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(bells ringing).
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NARRATOR: A city
state like no other,
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feared the world over.
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JAMES: A rich,
powerful republic,
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making vast amounts of money,
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protected by a massive fleet of
the world's fastest war ships.
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NARRATOR: Venice would be
nothing without its ships,
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but their secrets have
been lost for centuries.
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What can three discoveries
reveal about how Venice
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becomes a
renaissance superpower?
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JON: This could give us a
clue into how the Venetians
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ruled for almost 500 years.
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NARRATOR: And why it
finally falls into ruin.
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GIOVANNI: There have been
extended excavations and they
found thousands of bodies.
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JON: In a very real sense,
the history of Venice lies
underwater.
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We just have to find it.
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NARRATOR: A city
of high culture,
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magnificent architecture,
stunning natural beauty,
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made possible by a past
steeped in conquest.
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JON (off-screen): At its height,
700 years ago,
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Venice controlled an
area spanning 1000 miles,
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and its influence stretched
across three continents.
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It was a maritime empire
of unequalled power,
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and the wealthiest
city in Western Europe.
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JAMES: The key to
Venice is its watercraft,
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and while many people know
of the famous gondolas,
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the true Venetian
vessel is the galley.
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These ships dominate the
Mediterranean for centuries,
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and are key to Venice
becoming a naval power,
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an economic power and
a political power.
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NARRATOR: And the seed of
this power is the Arsenale,
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once the biggest industrial
facility in the west.
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Hidden behind high walls,
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thousands worked to
build the best warships
the world has ever seen.
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PETER: But the master
ship builders kept their
designs to themselves,
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handing them down
from father to son,
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by word of mouth only.
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So we have no blueprints
or plans for any galleys,
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and we've never been able
to find any evidence of one.
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STEFANDO: Any archaeologist
dreams of discovering a
Venetian medieval galley.
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I've been living and working
in Venice for 25 years.
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It's a place that never
ceases to amaze me.
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NARRATOR: For
his entire career,
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maritime archaeologist,
Stefano Medas,
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has been searching for evidence
of Venice's naval power.
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He's focused his search in
the waters of the lagoon that
surrounds the city.
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JAMES: The difficulty in
excavating Venice's past
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is that it sits in a lagoon
200 square miles in size,
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and that's three times
the area of Washington DC.
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JON: Trying to find a ship
in these waters is like looking
for a needle in a haystack.
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Actually, it's worse than that,
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it's like looking for a needle
in a haystack underwater with
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a bucket over your head.
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JAMES (off-screen): The city
sits on 118 small islands
connected by bridges and canals.
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From above, it
looks beautiful,
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but drain the canals
and then the lagoon,
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and you start to understand
why nobody, after 700 years,
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has been able to find any
shipwrecks of any significance.
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Today, over 80% of the
lagoon is thick mud,
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just about 11% is water.
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So even if you were lucky
enough to find anything,
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it would most likely be
trapped under the mud,
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and to dredge the lagoon
would take 1000 years.
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NARRATOR:
Despite the challenges,
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Stefano is convinced his
quest for evidence of an
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ancient warship
is worth continuing.
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STEFANDO: We know from
historical sources, old maps,
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that something
important was there.
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NARRATOR: In 1997,
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a team of divers makes
a tantalizing discovery.
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A piece of wood.
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JON (off-screen): It
might not sound much
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but for archaeologists
it's a breakthrough.
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A piece of wood
could mean a ship.
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STEFANDO: It was an
extraordinary discovery
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that could give us a
lot of information.
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When you're lucky enough
to find a piece of wood,
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the first thing to do is to
try and find out how old it is,
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so it's sent to the lab
for radio carbon analysis.
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It was amazing because
we found out that it was
from the 14th Century.
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JAMES: Wood from
the 14th Century,
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for Stefano and the team it's
like finding the holy grail.
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This is from the time when
Venice is at the peak of its
naval and economic power.
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You couldn't have found a
piece from a better period.
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JON (off-screen): So now
Stefano knows there's
something worth finding
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in the mud of the lagoon.
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NARRATOR: In 2001,
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Stefano and his
team begin their search
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in the area where
the 14th Century piece
of wood was discovered.
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JAMES: But the problem is,
that you're in very muddy water
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where you can see nothing the
moment you stir the mud up.
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NARRATOR: When they do find
something, it's something big.
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♪ ♪
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STEFANDO: We started
seeing this gigantic
hull in perfect condition.
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It was very emotional for the
whole team of archaeologists.
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NARRATOR: To find out if
this structure they found
could be a long-lost galley,
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Stefano turns to the
one man who can help him,
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Venetian historian and
ship expert, Mauro Bondioli.
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MAURO: They called me
because I was the only person
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in the world with the
knowledge to study and identify
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this particular type of wreck.
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When Stefano called,
I immediately said okay,
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I'll drop everything
and tomorrow morning I
will be at the lagoon.
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I had thought all night
about how to identify a galley
from other types of ships.
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I calculated the
length and I said okay,
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in this particular point,
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we should be able
to find a structure
typically found in galleys,
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which is the mast step.
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JAMES: A mast step is a notch
cut into the backbone of a ship,
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deep down in its hold.
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That's a key
piece of evidence,
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but good luck trying to find
that along the entire of a ship
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buried in the mud when
you're doing it by feel.
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NARRATOR: Armed with
this potential lead,
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the team returns to
the submerged wreck.
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MAURO: It was a very long
operation because they had to
dig through all that mud.
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I waited at least three
hours for an answer.
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Finally, an archaeologist
came to the surface and said,
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"We've located the structure
made this way and that way,"
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and I told them,
"You've found a galley."
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STEFANDO: It was obviously
extraordinary and exciting
because we were certain
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it was the first wreck
of a galley ever found in
the Mediterranean and beyond.
