Original subtitles

[narrator] Tintagel castle In the west of england,

A mysterious cliff top Mega structure

And the legendary birthplace Of king arthur.

[win] It's a really Extraordinary site, Everything about it shouts

Prestige, romance, Fairy tale castle.

[narrator] What can these Windswept ruins reveal about This enigmatic ruler?

Is king arthur real Or just imagination?

He was believed to be a hero.

[narrator] Now, investigators Use satellite surveys To unlock the secrets

Of this ancient castle.

And the latest dna technology To decode the mysteries

Of king arthur's time.

It's a once in a lifetime type Of find.

[narrator] To reveal the truth Behind the stories Of king arthur.

We digitally deconstruct Layers of history

And unearth the real tintagel.

We uncover magnificent Treasures hidden For 1500 years,

And discover the tumultuous History of arthur And his mighty kingdom.

Tintagel castle in cornwall, Western england.

It sits perched on A rocky island surrounded by

The rough seas Of the atlantic ocean.

It's a real enigma, tintagel,

We don't understand really Why people are living in

This extraordinary place.

It's stuck out In the middle of nowhere.

[narrator] Legends say That king arthur is conceived

And born at tintagel.

Camelot, where he is said To hold court is lost To history.

Do traces of arthur's story Survive at tintagel castle?

Today, it lies in ruins On two huge cliffs,

Rising from the seas.

Centuries ago, a narrow Land bridge connects

The mainland to the island And links both ends Of the castle.

To enter it, a single Paved track leads

To a stone gate house.

Behind a heavy wooden gate,

A triangular courtyard With lodgings and stables.

Another wooden gate locked With iron bars guards

The most important building Here, the great hall.

This is where the lord Of the castle lives And entertains his guests.

Is this castle fit for a king?

Archaeologist win scutt Has spent a decade excavating At the site.

He investigates if the castle Could be a royal residence.

You can see the shape Of his castle, at least The lower part.

It would've towered above us, Would have been so impressive.

[narrator] Win heads over To the island to examine

The ruined walls Of the great hall.

They're really substantial,

Very well made walls here, And sometime after It was built, not that long.

It fell down the cliff And you can see the stubs Of the walls here

And over there.

Then they build This smaller hall,

You can see The second wall here.

[narrator] The huge great hall Reveals the wealth

Of tintagel's lord And master.

He can afford to rebuild it Again and again.

They've invested incredible Amounts of labor,

Brought massive amounts Of stone to this site

To create a castle That anybody would have been Really proud of,

Perhaps a king.

[narrator] Could this castle Be king arthur's birthplace

As the legend states?

According to legend, Arthur is born In the sixth century ad.

He extracts the sword Excalibur from A magical stone,

And becomes king.

He builds camelot.

His mighty castle and court,

Where he jousts With his knights Like the famous lancelot

And galahad.

He sits with all 12 of them At a magnificent table,

It's round, so no one Can sit at its head.

The knights follow arthur On an epic quest For the holy grail,

A chalice that christ Is believed to have blessed

At the last supper.

Is the imposing great hall At tintagel built In the sixth century ad?

Win investigates Arthur's legendary birthplace.

He looks for clues On the eastern side Of the hall.

Here it borders a steep drop Down the cliff.

Buttresses had to be added In order to support These magnificent walls.

[narrator] Buttresses Are architectural structures

That reinforce Heavy stone walls.

They are usually found On medieval castles And cathedrals,

Like amiens, in france.

Built long after king arthur.

Win next examines A vast defensive wall That surrounds the great hall.

You can see these battlements Or crenellations As we call them,

They were introduced To britain by the normans,

And they were found On all castles,

Right across the country From 1066 onwards.

[narrator] The architecture Of the castle reveals Its construction date.

[win] This castle was built In the 1230s,

And this is hundreds of years, In fact, 700 years after

When king arthur Was supposed to have lived.

[narrator] The dating Of this castle at tintagel

Seems to undermine the legend Of king arthur.

But win suspects there's more To the story.

He examines a satellite survey That captures The entire perimeter

Of tintagel island.

From above, numerous Rectangular shapes Become visible.

[win] This satellite image Is amazing.

If I zoom into this Particular area here,

I can see one, two, three, Eight buildings.

