLEAR THAT WE HAVE FRAGMENTS

OF SEVERAL OF THE LIMB BONES,

THE LONG BONES AND OF THE SKULL.

WELL, WE REALLY HAVE ONLY THE MANDIBLES

WITH A COUPLE OF TEETH IN.

Narrator: AS HE EXPECTS, MOST OF THE BONES DO APPEAR

TO BELONG TO YOUNG WARRIORS.

Lynnerup: THERE'S VERY LITTLE ABRASION ON THE THIRD MOLAR,

WHICH ERUPT WHEN YOU'RE 18.

AT TRELLEBORG, WE FIND MORE YOUNG MALES THAN WHAT WE DO

IN THAT SAME ORDINARY VILLAGE CEMETERY.

Narrator: BUT WHAT REALLY SHOCKS NIELS

ARE SOME OF THE OTHER SKELETONS BURIED WITH THESE FIGHTERS.

SURPRISINGLY, EVEN THOUGH WE HAVE A LOT OF YOUNG MALES...

THIS IS AN OLD INDIVIDUAL,

WHICH CAN BE SEEN AGAIN FROM THE MANDIBLE.

THIS IS PROBABLY AN OLD FEMALE, MAYBE 40, 50 YEARS OF AGE.

Narrator: SO WHY WAS A WOMAN, CONSIDERED ELDERLY FOR THE TIME,

LIVING ALONGSIDE A FORCE OF VIKING SOLDIERS?

NIELS BELIEVES SHE WAS PART OF AN ARMY OF WORKERS

WHO SUPPORTED THE YOUNG WARRIORS.

♪♪

INSIDE TRELLEBORG, ARCHEOLOGISTS FOUND PARTS OF A LOOM,

REVEALING THAT SKILLED FEMALE WEAVERS

MADE CLOTH FOR TUNICS AND CLOAKS.

♪♪

THE PEOPLE HERE ALSO SMELTED RAW MATERIALS INTO PURE METALS.

♪♪

ANVILS FOUND WITHIN TRELLEBORG

REVEAL BLACKSMITHS REPAIRED WEAPONS AND FORGED NEW ONES.

♪♪

THIS WAS A HUGELY SOPHISTICATED FORTRESS,

ONE OF THE MOST IMPRESSIVE IN NORTHERN EUROPE,

BUILT WITH INCREDIBLE PRECISION ON AN EXTRAORDINARY SCALE.

♪♪

THE VIKINGS' TRADITIONAL WAY OF LIFE WAS RAIDING AND FIGHTING

BEFORE RETURNING HOME TO TEND TO THEIR FARMS.

BUT THESE VIKINGS APPEARED TO BE A GARRISON,

STATIONED INSIDE A PERMANENT MILITARY BASE.

Lynnerup: PROBABLY BE COMPARED A BIT TO ROMAN CAMPS IN ENGLAND.

SO I THINK IT REFLECTS SORT OF A MILITARY ENCAMPMENT

WHERE AN ARMY HAS BEEN STATIONED FOR SOME TIME.

Narrator: SO WHY DID THE VIKINGS LEAVE THEIR ISOLATED FARMS

TO BUILD AN ENORMOUS FORTRESS?

AND COULD TREASURES BURIED BENEATH THE GROUND

REVEAL THE SECRETS OF HOW THE VIKING AGE BEGAN?

Narrator: THE MYSTERIOUS VIKING RING FORTS OF DENMARK

ARE FORCING ARCHEOLOGISTS TO THINK AGAIN

ABOUT THESE LEGENDARY WARRIORS.

AFTER CENTURIES OF RAIDING, THE VIKINGS CONSTRUCTED

PRECISELY ENGINEERED FORTIFICATIONS.

BUT WHY DID THESE NOTORIOUSLY INDEPENDENT SEAFARERS

EVENTUALLY SETTLE DOWN IN ORGANIZED CAMPS?

♪♪

TO UNDERSTAND THEIR JOURNEY, WE MUST REWIND HUNDREDS OF YEARS...

TO THE DAWN OF THE VIKING AGE.

♪♪

DECONSTRUCTING THE TOWERING WALLS OF TRELLEBORG

REVEALS CLUES FROM DECADES BEFORE...

THE BURIED REMAINS FROM A MUCH OLDER SETTLEMENT,

CEREMONIAL PITS CONTAINING OFFERINGS

THOUGHT TO BE TO THE VIKING GODS,

A BRONZE BOWL AND POTTERY.

BUT BEYOND THE FORTRESS WALLS,

THE EARTH ALSO CONTAINS EXOTIC OBJECTS

FROM AROUND THE WORLD -- SILVER ARTIFACTS...

ARABIC COINS AND SILVER INGOTS.

THE VIKINGS GOT THEIR HANDS ON INCREDIBLE RICHES

FROM DISTANT LANDS.

CAN THESE TREASURES HELP TO EXPLAIN THE RISE

OF THIS REMARKABLE FORTRESS?

ARCHEOLOGIST SOREN SINDBAEK THINKS THAT THE JOURNEY

FROM FARMSTEAD TO FORTRESS...

BEGAN HERE IN RIBE, DENMARK'S FIRST URBAN CENTER.

IT'S THE FIRST PLACE IN SCANDINAVIA,

IN THE HOMELANDS OF THE VIKINGS

WHERE THERE'S SOMETHING WE WOULD CALL A TOWN.

