1 00:00:02,111 --> 00:00:04,146 NARRATOR: Could this really be the man who destroys Troy 2 00:00:04,249 --> 00:00:06,180 with the mythical wooden horse? 3 00:00:06,284 --> 00:00:09,284 Schliemann's been quoted with saying he'd gazed upon 4 00:00:09,387 --> 00:00:10,491 the face of Agamemnon. 5 00:00:10,594 --> 00:00:13,491 NARRATOR: Is this corroded metal plate 6 00:00:13,594 --> 00:00:15,043 a weapon of mass destruction? 7 00:00:15,146 --> 00:00:17,767 It's the equivalent of a nuclear bomb. 8 00:00:19,939 --> 00:00:22,318 NARRATOR: And can these weird chalk cylinders 9 00:00:22,422 --> 00:00:24,836 unlock the mysteries of Stonehenge? 10 00:00:24,939 --> 00:00:26,905 It's a giant puzzle, 11 00:00:27,008 --> 00:00:29,146 and we don't have the picture on the box. 12 00:00:33,836 --> 00:00:35,491 NARRATOR: These are the most remarkable 13 00:00:35,594 --> 00:00:37,663 and mysterious objects on Earth, 14 00:00:38,974 --> 00:00:44,732 hidden away in museums, laboratories, and storage rooms. 15 00:00:44,836 --> 00:00:47,284 Now, new research and technology 16 00:00:47,387 --> 00:00:48,836 can get under their skin 17 00:00:50,008 --> 00:00:51,974 like never before. 18 00:00:52,077 --> 00:00:53,456 We can rebuild them, 19 00:00:55,111 --> 00:00:57,077 pull them apart, 20 00:00:57,180 --> 00:00:59,077 and zoom in 21 00:00:59,180 --> 00:01:02,146 to reveal the unbelievable, 22 00:01:03,284 --> 00:01:05,318 the ancient, 23 00:01:05,422 --> 00:01:07,077 and the truly bizarre. 24 00:01:09,249 --> 00:01:12,836 These are the world's strangest things. 25 00:01:22,249 --> 00:01:25,422 In the National Archaeological Museum in Athens is 26 00:01:25,525 --> 00:01:28,560 one of the most iconic finds from ancient Greece. 27 00:01:31,043 --> 00:01:32,905 Some claim it's proof that one of 28 00:01:33,008 --> 00:01:36,525 the greatest myths in all of history is true. 29 00:01:38,767 --> 00:01:40,560 Now, with the latest technology, 30 00:01:40,663 --> 00:01:44,249 we're bringing this mysterious object out into the light. 31 00:01:47,284 --> 00:01:50,249 This is the Mask of Agamemnon. 32 00:01:50,353 --> 00:01:52,629 Agamemnon is said to have been 33 00:01:52,732 --> 00:01:55,767 the Greek king who led the siege against Troy. 34 00:01:55,870 --> 00:01:57,629 He was seen as a mythical king, really, 35 00:01:57,732 --> 00:01:59,077 not someone who is real. 36 00:01:59,180 --> 00:02:01,629 NARRATOR: But if this is Agamemnon's mask, 37 00:02:01,732 --> 00:02:03,870 then he is very real. 38 00:02:04,939 --> 00:02:07,387 Roughly 10 inches tall by 7 inches wide, 39 00:02:07,491 --> 00:02:10,111 it is crafted from a single sheet of gold. 40 00:02:11,387 --> 00:02:15,456 Every detail is painstakingly embossed into its surface. 41 00:02:15,560 --> 00:02:17,939 PLUMMER SIRES: You get the sense that you're really staring 42 00:02:18,043 --> 00:02:20,732 into a person's face from thousands of years ago. 43 00:02:20,836 --> 00:02:23,146 NARRATOR: But is that really true? 44 00:02:23,249 --> 00:02:25,663 This don't look like anything that 45 00:02:25,767 --> 00:02:29,043 we see in Greece in this period. 46 00:02:29,146 --> 00:02:30,422 NARRATOR: Or was it conjured up by 47 00:02:30,525 --> 00:02:35,111 an archaeologist obsessed with turning myth into reality? 48 00:02:35,215 --> 00:02:38,284 Looks like the mask had been redone or repurposed. 49 00:02:38,387 --> 00:02:42,215 NARRATOR: So is this enigmatic relic the real deal? 50 00:02:42,318 --> 00:02:46,008 Who is the man behind the gold mask? 51 00:02:46,111 --> 00:02:49,043 And could finding him really rewrite history? 52 00:02:52,732 --> 00:02:55,422 1876. Southern Greece. 53 00:02:58,111 --> 00:03:00,974 German archaeologist Heinrich Schliemann is searching for 54 00:03:01,077 --> 00:03:03,629 a legend in the astonishing ruins of the Bronze Age 55 00:03:03,732 --> 00:03:05,594 citadel, Mycenae. 56 00:03:05,698 --> 00:03:07,801 Mycenae was clearly an important town. 57 00:03:07,905 --> 00:03:12,146 It had huge stone masonry walls, which were these large 58 00:03:12,249 --> 00:03:14,525 boulders or blocks, uh, 59 00:03:14,629 --> 00:03:16,560 reportedly built by the cyclops monsters, 60 00:03:16,663 --> 00:03:20,146 basically because the walls were so huge that only monsters 61 00:03:20,249 --> 00:03:21,387 can build such a city. 62 00:03:21,491 --> 00:03:24,318 So it was seen as this grand, great place. 63 00:03:27,974 --> 00:03:29,594 NARRATOR: Inside the mighty walls, 64 00:03:29,698 --> 00:03:33,422 Schliemann's dig unearths a lost tomb complex. 65 00:03:33,525 --> 00:03:36,974 ALTAWEEL: Schliemann discovers remains of 19 individuals, 66 00:03:37,077 --> 00:03:40,353 from children to adults, men and women. 67 00:03:40,456 --> 00:03:42,974 NARRATOR: He uncovers a treasure trove. 68 00:03:43,077 --> 00:03:45,146 ALTAWEEL: There were a number of precious objects, 69 00:03:45,249 --> 00:03:47,767 including gold and silver, precious stones, 70 00:03:47,870 --> 00:03:51,111 ornate kinds of jewelry, even gold leaf covering 71 00:03:51,215 --> 00:03:53,284 for at least some of the bodies. 72 00:03:53,387 --> 00:03:55,456 NARRATOR: And he finds something unlike 73 00:03:55,560 --> 00:03:58,663 any previous discovery from ancient Greece. 74 00:03:58,767 --> 00:04:00,525 Some of the bodies that were buried in 75 00:04:00,629 --> 00:04:04,663 these tombs had their faces covered by gold masks. 76 00:04:04,767 --> 00:04:08,491 NARRATOR: No one had seen Greek death masks like these before, 77 00:04:08,594 --> 00:04:11,629 each one crafted from a single sheet of gold. 78 00:04:11,732 --> 00:04:14,767 ALTAWEEL: Four of them are relatively plain in decoration. 79 00:04:14,870 --> 00:04:17,663 What stands out is one mask, 80 00:04:17,767 --> 00:04:19,249 which was actually quite decorative. 81 00:04:19,353 --> 00:04:20,629 It has more detail. 82 00:04:20,732 --> 00:04:24,043 It looks more like a face we would recognize. 83 00:04:25,215 --> 00:04:27,939 NARRATOR: It becomes known as the Mask of Agamemnon. 