All language subtitles for Das.Geheimnis.Von.Phaistos.-.Falscher.Am.Werk.2016.720p.WEBRip.x264.AAC-[YTS.MX]

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These are masterpieces from our past.

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But which are genuine, and which are fake?

I was shocked.

So many pieces
I thought were ancient were not ancient.

The works of art were found
by ambitious archaeologists.

Arthur Evans excavated
the palace of Knossos.

He made incredible finds
and received funding for further digs.

He was even knighted by George V.

Luigi Pernier, on the other hand,
excavated Phaistos.

He made no significant finds.

His funding threatened to run out,

until he was able to produce
the Phaistos disc,

featuring the oldest
writing system in Europe.

It was an incredible achievement.

Pernier excavated the whole palace
within a few years.

It was for glory and for cash.

Evans and Pernier
worked with brilliant restorers,

Gilliéron and his son.

Did these four reinvent our past?

In the year 1900, Arthur Evans begins
excavating the palace of Knossos.

The English archaeologist
had purchased some land near Heraklion.

Archaeology is not Evans' only interest.

He is also after glory for the motherland.

Soon, he makes spectacular finds.

Evidence of an ancient,
advanced culture which, up until 1900,

was considered a myth.

The Minotaur, half man, half bull,
hid in the labyrinth of Knossos

waiting to prey on humans.

Evans is intoxicated.

On Crete, ruins of
an advanced culture are being recreated.

The kingdom of Minos,

a symbol of luxury and abundance
in the ancient world.

In the south of Crete, meanwhile,

Italian archaeologists
have rediscovered the palace of Phaistos.

In this age of nationalism,

they, too, are concerned about
the reputation of Italian archaeology.

Like Arthur Evans in Knossos,

Luigi Pernier, leader of the team,
wants to make a unique find.

And he does.

In Heraklion on Crete,

his Phaistos disc is the main attraction
for museum visitors.

An iconic, ancient masterpiece,
like Nefertiti in Berlin.

But up to this day, many still believe
that the disc is a forgery.

Who could have done it?

The Brit Evans works alongside
experienced restorer Émile Gilliéron.

Gilliéron's work enables Evans to recreate
the world of the Minoan civilization.

But did this world really exist?

Today, researchers
dispute Gilliéron's methods.

Swiss Émile Gilliéron's career takes off

after he arrives in Athens in 1880.

During the following decades,
Athens grows rapidly.

After Greece gains independence
from the Ottoman Empire,

wealthy citizens
pour money into education and art.

Close to the acropolis,

a soon-to-be-famous millionaire

builds a luxury villa.

Heinrich Schliemann made
his fortune from gold and weapons

He wants to fulfill his childhood dream
of exploring Troy and Mycenae,

the cities of Homer's heroes.

The young Gilliéron

hopes to be employed by Schliemann
as an archaeological illustrator

and is put to the test.

As the story goes,

Schliemann presented the Swiss
with three fragments of a wall painting

and demanded
Gilliéron reconstruct the entire painting.

At first, Gilliéron is at a loss,

but then he cleverly uses
his imagination to complete the task.

He draws a charioteer with a spear.

Schliemann is delighted.

This is how the painting must have looked.

Then the artist
grabs a new piece of paper.

This time, he draws a temple guard.

But this wasn't his last drawing, either.

He continues to draw until
Schliemann is fed up and employs him.

After Schliemann's death,
Arthur Evans invites the Swiss to Crete.

The archaeologists have a stroke of luck.

Soon after the start of the excavations,
they make remarkable finds.

The fragments
are ready to be reconstructed.

Émile Gilliéron can continue in Knossos
where he left off with Schliemann.

On this occasion,
he is accompanied by his son.

Like his father, his name is also Émile.

The island of Crete
is a paradise for archaeologists.

Émile Jr. trains his eye
using the newly excavated structures…

and the expressive faces of the locals.

Not only did he inherit
his father's artistic talent,

but also his business sense

and a certain
"unscrupulous approach to the truth,"

as critics later claim.

What the client wants, Émile delivers,
happily portraying him as a superhero.

Émile Jr. never stops drawing,

his work meticulously and detailed.

In a few years, he'll take on
his father's place in Evans' team.

For over 40 years,
father and son Gilliéron

shape the still popular, somewhat
idealized picture of ancient Crete.