Narrator: RIBE IS AN ARCHEOLOGICAL TREASURE TROVE,

A MARKETPLACE FOUNDED CENTURIES BEFORE TRELLEBORG WAS BUILT.

THE VIKING AGE BEGAN IN THE 700s

WHEN SCANDINAVIANS STARTED TO TRAVEL AND TRADE.

AT FIRST, THEY ONLY MOVED WITHIN NORTHERN EUROPE,

TO PLACES LIKE RIBE.

Sindbaek: THIS IS, IN FACT, A PIECE OF REINDEER ANTLER.

AND REINDEER WERE NOT NATIVE TO DENMARK.

THEY HAD TO GO FAR INTO NORWAY TO FIND THIS MATERIAL.

THIS WAS BROUGHT BY SOMEBODY WHO CAME HERE IN A BOAT

AND KNEW THAT THIS WAS A VALUED MATERIAL HERE TO TRADE WITH.

Narrator: BUT ALONGSIDE THESE OBJECTS FROM SCANDINAVIA,

SOREN FINDS RELICS AND TREASURES FROM EVEN MORE DISTANT LANDS.

THESE BEADS WERE BROUGHT ALL THE WAY

FROM THE MIDDLE EAST TO RIBE.

Narrator: COULD TRADE BE THE CATALYST

THAT CHANGED SOCIETY HERE

AND SET THE VIKINGS ON A PATH TO BUILDING FORTRESSES

LIKE TRELLEBORG OVER 250 YEARS LATER?

IN ORDER TO PUT TOGETHER TRADING EXPEDITIONS LIKE THIS,

YOU NEED TO BUILD THE BOAT, YOU NEED TO PRODUCE

ALL THE TRADE GOODS THAT YOU'RE BRINGING.

IT BRINGS TOGETHER A WHOLE SOCIETY,

SO IT TAKES A LOT OF ORGANIZATION.

THE INTERESTING THING IS THAT HERE IN RIBE,

WE CAN SEE THAT JUST AT THE TIME THAT WE USUALLY SAY

IS THE BEGINNING OF THE VIKING AGE,

THE 790s,

THIS IS WHEN WE START TO FIND THIS MATERIAL FROM NORWAY.

Narrator: THIS IS BECAUSE THE FIRST SCANDINAVIAN EXPLORERS

WERE TRADERS.

BUT WHAT TURNED THEM INTO THE DISCIPLINED,

FEARSOME WARRIORS WHO BUILD HUGE MILITARY STRUCTURES

LIKE TRELLEBORG?

♪♪

A CLUE LIES WITH THE VIKINGS' LONGSHIPS.

BUILT FROM DOZENS OF TREES,

THESE BOATS WERE THE MOST ADVANCED VESSELS OF THEIR DAY.

♪♪

LONGSHIPS WERE VERSATILE.

DESIGNED WITH A VERY SHALLOW KEEL,

THEY COULD EVEN BE MOVED OVER LAND.

♪♪

THEY COULD TRAVERSE BOTH SHALLOW RIVERS

AND THE DEEPEST OCEANS TO TAKE THE VIKINGS EVERYWHERE,

FROM THE MIDDLE EAST TO NORTH AMERICA.

BUT THE LONGSHIPS WERE ALSO PERFECTLY ADAPTED FOR WARFARE.

SAILORS ON A TRADING MISSION

COULD EASILY BECOME AN ORGANIZED FIGHTING FORCE.

♪♪

SOREN THINKS THE VIKINGS SOON REALIZED

THAT THEY COULD SIMPLY TAKE WHAT THEY WANTED.

EACH SHIP HAD A SAILING CREW OF DOZENS OF MEN,

A SMALL ARMY OF WARRIORS.

Sindbaek: TRADING PREPARES A WAY FOR RAIDING.

ONCE YOU HAVE LEARNED HOW TO TAKE A SAILING EXPEDITION

TO A MARKET,

YOU CAN ALSO USE THAT KNOWLEDGE FOR SOMETHING ELSE.

YOU CAN GO ACROSS THE SEA TO DO RAIDING.

Narrator: THE COOPERATION AND ORGANIZATION

REQUIRED TO BUILD THE FORTRESSES WAS BORN AT SEA,

AS THE VIKINGS BECAME THE MOST FEARED WARRIORS IN EUROPE.

♪♪

SO WHY DID THIS HUGELY SUCCESSFUL WAY OF LIFE

COME TO AN END?

AND WHO WAS THE POWERFUL LEADER WHO UNITED DENMARK'S INDEPENDENT

VIKING TRIBES TO FORM A SINGLE FIGHTING FORCE?

Narrator: THE VIKINGS.

FROM THE YEAR 793,

THESE RAMPAGING WARRIORS WAGED A CAMPAIGN OF TERROR

THAT SHOOK MEDIEVAL EUROPE FOR OVER TWO CENTURIES.

BUT THE FORTRESS OF TRELLEBORG

REVEALS A WHOLE NEW LEVEL OF SOPHISTICATION

AND MILITARY TECHNOLOGY

TOWARD THE END OF THE VIKING ERA.

SO WHAT OR WHO DRAGGED THESE FIERCE RAIDERS

OUT OF THE DARK AGES?

TRELLEBORG IS A MILITARY MASTERPIECE.

THE VIKINGS REINFORCED THE HUGE EARTH RAMPARTS WITH WOOD

TO FORM A FORMIDABLE BARRIER.