84 00:04:29,077 --> 00:04:32,284 Has Schliemann really uncovered the tomb of a mythical king? 85 00:04:33,422 --> 00:04:36,043 Schliemann's been quoted with saying that he'd written 86 00:04:36,146 --> 00:04:37,249 to the King of Greece, 87 00:04:37,353 --> 00:04:40,767 saying that he'd gazed upon the face of Agamemnon. 88 00:04:40,870 --> 00:04:42,836 NARRATOR: Who is Agamemnon, 89 00:04:42,939 --> 00:04:45,663 and why is finding him such a big deal? 90 00:04:48,180 --> 00:04:50,939 According to myth, Agamemnon was one of 91 00:04:51,043 --> 00:04:55,043 the most powerful kings of Greece at the time. 92 00:04:55,146 --> 00:04:56,974 NARRATOR: Agamemnon's story is told 93 00:04:57,077 --> 00:04:58,905 in the Iliad and the Odyssey, 94 00:04:59,008 --> 00:05:02,905 the mythical poems of ancient Greek writer, Homer. 95 00:05:03,008 --> 00:05:05,525 According to Homer, Agamemnon wages 96 00:05:05,629 --> 00:05:08,318 a legendary 10-year war against Troy. 97 00:05:09,456 --> 00:05:12,870 It ends when his soldiers breach the mighty citadel by 98 00:05:12,974 --> 00:05:15,456 hiding inside a giant wooden horse, 99 00:05:15,560 --> 00:05:18,249 the famous Trojan horse. 100 00:05:18,353 --> 00:05:22,698 The story of the war of Troy is one of the most important 101 00:05:22,801 --> 00:05:26,456 narratives in the history of myth and literature. 102 00:05:26,560 --> 00:05:30,249 But is that all it is, just a myth? 103 00:05:30,353 --> 00:05:33,284 According to Homer, the Trojan War happened 104 00:05:33,387 --> 00:05:36,629 over 3,000 years ago, in a mysterious age 105 00:05:36,732 --> 00:05:37,974 we know little about. 106 00:05:38,077 --> 00:05:40,801 Disentangling these stories and trying to find out 107 00:05:40,905 --> 00:05:43,146 what's truth versus what's a story, uh, 108 00:05:43,249 --> 00:05:44,560 is not an easy task. 109 00:05:44,663 --> 00:05:47,008 The problem with these stories is they were full of characters 110 00:05:47,111 --> 00:05:50,422 who seemed potentially quite real -- kings and warriors that 111 00:05:50,525 --> 00:05:51,836 seemed possible. 112 00:05:51,939 --> 00:05:55,249 But it also had all kinds of mythological creatures. 113 00:05:55,353 --> 00:05:57,594 We read about the cyclops, the one-eyed giants. 114 00:05:57,698 --> 00:06:00,353 We read about other sort of great monsters 115 00:06:00,456 --> 00:06:02,387 fighting these heroes. 116 00:06:02,491 --> 00:06:05,456 NARRATOR: And hard evidence is very thin on the ground. 117 00:06:05,560 --> 00:06:08,525 Places like Troy, where the conflict is centered 118 00:06:08,629 --> 00:06:11,146 upon in the Iliad, um, was not known. 119 00:06:11,249 --> 00:06:12,732 It was for -- many scholars have 120 00:06:12,836 --> 00:06:14,905 considered Troy to be completely mythological. 121 00:06:16,077 --> 00:06:19,698 NARRATOR: Gods, monsters, mythical lands -- 122 00:06:19,801 --> 00:06:22,043 it's all a bit hard to swallow. 123 00:06:22,146 --> 00:06:24,629 So what makes people think that this really could 124 00:06:24,732 --> 00:06:26,077 be Agamemnon? 125 00:06:28,870 --> 00:06:31,008 By the time he finds the mask, 126 00:06:31,111 --> 00:06:34,077 Schliemann has already spent years obsessed with proving 127 00:06:34,180 --> 00:06:37,215 the Iliad is more than just a tall tale. 128 00:06:37,318 --> 00:06:39,974 Schliemann thinks that many of the famous classical stories 129 00:06:40,077 --> 00:06:42,008 like the Iliad were true, 130 00:06:42,111 --> 00:06:43,456 that they were full of real characters, 131 00:06:43,560 --> 00:06:45,663 not just mythological kinds of stories. 132 00:06:45,767 --> 00:06:48,318 So he was obsessed about proving this. 133 00:06:48,422 --> 00:06:50,146 NARRATOR: And Schliemann's first step is to 134 00:06:50,249 --> 00:06:53,732 hunt for the legendary city of Troy. 135 00:06:53,836 --> 00:06:55,077 For millennia, 136 00:06:55,180 --> 00:06:57,077 there have been whispers that the ruins of Troy 137 00:06:57,180 --> 00:06:59,215 are buried somewhere in the northwest 138 00:06:59,318 --> 00:07:00,456 of modern-day Turkey. 139 00:07:01,698 --> 00:07:04,663 In 1870, Schliemann begins to excavate 140 00:07:04,767 --> 00:07:07,456 at a site called Hisarlik. 141 00:07:07,560 --> 00:07:11,387 PLUMMER SIRES: Hisarlik was a man-made mound -- in the past, 142 00:07:11,491 --> 00:07:14,008 it would have been a lot closer to the coastline, 143 00:07:14,111 --> 00:07:18,008 which means it had a good sight for incoming ships, 144 00:07:18,111 --> 00:07:21,456 but it also meant that it was a really good position within 145 00:07:21,560 --> 00:07:22,767 the Mediterranean for trading. 146 00:07:22,870 --> 00:07:25,491 So the location of it makes sense. 147 00:07:27,594 --> 00:07:29,801 NARRATOR: After three years of digging, 148 00:07:29,905 --> 00:07:31,594 Schliemann hits the jackpot. 149 00:07:31,698 --> 00:07:34,387 He uncovers a lost city. 150 00:07:34,491 --> 00:07:36,560 There's evidence of destruction and fire, 151 00:07:36,663 --> 00:07:38,284 which would match well with the story 152 00:07:38,387 --> 00:07:40,905 that Troy was sacked by the Greeks. 153 00:07:41,008 --> 00:07:43,422 He finds a group of high-valued objects, 154 00:07:43,525 --> 00:07:46,387 gold and other kinds of objects, that he associates with 155 00:07:46,491 --> 00:07:50,077 Priam, the king of the Trojans, the key character in the Iliad. 156 00:07:50,180 --> 00:07:51,663 NARRATOR: It is one of the greatest 157 00:07:51,767 --> 00:07:54,146 archaeological finds of all time. 158 00:07:54,249 --> 00:07:58,215 The discovery of Troy proved that actually it was not 159 00:07:58,318 --> 00:08:01,732 just some mythological place, but a real city that existed. 160 00:08:01,836 --> 00:08:04,249 NARRATOR: It's music to Schliemann's ears. 161 00:08:04,353 --> 00:08:09,043 If Troy is real, what other myths could be true? 162 00:08:09,146 --> 00:08:11,801 So now, having found a key location of the Iliad, 163 00:08:11,905 --> 00:08:14,629 his next mission was to find one of the characters. 164 00:08:14,732 --> 00:08:18,008 NARRATOR: Schliemann zeroes in on Agamemnon. 