Then if I move over To another part of the island.

Another group of buildings.

[narrator] Win thinks These buildings may hold More clues up close,

He marks a spot On the satellite map And heads to that location.

This wall is standing Two or three feet high,

But originally Would have been substantially Higher, we think.

[narrator] On close Inspection.

These structures seem older Than the castle ruins.

[win] These are just totally Different in plan,

They're just rectangles, No flourishes, No architectural details,

They're much, much earlier Than the 13th century Buildings.

[narrator] Dotted around The island.

Archeologists discovered The foundations Of an ancient settlement.

They find as many As 100 houses With rectangular footprints.

Near the land bridge, Under the ruins of The 13th century great hall,

There's evidence Of a grand hall Fit for royalty,

But much older.

It's the heart Of a vast settlement.

On a scale seldom seen In this period.

Does this mysterious Settlement date back To king arthur's time?

Win and a team Of archaeologists dig around The older structures.

They recover many Priceless artifacts.

Today, they are kept Under lock and key.

[win] This is some Joining shards

From a large amphora.

An amphora, usually That's sort of big, Carrot shaped vessels,

With two big handles, Very, very strong.

It's got this Very distinctive, Scratched pattern

On the shoulder of the vessel.

This one is again Very distinctive.

[narrator] The detailed Decorations are a giveaway.

Potters only use These patterns In a specific time period.

And that time is the fifth And sixth centuries,

So that's gives us A perfect time span

For the early settlement At tintagel.

[narrator] But is there Any specific evidence Of arthur on site?

Win has permission to examine An incredible find.

Kept in a place of honor At tintagel.

It is a large piece of stone Covered in mysterious writing.

Only two inscriptions Have ever been found,

This one stunned the world,

It's such an important find.

[narrator] The style Of the writing dates From the sixth century,

The time of the legendary King arthur.

What does it say?

It's pretty clear That this is latin,

Partly because we have The word "F-I-c-I-t."

Ficit, which means "He made it."

And then below it, We have this really Intriguing word.

"A" with that very distinctive V crossbar.

The r with a tail on it.

T, o, this funny Little character which is a g,

And then n, o, v, Which you pronounce as a "U."

So, we have the, The name artognou here.

[narrator] Artognou could be A latin version of the name, Arthur.

It's astonishing evidence Of a possible connection Between arthur and tintagel.

Another stepping stone In grounding the legend, In reality.

We don't know who This person was,

But what we do know Is that this stone Was inscribed by someone

Who was very familiar With manuscripts,

He was an educated, Possibly high status person.

[narrator] Can other parts Of tintagel castle

Shed more light On king arthur's existence?

The legend also says That arthur is born inside An impenetrable citadel.

Does this castle have all The defenses to protect An infant king?

[narrator] Tintagel castle In cornwall.

The remote windswept location Where king arthur is said

To have been born and live.

Win scutt is on a mission To find the truth behind

The legend of the famous king And tintagel's part In his story.

He examines the account Written by geoffrey Of monmouth,

A welsh monk who lives In the 12th century.

600 years after king arthur.

Geoffrey of monmouth Was the first person to write

About the story Of king arthur.

Monmouth describes tintagel As the impenetrable fortress,

A place that's situated upon The sea and on every side, Surrounded by it.

[narrator] If the castle is As monmouth describes,

Then his account of arthur May be reliable too.

Win wants to find out If the story is accurate.

In the days of king arthur, Tintagel has no massive Stone walls

Or tall castle keeps.

Instead, archaeologists Believe there is just A wooden fence

That runs around A rocky outcrop to the south

And along the land bridge.

To the north, More wooden fences,

And a ditch 130 feet long.

There's only one way Into the castle,

But it's completely open,

With no sign of an iron gate Or a drawbridge.

Can this castle Really be impenetrable?

Any invading army Trying to reach tintagel By sea,

Only has two possible Landing options.

A rocky harbor On the northern side Of the island.

And a haven, A water inlet leading To a beach.

Win heads to the haven.

This whole bay here Is very tight, very steep,

And there's A very small beach,

So there's no way You could bring up A whole army.

[narrator] And from here, The invaders journey Gets much harder.