ON ITS OUTER FACE, A TOWERING 26-FOOT-HIGH OAK PALISADE.

IN FRONT OF THE RAMPARTS, A 13-FOOT-DEEP DITCH...

THAT COULD HAVE BEEN FILED WITH SHARP WOODEN STAKES.

WHO HAD THE POWER TO CONSTRUCT SUCH A FORMIDABLE FORTRESS?

♪♪

COULD A CLUE LIE BURIED INSIDE THESE TIMBER DEFENSES?

♪♪

ARCHEOLOGIST NANNA HOLM THINKS THAT EVIDENCE

LIES NOT JUST AT TRELLEBORG,

BUT OVER 30 MILES AWAY.

THIS IS BORGRING, A RECENTLY DISCOVERED RINGED FORT

WITH A STRIKING SIMILARITY TO TRELLEBORG.

NANNA AND HER TEAM SPOTTED IT IN AERIAL MAPPING DATA.

Narrator: NANNA BELIEVES THAT THE SIZE AND SCALE OF BOTH FORTS

IS SO GREAT THAT ONLY A KING COULD HAVE BUILT THEM.

Narrator: UNTIL NOW, MOST VIKINGS HAD LIVED IN SMALL,

SCATTERED VILLAGES.

WHICH RULER WAS POWERFUL ENOUGH TO WRENCH THEM AWAY

FROM THIS OLD WAY OF LIFE?

NANNA THINKS DATING THE ARTIFACTS

AND REMAINS BURIED IN THE GROUND AT BORGRING

COULD PROVIDE THE ANSWER.

Narrator: NANNA HAS DISCOVERED FRAGMENTS OF WOOD

FROM BORGRING'S TIMBER DEFENSES.

SHE WORKS WITH DENDROCHRONOLOGIST AOIFE DALY

TO DATE THEM.

AOIFE THINKS THE WOOD SAMPLES COULD REVEAL

WHEN BORGRING WAS BUILT,

AND IF SO, WHICH RULER WAS IN CHARGE.

Narrator: THIS WOODEN FRAGMENT WAS ACTUALLY

PART OF BORGRING ITSELF.

COULD THE AGE OF THE FORT BE HIDDEN INSIDE?

♪♪

AOIFE STARTS BY HUNTING FOR RINGS IN THE WOOD.

A RING REPRESENTS A YEAR'S GROWTH IN THE LIFE OF A TREE.

Narrator: AOIFE CAN CALCULATE THE YEAR

IN WHICH ANCIENT TREES WERE CUT DOWN...

Daly: THERE YOU GO.

...BY MEASURING THESE RINGS

AND COMPARING THEM TO THOSE FROM OTHER TREES.

BUT SHE STRUGGLES TO GET A CLEAR READING

FROM THIS BORGRING FRAGMENT.

Narrator: THIS SAMPLE OF WOOD IS TOO DAMAGED TO DATE PRECISELY,

BUT AOIFE HAS MANAGED TO DATE ANOTHER PIECE FOUND AT BORGRING,

AND MATCHED IT TO WOOD FOUND AT TRELLEBORG.

Narrator: IT'S JUST ONE SAMPLE, BUT THE IMPLICATIONS ARE HUGE.

IT SUGGESTS BOTH BORGRING AND TRELLEBORG DATE TO THE SAME ERA,

THE LATE 900s A.D. --

THE REIGN OF DENMARK'S MOST FAMOUS VIKING KING.

THE FIRST VIKING RULERS WERE GREAT WAR LEADERS...

WHO DREW IN WARRIORS WITH THE PROMISE OF PLUNDER.

♪♪

BUT THEY OFTEN FAILED TO INSPIRE LASTING LOYALTY.

THEIR SUCCESS DEPENDED ON THEIR FORTUNES IN BATTLE.

BUT JUST OVER A THOUSAND YEARS AGO,

ONE WARLORD STAMPED HIS AUTHORITY OVER DENMARK --

A KING KNOWN AS HARALD BLUETOOTH.

BLUETOOTH RULED DENMARK FROM 958 A.D.

HE'S FAMOUS AS THE KING WHO POPULARIZED CHRISTIANITY

AMONG THE VIKINGS.

BUT HE WAS ALSO A FEROCIOUS WARRIOR

AND RELENTLESS CONQUEROR,

DETERMINED TO EXPAND THE VIKING KINGDOM.

♪♪

THESE FORTS WERE CERTAINLY IMPRESSIVE ENOUGH

FOR SUCH A POWERFUL RULER.

BUT THE DATE ALONE DOESN'T PROVE THAT HARALD BUILT THEM BOTH.

SO NANNA AND HER TEAM SCOUR THE SOIL BENEATH BORGRING.

EACH YEAR BRINGS NEW DISCOVERIES --

METAL ARTIFACTS, BEADS, AND TOOLS.

BUT THE MOST BEAUTIFUL AND INTRIGUING

IS A PIECE OF VIKING JEWELRY.

Narrator: THIS IS A FRAGMENT FROM AN ORNATE SILVER CASKET.

INCREDIBLY, WHAT COULD BE THE REST OF THE ARTIFACT

WAS DISCOVERED ALMOST 150 MILES AWAY

AT YET ANOTHER RING FORT.

Narrator: THIS BROACH WAS FOUND IN THE GRAVE OF A WOMAN

WITH OTHER ARTIFACTS

THAT INDICATE SHE COULD BE A PRIESTESS OR FORTUNETELLER.