165 00:08:18,111 --> 00:08:21,560 According to Homer, after victory in the siege of Troy, 166 00:08:21,663 --> 00:08:23,905 Agamemnon heads home to Mycenae, 167 00:08:24,008 --> 00:08:26,560 where he is murdered by his wife's lover 168 00:08:26,663 --> 00:08:29,215 and buried by the city walls. 169 00:08:29,318 --> 00:08:32,043 This is exactly where Schliemann finds 170 00:08:32,146 --> 00:08:36,077 the extraordinary gold mask and seals his fame. 171 00:08:36,180 --> 00:08:39,767 There was a media frenzy, because it seemed that it was 172 00:08:39,870 --> 00:08:42,353 definitive proof that the mythological king 173 00:08:42,456 --> 00:08:44,629 of the Greeks during the Trojan War was real. 174 00:08:48,215 --> 00:08:50,767 NARRATOR: Which is remarkable, because for decades, 175 00:08:50,870 --> 00:08:54,284 other archaeologists had tried and failed to find proof of 176 00:08:54,387 --> 00:08:55,663 the Trojan War. 177 00:08:55,767 --> 00:08:59,698 But in the space of just three years, Schliemann uncovers both 178 00:08:59,801 --> 00:09:03,215 the central location and the leading man. 179 00:09:03,318 --> 00:09:05,284 ESCOLANO-POVEDA: Schliemann seemed to be finding 180 00:09:05,387 --> 00:09:08,560 everything that would corroborate his story 181 00:09:08,663 --> 00:09:10,767 of these mythical figures 182 00:09:10,870 --> 00:09:14,180 being buried exactly where he was digging. 183 00:09:14,284 --> 00:09:17,353 NARRATOR: Schliemann is either extraordinarily lucky, 184 00:09:17,456 --> 00:09:20,180 or is it just too good to be true? 185 00:09:29,560 --> 00:09:32,491 NARRATOR: The mask of Agamemnon is unlike anything discovered 186 00:09:32,594 --> 00:09:36,249 before from ancient Greece, and for some experts, 187 00:09:36,353 --> 00:09:38,146 that was a problem. 188 00:09:38,249 --> 00:09:40,008 At the time of Schliemann, 189 00:09:40,111 --> 00:09:42,974 this would have been a very odd find, because we don't have 190 00:09:43,077 --> 00:09:45,387 anything like this from Ancient Greece. 191 00:09:45,491 --> 00:09:49,077 You actually have to go to Egypt to find 192 00:09:49,180 --> 00:09:50,422 something similar, 193 00:09:50,525 --> 00:09:52,077 this gold mask that would be 194 00:09:52,180 --> 00:09:55,560 placed on the heads of the deceased. 195 00:09:55,663 --> 00:09:58,008 NARRATOR: And Schliemann doesn't find just one 196 00:09:58,111 --> 00:10:01,422 never-before-seen mask, he finds five of them. 197 00:10:01,525 --> 00:10:03,249 For some people, that was too much. 198 00:10:03,353 --> 00:10:05,249 They didn't believe that this was authentic. 199 00:10:05,353 --> 00:10:06,456 They thought that maybe Schliemann 200 00:10:06,560 --> 00:10:08,284 actually had them forged somehow. 201 00:10:09,836 --> 00:10:12,422 NARRATOR: Not only does the mask seem out of place, 202 00:10:12,525 --> 00:10:15,629 but Schliemann's reputation was highly questionable. 203 00:10:15,732 --> 00:10:17,629 People had doubts about him. 204 00:10:17,732 --> 00:10:19,560 They know he was very charismatic and very 205 00:10:19,663 --> 00:10:21,905 resourceful and very passionate about what he was doing, 206 00:10:22,008 --> 00:10:24,077 but they didn't always necessarily believe him. 207 00:10:24,180 --> 00:10:26,387 ESCOLANO-POVEDA: Many of the objects that he had found 208 00:10:26,491 --> 00:10:30,284 in Troy seemed to belong to different periods, and he 209 00:10:30,387 --> 00:10:33,249 seemed to have been putting them together in order to 210 00:10:33,353 --> 00:10:37,905 create these groups of objects that were very impressive. 211 00:10:38,008 --> 00:10:40,422 They thought that he maybe just made up stories sometimes. 212 00:10:40,525 --> 00:10:43,663 NARRATOR: And he's done more than just spinning a tall tale. 213 00:10:43,767 --> 00:10:46,491 Schliemann was actually accused of smuggling 214 00:10:46,594 --> 00:10:48,698 part of the treasure of Priam 215 00:10:48,801 --> 00:10:52,043 and actually had to pay a fine because of this 216 00:10:52,146 --> 00:10:53,353 to the Turkish government. 217 00:10:55,180 --> 00:10:58,215 NARRATOR: So it's not exactly surprising that some suspect 218 00:10:58,318 --> 00:11:01,111 that Schliemann fakes the discovery of this mask. 219 00:11:02,525 --> 00:11:05,491 But there is a problem with this accusation. 220 00:11:05,594 --> 00:11:08,663 Schliemann was being observed during excavations 221 00:11:08,767 --> 00:11:10,629 at Mycenae by Greek officials. 222 00:11:10,732 --> 00:11:13,698 Schliemann was a controversial figure, so people didn't 223 00:11:13,801 --> 00:11:15,111 completely trust him, 224 00:11:15,215 --> 00:11:17,353 um, and he was being watched all the time 225 00:11:17,456 --> 00:11:18,560 he was excavating. 226 00:11:18,663 --> 00:11:21,008 NARRATOR: Most scholars now believe that Schliemann 227 00:11:21,111 --> 00:11:23,077 simply never had the opportunity 228 00:11:23,180 --> 00:11:26,525 to slip in fake masks to the dig site unobserved. 229 00:11:26,629 --> 00:11:27,905 They are certain 230 00:11:28,008 --> 00:11:31,594 the mask of Agamemnon is genuinely ancient, 231 00:11:31,698 --> 00:11:35,146 but some still thought that something about it smelled off. 232 00:11:37,663 --> 00:11:39,077 Examined in detail, 233 00:11:39,180 --> 00:11:42,284 the crisp features, the individual hairs of his 234 00:11:42,387 --> 00:11:45,318 beard and handlebar mustache, really make the mask of 235 00:11:45,422 --> 00:11:47,111 Agamemnon stand out. 236 00:11:47,215 --> 00:11:49,180 The look of the mask was quite different 237 00:11:49,284 --> 00:11:50,905 from the other masks that were found. 238 00:11:51,008 --> 00:11:54,215 NARRATOR: The level of detail seems out of place in something 239 00:11:54,318 --> 00:11:55,801 so ancient. 240 00:11:55,905 --> 00:11:58,249 Some scholars have suggested it looks more akin 241 00:11:58,353 --> 00:12:01,663 to Classical period kinds of looks or appearances. 