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JON: So it's a very,
very important find,
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and what you
want to do is record every
single part of that wreck,
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inch by inch,
do a forensic study of it.
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The problem is, this wreck
is completely covered in mud,
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you can't even see your hand in
front of your face under water.
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NARRATOR:
How will they excavate
this medieval fighting galley
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from the Venice lagoon?
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JON (off-screen): They're really
gonna have to come up with
a pretty unique solution.
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NARRATOR: Setfano Medas
and his team believe the
14th Century galley they found
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in the Venice
lagoon is so important it
needs to be fully excavated.
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JAMES: So they come up
with this crazy idea.
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Why don't we just
drain the water away.
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And the government agrees.
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Even though this is gonna
cost a million dollars.
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NARRATOR: The strategy
create a cofferdam,
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a watertight enclosure
they can pump dry.
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To build it, engineers sink
36 foot long steel girders
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vertically into the
muddy floor of the lagoon,
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300 of them.
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JAMES: They have to fit
everything together,
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girder by girder, perfectly.
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The slightest gap, even
a fraction of an inch,
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can lead this thing to fail and
the water can't be drained.
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JAMES (off-screen):
Now comes the real test.
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It's getting the
water out of there.
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You have to take huge pumps,
and they use five of them,
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to remove millions of gallons,
and they work around the clock.
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STEFANDO: While
lowering the water,
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we spend days anxiously
watching because the water
level was dropping so slowly.
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JAMES: It takes two
weeks to build the wall,
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and it takes a full week
to get that cofferdam dry.
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NARRATOR: What begins
to emerge is the outline
of a sleek, narrow hull.
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But to examine it in detail,
they have to move fast.
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JON: There's a problem with
draining the water away
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because it's the water
and mud that protected
the site in the first place,
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and the moment you remove it,
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it instantly starts to decay,
and actually that can be quite
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a quick process, particularly
when you expose timbers to the
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air for the first time.
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JON (off-screen):
So the important thing
was to keep it wet,
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but also to cover it
with a protected canvas,
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and they did that each time they
were excavating the timbers.
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PETER (off-screen): The
excavators worked painstakingly
for three months,
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little by little
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exposing the vessel's
unique hydrodynamic shape.
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Finally,
the 700 year old galley,
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the pride of the
Venetian fighting fleet,
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and the only one
in existence today,
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is visible in all its glory.
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STEFANDO: It was amazing to
see the beauty of the hull,
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the internal frames
and the benches,
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seeing it from
the stern to the bow,
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with its sharp lines.
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It was really emotional
because it was like going back
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for one moment into a
14th Century boat yard.
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NARRATOR: The team
takes measurements.
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The hull is 120 feet
long and just 15 feet wide.
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For the first time,
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they could confirm the
number and position of
oarsmen powering the vessel.
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JAMES: Now, using all the
new data from the excavation,
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we can bring this lost
Venetian galley to life.
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JAMES (off-screen): When you
see this extraordinary design
slicing through the water,
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you really get
a sense of how these warships
made Venice a naval superpower.
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The engine of this machine?
Muscle power.
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00:14:04,160 --> 00:14:07,080
140 oarsmen rowing together.
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More rowers equals more power.
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Uniquely, they set
three abreasted places,
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propelling the hydrodynamic
hull through the water
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00:14:20,400 --> 00:14:22,560
at an astonishing
six miles an hour,
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00:14:24,120 --> 00:14:27,600
making this the fastest
ship on the seas at the time.
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00:14:30,840 --> 00:14:32,720
And because of this
speed and power,
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a galley could outmaneuver
its slower opponents.
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That's naval superiority.
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MAURO: When a
fleet of galleys appeared
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00:14:45,400 --> 00:14:49,280
with so many oars
rowing with an incredible,
harmonious rhythm,
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00:14:50,560 --> 00:14:52,040
like the wings of a bird,
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it must've looked fantastic,
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00:14:57,600 --> 00:15:01,240
really incredible for people
who had never seen things like
this before.
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NARRATOR: The crew can
even harness the power
of a 65 foot long sail
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00:15:10,000 --> 00:15:13,800
to carry them
effortlessly forward
when winds are favorable.
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PETER (off-screen): Before this
galley was excavated,
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00:15:19,040 --> 00:15:21,200
we had no idea how
they were made,
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00:15:21,280 --> 00:15:23,280
we had to guess at the
design of these vessels.
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00:15:25,440 --> 00:15:29,080
Now we know,
from the design of the hull
to the power of the oarsmen,
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00:15:29,160 --> 00:15:32,080
these ships were simply years
ahead of their time.
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00:15:33,040 --> 00:15:36,640
JON: They were very
maneuverable, sleek, fast,
war machines.
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00:15:42,560 --> 00:15:44,400
JAMES: When the
archaeologists are done,
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00:15:44,480 --> 00:15:46,280
they face two choices.
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00:15:46,600 --> 00:15:49,840
To raise, recover
and chemically treat
it to preserve it
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00:15:49,920 --> 00:15:51,800
at a cost of millions,
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00:15:51,880 --> 00:15:54,640
or put it back in
its time capsule.
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00:15:56,920 --> 00:16:02,840
They let the water reclaim
the cofferdam and bury the
ship once again to preserve it.
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00:16:05,600 --> 00:16:11,360
(bells tolling).
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00:16:13,920 --> 00:16:15,280
JAMES (off-screen):
700 years ago,
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00:16:15,360 --> 00:16:17,840
ports across the Venetian
Empire would've been filled
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00:16:17,920 --> 00:16:21,360
with hundreds of
galleys like the one
lying in Venice lagoon today.
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00:16:24,840 --> 00:16:27,440
Guarding the coast,
protecting trade routes,
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00:16:27,520 --> 00:16:31,880
because trade is the beating
heart of the Venetian Republic.