PERHAPS SHE SERVED AS AN ADVISOR TO KING HARALD,

TRAVELING WITH HIM AS HE VISITED HIS FORTS.

Narrator: ALL THE EVIDENCE POINTS IN THE SAME DIRECTION.

THE GREAT KING HARALD BLUETOOTH BUILD

BOTH THE TRELLEBORG AND BORGRING FORTRESSES.

THIS RULER WHO HAD DESIGNS ON CONQUERING MUCH OF SCANDINAVIA

WAS ALSO BUILDING BIG BACK HOME IN DENMARK.

BUT MYSTERY SURROUNDS THE FORT'S SUDDEN APPEARANCE.

WHY DID HE CONSTRUCT THEM IN THESE SPECIFIC LOCATIONS?

AND HOW DID HAROLD BLUETOOTH UNITE THE VIKING TRIBES

INTO AN ORGANIZED FORT-BUILDING SOCIETY?

♪♪

Narrator: NEW DISCOVERIES IN DENMARK

REVEAL A TRANSFORMATION IN VIKING SOCIETY.

UNDER THE RULE OF KING HARALD BLUETOOTH,

THE VIKINGS EVOLVED FROM SEAFARING TRADERS AND PILLAGERS

TO AN ORGANIZED FORTRESS-BUILDING FORCE.

BUT WHERE DID HE GET HIS IDEAS?

DECADES BEFORE TRELLEBORG WAS BUILT,

ARMIES OF VIKING WARRIORS INVADED THE ESTABLISHED

MILITARY KINGDOMS OF MEDIEVAL EUROPE.

SO DID THESE OVERSEAS INVASIONS INSPIRE KING BLUETOOTH

TO BUILD HIS OWN FORTRESSES AT HOME?

ARCHEOLOGIST CAT JARMAN INVESTIGATES

A VIKING SITE IN ENGLAND.

COULD A CLUE TO TRELLEBORG'S ORIGINS BE FOUND HERE?

SO THIS IS THE 25-, 30-CENTIGRADE,

SO WE'RE GOING TO GET BETTER RESOLUTION.

CAT HAS COME TO THE GROUNDS OF A MEDIEVAL CHURCH IN REPTON.

SHE COMBINES GEOPHYSICS, A KIND OF RADAR,

WITH DRONE FOOTAGE...

[ DRONE BUZZING ]

TO INVESTIGATE THE REMAINS OF AN EARLY VIKING ARMY.

Jarman: IN THE RECENT EXCAVATIONS,

WE FOUND SOME MORE EVIDENCE OF THAT VIKING PRESENCE.

WE DON'T QUITE KNOW WHAT OR HOW, BUT IN THIS TRENCH,

WE FOUND EVIDENCE,

ARTIFACTS THAT WE CAN CLEARLY LINK

WITH THE VIKING GREAT ARMIES.

Narrator: ARCHEOLOGISTS HAVE DISCOVERED

HUNDREDS OF SKELETONS HERE...

♪♪

WARRIORS FROM A GREAT VIKING ARMY

THAT INVADED ANGLO-SAXON ENGLAND IN THE MID 800s...

MORE THAN A CENTURY BEFORE TRELLEBORG WAS BUILT.

Jarman: ENGLAND WAS A GREAT DESTINATION.

SO MANY RICHES, SOME OF THEM EASY PICKINGS, IT SEEMS --

MONASTERIES.

THERE'S A LOT OF WEALTH HERE

THAT IS QUITE EASILY OBTAINABLE BY AN ARMY.

♪♪

Narrator: CHRONICLES SAY THAT THE VIKINGS

CAPTURED THIS IMPORTANT ROYAL CHURCH

AND BUILT A FORTRESS AROUND IT.

Jarman: WHAT WE'RE LOOKING FOR HERE IS SOME KIND OF DEFENSIVE DITCH

OR RAMPARTS OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT

THAT ENCLOSES A CENTRAL SPACE

AND KEEPING IT SAFE.

♪♪

Narrator: THE RADAR PICKS UP WHAT LOOKS LIKE

A MASSIVE EARTHWORK

AROUND THE CHURCH...

JUST LIKE TRELLEBORG.

THE CAMP LOOKS BIG ENOUGH TO HAVE PROTECTED

HUNDREDS OF WARRIORS.

Man: WELL, WE'LL GO AND HAVE A LOOK.

WE'LL GET IT ON THE COMPUTER AND THEN HAVE A SEE.

YEAH.

SO WHAT WE'RE LOOKING AT NOW, THIS IS THE PLOT

OF WHAT WE'VE BEEN FINDING WITH THE RADAR IN THE GARDEN HERE.

SO WE'VE PUT THAT ALL WITH THE DRONE SHOTS AS WELL.

THIS IS SHOWING TO US THAT THERE'S A LOT MORE GOING ON,

THE CAMP IS MUCH BIGGER THAN WHAT WE PREVIOUSLY THOUGHT.

IT COULD CORRESPOND TO A MUCH BIGGER GRID

AND A MUCH BIGGER ARMY.

BUT THIS CAMP SEEMS TOO ROUGH AND READY

TO BE A PROTOTYPE FOR TRELLEBORG.

Jarman: THIS IS VERY MUCH A BASE WHERE YOU'RE STAYING OVER THE WINTER,

PERHAPS PLUNDERING THE SURROUNDING AREAS

FOR FOOD AND RESOURCES AND MAKING EQUIPMENT,

MAKING WEAPONS READY FOR THAT NEXT BIG ATTACK.