242 00:12:01,767 --> 00:12:05,870 So this is about 700 years after the story of the Iliad, 243 00:12:05,974 --> 00:12:07,594 around 500 BC. 244 00:12:07,698 --> 00:12:10,560 NARRATOR: So the accusation is that, ironically, 245 00:12:10,663 --> 00:12:14,146 it looks a bit too Greek for something so old. 246 00:12:14,249 --> 00:12:15,560 ALTAWEEL: The idea came that perhaps 247 00:12:15,663 --> 00:12:17,008 Schliemann reworked the mask. 248 00:12:18,560 --> 00:12:20,456 NARRATOR: Visible under high magnification, 249 00:12:20,560 --> 00:12:23,180 there's one detail that stands out to scholars. 250 00:12:23,284 --> 00:12:25,836 The mustache looks like it's been flipped. 251 00:12:25,939 --> 00:12:28,008 It was sort of pointing upwards 252 00:12:28,111 --> 00:12:29,974 but maybe at one point was pointing downwards. 253 00:12:31,215 --> 00:12:33,353 NARRATOR: The argument is that Schliemann didn't have 254 00:12:33,456 --> 00:12:35,560 the opportunity to slip in a fake, 255 00:12:35,663 --> 00:12:38,491 but maybe he reworked the original. 256 00:12:38,594 --> 00:12:40,629 ALTAWEEL: It was not very clear what it looked like. 257 00:12:40,732 --> 00:12:42,180 It initially was removed from the grave. 258 00:12:42,284 --> 00:12:44,801 It was only photographed some weeks after its discovery. 259 00:12:44,905 --> 00:12:46,284 So there was a period of time 260 00:12:46,387 --> 00:12:49,525 where someone could have potentially altered the mask. 261 00:12:49,629 --> 00:12:52,077 NARRATOR: But there is a flaw in the argument 262 00:12:52,180 --> 00:12:54,525 that it looks too detailed to be genuine. 263 00:12:56,767 --> 00:12:59,801 It may be different to many Mycenaean artifacts, 264 00:12:59,905 --> 00:13:02,594 but its look is not unique. 265 00:13:02,698 --> 00:13:05,249 ALTAWEEL: There was a drinking vessel that was found 266 00:13:05,353 --> 00:13:06,629 with a mane, 267 00:13:06,732 --> 00:13:09,905 a kind of depiction on the lion, and this mane 268 00:13:10,008 --> 00:13:12,525 was quite similar to the beard and mustache 269 00:13:12,629 --> 00:13:15,456 of the Agamemnon mask in terms of the style. 270 00:13:15,560 --> 00:13:17,663 So this gave support, potentially, 271 00:13:17,767 --> 00:13:20,456 that Agamemnon's mask may have come from a period 272 00:13:20,560 --> 00:13:22,974 similar in time to this drinking vessel. 273 00:13:23,077 --> 00:13:25,318 NARRATOR: Which has finally led to one 274 00:13:25,422 --> 00:13:27,146 very obvious conclusion. 275 00:13:27,249 --> 00:13:29,525 The consensus is that the mask is real. 276 00:13:29,629 --> 00:13:33,491 It does represent a mask that was created in antiquity rather 277 00:13:33,594 --> 00:13:35,698 than something that was forged much later. 278 00:13:35,801 --> 00:13:38,732 NARRATOR: So is this really the face of 279 00:13:38,836 --> 00:13:42,284 the mythical destroyer of Troy, King Agamemnon? 280 00:13:44,111 --> 00:13:45,974 The problem is, with Schliemann, 281 00:13:46,077 --> 00:13:48,422 little is ever quite as it seems. 282 00:13:49,767 --> 00:13:52,767 Take his undisputed discovery of Troy. 283 00:13:52,870 --> 00:13:55,939 Schliemann stopped digging when he found evidence of 284 00:13:56,043 --> 00:13:57,974 a settlement that had suffered 285 00:13:58,077 --> 00:14:02,560 a great fire, and he believed this to be evidence of 286 00:14:02,663 --> 00:14:03,870 the Trojan War. 287 00:14:03,974 --> 00:14:07,146 What he didn't perceive at the time is settlements had been 288 00:14:07,249 --> 00:14:10,387 built one on top of each other almost like a layer cake. 289 00:14:10,491 --> 00:14:13,422 So once a settlement was abandoned, centuries later, 290 00:14:13,525 --> 00:14:15,560 another one would be built on top. 291 00:14:15,663 --> 00:14:18,077 ALTAWEEL: What he found was actually a much earlier city. 292 00:14:18,180 --> 00:14:19,905 Um, and the real Troy from 293 00:14:20,008 --> 00:14:22,698 the period of the Iliad was actually dug through. 294 00:14:22,801 --> 00:14:24,560 He went right through it without noticing it. 295 00:14:24,663 --> 00:14:26,284 NARRATOR: And it seems that Schliemann 296 00:14:26,387 --> 00:14:29,077 got his timings wrong at Mycenae, too. 297 00:14:29,180 --> 00:14:33,249 The tomb in which the mask was found doesn't date 298 00:14:33,353 --> 00:14:36,043 to the time in which Agamemnon 299 00:14:36,146 --> 00:14:38,284 is supposed to have lived. 300 00:14:38,387 --> 00:14:41,456 NARRATOR: The mask was found in a shaft tomb. 301 00:14:41,560 --> 00:14:44,146 And recent studies show that the Mycenaeans stopped 302 00:14:44,249 --> 00:14:48,663 building these around 300 years before the Trojan wars. 303 00:14:48,767 --> 00:14:51,008 The consensus does seem to be 304 00:14:51,111 --> 00:14:54,146 that the mask is a genuine artifact, 305 00:14:54,249 --> 00:14:57,422 it just isn't King Agamemnon. 306 00:14:57,525 --> 00:14:58,974 NARRATOR: If not Agamemnon, 307 00:14:59,077 --> 00:15:01,732 who is the man behind the gold mask? 308 00:15:09,249 --> 00:15:11,387 NARRATOR: This fabulous golden object 309 00:15:11,491 --> 00:15:13,422 is known as the Mask of Agamemnon. 310 00:15:13,525 --> 00:15:16,560 Unfortunately, it turns out to be hundreds of 311 00:15:16,663 --> 00:15:20,732 years too old for the mythical destroyer of Troy. 312 00:15:20,836 --> 00:15:22,560 ALTAWEEL: It may have not been Agamemnon, 313 00:15:22,663 --> 00:15:25,077 but it certainly was an important individual, 314 00:15:25,180 --> 00:15:28,525 perhaps even a king, who was buried in this death mask. 315 00:15:29,732 --> 00:15:31,836 NARRATOR: Recent research suggests 316 00:15:31,939 --> 00:15:33,905 he was a powerful figure. 317 00:15:34,008 --> 00:15:37,836 The Mycenaeans during the Bronze Age dominated most of 318 00:15:37,939 --> 00:15:40,732 the Mediterranean when it came to trade and culture 319 00:15:40,836 --> 00:15:43,249 and warfare. 320 00:15:43,353 --> 00:15:44,974 NARRATOR: His influence would have reached 321 00:15:45,077 --> 00:15:47,353 across the entire region. 322 00:15:47,456 --> 00:15:50,077 ESCOLANO-POVEDA: In the excavations in Mycenaean cities, 323 00:15:50,180 --> 00:15:55,180 we have found a tomb of a warrior with lots of elements 324 00:15:55,284 --> 00:15:59,698 that are connected with other civilizations of the area. 325 00:16:01,629 --> 00:16:04,146 NARRATOR: It seems this king could have had contact 326 00:16:04,249 --> 00:16:07,974 with a very powerful and very famous civilization. 