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00:16:36,360 --> 00:16:39,680
MAURO: If you had visited
Venice 700 years ago,
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00:16:39,760 --> 00:16:42,480
you would've found one of the
richest markets in the world.
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00:16:44,240 --> 00:16:46,200
Any type of goods could
be found in Venice.
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00:16:49,120 --> 00:16:50,640
PETER (off-screen): And
making this trade possible
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00:16:50,720 --> 00:16:54,120
are vast fleets of
Venetian merchant ships,
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00:16:54,200 --> 00:16:57,200
sailing to the far reaches of
the Mediterranean into Syria.
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00:16:59,600 --> 00:17:03,600
JAMES (off-screen): Historical
documents hint that these ships
were loaded with riches,
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00:17:03,680 --> 00:17:06,320
filled to the brim with millions
of dollars worth of goods.
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00:17:08,560 --> 00:17:12,640
The problem is, there's not
many physical examples left in
the archaeological record.
230
00:17:15,680 --> 00:17:17,400
NARRATOR: So what
could a looted wreck,
231
00:17:17,480 --> 00:17:19,680
discovered off the
coast of Croatia,
232
00:17:19,760 --> 00:17:22,560
reveal about the wealth
of ancient Venice?
233
00:17:24,560 --> 00:17:26,880
IRENA: There was something
important but nobody knew
234
00:17:26,960 --> 00:17:29,920
what was actually hiding
on the seabed.
235
00:17:43,760 --> 00:17:46,680
IRENA: The second I saw
this wreck, I was hooked.
236
00:17:50,760 --> 00:17:53,280
Nothing prepared me for
its strange attraction.
237
00:17:57,120 --> 00:18:00,080
NARRATOR: For nine
years, Irena Radic Rossi,
238
00:18:00,160 --> 00:18:03,040
has been diving here,
off the coast of Croatia.
239
00:18:04,160 --> 00:18:06,680
The reason lies 80 feet below,
240
00:18:06,760 --> 00:18:09,280
a shipwreck first
discovered and picked over
241
00:18:09,360 --> 00:18:10,640
decades ago.
242
00:18:14,480 --> 00:18:19,280
IRENA: We know for sure that
in the early 60s a fisherman
found the shipwreck site.
243
00:18:21,280 --> 00:18:24,600
He kept the information
for himself for some time,
244
00:18:25,000 --> 00:18:30,520
and then somehow better divers
came across this find
245
00:18:30,600 --> 00:18:33,040
and started to loot it.
246
00:18:36,800 --> 00:18:39,880
JAMES (off-screen): Back then,
Croatia is part of communist
Yugoslavia,
247
00:18:39,960 --> 00:18:42,760
and so when they hear about
this find and the looting,
248
00:18:42,840 --> 00:18:45,200
the government send out
a team to take a look.
249
00:18:51,880 --> 00:18:53,960
NARRATOR: Although the
wreck has been looted,
250
00:18:54,040 --> 00:18:57,360
the government team still
finds some important artifacts.
251
00:19:00,880 --> 00:19:05,360
JAMES: Among the most exciting
things they found are objects
that have a date on them.
252
00:19:08,280 --> 00:19:12,520
JON: Two cannon were
brought up marked with
the initials Z and A,
253
00:19:14,560 --> 00:19:17,560
and these initials stand
for Zuanne Alberghetti,
254
00:19:17,640 --> 00:19:23,280
and Zuanne Alberghetti was
actually a very famous bronze
gun maker based in Venice,
255
00:19:23,360 --> 00:19:24,880
and that makes us
think instantly there's a
256
00:19:24,960 --> 00:19:27,040
connection between
this ship and Venice.
257
00:19:29,880 --> 00:19:33,200
JON (off-screen):But even more
incredibly there's a date
inscribed on the
258
00:19:33,280 --> 00:19:37,440
cannons in Roman numerals,
and that date is 1582.
259
00:19:41,760 --> 00:19:47,040
And that's a time when Venice
has established a place as
the number one trading city.
260
00:19:47,120 --> 00:19:50,640
The place where anything and
everything is bought and sold,
261
00:19:50,720 --> 00:19:53,280
all at a great profit for the
merchants and government.
262
00:19:59,000 --> 00:20:03,520
And so if that ship
is from around this
crucial period of the 1580s,
263
00:20:03,600 --> 00:20:06,960
the question is,
what else can the ship tell us?
264
00:20:10,640 --> 00:20:15,320
IRENA: The guns were an
important clue for discovering
the story of the shipwreck,
265
00:20:15,400 --> 00:20:18,320
but of course they
didn't tell everything.
266
00:20:22,080 --> 00:20:23,960
NARRATOR: Starting in 2012,
267
00:20:24,040 --> 00:20:27,040
Irena and her team begin
charting the size and scale
268
00:20:27,120 --> 00:20:28,520
of the plundered wreck
269
00:20:29,040 --> 00:20:31,480
to see if they can figure
out what the ship was and
270
00:20:31,560 --> 00:20:33,200
how it ended up here.
271
00:20:34,160 --> 00:20:38,680
IRENA: So I will
be working in V18,
272
00:20:38,760 --> 00:20:41,040
so that's the plan for today.
273
00:20:41,800 --> 00:20:42,960
Okay, let's go.
274
00:20:47,720 --> 00:20:50,560
NARRATOR:
But with every dive,
they face danger.
275
00:20:52,400 --> 00:20:55,440
IRENA: It is forbidden to
dive without the gloves on
276
00:20:55,520 --> 00:20:58,040
the site because it is
full of toxic material.
277
00:21:00,520 --> 00:21:04,520
There was elementary mercury,
we have lead carbonate.
278
00:21:10,360 --> 00:21:12,560
JON (off-screen): Mercury and
lead were used back in the 1500s
279
00:21:12,640 --> 00:21:15,160
for decorating furniture and
its pigments for painting.