An island paradise
in the middle of a ruby-colored sea.

Beautiful, fertile,
and surrounded by the lapping waves,

just as the poet Homer described it.

The French Archaeological School in Athens

is a meeting point
for artists and scientists.

Its director is Alexandre Farnoux.

Only a few days ago,

the archaeologist received the private
archives of the Gilliéron family.

He is planning
to undertake a scientific analysis.

This is Gilliéron Sr.'s order book.

This is the prototype
of the catalog the Gilliérons created

to present their copies
of excavated pieces for sale.

This book lists all the significant finds
from their excavations,

with photos of the restored pieces
and a description.

Here, for example, it says,

"Vase from Pylos, documented
by the German archaeologist Müller,"

followed by measurements
and the price of the vase.

For a long time,

excavators had to rely
on artists' drawings and watercolors

to record finds as accurately as possible.

Gilliéron Sr. finds himself
in the right place at the right time

and with the right people
to make full use of his talents.

He has to immediately capture
the color of each find accurately.

The skilled sketcher
quickly develops the artistic expression

to capture the tone and style
of the Cretan Bronze Age.

At least in a way that suits
his boss Evans' image

of the world of King Minos.

Majestic, noble, and very elegant.

This is a drawing made
directly from the original wall fresco,

showing the outline
of the excavated fragments.

You can clearly see
the additions Gilliéron suggested

to recreate the entire image.

The fresco portrays Minoan bull-leaping.

Athletes leap across the bull
from the front to the back.

The stunt was part of a religious ritual

and was potentially fatal.

At the beginning of the 20th century,

Europe and the USA
become truly obsessed with Crete.

The newly discovered art works
inspire artists and fashion designers.

Others think of Crete
as the Disneyland of archaeology.

The Gilliérons churned out drawings,
which they then commercialized.

This is the famous detail
from the Procession Fresco.

These are studies that were then
copied and sold all over Europe.

The Prince of the Lilies reveals
the method used by Gilliéron.

He simply invented the figure.

We now know that the fresco
of the Prince of the Lilies…

ARCHAEOLOGIST

…has been composed
from a number of different frescoes.

Gilliéron did it

because Evans requested
that he illustrate the Minoan kingdom.

Us researchers still find this impressive,

even though we now understand the reasons.

Arthur Evans digs and digs.

A man on a mission, the Brit seems to have
few qualms about what he is doing.

Finds of non-Minoan architecture
are simply discarded.

Palace rooms
are named at his own discretion.

When a throne made of alabaster is found,

Evans immediately declares it to be
the throne of King Minos,

even though neither the existence
of Minos nor the function of the throne

had been verified.

The motherland
is quick to acknowledge him.

Evans is knighted by King George V.

Luigi Pernier
is facing serious difficulties.

In the south, where he is digging,
the coast is rugged and hostile.

The first explorers here
must have been good climbers.

Many of the excavation sites are remote,

in difficult to access ravines
and up high mountains.

Behind the mountains lies the Libyan Sea.

The sea connected the Minoans

with the advanced civilizations
of the Middle East and Egypt.

But it also provided protection
from foreign invaders.

Professor Diamantis Panagiotopoulos
has been researching Crete's past

in this region for many decades.

His painstaking excursions
on dusty tracks are paying off.

Away from the big palace complexes,

there are many smaller sites
that have barely been studied.

The seaside mountains
have always been a fortress.

In the past, they've kept enemies away.

Today, they stop curious travelers
from forging ahead.

The locals of Crete are still
a close-knit community, wary of strangers.

But, without local help,
researchers struggle to make headway.

Diamantis Panagiotopoulos
has many friends on the island.

The knowledge they share with him

has been passed
from generation to generation.

There are countless hidden caves
in the rock faces.

Often, only shepherds
know how to access them.

The caves have always been
sacred places for the locals of Crete.

Gods were born there.
Like Zeus, king of the gods.

Archaeologists made surprising discoveries
in these places of sacrifice.

Double-edged ritual axes
made of bronze or gold.

Priestesses made of clay.

Or are they actually goddesses?

These figures fuel the myth
that Crete was a matriarchy,

a society ruled by women.

Professor Panagiotopoulos's
excavation site

is situated at the edge of the mountains,
above the Messara.