[win] We're here On a nice day today,

But many days On this wild cornish coast.

The weather can get Quite fearsome

And the rocks here Will be really slippery,

You can try grabbing Onto tufts of grass up there,

But you really are vulnerable To attacks from the defendants On the top step.

[narrator] Tintagel Is impenetrable From this landing spot.

How about the second location On the north side Of the island?

Win examines it closely.

This great big wall, What we call the iron gate

Actually belongs To the 13th century,

But if there was A key side here In the 13th century,

There may well have been A key side here,

Back in the fifth And sixth century,

But, it's a suitable place Where you could pull in ships

And tie them up And offload goods.

[narrator] A hostile army Could take advantage Of the location and land.

But, they soon hit A huge challenge.

It's so steep here.

Just look at how steep This slope is,

You'd have a real job Attacking this.

[narrator] The defenders Of tintagel castle

Always have the advantage Of height.

They can decimate Any landing force

Attacking from the sea.

Is the castle safe From a land attack too?

Win examines the position Of the main entrance.

Any landward attack Would have to come through This very narrow pathway.

On one side, you've got This really steep wall

Of rock which is just Completely unscalable.

And on the other, They would have to cross This deep ditch.

Win suspects the entrance Into the castle Is also impregnable.

Just like monmouth says.

He looks for clues inside The great ditch.

The steep sides of this Show that it's actually Been deeply cut artificially.

[narrator] At the time Of king arthur.

The great ditch Is 15 feet deep, Trapping the enemy.

The attacking army Would actually be pelted By armaments of all sorts,

And then they'd have to cross This flat bottom,

And, so, they're unlikely To survive this crossing.

[narrator] The ditch Provides an incredibly Effective barrier.

The only option left For an attacking army

Would be The narrow pathway on top.

Even if you had A massive army,

They will be funneled Into that very narrow slot And picked off one by one.

That's the art Of military strategy,

If you're building A defense to constrain it.

[narrator] In the sixth Century, tintagel castle Is impenetrable.

Monmouth's description Of the birthplace Of the legendary king

Is extremely accurate.

An exciting hint That king arthur Might have existed.

It's a revelation That can also help explain The strange story

Of his magical birth.

Monmouth writes That arthur's father,

Uther pendragon falls in love With igerna,

The wife of The duke of cornwall.

To defend her, The duke locks her

In the remote and impenetrable Tintagel castle.

Pendragon asks merlin The sorcerer,

To make him look like The duke,

So he can enter Tintagel unchallenged,

And seduce his wife.

The deception works And pendragon spends a night With igerna.

-nine months later, Arthur is born. -[baby crying]

Monmouth's descriptions Of tintagel match the legend

And stand up to scrutiny.

But, the stories also say That arthur's kingdom

Is attacked by A fierce invader.

What can new evidence Reveal about his life And times?

Is there really a warrior King arthur

Defending his land From a formidable enemy?

[narrator] The legendary King arthur is said to be born In tintagel castle.

A tightly defended stronghold.

Medieval writers depict him As a king attacked On all sides.

Forced to protect His lands From a terrifying enemy.

Can new archaeological Evidence add more truth To the legend?

In staffordshire, 200 miles north of tintagel.

Archaeologists unearth A unique treasure trove.

Beautifully decorated Gold pieces make up

A magnificent Warrior's helmet.

A gem encrusted gold cross Is a sign of the warriors' Christian faith.

And an engraved Silver ornament,

The pommel of a deadly sword.

These incredible items Date to king arthur's time.

Is this extraordinary Golden horde his?

Joe perry has special access To examine the artifacts,

He investigates Who they belong to,

And what they can reveal About the life and times Of the legendary king.

We have a suite of objects Down here.

These are from A very high status hilt

From a type of long knife Or dagger

Called a seax.

We have a pommel cap With this wonderful Cloisonne decoration.

Below that, we have A small hilt guard.

Almost every object In the staffordshire hoard Relates to military gear.

[narrator] Who are The formidable warriors

Who own these weapons?

Could arthur be one of them?

Joe finds another clue Which links this horde

To an iconic part Of the arthur legend.

There are probably around 100 swords represented In the hoard.

They're all quite different To each other.