280
00:21:22,440 --> 00:21:25,960
If the divers touched the
liquid mercury
underwater with bare skin,
281
00:21:26,040 --> 00:21:27,400
it would cause burns.
282
00:21:33,040 --> 00:21:36,000
Above the surface,
it can vaporize and if inhaled,
283
00:21:36,080 --> 00:21:38,760
can lead to brain damage,
even death.
284
00:21:44,360 --> 00:21:47,120
Lead poisoning can damage
the kidneys and nervous system.
285
00:21:52,160 --> 00:21:53,760
IRENA: When they
come out of the water,
286
00:21:53,840 --> 00:21:57,800
they become dangerous,
so we have to be very careful.
287
00:22:00,600 --> 00:22:01,840
JAMES (off-screen):
When you study a wreck,
288
00:22:01,920 --> 00:22:04,000
you need to
carefully measure it,
289
00:22:04,080 --> 00:22:08,560
so we lay out metal
grids that allow us to map
everything in its place.
290
00:22:12,160 --> 00:22:15,240
It's a very meticulous science,
291
00:22:15,320 --> 00:22:16,600
it's CSI underwater.
292
00:22:19,480 --> 00:22:22,840
NARRATOR: After hundreds
of dives over several years,
293
00:22:22,920 --> 00:22:26,280
Irena collects enough data
to map the wreck's structure.
294
00:22:28,200 --> 00:22:30,760
Putting it all together
begins to reveal what sort of
295
00:22:30,840 --> 00:22:32,240
ship it is.
296
00:22:42,040 --> 00:22:43,800
JAMES (off-screen): If we were
to drain the water away,
297
00:22:43,880 --> 00:22:46,280
what you would see if
that this truly is,
298
00:22:46,360 --> 00:22:48,000
not only a large ship,
299
00:22:50,080 --> 00:22:52,320
but you'd get a sense
of the scale of the hold.
300
00:22:55,120 --> 00:22:57,520
It could carry up to
800 tons of cargo.
301
00:22:59,280 --> 00:23:01,680
Now today that's about
5000 barrels of oil,
302
00:23:03,520 --> 00:23:08,640
so we're talking about the
16th Century equivalent of a
modern containership.
303
00:23:13,240 --> 00:23:16,760
NARRATOR: Although much of
the cargo has been looted,
some remains.
304
00:23:17,440 --> 00:23:21,480
What was this ship carrying
and what can that reveal
about its mission?
305
00:23:25,160 --> 00:23:28,120
JON: Finding a historic wreck
with that much cargo on it,
306
00:23:28,200 --> 00:23:30,440
that many riches,
is actually very, very rare.
307
00:23:39,640 --> 00:23:46,040
NARRATOR: Irena Radic Rossi and
her dive team hope the cargo of
a 16th Century Venetian ship
308
00:23:46,120 --> 00:23:48,680
will allow them to
unlock its mysteries.
309
00:23:50,840 --> 00:23:53,920
JON (off-screen): The hope is
that we can find out
where the ship was going,
310
00:23:54,000 --> 00:23:55,760
and crucially,
put a name to it.
311
00:23:59,160 --> 00:24:01,280
NARRATOR: And a major
clue lies in pieces over
312
00:24:01,360 --> 00:24:02,920
the sea floor.
313
00:24:03,960 --> 00:24:07,320
JAMES: The most
extraordinary thing they
found were window panes,
314
00:24:07,760 --> 00:24:11,240
hundreds of them, and they're
still bringing them up today.
315
00:24:13,240 --> 00:24:15,120
IRENA: It was great.
316
00:24:15,200 --> 00:24:17,880
Tomas collected some
glass down there,
317
00:24:17,960 --> 00:24:21,080
and we will see
now what is inside.
318
00:24:23,880 --> 00:24:29,400
There is a lot of this glass
lying everywhere in the surface
layer of the site.
319
00:24:32,200 --> 00:24:35,720
When it was baked, it was
completely transparent,
320
00:24:35,800 --> 00:24:41,320
and now, after four centuries
of lying down on the seabed,
321
00:24:41,400 --> 00:24:43,880
the window pane's degraded.
322
00:24:44,880 --> 00:24:50,080
So this was beautiful glass
that was used in nice buildings.
323
00:24:51,960 --> 00:24:55,360
IRENA (off-screen): In the 16th
Century, it was quite a luxury
product.
324
00:24:56,840 --> 00:25:01,120
(bells ringing).
325
00:25:04,520 --> 00:25:06,800
NARRATOR: To put a
name on the wreck,
326
00:25:06,880 --> 00:25:10,000
Irena and her team contact
the one man who might be able
327
00:25:10,080 --> 00:25:14,480
to figure it out,
Mauro Bondioli.
328
00:25:17,000 --> 00:25:19,640
MAURO: And so she asked me
to start archive research,
329
00:25:21,000 --> 00:25:23,520
not just to
identify the wreck,
330
00:25:24,040 --> 00:25:26,120
but the reconstruct
its whole history.
331
00:25:32,080 --> 00:25:34,960
NARRATOR: Mauro gets
two solid leads,
332
00:25:35,040 --> 00:25:40,040
the age of the ship's
guns and a list of the
artifacts recovered so far.
333
00:25:42,000 --> 00:25:44,560
Then, he goes looking for more.
334
00:25:46,480 --> 00:25:51,080
JAMES: The Venetian
state archives is an
incredible trove of documents,
335
00:25:51,160 --> 00:25:56,280
state papers, correspondence,
cargo lists for ships.
336
00:25:57,360 --> 00:26:02,440
It's so vast that
it has 50 miles of
shelves and over 300 rooms.
337
00:26:05,320 --> 00:26:09,080
Often times researchers go
there and they will realize
338
00:26:09,160 --> 00:26:14,320
they are the first to touch
a piece of paper since it was
deposited in the archives
339
00:26:14,400 --> 00:26:15,760
hundreds of years ago.