The area has been badly affected
by migration into cities,

with many of the villages
having been abandoned.

During the Minoan civilization,
this hill was home to a thriving village.

The remnants
are being excavated and examined.

We are interested in finding out

why a particular region
is a flourishing center…

ARCHAEOLOGIST

…during some historical periods

and an isolated area during others.

Climate is not the reason.

There has been little climatic variation
on Crete during the last 4,000 years.

Yet, after the disappearance
of the Minoan civilization,

Crete never again reached
the importance it had in its heyday.

For us archaeologists,
Crete remains a mystery,

even though it's been over 100 years
since the first, great discoveries

at the beginning of the 20th century.

It is astounding

that an advanced civilization
developed here

that can be compared
to the great civilizations of the East.

For thousands of years,

the fertile Messara Plain
has brought prosperity.

It's the ideal environment
for a civilization to develop and thrive.

Crete is located at the intersection
of ancient trade routes.

The Cretans ran a large shipping fleet,

and trade with surrounding
Mediterranean countries flourished.

The first advanced culture
of Europe developed,

with its population concentrated
in centers such as Knossos and Phaistos.

Phaistos has produced the biggest enigma
of the Minoan kingdom,

Luigi Pernier's disc.

Italian archaeologists
began working on Crete…

ARCHAEOLOGIST

…during a particular period in history.

During the middle of the previous century,
Greece had won independence from Turkey.

Crete was divided into Italian,
French, and British protectorates.

In this environment,

archaeologists from Italy
could work without any impediments.

The first archaeologists,
like Luigi Pernier,

explored Crete on mules.

They had to deal with malaria
and other issues unimaginable now.

Luigi Pernier lands on Crete
around the year 1900.

The island
is still under the rule of the Ottomans.

It was unimaginable back then

that this had once been the home
to Europe's first advanced civilization.

Yet Pernier
kept coming across traces of such a past.

During Roman times,
the city of Gortyn governed the Messara.

The Great Code was found here,
the oldest legal code in Europe.

Pernier feels underwhelmed.

Neither Gortyn nor the other sites
gain him any recognition.

He feels underused and undervalued.

His superior, Federico Halbherr,
on the other hand,

is considered a distinguished expert.

The discovery of the Gortyn code
made him famous.

In Phaistos, too, Pernier starts off as
deputy to the head of the dig, Halbherr.

Pernier is considered ambitious.

He comes from Rome,
from an aristocratic family

with French roots.

The opportunity arises

when Halbherr becomes involved
in a political intrigue.

Now Pernier is in charge at Phaistos.

PHAISTOS 13

Pernier studied literature and archaeology

at the renown Sapienza University of Rome.

Today, linguist and archaeologist
Alessandro Greco teaches here.

Around the time of 1800 or 1700 BC,
Crete was a cultural hotspot.

Back then,
the magnificent palaces were built.

You can still see the ruins today.

Inside the palaces,
researchers found clay tablets

with characters from the Linear A script.

Despite centuries of research,
the script has not yet been deciphered.

Alessandro Greco is approaching
the task from a different angle.

He is analyzing
all pictorial evidence found to date

to collect information about Minoan
religion, governance, and everyday life.

His main problem
is that most of the authentic images

are only available as miniatures
on seals and pieces of jewelry.

We don't know who is depicted.

Is it a king or a queen?
A prince or a god?

Even if the pictorial language
remains a mystery,

the function of the objects is known.

They were used by those in power
to seal documents and letters.

At Heidelberg University,
Professor Diamantis Panagiotopoulos

processes his excavation campaign.

He holds the renowned position
of Professor of Classical Archaeology.

The analysis and archival of finds
is part of the work of an archaeologist.

At Heidelberg University,
a scientific mega project is underway,

involving 130 researchers
from 13 countries.

It's the famous
Corpus of Minoan and Mycenaean Seals,

a gigantic data collection

comprising 100,000 photographs
and 9,000 impressions from seals.

It's a collection of different materials,

forms and, in particular, patterns,
the images on the seals,

that provides us
with a lot of valuable information

about social structures, ideology,
and mentality of this civilization.

Of course, there are also
some signet rings

which we're not sure are authentic.

We are comparing those problematic pieces

with seals that come
from systematic archaeological digs

and whose authenticity is not in doubt.