We have a pommel cap here With two fighting horses,

And further here, we have These snarling wolf like faces

Peering out the patterns And the motifs

And the symbols displayed On each sword

Are probably unique To that sword and its owner,

And even some of these swords Might have even had Their own names.

[narrator] King arthur's Famous sword has its own place In the legend.

Arthur draws it from a stone.

One of these swords Might even be excalibur.

Joe needs more evidence, He singles out an object,

One of the oldest In the hoard.

We have two boars Depicted on this side,

And the boar is, of course, Quite an aggressive And strong creature.

And actually on The opposite side Of his pommel cap.

You also have a humanoid head, We believe this might be Depicting woden

Or perhaps, odin, Who would be His scandinavian equivalent.

[narrator] Woden is the king Of the anglo-saxon gods

And the protector Of fallen warriors And soldiers.

The anglo-saxons worship him Before they turn christian.

His image here reveals That the astonishing hoard

Does not belong To king arthur, But to his enemy.

In the fifth century ad, The roman empire crumbles

And withdraws its army From britain.

Anglo-saxon tribes From northern europe Seize the opportunity,

And invade from the east,

Their warriors sailed The north sea And rode deep inland.

They slowly push Into all corners of britain,

Fighting the native Romano-british kingdoms For land.

The invading anglo-saxons Could be the deadly foe

In the legend of king arthur.

And more evidence That it is grounded in truth,

Is the staffordshire hoard, A silent witness To the story as well.

Joe suspects that clues Can be found in the condition Of the objects.

If you look at something Like this pommel cap,

With a nice big dent in it, It's like this,

We take this one here, For example,

You have these bent pins Extruding from it.

This is some plow damage.

This isn't damaged Due to time, this because These swords

Have been taken apart Quite violently.

[narrator] The damage To the weapons is a clue

To how they come To be buried here.

It's very likely That the objects In the hoard

Come from the weapons Of defeated warriors,

We think it's been accumulated From one or more battles.

[narrator] This stunning hoard Could be evidence

Of british successes against An army of anglo-saxons.

A king like arthur Might have been The triumphant victor.

[soldiers yelling]

Can a recent discovery Reveal proof

Of one of arthur's Legendary battles?

And of the king behind The legends?

In legend, King arthur is conceived

In the stronghold of tintagel.

And born into a world Of violence during

The anglo-saxon invasions Of britain.

Medieval historian Geoffrey of monmouth records

That one of arthur's Most vicious battles

Takes place in the city Of the legion.

Arthur comes out victorious.

Is there Any archaeological evidence Of this brutal battle?

-[soldiers yelling] -[swords clashing]

David mason suspects Chester in northwest england

Might be the location.

It is once a roman city,

And has a legion based On site.

It could be the city Of the legion

That monmouth writes about.

And only two miles south At heronbridge.

There is important evidence.

Traces of a fierce conflict.

Here, archaeologists uncover Almost 200 skeletons buried In a field.

The bones show signs Of violent trauma.

Deep gashes that look like Cuts from a blade

And gaping holes From axe or hammer blows.

They are buried at the time Of the legendary king arthur

And their careful arrangement Reveals they are the war dead Of the winning side.

Could these remains Be evidence

Of the famous Arthurian victory, geoffrey Of monmouth describes?

David wants to find out If the battle site Is also here,

Next to the cemetery.

He investigates a mysterious Structure found nearby.

As you look across The open fields From the modern road,

You can see in the surface, A slight mound,

Just a bump in the field, Which is quite prominent At its southern end.

[narrator] The mound might be A manmade defensive position,

Evidence of The missing battlefield.

To find out, david examines A similar construction.

Just 20 miles west.

[david] There's a large stitch Besides me here.

And on the far side, Some elevated ground

Which is formed by The material that was Excavated from the ditch.

[narrator] David investigates What military advantage These structures might offer.

[david] So, any attacking Forces making its way down Into the ditch,

Which is quite slimy And wet and boggy.

Meanwhile, the chaps Are standing up here On top of this bank,

Meters above them Have great advantage.

Oh, they can chuck Things down, missiles down At the attacking force,

And they have the advantage Of about seven,

Eight meters height Above those who are Struggling away

In the bottom of the ditch.

It's a pretty formidable Defensive system.