340
00:26:19,760 --> 00:26:26,200
IRENA: Then, Mauro
discovers a document
about 5000 window panes,
341
00:26:26,280 --> 00:26:31,160
so we immediately thought that
it must have been our ship.
342
00:26:35,440 --> 00:26:36,800
NARRATOR:
According to the records,
343
00:26:36,880 --> 00:26:41,400
in 1583 a ship leaves Venice
loaded with chandeliers,
344
00:26:41,480 --> 00:26:44,880
silk and 5000 window panes.
345
00:26:45,400 --> 00:26:47,760
Its name,
the Gagliana Grossa.
346
00:26:52,680 --> 00:26:56,880
MAURO: I discovered that this
was a ship that set out from
Venice and was
347
00:26:56,960 --> 00:26:58,800
destined for Constantinople.
348
00:27:01,160 --> 00:27:02,640
JON (off-screen): But
that makes no sense.
349
00:27:02,720 --> 00:27:07,320
Constantinople is the centre
of Venice's mortal enemy,
the Ottomans.
350
00:27:07,920 --> 00:27:10,640
Why are they sailing directly
into their enemy's backyard?
351
00:27:12,360 --> 00:27:15,760
JON: But the story gets even
stranger when it's found
out who the cargo's meant for.
352
00:27:16,200 --> 00:27:18,360
It goes right to the top
of the Ottoman Empire.
353
00:27:22,080 --> 00:27:24,240
MAURO: One of the
most interesting
things about this wreck
354
00:27:25,840 --> 00:27:28,040
is that this document
research has confirmed
355
00:27:28,120 --> 00:27:31,160
that the cargo was going
directly to the Sultan.
356
00:27:33,680 --> 00:27:36,160
JAMES: The archives
revealed that Sultan,
Murad the Third,
357
00:27:36,240 --> 00:27:38,800
is not your typical
warrior king.
358
00:27:39,960 --> 00:27:42,160
JAMES (off-screen): He loves
the finer things in life.
359
00:27:42,840 --> 00:27:44,880
He has a big,
beautiful palace.
360
00:27:46,160 --> 00:27:49,800
He also loves women,
lots of women.
361
00:27:51,840 --> 00:27:55,840
Murad keeps his 50
wives in the harem,
362
00:27:55,920 --> 00:28:00,000
a beautiful building decorated
with many glass windows.
363
00:28:04,600 --> 00:28:07,120
We know that in 1583,
364
00:28:07,200 --> 00:28:10,960
the Sultan faces a
terrible disaster.
365
00:28:12,120 --> 00:28:15,960
A fire burns down
his most precious
room in the palace.
366
00:28:18,160 --> 00:28:19,560
The harem.
367
00:28:20,640 --> 00:28:23,760
IRENA: The Sultan was
very upset about it,
368
00:28:23,840 --> 00:28:26,600
so he wanted to reconstruct
it as soon as possible.
369
00:28:28,560 --> 00:28:32,920
He gave the orders
to purchase the material
for the reconstruction
370
00:28:33,000 --> 00:28:36,720
and ordered 5000 window panes,
371
00:28:37,200 --> 00:28:41,240
and the Senate of Venice decided
to load them on Gagliana.
372
00:28:44,720 --> 00:28:47,640
JAMES: Venetian merchants
would sell to anyone,
373
00:28:47,720 --> 00:28:53,760
even their enemies, and the
government would likely turn a
blind eye to that.
374
00:28:56,080 --> 00:29:00,720
The trade with the Ottomans
was filling the coffers,
375
00:29:00,800 --> 00:29:05,200
so if this means trading
with the enemy, why not?
376
00:29:06,680 --> 00:29:09,240
JON (off-screen): But
the Sultan never got his
consignment of glass.
377
00:29:11,720 --> 00:29:13,800
NARRATOR: A fraction of
the way into its journey,
378
00:29:13,880 --> 00:29:16,080
the Gagliana Grossa sinks,
379
00:29:16,160 --> 00:29:19,200
making it the
richest renaissance
wreck in the Mediterranean.
380
00:29:21,240 --> 00:29:23,880
JON: You have to wonder
how such a state of the
art merchant ship
381
00:29:23,960 --> 00:29:25,520
ended up at the
bottom of the ocean.
382
00:29:34,880 --> 00:29:36,440
NARRATOR: To find out what
could've caused the
383
00:29:36,520 --> 00:29:39,000
Gagliana Grossa
cargo ship to sink,
384
00:29:39,400 --> 00:29:42,280
the team turns to
clues within the archives.
385
00:29:44,360 --> 00:29:49,040
JAMES: The Venetian archives
tell us that the Gagliana sails
386
00:29:49,120 --> 00:29:52,120
from Venice in
late October, 1583.
387
00:29:53,040 --> 00:29:54,680
That's late in the season,
388
00:29:54,760 --> 00:29:57,720
and the ban on sailing in
the winter is about to start.
389
00:29:59,400 --> 00:30:01,480
JAMES (off-screen): There is
a good reason for that ban.
390
00:30:05,000 --> 00:30:07,360
JON: The Adriatic's a dangerous
sea at the best of times.
391
00:30:08,000 --> 00:30:11,600
It acts like a big funnel
and it channels storms
up and along its length,
392
00:30:11,680 --> 00:30:13,040
coming in from the mountains,
393
00:30:14,520 --> 00:30:15,600
and it makes it treacherous,
394
00:30:15,680 --> 00:30:17,400
particularly if you're
pushing it into the stormier
395
00:30:17,480 --> 00:30:18,720
part of the season.
396
00:30:21,640 --> 00:30:22,600
JAMES: What happened?
397
00:30:24,120 --> 00:30:26,600
JAMES (off-screen): Perhaps it
took a while to finish the glass
398
00:30:26,680 --> 00:30:29,200
and then to load that precious
cargo into the ship.
