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These are masterpieces from our past.

Official YIFY movies site: YTS.MX

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.