Narrator: THE VIKINGS WERE EXPERTS AT BUILDING QUICK,

TEMPORARY CAMPS LIKE THE ONE HERE AT REPTON.

BUT, ULTIMATELY, THESE EARLY MILITARY BASES

WEREN'T ENOUGH FOR THE VIKINGS TO CONQUER ENGLAND COMPLETELY.

THEIR ENEMIES, THE ENGLISH, USED A SUPERIOR MILITARY STRATEGY

WHICH MAY HAVE INSPIRED KING BLUETOOTH.

TO DEFEAT THE VIKINGS,

THE ENGLISH FORTIFIED MANY OF THEIR TOWNS,

CALLING THEM BURHS.

THEY SPACED THEM ALL OUT EQUALLY TO MAKE IT EASY

FOR ONE BUR TO CALL FOR REINFORCEMENTS.

AFTER DECADES OF RAIDS, BATTLES, AND SKIRMISHES,

THE NETWORK OF FORTIFIED BURHS

HELPED TO END THE VIKINGS' REIGN OF TERROR IN ENGLAND.

♪♪

THE VIKINGS RETURNED HOME TO SCANDINAVIA.

OVER TIME, FORTRESSES BEGIN TO APPEAR

ACROSS THE DANISH LANDSCAPE.

DID THE EXPERIENCE OF BEING BEATEN IN ENGLAND

TEACH THE EARLY VIKING ARMIES A LESSON

THAT THEIR DESCENDENTS NEVER FORGOT?

I THINK YOU CAN DEFINITELY DRAW SOME COMPARISON

TO WHAT YOU'RE SEEING LATER IN DENMARK

WITH THE BUILDING OF THE RING FORTS.

IT'S VERY POSSIBLE THAT WE HAVE THESE SAME PEOPLE

WHO HAVE BEEN OBSERVING THIS STRATEGY OF BUILDING

THESE BURHS THAT'S BEEN TAKEN BACK TO DENMARK.

PERHAPS THAT COULD BE TRACED BACK TO SEEING

THESE EARLY FORTIFICATIONS HERE IN ENGLAND.

Narrator: THE VIKINGS BROUGHT HOME MORE THAN JUST PLUNDER.

THEIR FAILURE TAUGHT THEM A VALUABLE LESSON.

A SINGLE MILITARY BASE IS NO MATCH

FOR A NETWORK OF ORGANIZED FORTIFICATIONS.

NOW ARCHEOLOGISTS WANT TO FIND OUT IF TRELLEBORG AND BORGRING

ARE JUST SEPARATE INDIVIDUAL OUTPOSTS

OR PART OF A NETWORK OF INTERCONNECTED DEFENSES.

AND DID THIS PAINFUL DEFEAT FOR THE VIKINGS

INSPIRE HAROLD BLUETOOTH

TO MASTERMIND A NATIONWIDE MILITARY STRATEGY DECADES LATER?

Narrator: AFTER 100 YEARS OF TERROR,

THE VIKINGS SUFFERED A MONUMENTAL DEFEAT.

THE ENGLISH FINALLY DISCOVERED

HOW TO FIGHT OFF THE VIKING HOARDS,

THANKS TO THEIR CHAIN OF IMPRESSIVE FORTIFICATIONS.

SO MORE THAN 100 YEARS LATER,

DID THIS FAILURE INSPIRE THE VIKING RULER,

KING HAROLD BLUETOOTH, TO BUILD FORTS OF HIS OWN?

AND CAN THEY ALSO REVEAL WHY THE AGE OF THE MARAUDING

VIKING WARRIOR CAME TO AN END?

ARCHEOLOGIST SOREN SINDBAEK THINKS HARALD NOT ONLY BUILD

THE GREAT RING FORTS,

HE PLANNED THEM AS PART OF A SINGLE

MODERNIZING MILITARY STRATEGY.

WHAT'S REALLY SPECIAL ABOUT TRELLEBORG

IS THE FACT THAT EVERYTHING IS SO PERFECTLY LAID OUT.

AND THIS IS WHAT WE ARE LOOKING FOR HERE AS WELL.

Narrator: HE BELIEVES ALL THE FORTRESSES FOLLOW

TRELLEBORG'S DISTINCTIVE SHAPE AND DESIGN.

TRELLEBORG ISN'T JUST A PERFECT CIRCLE.

EVEN ITS WOODEN BUILDINGS ARE PLACED IN A PRECISE ORDER.

EVENLY-SPACED HOLES IN THE GROUND

REVEAL THE LOCATION OF STURDY TIMBER POSTS.

CURVED PLANKS LAID OUT IN THE SHAPE

OF A SHIP'S HULL SUPPORT A HEAVY ROOF

COVERED BY A LAYER OF WOODEN SHINGLES.

A LONG HOUSE IS THE HEART OF THE TRADITIONAL VIKING COMMUNITY.

BUT HERE, THERE ARE 16...

ARRANGED IN FOUR PERFECT SQUARES --

ENOUGH ROOM TO HOUSE HUNDREDS OF WARRIORS.

SO DID BLUETOOTH ROLL OUT THIS DESIGN ACROSS DENMARK,

MIMICKING THE ENGLISH KINGS WHO DEFEATED HIS ANCESTORS?