399
00:30:30,160 --> 00:30:33,440
If that's the case, it
would be a fatal delay.
400
00:30:36,280 --> 00:30:38,000
NARRATOR: The Gagliana's
course would've taken it
401
00:30:38,080 --> 00:30:41,480
right through an area
nicknamed Little Ocean,
402
00:30:42,520 --> 00:30:44,520
renowned for its storms.
403
00:30:46,960 --> 00:30:52,200
JAMES (off-screen): What
probably happened is that a
squall storm strikes,
404
00:30:52,840 --> 00:30:57,600
and Gagliana Grossa, overloaded
with all that heavy glass,
405
00:30:57,680 --> 00:30:59,280
begins to list,
406
00:31:00,200 --> 00:31:05,000
takes on water and then
falls to the bottom of the sea,
407
00:31:07,400 --> 00:31:09,600
taking the Sultan's
precious cargo with her.
408
00:31:19,520 --> 00:31:21,800
JON: The fate of the
Gagliana tells a bigger story
409
00:31:21,880 --> 00:31:24,920
and it's really about the demise
of Venice as a trading power.
410
00:31:28,440 --> 00:31:32,480
NARRATOR: The Gagliana
sinks at a critical time of
change in the Mediterranean.
411
00:31:35,720 --> 00:31:37,920
JON: By the 1580s,
you've got the English,
412
00:31:38,000 --> 00:31:40,920
you've got the Spanish
building much bigger ships
413
00:31:41,000 --> 00:31:44,640
which could survive brutal
voyages across the Atlantic,
414
00:31:44,720 --> 00:31:49,760
and they begin to take on the
trading role that Venice was
once so famous for.
415
00:31:51,960 --> 00:31:53,600
JON (off-screen): Venice is
teetering on the brink,
416
00:31:53,680 --> 00:31:55,880
her enemies are expanding
into her territory.
417
00:31:58,080 --> 00:32:01,360
(bells ringing).
418
00:32:01,440 --> 00:32:04,320
JAMES (off-screen):
But the Venetian civilization
is brought to its knees,
419
00:32:05,240 --> 00:32:09,760
not by guns and swords but
from an invisible silent enemy
420
00:32:09,840 --> 00:32:12,240
that Venice has no
defense against.
421
00:32:16,240 --> 00:32:21,480
This new deadly force plunges
Venetians into a war they
have no chance of winning.
422
00:32:27,800 --> 00:32:28,840
GIOVANNI: For most people,
423
00:32:28,920 --> 00:32:32,800
Venice begins and ends with the
city and its famous landmarks.
424
00:32:35,680 --> 00:32:40,680
But, to really know Venice,
you have to look in the less
glamorous places.
425
00:32:43,280 --> 00:32:45,840
NARRATOR: Venetian historian,
Giovanni Caniato,
426
00:32:45,920 --> 00:32:48,920
has spent years piecing
together the lives of Venetians
427
00:32:49,000 --> 00:32:51,640
during the last
decades of the Republic.
428
00:32:57,280 --> 00:33:01,080
GIOVANNI: No one has
paid much attention to
the island we're headed to
429
00:33:01,160 --> 00:33:02,280
until recently.
430
00:33:04,240 --> 00:33:08,160
But I've discovered it
hides a disturbing secret.
431
00:33:20,600 --> 00:33:25,760
GIOVANNI (off-screen):
Walking around this island,
I discovered a huge building
432
00:33:25,840 --> 00:33:29,080
with hundreds and
hundreds of inscriptions,
433
00:33:29,160 --> 00:33:33,200
drawing traced on the
plaster inside the building.
434
00:33:35,680 --> 00:33:38,120
Incredible. Incredible.
Fascinating.
435
00:33:38,440 --> 00:33:40,760
And the more I looked,
the more I found.
436
00:33:42,800 --> 00:33:47,480
I wanted to know who
wrote these inscriptions,
437
00:33:47,560 --> 00:33:51,320
why they did and this
curiosity made me crazy
438
00:33:51,400 --> 00:33:55,680
and I start looking for
documents to understand why
certain names
439
00:33:55,760 --> 00:33:57,880
were traced on the walls.
440
00:34:03,560 --> 00:34:09,320
I had the impression that
most of these drawings were
strictly related with trade,
441
00:34:09,400 --> 00:34:12,680
with goods that were disembarked
in this place,
442
00:34:12,760 --> 00:34:18,320
and most of them were the
initials of a merchant.
443
00:34:21,360 --> 00:34:23,400
NARRATOR: Back at
the state archives,
444
00:34:23,480 --> 00:34:28,240
Giovanni discovers
that the mysterious
building dates back to 1562.
445
00:34:30,000 --> 00:34:32,800
JAMES: The archives tell us
that this is a warehouse
446
00:34:32,880 --> 00:34:36,400
under which merchants
store all the goods
that are coming by sea.
447
00:34:37,680 --> 00:34:42,280
But if that's the case then
you'd expect it to be built in
the center of the city
448
00:34:42,360 --> 00:34:43,640
or at the port entrance,
449
00:34:44,480 --> 00:34:48,280
not on some remote island
two miles from the city.
450
00:34:50,880 --> 00:34:53,240
NARRATOR: When a team of
archaeologists starts digging
451
00:34:53,320 --> 00:34:56,080
for artifacts in the
shadow of the building,
452
00:34:56,840 --> 00:34:58,520
the mystery only deepens.
453
00:35:01,280 --> 00:35:04,240
JON: They find skeletons,
bones, human remains.
454
00:35:05,640 --> 00:35:08,040
So far they've dug up
about 40 skeletons.
455
00:35:09,800 --> 00:35:13,080
It takes a long time to record
a human skeleton fully
456
00:35:13,160 --> 00:35:16,160
and it can actually be quite
an upsetting process,
457
00:35:16,240 --> 00:35:17,720
a disturbing process as well.