327 00:16:08,077 --> 00:16:11,318 We have been able to find a little head 328 00:16:11,422 --> 00:16:14,491 of the goddess Hathor, which is an Egyptian goddess. 329 00:16:14,594 --> 00:16:15,939 NARRATOR: And that could explain where 330 00:16:16,043 --> 00:16:17,456 the Mycenaeans get the idea 331 00:16:17,560 --> 00:16:20,353 for this stunning gold death mask in the first place. 332 00:16:20,456 --> 00:16:22,318 ALTAWEEL: So it's quite possible, for instance, 333 00:16:22,422 --> 00:16:26,077 that the Mycenaeans had seen similar masks on deceased kings 334 00:16:26,180 --> 00:16:28,698 and pharaohs in Egypt and thought this was a great idea. 335 00:16:31,215 --> 00:16:33,629 NARRATOR: The fact that this mask isn't the face of 336 00:16:33,732 --> 00:16:36,594 Agamemnon doesn't make it any less remarkable 337 00:16:36,698 --> 00:16:38,077 or less important. 338 00:16:39,111 --> 00:16:41,525 And the real Agamemnon might even be 339 00:16:41,629 --> 00:16:42,939 a descendant of this man. 340 00:16:44,077 --> 00:16:46,698 Troy turned out to be real. 341 00:16:46,801 --> 00:16:48,456 So why not Agamemnon? 342 00:16:54,870 --> 00:16:57,663 Behind glass in the International Spy Museum 343 00:16:57,767 --> 00:17:01,284 in Washington, D.C., is a corroded copper plate. 344 00:17:02,560 --> 00:17:05,594 This is an object worth more than its weight in gold. 345 00:17:07,008 --> 00:17:09,249 NARRATOR: Now, using the latest technology, 346 00:17:09,353 --> 00:17:11,905 we're bringing it into the light. 347 00:17:12,974 --> 00:17:16,180 By expanding the object and zooming in, 348 00:17:17,422 --> 00:17:22,215 faint markings become visible etched across its surface. 349 00:17:22,318 --> 00:17:24,560 And by digitally removing the corrosion, 350 00:17:24,663 --> 00:17:28,353 we can finally see them clearly. 351 00:17:28,456 --> 00:17:31,525 AUERBACH: This object is covered in tiny symbols and writing. 352 00:17:31,629 --> 00:17:34,422 It's a really highly skilled piece of engraving. 353 00:17:37,836 --> 00:17:38,905 NARRATOR: It's hard to read, 354 00:17:39,008 --> 00:17:41,353 because everything is back to front, 355 00:17:41,456 --> 00:17:43,215 but flip the image, 356 00:17:43,318 --> 00:17:46,353 and the words "Bank of England" appear. 357 00:17:47,801 --> 00:17:49,249 AUERBACH: As you look more closely at it, 358 00:17:49,353 --> 00:17:54,180 you see a sign for 10 pounds and a date, 1937. 359 00:17:54,284 --> 00:17:58,043 This is a printing plate for making British 10-pound notes. 360 00:17:59,318 --> 00:18:01,353 NARRATOR: Something this valuable should have been 361 00:18:01,456 --> 00:18:03,836 locked away in the British Treasury. 362 00:18:03,939 --> 00:18:07,215 But this plate isn't discovered in a London vault. 363 00:18:07,318 --> 00:18:11,146 It was found in 1959 in the most unexpected 364 00:18:11,249 --> 00:18:15,215 of places -- at the bottom of an Austrian lake. 365 00:18:15,318 --> 00:18:18,870 NARRATOR: How does it end up at the bottom of the lake? 366 00:18:18,974 --> 00:18:21,215 Where does it come from? 367 00:18:21,318 --> 00:18:23,111 Is it even real? 368 00:18:26,353 --> 00:18:29,939 By the 1930s, the 10-pound note design is over 369 00:18:30,043 --> 00:18:33,008 150 years old, and it shows. 370 00:18:33,111 --> 00:18:35,870 They were printed just on white paper. 371 00:18:35,974 --> 00:18:37,560 There was no use of color. 372 00:18:37,663 --> 00:18:41,111 They were printed on one side, there was no embossing, 373 00:18:41,215 --> 00:18:43,698 there was no metal stripe. 374 00:18:43,801 --> 00:18:45,422 NARRATOR: The note is produced using 375 00:18:45,525 --> 00:18:48,353 a printing plate exactly like this. 376 00:18:48,456 --> 00:18:50,767 SELLA: That's going to be an incredibly carefully 377 00:18:50,870 --> 00:18:53,525 engraved object, onto which you place the ink, 378 00:18:53,629 --> 00:18:56,422 and then you press it onto the paper 379 00:18:56,525 --> 00:18:58,146 to produce the final product. 380 00:19:00,077 --> 00:19:02,698 NARRATOR: But close examination of this plate reveals 381 00:19:02,801 --> 00:19:05,629 a flaw -- next to the abbreviated word 382 00:19:05,732 --> 00:19:08,801 for company is an extra sliver of metal that 383 00:19:08,905 --> 00:19:11,525 would leave a dot of ink on the note. 384 00:19:11,629 --> 00:19:14,180 Does this error mean it's a fake? 385 00:19:15,284 --> 00:19:16,698 Quite the opposite. 386 00:19:16,801 --> 00:19:18,905 The Bank of England thinks they've got some neat 387 00:19:19,008 --> 00:19:22,180 little tricks to fool the forgers. 388 00:19:22,284 --> 00:19:25,215 BALL: Britannia has only one earring instead of two. 389 00:19:25,318 --> 00:19:27,767 And there were a few little dots that were meant to 390 00:19:27,870 --> 00:19:30,318 look like printing errors but were actually put there 391 00:19:30,422 --> 00:19:31,284 on purpose. 392 00:19:31,387 --> 00:19:33,456 And the idea was that these little flaws 393 00:19:33,560 --> 00:19:36,905 were extremely hard to identify and to replicate. 394 00:19:37,008 --> 00:19:39,215 This was to deter counterfeiters. 395 00:19:40,698 --> 00:19:41,905 NARRATOR: By the 1930s, 396 00:19:42,008 --> 00:19:45,111 the notes have up to 150 marks hidden on them. 397 00:19:46,387 --> 00:19:49,525 The tiny dot on this plate is definitely one of them. 398 00:19:49,629 --> 00:19:51,180 Others may have been eaten away 399 00:19:51,284 --> 00:19:54,387 from this plate after years underwater. 400 00:19:54,491 --> 00:19:57,732 They were made from very, very fine bits of metal. 401 00:19:57,836 --> 00:20:01,491 Those fine details are exactly the ones that will corrode 402 00:20:01,594 --> 00:20:02,663 first of all. 403 00:20:02,767 --> 00:20:04,422 NARRATOR: Britannia, for example, 404 00:20:04,525 --> 00:20:07,043 has been almost completely erased. 405 00:20:07,146 --> 00:20:10,111 But based on what remains of this plate, 406 00:20:10,215 --> 00:20:12,456 there seems to be nothing about it 407 00:20:12,560 --> 00:20:14,491 that indicates that it would be 408 00:20:14,594 --> 00:20:17,318 anything other than a genuine printing plate. 