♪♪

IF SOREN'S SUSPICIONS ARE RIGHT, THEN THE FORTRESS AT BORGRING

SHOULD BE A MIRROR IMAGE OF TRELLEBORG.

WE'RE BASICALLY OUT IN THE MIDDLE OF NOWHERE.

WE'RE BETWEEN FARM FIELD AND HIGHWAY.

THIS IS NOW WHERE YOU'D EXPECT TO FIND

SOMETHING IMPORTANT FROM THE VIKING AGE.

HE CARRIES OUT A GEOPHYSICAL SURVEY

TO INVESTIGATE THE FORTRESS AT BORGRING.

BUT WE NEED TO COVER ABOUT 200 METERS,

100 METERS THAT DIRECTION,

AND THEN A HUNDRED METERS OVER TO THAT DIRECTION.

SCANNING THIS 140-ACRE SITE IS A HUGE CHALLENGE.

♪♪

JUST GO DOWN, AND SEE IF YOU CAN TURN AROUND.

PERHAPS YOU CAN GO INTO THE PLOW FIELD.

AND COME BACK TO THE TOP.

YEAH.

♪♪

USING THIS CUTTING-EDGE TECHNOLOGY,

SOREN IS ABLE TO WATCH THE RESULTS

OF THE SURVEY COME THROUGH.

A VIKING FORT EMERGES AFTER A THOUSAND YEARS.

THIS IS REALLY ONE OF THE MOST FASCINATING THINGS

ABOUT ARCHEOLOGY, WHEN YOU'RE THERE,

AND YOU SEE SOMETHING THAT'S NOT BEEN SEEN BEFORE,

NOBODY'S SEEN IT BEFORE,

AND YOU SEE IT COMING OUT OF THE GROUND

OR ON YOUR SCREEN AS IT HAPPENS.

Narrator: BUT IS BORGRING IDENTICAL TO TRELLEBORG?

WE NEED TO COVER EVERY BIT OF THE GROUND.

WE'RE STARTING TO SEE PATTERNS OF WHAT IS BURIED HERE,

AND WE CAN SEE THAT THERE'S SOME STRUCTURE

IN THE MIDDLE OF THE MAP THAT'S COMING HERE.

I CAN SEE A GREAT BIG RING.

IT LOOKS PERFECTLY CIRCULAR FROM WHAT I CAN SEE HERE.

Narrator: THE RADAR DOESN'T PICK UP

ANY BUILDINGS INSIDE THE FORT,

BUT TO SOREN, THE CIRCULAR MONUMENT

THAT EMERGES FROM THE EARTH

IS STRIKINGLY SIMILAR TO TRELLEBORG.

BORGRING IS A PERFECTLY CIRCULAR STRUCTURE WITH FOUR GATES

IN THE FOUR CORNERS OF THE COMPASS.

IT LOOKS AMAZINGLY LIKE TRELLEBORG,

JUST LIKE THE SAME STRUCTURE.

WE ARE ALMOST 50 MILES FROM TRELLEBORG,

AND HERE'S SOMETHING THAT LOOKS SO VERY SIMILAR.

THAT'S WHAT SO'S FASCINATING ABOUT THIS PLACE.

Narrator: SOREN BELIEVES THAT THE ONLY EXPLANATION

FOR THEIR SIMILARITY

IS THAT BOTH SITES WERE BUILT TO A SPECIFIC PLAN.

SO WHY STOP AT TWO?

TODAY, ARCHEOLOGISTS HAVE DISCOVERED NO LESS

THAN SIX REMARKABLY SIMILAR FORTRESSES.

ALL OF THESE SITES, TRELLEBORG, BORGRING,

AND THE OTHER RINGED FORTRESSES,

THEY ALL FOLLOW THE SAME PATTERN.

THERE MUST BE A VERY CLOSE CONNECTION.

Narrator: SO HOW DID THIS SERIES OF FORTS WORK?

HARALD BLUETOOTH RULED A SCATTERED EMPIRE.

HIS INFLUENCE EXTENDED INTO THE FJORDS AND VALLEYS

OF MODERN DAY DENMARK, NORWAY,

AND EVEN NORTHERN GERMANY.

VERY FEW STRUCTURES SURVIVE FROM THE VIKING AGE.

BUT TRELLEBORG'S DISTINCTIVE SHAPE

STANDS OUT IN THE LANDSCAPE.

ARCHEOLOGISTS BELIEVE THE OTHER HANDFUL OF FORTS

DISCOVERED ACROSS DENMARK

SHARE THIS SAME INTRIGUING DESIGN.

♪♪

EACH FORT IS FOUND NEAR THE COAST.

BORGRING APPEARS TO PLUG A GAP BETWEEN THEM.

♪♪

SOREN THINKS THIS NEWLY-DISCOVERED FORT

REVEALS HARALD'S MASTER PLAN --

TO SECURE DENMARK WITH A CHAIN OF ALMOST IDENTICAL FORTS

LINKING FORTIFIED TOWNS

ALL WITHIN FIGHTING DISTANCE OF EACH OTHER.

THE RING FORTRESSES ARE NOT JUST INDIVIDUAL PLACES

FOR HIDING OUT.

THEY'RE SPREAD OUT AS A NETWORK ACROSS DIFFERENT PROVINCES,

SO THEY'RE ABOUT CONTROLLING, THEY'RE NOT JUST ABOUT HIDING.

AND THAT'S THE IDEA WHICH THE VIKINGS

BORROWED FROM THE ENGLISH.