[narrator] The defensive Earthworks here

Tower over 25 feet tall.

There are wooden Revetments on top

And a deep depression At the base.

In battle, soldiers Stand guard behind The wooden walls.

They pick off The enemies below,

Trapped like flies In the muddy dike.

David is convinced That the mount at heronbridge

Is also manmade And is conclusive evidence Of the battle site.

But is this battle, The one that monmouth Describes?

In his account, king arthur Is the clear winner.

David investigates another Historical report written In the eighth century ad.

[david] We know From the writings Of the chronicler bede

That the battle occurs Somewhere near chester

And heronbridge Is, in fact, two miles South of chester,

But as a resounding Anglo-saxon victory.

Bede tells us the name Of the anglo-saxon king,

Which is ethelfrid.

He tells us the names Of some of the british kings And princes.

But nowhere does he mention The name arthur.

[narrator] Bede's account Suggests this battle

Is not the one arthur leads,

But it is proof of unrest In the area.

Offa's dyke.

The huge defensive earthwork West of heronbridge

Could provide important clues To where arthur's battle Might be.

Offa's dyke, This massive structure Is also a boundary,

It sets the limit To the anglo-saxon lands On one side

And the british territory On the other.

[narrator] This solid man made Structure stretches

For over 150 miles From north to south.

And it is built by The anglo-saxons To protect themselves

From british attacks.

This vast boundary is evidence Of numerous battles,

Many of which are won By the britons.

In the fifth And sixth centuries ad,

The native britons Of the west stand strong

Against the anglo-saxon Invaders.

Separated into small kingdoms,

They fight again and again To protect their land.

Later, historians named The heroic british Warrior chiefs.

The most famous Of which is king arthur.

But, the legend also says That king arthur

Unites these british kingdoms And pushes The invading armies out.

What can cutting edge dna Research reveal about

The truth behind this part Of the legend?

Does arthur manage to protect His kingdom from invasion?

[narrator] Legends say King arthur is born In the stronghold of tintagel.

In the sixth century ad.

Investigators discovered That the stories are rooted In historical reality.

But, king arthur is also said To rule over a prosperous British kingdom,

Free of anglo-saxons.

Is there evidence Of this prosperity At tintagel?

Archaeologists on unearth Astounding objects

Near tintagel castle's Great hall.

An amphora for wine From greece.

A red bowl From western anatolia

And glassware From southern france.

They date back To the sixth century,

And are evidence That tintagel is an incredibly Wealthy place.

With a population bigger Than london at the time.

This seaside stronghold Is an important hub Of commerce

That trades with distant Corners of the world.

What does tintagel reveal About the legend Of king arthur?

Win scutt investigates Tintagel and its many finds.

[win] The artifacts we get From tintagel are just

Many and varied And very rich.

We think that this was Probably the home

Or one of the homes Of royalty.

[narrator] Tintagel Is a powerful town

During king arthur's time.

A possible royal residence,

And one of the centers Of a bustling british kingdom.

We do know that there was A kingdom of dumnonia.

Covering cornwall And devon,

In other words, That southern peninsula Of britain.

Tintagel may have been Like the royal capital Of that kingdom.

[narrator] Do tintagel And the kingdom of dumnonia

Remain free From invasion, like Arthur's legend describes?

Duncan sayer believes clues May lie in ancient dna.

He examines skeletons Recovered from

A small sixth century Burial ground in oakington In the east of england.

This is a zone that culturally We would describe as The early anglo-saxon host.

[narrator] Duncan and his team Extract dna from the bones.

The extraordinary preservation Of the bodies leads To a remarkable breakthrough.

We're able to get Full genomic sequencing For the first time

From anglo-saxon material, Nobody's ever managed That before.

[narrator] Duncan compares This anglo-saxon genetic Fingerprint

To the dna of modern day People from across britain.

This can help reveal If the anglo-saxons pushed Into the west of britain,

Or whether it remains free From invasion

As the legend Of arthur states.

He translates the results Into a heat map of britain,

That shows anglo-saxon Genetic heritage in red.

You see a most significant Contribution in the south Of britain,

And then a significant Contribution into the sort Of midlands

And the east coast Of britain across here.

[narrator] Anglo-saxon Genetic heritage is strongest

In the east and the center Of britain.