409 00:20:17,422 --> 00:20:20,491 NARRATOR: So what is a British bank plate doing almost 410 00:20:20,594 --> 00:20:23,422 700 miles from London at the bottom of 411 00:20:23,525 --> 00:20:25,077 Lake Toplitz in Austria? 412 00:20:28,456 --> 00:20:31,422 The key clue to the plate's origin is that the divers 413 00:20:31,525 --> 00:20:34,663 who find it are searching for an infamous hoard of treasure. 414 00:20:34,767 --> 00:20:36,594 AUERBACH: Towards the end of the war, 415 00:20:36,698 --> 00:20:41,180 people see German soldiers bringing wagons with chests in 416 00:20:41,284 --> 00:20:43,180 them and dropping them into the lake. 417 00:20:43,284 --> 00:20:45,387 Now, nobody knows what's in those chests, 418 00:20:45,491 --> 00:20:49,284 but of course, everybody wants to believe it's Nazi gold. 419 00:20:49,387 --> 00:20:52,698 NARRATOR: But when they dive to the bottom of the lake in 1959, 420 00:20:52,801 --> 00:20:55,077 it's not gold they find. 421 00:20:55,180 --> 00:20:57,043 AUERBACH: They discover this copper plate. 422 00:20:57,146 --> 00:21:00,456 NARRATOR: Which raises one very obvious question. 423 00:21:00,560 --> 00:21:02,456 Why did the Germans have 424 00:21:02,560 --> 00:21:05,077 a printing plate for British 10-pound notes? 425 00:21:08,732 --> 00:21:10,732 NARRATOR: Historians searching for answers have 426 00:21:10,836 --> 00:21:14,284 zeroed in on secret Nazi files, 427 00:21:14,387 --> 00:21:17,594 a plan code-named Operation Andreas, 428 00:21:17,698 --> 00:21:22,422 a deadly scheme to bomb Britain with money. 429 00:21:22,525 --> 00:21:26,732 The plan is to airdrop 30 billion pounds 430 00:21:26,836 --> 00:21:29,284 in forged notes over Britain. 431 00:21:29,387 --> 00:21:32,525 BALL: The British people would find this money and would 432 00:21:32,629 --> 00:21:35,525 start to use it, and that by, you know, 433 00:21:35,629 --> 00:21:38,939 feeding that into the economic system, it would undermine 434 00:21:39,043 --> 00:21:41,767 the whole basis of currency and really 435 00:21:41,870 --> 00:21:44,043 collapse the economic system. 436 00:21:44,146 --> 00:21:47,560 NARRATOR: Britain would end up in such huge financial distress, 437 00:21:47,663 --> 00:21:50,215 it would be unable to wage war at all. 438 00:21:50,318 --> 00:21:53,111 Germany would win without firing a shot. 439 00:21:53,215 --> 00:21:56,491 It's the economic equivalent of a nuclear bomb. 440 00:21:57,560 --> 00:21:59,560 NARRATOR: All they have to do is produce 441 00:21:59,663 --> 00:22:01,353 a perfect counterfeit plate. 442 00:22:02,629 --> 00:22:04,767 How are they going to do that? 443 00:22:12,663 --> 00:22:14,525 NARRATOR: A top secret Nazi plan is going 444 00:22:14,629 --> 00:22:17,456 to destroy Britain without firing a shot. 445 00:22:17,560 --> 00:22:19,974 Operation Andreas sets up shop in 446 00:22:20,077 --> 00:22:23,905 a stone mansion west of downtown Berlin. 447 00:22:24,008 --> 00:22:26,939 The building that they use is an SS training center 448 00:22:27,043 --> 00:22:30,077 that had already been used to produce false documents 449 00:22:30,180 --> 00:22:31,456 and forgeries. 450 00:22:31,560 --> 00:22:33,422 NARRATOR: The Nazis recruit mathematician 451 00:22:33,525 --> 00:22:36,008 and code breaker Albert Langer to run it. 452 00:22:36,111 --> 00:22:38,801 AUERBACH: He's a highly skilled scientist, 453 00:22:38,905 --> 00:22:41,905 but he also believes that King Arthur was real. 454 00:22:42,008 --> 00:22:43,077 He believes that the British 455 00:22:43,180 --> 00:22:46,077 flag contains astral magical symbols. 456 00:22:47,284 --> 00:22:49,974 Langer comes up with a fiendish plan -- 457 00:22:50,077 --> 00:22:52,974 use a light-sensitive and acid-resistant dye 458 00:22:53,077 --> 00:22:55,732 to create a perfect copy of a real plate. 459 00:22:56,974 --> 00:23:01,111 Langer's plan was, to begin with, to take as perfect as 460 00:23:01,215 --> 00:23:04,663 possible a photograph of a genuine 10-pound note, 461 00:23:04,767 --> 00:23:09,284 and then to transfer that image onto a plate using 462 00:23:09,387 --> 00:23:13,043 this acid-resistant dye that would enable 463 00:23:13,146 --> 00:23:15,525 the rest of the plate to be etched away. 464 00:23:15,629 --> 00:23:17,594 And so you'd have a perfect printing plate 465 00:23:17,698 --> 00:23:19,180 for a 10-pound note. 466 00:23:19,284 --> 00:23:23,353 NARRATOR: But even with the best cameras, Langer struggles. 467 00:23:23,456 --> 00:23:25,215 BALL: None of them looked convincing 468 00:23:25,318 --> 00:23:28,318 close up, and in fact, Langer himself said that 469 00:23:28,422 --> 00:23:31,974 the reproduction of Britannia herself 470 00:23:32,077 --> 00:23:33,801 just looked like an old hag. 471 00:23:36,146 --> 00:23:38,905 NARRATOR: Langer's genius plan is a flop. 472 00:23:39,008 --> 00:23:40,284 He is forced to abandon 473 00:23:40,387 --> 00:23:43,491 science for old fashioned craftsmanship. 474 00:23:43,594 --> 00:23:46,525 He hires expert engraver, Walter Ziedrich. 475 00:23:47,663 --> 00:23:51,111 Even for him, this is a challenging job. 476 00:23:51,215 --> 00:23:54,008 The engraver has to capture all those little marks, 477 00:23:54,111 --> 00:23:56,215 those little intentional flaws 478 00:23:56,318 --> 00:23:58,422 that characterize the genuine thing. 479 00:23:58,525 --> 00:24:00,939 NARRATOR: Britannia is particularly tricky 480 00:24:01,043 --> 00:24:02,353 for the Nazi forgers. 481 00:24:02,456 --> 00:24:05,836 Getting the eyes right was incredibly difficult. 482 00:24:07,836 --> 00:24:10,077 NARRATOR: It takes Ziedrich six attempts to make 483 00:24:10,180 --> 00:24:12,043 a perfect-looking plate. 484 00:24:12,146 --> 00:24:14,249 AUERBACH: Now, we don't know for sure 485 00:24:14,353 --> 00:24:16,180 if this is one of Ziedrich's plates. 