The image on one of the rings
in the collection at Heidelberg

has not yet been deciphered.

There is no doubt it is antique.

The spiral pattern and characters
resemble the Phaistos disc.

Is this ring
proof that Pernier disc is genuine?

The ring of Minos, on the other hand,
is a problematic piece.

It has long been suspected of being fake.

Arthur Evans
purchased the ring from a priest

against the advice of many experts.

Today, the ring of Minos
is in the Heraklion Museum.

If it really is a modern fake,
who could have been the forger?

Again, the name Gilliéron
is on the list of suspects.

Did the two men
spend decades creating fakes?

The final piece of evidence
is still inaccessible,

in the Heraklion Museum.

British archaeologist and linguist
Gareth Alun Owens

has made Crete his home.

His research focuses

on early pieces of Minoan writing,
such as the disc.

The palace of Phaistos
has an almost magical attraction for him.

The Minoan civilization
of the second millennium BC

revolved around the palace complex.

Palaces were the center
of religion and administration.

Gareth Owens knows the palace of Phaistos
like the back of his hand.

For decades, he has examined every detail,

such as
the so-called throne room of the queen.

These pithoi were the foundation
of the economic wealth of the Cretans.

These traditional
storage vessels made of clay

are still produced today
as they were thousands of years ago.

The artisans of the old palace workshops
created true masterpieces.

Their reputation reached
as far as the court of the Pharaohs.

The Egyptians ordered clay vases
and silver bowls from Crete.

The Minoan palaces
depended on agriculture.

Olive oil and wine, still excellent today.

They were stored in the warehouses here.

The Minoans exported
to the entire Mediterranean region.

They traveled everywhere.

The first palace
was destroyed around 1700 BC.

This must be the time
of the Phaistos disc.

It's no surprise
that the first writing was developed here.

This first palace of Phaistos
only stood for about 200 years.

It collapsed after a massive earthquake.

Doors and roofs were made of timber,

which caught fire from the flames
of the oil lights, creating an inferno.

Even though the structure
was constructed in a special way,

it did not withstand the massive quakes.

The fire spread rapidly.

The inhabitants fled in panic,
but many did not survive.

The entire palace complex collapsed.

The Phaistos disc
was part of this destruction.

The clay disc had already been fired…

ARCHAEOLOGIST

…not just accidentally in the fire,
like the other clay tablets here.

This part of the palace
was a treasure chamber.

The place where the disc was found,
among a whole lot of other artifacts,

led Pernier to believe

that the disc had fallen down
from one of the upper stories.

But a reconstruction of the scenario
throws up new questions.

How could a fragile clay disc
survive a drop of many meters

on to a hard stone floor
without any sign of damage?

An urgent question that neither
Pernier nor his successors in Phaistos

have been able to answer adequately.

Jerome Eisenberg
is an antique dealer in New York.

For decades,

this well-known specialist in art forgery
has been examining artifacts

to determine whether they are authentic.

It has been fired carefully and evenly.

Usually, ancient tablets were only fired
accidentally due to a fire disaster.

The edges are very sharp.

Antique clay objects
did not have such sharp edges

because they could be easily damaged.

It has too many things wrong with it.

ART DEALER

If two or three things don't add up,
I can perhaps accept it.

But when there are eight
or nine inconsistencies, it's a fake.

If Eisenberg's suspicion is correct,

Luigi Pernier must have forged
the excavation records.

It's also possible
that he himself was deceived.

We are still not entirely sure
who was at the excavation site

when the disc was found.

Alessandro Greco is certain

that Pernier did not forge
any of the found pieces.

It was an incredible achievement
by Pernier.

LINGUIST

First, he excavated the entire palace.
Then he analyzed everything.

Parallel to his excavation work on Crete,

Luigi was employed
as an inspector of antiques in Florence.

The Archaeological Museum of Florence
fell under his responsibility.

Among the museum's showpieces
are objects from the Etruscan period.

The Etruscans were once among
the most powerful people of the region.

Paola Rendini's specialization
is Etruscan writings.

In the storage room,

the doctor and the museum director
examine one of the most valuable objects.

The Magliano disc.

It features one of the most important
Etruscan inscriptions.

All 70 words can now be read.

Luigi Pernier was not yet able to read it.