Narrator: A HUGE COORDINATED EFFORT

WAS NEEDED TO BUILD THESE FORTS.

THEY SIGNIFY HOW VIKING SOCIETY HAD CHANGED.

SO IT'S MASSIVE AMOUNTS OF PEOPLE

BEING ORGANIZED IN THESE PLACES,

NOT JUST ORGANIZING FOR BUILDING THEM,

BUT ACTUALLY ORGANIZED FOR MANNING THEM, DEFENDING THEM.

THEY WERE ALL WORKING LIKE ONE BIG MACHINE.

IT'S SOMETHING WE ABSOLUTELY DON'T ASSOCIATE

WITH THE VIKINGS.

Narrator: BUT IF HARALD DID BUILD ALL THESE FORTS,

WHY DID HE EMBARK ON SUCH A COSTLY AND AMBITIOUS ENTERPRISE.

WERE THE FORTRESSES DESIGNED TO SHOW OFF HIS POWER

AND SOPHISTICATION TO HIS OWN PEOPLE?

OR WERE THE VIKINGS THEMSELVES UNDER THREAT?

Narrator: THE VIKING FORTRESS OF TRELLEBORG

IS THE MOST IMPRESSIVE IN A SERIES OF MILITARY BASES

THAT APPEAR TO DATE TO THE REIGN OF DENMARK'S GREATEST KING --

HARALD BLUETOOTH.

BUT THEIR SUDDEN APPEARANCE JUST OVER A THOUSAND YEARS AGO

PUZZLES ARCHEOLOGISTS.

WERE THESE STRUCTURES MERELY DESIGNED TO SHOW OFF

THE KING'S POWER TO HIS SUBJECTS,

OR TO KEEP OUT HIS ENEMIES?

THE ANSWER MAY LIE BURIED IN THE FORTRESS ITSELF.

HIDDEN INSIDE TRELLEBORG ARE CLUES THAT HINT

AT SAVAGE BATTLES.

THE FORT WAS A FORMIDABLE OBSTACLE.

STRONG WOODEN GATES PROVIDED THE ONLY WAY IN OR OUT.

AND TO MAKE LIFE WORSE FOR ATTACKERS,

A ROOF TURNED THE GATES INTO A KILL ZONE.

BUT ARROWHEADS UNEARTHED AT THE SCENE

PROVIDE EVIDENCE OF AN ASSAULT.

CHARRED TIMBER SUGGESTS THESE GATES

WERE ONCE BURNED TO THE GROUND.

AND 130 FEET FROM THE SOUTHERN GATE,

ARCHEOLOGISTS DISCOVERED

THE ONLY VIKING SHIELD

EVER FOUND IN DENMARK.

COULD THIS LOST SHIELD REVEAL WHO WAS FIGHTING

WHO AT TRELLEBORG --

AND EVEN WHY THE FORTRESS WAS BUILT?

THE FINAL PIECE IN THE PUZZLE COULD LIE HUNDREDS OF MILES AWAY

IN THE FROZEN FJORDS OF OSLO, NORWAY.

VEGARD VIKE IS ONE OF THE WORLD'S LEADING EXPERTS

ON VIKING WEAPONRY.

FOR HIM, THE DISCOVERY OF THE TRELLEBORG SHIELD IS RARE

AND EXCITING.

Vike: THE TRELLEBORG SHIELD SEEMED TO BE JUST A LOOSE FIND

OR A THROWAWAY.

AND THAT IT WAS PRESERVED IS QUITE UNIQUE.

Narrator: MOST VIKING WEAPONS ARE FOUND IN GRAVES.

THESE GREAT WARRIORS WERE SO ATTACHED TO THEIR AXES,

SWORDS, AND SHIELDS, THAT THEY EVEN HELD ONTO THEM IN DEATH.

Vike: THE WEAPONS WERE THE TOOLS OF THE WARRIOR --

BOTH IN LIFE AND IN AFTERLIFE, IT SEEMS.

Narrator: IN HIS LABORATORY,

VEGARD CAREFULLY RESTORES METAL WEAPONS

LIKE SWORDS, AXES,

AND VIKING HELMETS.

BUT AMONG HIS MOST RARE FINDS IS A SIMPLE WOODEN SHIELD

FROM A VIKING SHIP DISCOVERED HERE IN SOUTHERN NORWAY.

Vike: SO, THIS IS ONE OF THE SHIELDS FROM THE GOKSTAD SHIP BURIAL.

Narrator: WHAT MAKES THIS SHIELD REMARKABLE

IS THAT ITS CONSTRUCTION APPEARS TO BE ALMOST IDENTICAL

TO THE SHIELD FOUND BACK AT TRELLEBORG...

DESPITE BEING FOUND 260 MILES AWAY.

AND USUALLY WHEN WE HAVE VIKING AGE

GRAVES, WE ONLY HAVE THESE METAL BALLS.

THE REST IS GONE.

AND IN THIS UNIQUE GRAVE FIND,

WE HAVE A LOT OF ORGANIC MATERIAL PRESERVED.

SO WE HAVE THIS FABULOUS SHIELD ALMOST COMPLETE.

Narrator: THE PRESERVATION OF THIS SHIELD IS TRULY SPECIAL.

ITS WOODEN PLANKS ARE MORE THAN A THOUSAND YEARS OLD.

♪♪

Vike: THIS SHIELD FROM GOKSTAD IS VERY SIMILAR

TO THE TRELLEBORG SHIELD.