486 00:24:16,284 --> 00:24:18,836 It's not like a forger can sign his own work. 487 00:24:18,939 --> 00:24:20,387 All we know is that it was 488 00:24:20,491 --> 00:24:22,629 important enough for them to hide it. 489 00:24:22,732 --> 00:24:24,870 So this was really one of the better versions. 490 00:24:24,974 --> 00:24:28,146 NARRATOR: But a perfect plate alone isn't enough. 491 00:24:28,249 --> 00:24:30,767 The Nazis also need the right paper. 492 00:24:30,870 --> 00:24:32,974 It's actually gotta feel right. 493 00:24:33,077 --> 00:24:35,180 Is it smooth? Is it slippery? 494 00:24:35,284 --> 00:24:38,525 Does it fold correctly? Does it sound right? 495 00:24:38,629 --> 00:24:40,939 Langer was so obsessed with this 496 00:24:41,043 --> 00:24:45,939 that he actually got some blind people to test this out. 497 00:24:46,043 --> 00:24:48,491 They wouldn't be distracted by the look of it and really be 498 00:24:48,594 --> 00:24:51,422 able to listen to the crackle of the note as it folded. 499 00:24:53,663 --> 00:24:55,663 NARRATOR: Langer thinks he's cracked it. 500 00:24:55,767 --> 00:24:58,629 All he has to do is prove it to his paymasters. 501 00:24:59,698 --> 00:25:03,525 AUERBACH: The story goes that the Germans sent an officer 502 00:25:03,629 --> 00:25:07,905 across to the Swiss border with a forged passport and a whole 503 00:25:08,008 --> 00:25:13,180 bunch of these forged pound notes, and then they tipped off 504 00:25:13,284 --> 00:25:15,353 the Swiss authorities that someone's going to try to cross 505 00:25:15,456 --> 00:25:17,353 the border with fake documents. 506 00:25:17,456 --> 00:25:20,284 They assumed, and they were right, that the Swiss would 507 00:25:20,387 --> 00:25:22,836 check both the passport and the money. 508 00:25:22,939 --> 00:25:25,284 Well, they spot the forged passport. 509 00:25:25,387 --> 00:25:26,767 They know it's a forgery, 510 00:25:26,870 --> 00:25:29,318 but as far as they're concerned, the money is legitimate. 511 00:25:32,836 --> 00:25:34,836 NARRATOR: Langer has pulled it off. 512 00:25:34,939 --> 00:25:38,146 They're ready to destroy the entire British economy. 513 00:25:38,249 --> 00:25:39,525 But on the brink of victory... 514 00:25:39,629 --> 00:25:40,732 [record scratches] 515 00:25:40,836 --> 00:25:44,663 ...Operation Andreas unexpectedly grinds to a halt. 516 00:25:44,767 --> 00:25:47,698 BALL: The problem with this plan to bomb Britain 517 00:25:47,801 --> 00:25:50,249 with money is that you have to be able 518 00:25:50,353 --> 00:25:52,249 to get the airplanes over Britain to do that. 519 00:25:52,353 --> 00:25:55,008 And after the Battle of Britain, that just 520 00:25:55,111 --> 00:25:57,043 wasn't going to be possible for the Luftwaffe. 521 00:25:58,629 --> 00:26:01,629 NARRATOR: It's all gone wrong for Andreas. 522 00:26:01,732 --> 00:26:03,043 Is this the end of 523 00:26:03,146 --> 00:26:05,801 the greatest counterfeiting operation in history? 524 00:26:11,043 --> 00:26:14,767 In July 1942, Hitler's spymaster, Heinrich Himmler, 525 00:26:14,870 --> 00:26:18,974 is struggling to pay his network of foreign agents. 526 00:26:19,077 --> 00:26:21,629 He needs cash and lots of it, 527 00:26:21,732 --> 00:26:24,491 but Germany doesn't have any spare... 528 00:26:24,594 --> 00:26:27,146 unless they print it themselves, of course. 529 00:26:27,249 --> 00:26:29,974 He doesn't care whether or not the money they have is forged. 530 00:26:30,077 --> 00:26:32,318 NARRATOR: Himmler's code name for the new plan is 531 00:26:32,422 --> 00:26:33,767 Operation Bernhard, 532 00:26:34,870 --> 00:26:37,180 named after the man put in charge, 533 00:26:37,284 --> 00:26:39,318 SS Major Bernhard Krueger. 534 00:26:39,422 --> 00:26:42,146 He's a much better choice than Langer, because this is a guy 535 00:26:42,249 --> 00:26:44,456 experienced in the art of forgery. 536 00:26:44,560 --> 00:26:46,767 He himself has produced fake documents. 537 00:26:46,870 --> 00:26:49,318 NARRATOR: The 10-pound plate and all of the other 538 00:26:49,422 --> 00:26:52,594 equipment have been gathering dust in a Berlin basement. 539 00:26:54,698 --> 00:26:58,387 Krueger takes it all to his new forgery HQ, 540 00:26:58,491 --> 00:27:00,215 Sachsenhausen, 541 00:27:00,318 --> 00:27:02,698 a concentration camp north of Berlin. 542 00:27:04,146 --> 00:27:06,318 One of the main problems with Andreas 543 00:27:06,422 --> 00:27:08,456 was they had all kinds of intelligence leaks. 544 00:27:08,560 --> 00:27:10,387 This explains why they set up 545 00:27:10,491 --> 00:27:12,663 the new operation in the concentration camps. 546 00:27:12,767 --> 00:27:15,594 They could keep it under wraps if they did it there. 547 00:27:15,698 --> 00:27:18,629 NARRATOR: There is no risk of workers leaking information out 548 00:27:18,732 --> 00:27:19,939 of the new base. 549 00:27:20,043 --> 00:27:23,043 AUERBACH: Sachsenhausen is a labor camp, 550 00:27:23,146 --> 00:27:27,629 a vicious, brutal concentration camp where its occupants can be 551 00:27:27,732 --> 00:27:30,594 executed at any time and without reason. 552 00:27:30,698 --> 00:27:32,353 NARRATOR: But Krueger's operation treats 553 00:27:32,456 --> 00:27:35,111 the largely Jewish prisoners very differently. 554 00:27:35,215 --> 00:27:38,594 He goes to great lengths to try to make the workers 555 00:27:38,698 --> 00:27:41,111 on his project happy and comfortable -- 556 00:27:41,215 --> 00:27:43,594 distributes extra rations, cigarettes, 557 00:27:43,698 --> 00:27:46,698 even sets up ping pong tables for them to amuse themselves. 558 00:27:48,491 --> 00:27:53,043 NARRATOR: By 1943, Operation Bernhard is in full swing. 559 00:27:53,146 --> 00:27:56,353 The counterfeiting plates turn out high-quality fake money on 560 00:27:56,456 --> 00:27:57,974 an industrial scale. 561 00:27:58,077 --> 00:28:01,284 Lines of prisoners pass the notes between them 562 00:28:01,387 --> 00:28:02,905 to make them look used. 563 00:28:03,008 --> 00:28:04,560 The very best, 564 00:28:04,663 --> 00:28:06,284 the ones that were almost flawless, 565 00:28:06,387 --> 00:28:09,249 were good enough to give to German spies for 566 00:28:09,353 --> 00:28:10,318 their activities. 