With eight centimeters, the disc
is half the size of the Phaistos disc.

Words and phrases are separated by dots.

On the Phaistos disc,
slashes have been used.

The disc was found
at the end of the 19th century.

ARCHAEOLOGIST

The Archaeological Museum in Florence
bought the artifact in 1888.

It's an extraordinary object,
as it is made of lead.

It measures eight by seven centimeters.

It's not very big, but it features
one of the longest Etruscan inscriptions.

Close to where the disc was found,
there is an Etruscan cemetery

with even older graves,
dating back to 700 and early 600 BC.

There is no doubt that this cult object

was made 1,000 years,
after the palace fire in Phaistos.

A cultural exchange between Minoans
and Etruscans seems highly unlikely.

The similarity between both discs
cannot be explained.

However, Luigi Pernier had the opportunity
to study the Magliano disc in Florence

before he discovered the one in Crete.

For Jerome Eisenberg,
this is compelling evidence.

The disc has many unique characteristics.

It has nothing in common
with other antique artifacts.

It's the only large disc found
at that time in the Mediterranean.

Nobody knows what it is
or where it came from.

Pernier's successor
at the excavation site in Phaistos

is also puzzled by the disc.

The disc is an unusual object
with unique writing.

It is unique in Crete
and the Eastern Mediterranean.

It is syllabic writing of the open type.

Such as "ka, ke, ki, ko, ku,"

or "ta, te, ti, to, tu."

It's likely that it developed on Crete

because all other Cretan writing systems,
like Linear A or B,

are also types of open syllabaries.

The disc is the main attraction
in the Museum of Heraklion.

The disc is 3,000 years old,
the museum says.

The inscription is a religious hymn,

the chronicle of a battle,
or the index of an archive.

What do we know for certain?

The disc has a diameter of 16 centimeters

and has been stamped
with 45 different signs

in the shape of a spiral
running from the outside to the center.

There are
242 stamped impressions in total.

Too many signs for an alphabet,
too few signs for a pictographic script,

like that of China or ancient Egypt.

We proceeded methodically.

If a sign is repeated
in different writing systems,

it likely has the same phonetic value.

And 45 of the disc's signs were used
at the same time in the same place

in the old Cretan Linear B script,
which has been deciphered.

While linguist Owens believes
there will soon be a breakthrough,

Jerome Eisenberg sees suspicious errors.

The inscription goes from right to left,
like Egyptian hieroglyphs.

SPECIALIST IN ART FORGERY

The Minoan scripts, however,
are read from left to right.

The signs are too realistic
for an ancient script.

This sign is interesting.

It's a boxing glove, caestus in Latin.

It only occurred
in Roman times, 1,500 years later.

They don't make sense together.

If Jerome Eisenberg is correct,
how could the forger have proceeded?

It must have been someone who was
familiar with ancient writing systems.

It would have been easy
to procure a blank disc.

There are potters near Phaistos.

A generous tip
would have bought their silence.

Suspicion initially falls
on Luigi Pernier.

The Italian had access
to the excavation record

and would have earned fame
for himself and Italy.

Whether he had the technical skills
to produce a sophisticated forgery

is doubtful.

While the spiral pattern looks
like it was drawn by a child,

the signs were imprinted with stamps
that had been cast, an elaborate process.

Jerome Eisenberg believes
that Pernier commissioned the disc.

It was said that Gilliéron
was present when the disc was found.

But Pernier was not.
He was probably taking a nap.

The circumstances
under which the Phaistos disc was found,

are not entirely clear.

No archaeologist was there to witness it.

Pernier was only later
informed about the disc.

Once again, the Gilliérons
appear to be closely connected

with the appearance of a fake antique.

Did they let greed trump ethics?

Evidence that the Gilliérons
were shrewd businessmen

can be found
at Humboldt University in Berlin.

Archaeologist Nadine Becker is researching

the art bought by the university
before the wars.

The Winckelmann Institute
is the proud owner

of elaborate copies
from the house of Gilliéron.

These objects are studied
by scientists and students.

Everything is in original size,
like the so-called throne of King Minos.

These valuable copies were expensive.

Catalogs, receipts,
and correspondence with the Gilliérons

have been carefully archived.

Receipts and customs records document
the high prices the Gilliérons commanded,

which their customers were willing to pay.