In the west, A different story emerges.

The blue to the west, Shows much less Of a contribution.

[narrator] Modern day people In the west of britain have

Much less anglo-saxon dna Than those in the east.

This suggests the anglo-saxons Only managed to push

Into these lands much later.

During the early centuries Of the invasions

When king arthur Is said to live.

The british kingdoms Remained free.

They are protected By powerful military leaders

Who could be the inspiration For the legend of king arthur.

The romano-british commander Lucius artorius castus

Fights foreign invaders.

He may have inspired The naming of arthur.

The british prince Athrwys ap meurig

Also shares the arthur name.

He rules over The british kingdom gwent In the seventh century ad.

Another british king Of the era.

Owain ddantgwyn rules Gwynedd and fights off The anglo-saxons.

Riothamus, a fifth century Britain king

Leads his army into gaul.

Geoffrey of monmouth writes King arthur led just Such an invasion.

The real arthur is lost To history,

But he might be a combination Of these and other formidable Warriors.

As the british kingdoms face Final defeat

In the ninth century.

The legend of an earlier hero Inspires the britons To keep on fighting.

There are many stories, But I think the most common Theme of all of these

Is that king arthur Was a warlord who lived In the fifth, sixth century.

[narrator] But if there Isn't one identifiable King arthur.

Why are the legends So enduring?

How does tintagel castle Contribute to arthur's Continued popularity?

[narrator] The legendary King arthur is described As a mighty warrior,

A fearsome king who spends His life protecting his lands.

Modern research reveals That the legend is rooted Surprisingly deep

In historic reality.

King arthur may be one Of many real warriors

Who defend the british Kingdoms from

The invading anglo-saxons.

[soldiers yelling]

But why is this ancient legend Still so appealing?

He was believed to be a hero And now he's become

The national hero, The world hero.

[narrator] Win scutt Investigates how the legend Takes such a strong hold

In later centuries, Surviving until today.

He looks for clues In tintagel,

Arthur's legendary birthplace.

He examines the great hall.

It's built 700 years after Arthur's lifetime,

And 100 years After monmouth's account.

By richard, The earl of cornwall.

It's made of this Very wonderful, local stone,

The shillot or slate, It's a metamorphic rock,

And we think that They actually probably used

The stone from The earlier buildings On the site.

[narrator] Slate is a type Of layered rock

That is found On the cornish coast.

It's been used as A building material Since roman times.

But, by the 13th century, Builders have swapped slate For stone blocks.

Why does earl richard Use old fashioned slate?

It seems really likely That richard, earl of cornwall

Was trying to connect himself With the arthurian legend.

[narrator] Richard, Centuries later,

Is inspired by the tales Of arthur to build

A magnificent castle fit For a legendary king.

Other parts of tintagel Reveal similar evidence.

This is clearly An artificial tunnel.

And it's been chiseled.

These are metal chisels, Iron chisels that cut this.

[narrator] A similar structure Features in another branch Of the arthur legend,

Involving one Of his knights, tristan.

It might be to do With the tristan And iseult myth,

We know they met in the cave.

[narrator] This intriguing Manmade construction

Reveals that king arthur And his knights are already Famous in medieval times.

The legend of arthur Was absolutely ingrained In everybody.

They wanted to create A kind of theme park here Back in the 13th century.

[narrator] Win discovers That the popularity Of king arthur begins

Soon after monmouth's account.

Over later centuries, The stories grow and develop.

Transforming king arthur Into a literary And movie superstar.

But, surprisingly, The stories start with truth.

[win] We have to see arthur As a product of imaginative Storytelling.

But, he, or a number of people That fed the story

Probably existed somewhere.

[narrator] Today, Investigators are untangling The threads of the legends.

Their new discoveries expose The historical truth

At the root of The many stories Of king arthur.

The truth behind the legends Reveals that tintagel.

Arthur's legendary birthplace Is an impenetrable citadel By the sea.

A rich city fit for a king.

In arthur's sixth century, Heroic british kings fight A formidable enemy,

The anglo-saxons.

And wield extraordinary Personalized weapons

Like excalibur.

By piecing together These clues.

King arthur emerges From legend and myth To take his place in history.