458
00:35:19,600 --> 00:35:24,720
It takes 14 excavators two
days to work on just one
skeleton and record it fully.
459
00:35:28,760 --> 00:35:32,280
One of the first things you
do with human bone is find out
what period it came from,
460
00:35:32,360 --> 00:35:36,040
and what's really interesting is
they all seem to date from the
same period as the building.
461
00:35:38,280 --> 00:35:41,360
That means these people died
when the building was in use.
462
00:35:44,760 --> 00:35:47,680
What was surprising was
they were finding that the
skeletons weren't whole,
463
00:35:47,760 --> 00:35:51,080
they'd been cut in half,
legs were removed,
464
00:35:52,960 --> 00:35:55,680
and this is quite a
macabre discovery.
465
00:35:58,880 --> 00:36:02,760
NARRATOR: To figure out
if the terrible mutilations
were the cause of death,
466
00:36:03,120 --> 00:36:05,640
the team carries out
a forensic examination.
467
00:36:07,840 --> 00:36:11,920
JAMES: Looking at the edges of
the bones where these bodies
have been cut in half,
468
00:36:12,000 --> 00:36:13,120
they find that they're brittle,
469
00:36:13,200 --> 00:36:15,440
they're fractured,
they're jagged.
470
00:36:16,400 --> 00:36:20,800
Bone dries out in the soil,
it loses collagen,
it becomes brittle,
471
00:36:21,400 --> 00:36:22,640
and all of these
bones have been
472
00:36:22,720 --> 00:36:26,400
fractured in a way that
showed that this had
happened long after death.
473
00:36:29,040 --> 00:36:32,880
NARRATOR: There's only one
explanation for what they found.
474
00:36:34,520 --> 00:36:39,560
The skeletons must
have been dug up and
then cut into pieces.
475
00:36:41,000 --> 00:36:43,040
JAMES: So the
question is then...
476
00:36:43,120 --> 00:36:46,760
Why did them up after
they've been buried?
477
00:36:58,200 --> 00:37:00,720
NARRATOR: Archaeologists
believe the 42 skeletons they
478
00:37:00,800 --> 00:37:03,800
found are just the
tip of the iceberg.
479
00:37:06,200 --> 00:37:08,600
JON: We don't know what lies
under the rest of the island,
480
00:37:08,680 --> 00:37:10,840
but the amount of
skeletons they found,
481
00:37:10,920 --> 00:37:13,960
they were probably looking
at thousands of skeletons
on the site,
482
00:37:16,240 --> 00:37:21,000
layer after layer,
essentially a killing field.
483
00:37:26,800 --> 00:37:33,520
♪ ♪
484
00:37:34,960 --> 00:37:37,040
NARRATOR: Historian,
Giovanni Caniato,
485
00:37:37,120 --> 00:37:40,280
believes clues as to what's
behind this mass grave
486
00:37:40,360 --> 00:37:44,080
and its brutal burial methods
lie in the history books.
487
00:37:47,720 --> 00:37:49,400
GIOVANNI (off-screen):
From the 14th Century on,
488
00:37:49,480 --> 00:37:52,440
you begin to see
accounts of mass death,
489
00:37:53,080 --> 00:37:55,000
thousands are dying,
hundreds a day,
490
00:37:55,080 --> 00:37:57,840
and bodies are piling
up in the streets,
491
00:37:59,120 --> 00:38:03,160
and this fills the population
with fear, suspicion.
492
00:38:03,240 --> 00:38:05,000
What's causing this?
493
00:38:06,160 --> 00:38:08,960
And this is death
that spares no one,
494
00:38:09,040 --> 00:38:12,480
from the poorest to the
richest and the most powerful.
495
00:38:14,920 --> 00:38:19,160
JON: The Venetians don't
know what the cause of these
terrible outbreaks actually are,
496
00:38:19,760 --> 00:38:20,640
But there is one clue.
497
00:38:20,720 --> 00:38:23,040
They begin to notice that the
ships that are coming in,
498
00:38:23,120 --> 00:38:27,280
that often the sailors
are getting ill a short time
after they dock at the port.
499
00:38:30,360 --> 00:38:33,120
JAMES: What we now know
is that this is the
age of the Black Death.
500
00:38:33,560 --> 00:38:38,040
The Bubonic Plague,
carried in fleas on rats,
501
00:38:38,880 --> 00:38:43,200
and as this plague
spreads throughout Europe
and kills so many,
502
00:38:43,640 --> 00:38:47,160
it will even hit a
place like Venice because
rats can be found in ships,
503
00:38:48,000 --> 00:38:53,880
and it's ironic that for all of
the power and the wealth that
comes to Venice
504
00:38:53,960 --> 00:38:59,360
in the hold of a ship,
now comes death,
unstoppable death.
505
00:39:08,000 --> 00:39:11,200
NARRATOR: Now, for Giovanni,
it all comes together.
506
00:39:11,840 --> 00:39:16,680
He realizes the merchant's
building is much more
than a simple warehouse.
507
00:39:17,000 --> 00:39:21,360
GIOVANNI: Venetians understood
that it was a good idea
508
00:39:21,440 --> 00:39:26,120
to have a place for
people who were suspected
to have the plague,
509
00:39:27,400 --> 00:39:30,800
and so they
created Lazzaretto Nuovo.
510
00:39:34,240 --> 00:39:37,280
NARRATOR: Historical records
and archaeological findings
511
00:39:37,360 --> 00:39:42,480
allow them to rebuild
the isolation
facility as it was in 1562,
512
00:39:43,040 --> 00:39:46,000
revealing the truth
about what happened here.