The replicas were produced
in the factory of the company WMF

using a new, revolutionary process
based on the principle of electroplating.

The Gilliérons sold their exclusive pieces
to an international clientele

at staggering prices.

But the Gilliérons weren't
just engaged in trading replicas.

Experts at the renown museums
of Boston and Toronto

have discovered evidence
of criminal activity.

The museum purchased her in 1931.

Wonderful. She is a superb masterpiece.

Sir Arthur Evans
called her "Our Lady of Sports."

An interesting detail here
is this cod piece she is wearing.

This cod piece is actually a penis sheath.

It's not quite appropriate.

It's not entirely appropriate.

It's also interesting
that the majority of the ivory figures

found in the early 20th century
are almost all female figures.

Sir Arthur Evans was determined
to find representations of female gods.

A mother goddess.

That's why he called her
"Our Lady of Sports."

It's a direct reference
to the Virgin Mary.

The Museum of Fine Arts in Boston.

Until recently, the collection here
also included a Minoan ivory figure.

She's been banished into the repository.

A fall from grace for the snake goddess.

So what made you suspicious?

The damage in the face
is especially strange.

The entire left side has sheared away.

All ivory flakes, that's what ivory does.

But the facial features that have survived
should be asymmetrically damaged.

It looks as though the facial features
were carved after the ivory was aged.

The scientific analysis of the material
is also very interesting.

I was very surprised.

If the statuette is original,

the test would date it to about 1450 BC.

The test did come back at 1450,

but AD, not BC.

The ivory is far too recent
to be ancient Minoan ivory.

So who made it?

It would be someone who is very familiar
with archaeological materials.

I believe it was father and son Gilliéron.

They worked for Evans and ran
a profitable business making replicas.

They were well positioned
to create forgeries.

Jerome Eisenberg believes
the examination supports his opinion.

I attended an exhibition
of ancient art in Boston,

and I was shocked how many of the pieces,
in my opinion, were forgeries.

Between 1958 and 1965,
I purchased 40,000 antiques.

22,000 of those came from Egypt.

By necessity,
I became an expert in forgeries.

Are museum visitors in Heraklion
admiring a sophisticated fake,

as Jerome Eisenberg claims?

Recent archaeological discoveries
provide evidence that the disc is genuine.

One of the pieces held in Heraklion
is an axe made of bronze.

The double head of the axe
features three lines of engraved signs.

Linguists,
like Gareth Owens, see a parallel

to the stamped signs on the disc.

Within sight of the ancient Phaistos,

Gareth Owens and his colleagues
are focusing on solving the mystery

of one of the oldest scripts of Europe.

He believes
he has finally made a breakthrough.

The text of the disc, he says,
has been deciphered and can be read.

What we have here
is definitely a Minoan prayer.

We've found the same words
elsewhere on Crete.

I suspect that it is a prayer
for the Minoan goddess Astarte.

LINGUIST

The key word on the disc, iqukurja,
could mean 'pregnant goddess.'

We know from the Linear B script
that iqu means 'goddess.'

Kurja is the word for 'pregnant.'

This wouldn't be surprising.

These words were also found
at holy sites in the mountains,

where Minoans worshipped
the mountain goddess.

This is another attribute of Astarte.
She is queen of the mountain.

Mount Juktas rises high above Knossos.

The mountain is a magical place.

Zeus, the king of gods,
is believed to be buried here.

For thousands of years,
people have been drawn to the peak,

which, from a distance,
resembles a sleeping man.

Gareth Owens, too,
visits the peak frequently.

A long time ago,

a three-aisled Orthodox chapel
was built on the side of the mountain.

Archaeologists discovered
that a three-aisled sanctuary

already stood here in Minoan times,

almost 4,000 years ago.

It's fascinating to look at the offerings.

What people are doing today is similar

to what their Minoan ancestors
did 36 centuries ago.

People don't change.

They worry about their health,
and they ask a higher power for help.

They made body parts
into votive offerings.

Back then, they were made of clay,
not silver, like here.

Minoan patera
that were found here on Juktas,

feature the same words as the B side
of the Phaistos disc.

Recently, another one of those plain,
shallow saucers was found.

It features carvings of unknown signs

that are almost identical
to those on the Phaistos disc.