IT'S BUILT UP FROM SEVEN OR EIGHT PLANKS IN THE SAME WAY.

THE PLANKS ARE MORE OR LESS THE SAME THICKNESS

AS THE TRELLEBORG SHIELD.

THEY ARE BOTH A LITTLE BIT LESS THAN A CENTIMETER THICK.

AND THEY'RE BOTH MADE FROM VERY LIGHT TYPES OF WOOD.

THE TRELLEBORG SHIELD FROM PINE, AND THIS ONE FROM SPRUCE.

Narrator: VEGARD CAN TELL THAT BOTH SHIELDS

MAY WELL HAVE COME FROM THE SAME PLACE.

THE ANALYSIS OF THE WOOD FROM THE TRELLEBORG SHIELD SHOW

THAT THE WOOD WAS ACTUALLY FROM NORWAY.

THESE TWO SHIELDS ARE SO SIMILAR THAT ONE COULD POSSIBLY THINK

THAT THEY COULD HAVE BEEN MADE BY THE SAME WORKSHOP.

OR AT LEAST IN THE SAME TRADITION.

Narrator: IF VEGARD IS RIGHT, HOW DID A NORWEIGIAN SHIELD

END UP AT TRELLEBORG IN DENMARK?

THE PEOPLE IN THE ARMY OF TRELLEBORG...

COULD HAVE BEEN BROUGHT TOGETHER BY PEOPLE FROM VARIOUS PLACES.

THE TRELLEBORG SHIELD COULD BE VIEWED AS EVIDENCE

FOR NORWEIGIAN WARRIORS BEING AT TRELLEBORG.

Narrator: SO WAS THE TRELLEBORG SHIELD

CARRIED BY A NORWEIGIAN WARRIOR,

PERHAPS A MERCENARY FIGHTING FOR KING HARALD?

THE ANSWER COULD LIE WITH SOME OF THE SKELETONS

BURIED AT THE FORTRESS.

ANALYSIS OF THEIR TEETH REVEALS

THAT MANY OF THE YOUNG WARRIORS BURIED HERE

AREN'T VIKINGS FROM DENMARK.

THEY GREW UP IN MODERN DAY NORWAY, FAR TO THE NORTH,

OR IN THE BALTIC SEA REGIONS.

THESE MEN TRAVELED HUNDREDS OF MILES TO FIGHT AT TRELLEBORG.

AS HARALD BLUETOOTH GREW IN POWER,

HE ALSO SEIZED THE THRONE OF NORWAY.

BUT AS HIS VIKINGS SETTLED DOWN, THEY BECAME TARGETS.

THE TRELLEBORG SHIELD COULD BE EVIDENCE THAT VIKINGS

FROM ALL OVER SCANDINAVIA

WERE BANDING TOGETHER TO FIGHT OFF

COMMON ENEMIES UNDER HARALD BLUETOOTH.

♪♪

A NEW PICTURE EMERGES OF THE CRUCIAL ROLE

THAT THESE FORCES PLAY IN VIKING HISTORY.

TRELLEBORG REVEALS HOW UNDER HARALD BLUETOOTH'S RULE,

VIKING SOCIETY IN DENMARK

BECAME UNITED UNDER A SINGLE NATIONAL IDENTITY.

Narrator: CENTURIES OF ORGANIZATION, TRADE,

AND WARFARE BROUGHT THE VIKINGS TO THIS POINT.

THE FORTS PROVE THAT THESE WARRIORS BECAME FAR MORE

THAN JUST THE MARAUDING PILLAGERS OF LEGEND.

Jarman: I THINK WHAT ESPECIALLY WE ARE APPRECIATING NOW

IS THAT THE VIKING AGE IS NOT ALL ABOUT THE MEN,

IT'S NOT JUST ABOUT THE VIOLENCE.

IT'S VERY MUCH TO DO WITH CONTACTS, NETWORKS,

TRADE, A LOT OF CULTURE, ART, AND SO ON.

SO IT'S A MUCH MORE COMPLICATED AND NUANCED PICTURE

THAN WHAT WE TYPICALLY THINK ABOUT

WHEN WE THINK ABOUT THE VIKING AGE.

Narrator: BY BUILDING TRELLEBORG,

HARALD BLUETOOTH LAID DOWN THE BLUEPRINTS

FOR MODERN DAY DENMARK.

BUT IN DOING SO, HE ALSO USHERED IN THE END OF THE INDEPENDENT,

DARING VIKING WARRIOR.

Narrator: TRELLEBORG REVEALS A LITTLE-KNOWN CHAPTER

IN THE HISTORY OF THESE LEGENDARY PEOPLE.

FROM THEIR ORIGINS AS INDEPENDENT TRADERS AND PIRATES,

THE VIKINGS BANDED TOGETHER...

UNITED UNDER THE LEADERSHIP OF HARALD BLUETOOTH.

♪♪

THIS NEWLY-COORDINATED FORCE

BUILT A NETWORK OF VAST EARTHWORKS

WITH FORMIDABLE WALLS

AND ENORMOUS LONG HOUSES UNLIKE ANYTHING ELSE IN EUROPE.

TRELLEBORG WAS THE CROWNING GLORY

OF A NEWLY-MODERNIZE MILITARY NATION.

BUT IT'S ALSO A TESTAMENT TO A DYING WAY OF LIFE --

THE END OF THE VIKING AGE.

♪♪

♪♪

♪♪

♪♪