513
00:39:50,600 --> 00:39:52,360
PETER: This was an
island where all the ships
514
00:39:52,440 --> 00:39:56,240
coming into the lagoon
would wait for 40 days,
515
00:39:56,320 --> 00:39:59,160
quaranta in Italian,
or quarantine.
516
00:40:01,080 --> 00:40:05,760
GIOVANNI: This building marks
the height of a revolutionary
Venetian innovation.
517
00:40:06,520 --> 00:40:11,640
It was the world's
largest and most sophisticated
quarantine building
518
00:40:11,720 --> 00:40:13,360
of the 16th Century.
519
00:40:15,760 --> 00:40:17,280
JAMES: It's amazing
when you think about it.
520
00:40:17,360 --> 00:40:19,640
This is 400 years
before germ theory,
521
00:40:20,160 --> 00:40:24,280
but here they are figuring out
that you need to isolate people
522
00:40:24,360 --> 00:40:26,720
and move them away so
that they don't spread it.
523
00:40:27,440 --> 00:40:28,720
Sound familiar?
524
00:40:33,240 --> 00:40:35,600
NARRATOR: For Giovanni
and the team of excavators,
525
00:40:35,680 --> 00:40:38,040
the mass graves
begin to make sense.
526
00:40:39,760 --> 00:40:44,960
JAMES: So, what you
see is with an estimate
of over 500 a day dying,
527
00:40:45,040 --> 00:40:49,280
this quarantine island
now becomes the overflow
528
00:40:49,360 --> 00:40:52,480
for the dying and for the dead.
529
00:40:54,640 --> 00:40:58,840
GIOVANNI: Can you imagine to
live in this island with
thousands of other people,
530
00:40:58,920 --> 00:41:00,560
half of them dying?
531
00:41:01,960 --> 00:41:04,920
GIOVANNI (off-screen): You
couldn't move, you couldn't go
out from the building.
532
00:41:05,520 --> 00:41:07,960
Armed guards are
checking that you don't move,
533
00:41:08,040 --> 00:41:10,800
and if you try to run away
you are killed immediately.
534
00:41:12,120 --> 00:41:14,160
That was a terrible situation.
535
00:41:18,360 --> 00:41:20,560
NARRATOR: And the
team realizes even the
536
00:41:20,640 --> 00:41:23,720
desecration of the bones
serves a chilling purpose.
537
00:41:29,000 --> 00:41:31,280
JON: With hundreds of bodies
a day arriving on the island,
538
00:41:31,360 --> 00:41:33,920
there just wasn't enough
space to bury everyone,
539
00:41:36,160 --> 00:41:39,160
so they'd have to cut down
into the existing graves there,
540
00:41:39,240 --> 00:41:40,400
cutting through bodies,
541
00:41:40,480 --> 00:41:43,200
cutting through corpses to
create space for new bodies.
542
00:41:46,240 --> 00:41:48,960
I mean this is quite a
picture of hell really
543
00:41:49,040 --> 00:41:50,480
for the people that
were working there.
544
00:41:53,880 --> 00:41:59,520
JAMES: These inscriptions
on the wall take on
new meaning and poignancy.
545
00:42:00,520 --> 00:42:04,280
Whoever wrote these probably
didn't realize this would be the
546
00:42:04,360 --> 00:42:07,360
last thing they
would ever write and the
547
00:42:07,440 --> 00:42:10,360
last trace of them,
other than their bones.
548
00:42:19,520 --> 00:42:21,600
NARRATOR: But even
with the plague island,
549
00:42:21,680 --> 00:42:25,200
this unique city state is
brought slowly to its knees.
550
00:42:26,920 --> 00:42:29,000
JAMES: Nearly a third of
the population is gone,
551
00:42:29,080 --> 00:42:32,320
practically overnight, and
that includes key people.
552
00:42:33,120 --> 00:42:37,280
Shipwrights, soldiers,
sailors, merchants,
553
00:42:37,360 --> 00:42:40,000
all of the people that
made Venice great.
554
00:42:41,880 --> 00:42:45,200
Venice never recovers
her position.
555
00:42:48,760 --> 00:42:52,920
JON (off-screen): It goes to
show just how fragile even great
civilizations can be.
556
00:42:54,760 --> 00:42:57,440
Their warships allowed
them to dominate the seas,
557
00:42:57,520 --> 00:42:59,880
giving them control of
ports and trade routes.
558
00:43:01,920 --> 00:43:04,080
Their merchant vessels
sailed from port to port a
559
00:43:04,160 --> 00:43:06,080
massing fast fortunes,
560
00:43:06,160 --> 00:43:08,600
making connections
around the Mediterranean,
561
00:43:08,680 --> 00:43:10,880
all the way to Constantinople.
562
00:43:13,520 --> 00:43:17,360
JON: But it's actually
those contacts that ended up
bringing death to Venice.
563
00:43:17,440 --> 00:43:19,760
There was no defense
against the plague,
564
00:43:19,840 --> 00:43:23,120
all their
technology could do nothing
about this deadly disease.
565
00:43:25,280 --> 00:43:27,840
Essentially, Venice became
a victim of its own success.
566
00:43:29,720 --> 00:43:34,040
♪ ♪
567
00:43:34,120 --> 00:43:38,800
JAMES (off-screen): But Venice
adapted, and the Venetians rode
out the Bubonic Plague.
568
00:43:42,280 --> 00:43:45,960
Today their city is one of
the most beautiful and most
visited in the world,
569
00:43:48,000 --> 00:43:51,120
and that speaks to the
power of the human spirit,
570
00:43:52,480 --> 00:43:54,960
that speaks to resilience,
571
00:43:55,040 --> 00:44:00,440
and that speaks to our ability
as humans to go through
something tough
572
00:44:00,520 --> 00:44:02,680
and come out
on the other side.
573
00:44:04,160 --> 00:44:06,720
♪ ♪
574
00:44:07,320 --> 00:44:08,480
Captioned by
Cotter Media Group.