A forger who lived 100 years ago
could not have known these signs.

Does this mean the disc is genuine?

Well, the Phaistos disc is problematic.

The clay does not look
like clay from Crete.

We don't know its origin

because the disc has not been tested.

The museum refuses any scientific testing.

Egyptian Museum, Berlin.

Here, rumors spread that the bust
of the beautiful Nefertiti was a forgery.

Scientific tests will provide certainty,

despite the high risk of transport.

With the greatest care
and under high security,

the star attraction of the museum
is transported to the Charité Hospital.

There, the most beautiful of all
is examined using computed tomography.

The procedure, crucial for
the Museum Island Berlin, is a success.

The world-famous bust
is not a modern-day forgery

The risk and effort paid off.

The Halle State Museum also has a problem.

It is home
to the archaeological find of the century,

the sky disc of Nebra.

It is made of bronze and decorated
with celestial bodies made of gold.

The treasure was found by grave robbers.

The disc is tainted
by the suspicion of forgery.

An analysis using scientific methods
is meant to dispel all doubts.

The technically challenging examination

takes place
in Berlin's particle accelerator, BESSY.

By using powerful X-ray radiation,

the composition of the gold layer
can be determined

without damaging it.

Crucial proof is obtained.

The sky disc is very old.

What about the disc,
the showpiece of Heraklion?

On the hundredth anniversary
of the disc's discovery

the museum director refused
any examination.

The disc, she says, is a national treasure
and should not be touched or moved.

If the disc is found to be a forgery,
it would be a disaster.

Year in, year out,
millions of tourists visit Crete.

Tourism is the most important sector
of the economy.

Tourism makes up
half of the island's income.

Knossos, Phaistos,

and the museum in Heraklion,
with its world-famous disc

are popular attractions
and a crucial part of this mega business.

Questions are not welcome here.

Thus, a general suspicion continues
to linger over the museum's collection.

Is the disc a forgery?

Is the beautiful word of the Minoans
presented here pure invention?

The museum attempts
to present an accurate picture.

Serious errors are documented.

From a few fresco pieces,

the Gilliérons created the painting
of a young boy gathering flowers.

After further discoveries,
it becomes clear

that the fresco actually shows a monkey.

Jerome Eisenberg is convinced

that the disc is fake
and that Luigi Pernier is a fraudster.

He urgently needed funds
for his excavation,

and he wanted the glory
that comes with a significant find.

He did it for glory and for cash.

Arthur Evans, too, complained
that he had to keep looking for funding.

The discoveries at Knossos
helped him obtain money.

Arthur Evans was able
to realize his dream.

He spent four decades on Crete,

creating his very own vision
of the palace of the king of Minos.

He did it also to contribute
to the glory of the British Empire

and ended up with the title of sir.

Even though critics
describe Knossos as Disneyland,

every year, thousands of visitors flock
to the reconstructed buildings.

Today, some archaeologists suggest
that Evans' buildings should be torn down.

Today, the palace of Knossos is as it is.

It is what people in the 1900s
imagined the Minoan world would look like.

Gilliérons' creations
deserve to be vindicated.

Because our tendency
to evaluate and judge everything

from today's point of view is unfair.

We have to consider
the time when it was created.

That the finds of Heinrich Schliemann
and Arthur Evans found such resonance

is partly due
to the work of the Gilliérons.

They helped shape our ideal
of Europe's first advanced culture.

The Crete of King Minos
is paradise on Earth,

and his subjects
are peace-loving aesthetes.

Émile Gilliéron Jr., like his father,
was never charged with art forgery.

He founded a business in Athens.

This family business successfully
produced copies of antiques

and still does so today.

After decades of work
on the mysterious Phaistos disc,

Gareth Owens believes
he is close to a breakthrough.

For him,
the disc is one of the most important

written records of the ancient word.

We like to think that we are offering
a reading that is more secure.

We hope that we have cleared the way
for the next step, to understand the text.

Jerome Eisenberg is not deterred
by Owens' success.

I still believe it's 100% forged.
I have no doubt in my mind.

The distrust
voiced for decades about his disc

did not affect Luigi Pernier's career
as an archaeologist.

He carried out research
in Phaistos for 30 years,

beyond all doubts and doubters.

Subtitle translation by: M. C.