567 00:28:10,422 --> 00:28:12,594 NARRATOR: Himmler's spies are never told 568 00:28:12,698 --> 00:28:14,974 they were receiving counterfeit money. 569 00:28:15,077 --> 00:28:18,732 The second grade were used to launder money 570 00:28:18,836 --> 00:28:20,146 throughout Europe. 571 00:28:20,249 --> 00:28:21,732 NARRATOR: And the less convincing bills 572 00:28:21,836 --> 00:28:23,043 are not circulated. 573 00:28:23,146 --> 00:28:25,836 The lowest quality of notes were kept 574 00:28:25,939 --> 00:28:29,663 in a room labeled Abwurf, meaning airdrop. 575 00:28:29,767 --> 00:28:31,767 BALL: That idea that perhaps one day they 576 00:28:31,870 --> 00:28:34,870 would be air dropped hadn't been completely abandoned. 577 00:28:36,663 --> 00:28:40,111 NARRATOR: But it never happens, again. 578 00:28:40,215 --> 00:28:42,043 Germany loses the war. 579 00:28:43,146 --> 00:28:45,249 The work of this plate is a bust... 580 00:28:46,663 --> 00:28:48,387 ...or is it? 581 00:28:48,491 --> 00:28:50,629 The scale of what Bernhard and Andreas 582 00:28:50,732 --> 00:28:54,353 had actually achieved was a real shock to the Allies. 583 00:28:54,456 --> 00:28:56,594 NARRATOR: The airdrop plan may have failed, 584 00:28:56,698 --> 00:29:00,663 but this plate and others like it still do enormous damage. 585 00:29:00,767 --> 00:29:02,594 It seems that the scheme was actually 586 00:29:02,698 --> 00:29:04,560 surprisingly effective. 587 00:29:04,663 --> 00:29:08,870 There were over 130 million pounds of fake notes produced, 588 00:29:08,974 --> 00:29:12,663 around 10 percent of all sterling on the market. 589 00:29:12,767 --> 00:29:14,422 With just a little more effort, 590 00:29:14,525 --> 00:29:17,870 this scheme could actually have been extremely, 591 00:29:17,974 --> 00:29:23,111 disturbingly effective in disrupting the British economy. 592 00:29:23,215 --> 00:29:26,353 NARRATOR: This remains the only known surviving plate from 593 00:29:26,456 --> 00:29:29,491 the greatest counterfeiting operation ever mounted. 594 00:29:29,594 --> 00:29:32,732 Had this plate and the others like it, 595 00:29:32,836 --> 00:29:34,422 had they done their job, 596 00:29:34,525 --> 00:29:35,974 this could have been one of 597 00:29:36,077 --> 00:29:39,111 the most devastating weapons of the Second World War. 598 00:29:46,870 --> 00:29:48,629 NARRATOR: In the British Museum's archives 599 00:29:48,732 --> 00:29:52,284 are three mysterious chalk artifacts. 600 00:29:52,387 --> 00:29:55,284 They are a 5,000-year-old puzzle. 601 00:29:56,318 --> 00:29:59,560 Ever since these objects were discovered in the 19th century, 602 00:29:59,663 --> 00:30:02,180 archaeologists have been uncertain as to 603 00:30:02,284 --> 00:30:03,284 what they were made for. 604 00:30:04,905 --> 00:30:06,905 NARRATOR: Now, using the latest technology, 605 00:30:07,008 --> 00:30:10,767 we're bringing these incredible artifacts into the light. 606 00:30:12,284 --> 00:30:15,249 They are known as the Folkton Drums. 607 00:30:15,353 --> 00:30:17,594 Although these are called drums, 608 00:30:17,698 --> 00:30:19,560 they most definitely were not drums. 609 00:30:19,663 --> 00:30:21,732 It's merely because of their form 610 00:30:21,836 --> 00:30:23,387 that we have called them this. 611 00:30:24,663 --> 00:30:27,594 NARRATOR: Each one is intricately carved. 612 00:30:27,698 --> 00:30:30,801 They're beautiful objects with geometric 613 00:30:30,905 --> 00:30:33,353 and curvilinear designs, 614 00:30:33,456 --> 00:30:38,180 some that even suggest a stylized human face. 615 00:30:40,111 --> 00:30:43,180 NARRATOR: But that's not the strangest thing about them. 616 00:30:43,284 --> 00:30:47,077 These three objects were incrementally different sizes. 617 00:30:48,284 --> 00:30:52,284 NARRATOR: Each one is .84 times the diameter of the next 618 00:30:52,387 --> 00:30:53,870 biggest drum. 619 00:30:53,974 --> 00:30:57,318 Small, medium, and large. 620 00:30:57,422 --> 00:31:00,974 They had a mathematical relationship with one another. 621 00:31:01,077 --> 00:31:04,870 NARRATOR: This is unknown for Stone Age artifacts, 622 00:31:04,974 --> 00:31:08,215 but new research suggests an explanation, 623 00:31:08,318 --> 00:31:09,732 one that connects them to 624 00:31:09,836 --> 00:31:13,560 the greatest monument of the entire Stone Age. 625 00:31:13,663 --> 00:31:17,491 These objects could be related somehow to Stonehenge. 626 00:31:17,594 --> 00:31:20,146 NARRATOR: What is the meaning behind this precise 627 00:31:20,249 --> 00:31:21,629 geometric sequence? 628 00:31:22,663 --> 00:31:25,836 What are these bizarre markings, 629 00:31:25,939 --> 00:31:28,387 and can these extraordinary objects 630 00:31:28,491 --> 00:31:30,870 unravel the secrets of Stonehenge? 631 00:31:41,077 --> 00:31:44,663 NARRATOR: 1889, Folkton, Northern England. 632 00:31:45,767 --> 00:31:48,629 An amateur archaeologist, excavating a burial mound 633 00:31:48,732 --> 00:31:51,456 finds something unexpected. 634 00:31:51,560 --> 00:31:55,111 The Canon William Greenwell discovers a grave of 635 00:31:55,215 --> 00:31:59,249 a child, probably around five years in age. 636 00:31:59,353 --> 00:32:02,249 NARRATOR: The tomb is Neolithic, a period in 637 00:32:02,353 --> 00:32:07,387 the British Isles that spans around 4000 to 2500 BCE. 638 00:32:07,491 --> 00:32:09,836 And next to the body 639 00:32:09,939 --> 00:32:13,077 are these three strange artifacts. 640 00:32:13,180 --> 00:32:15,629 They were placed very deliberately within it, 641 00:32:15,732 --> 00:32:17,698 behind the head and hips. 642 00:32:17,801 --> 00:32:20,111 NARRATOR: But what were they for? 643 00:32:24,249 --> 00:32:27,422 Archaeologists have offered some intriguing ideas. 644 00:32:27,525 --> 00:32:30,525 One holds that they were a mnemonic device, 645 00:32:30,629 --> 00:32:33,767 an object that would prompt memory and assist 646 00:32:33,870 --> 00:32:35,318 an individual, for example, 647 00:32:35,422 --> 00:32:37,905 telling a story to a group of people. 648 00:32:38,008 --> 00:32:40,249 That was a function of the tactility 649 00:32:40,353 --> 00:32:42,974 of it, of the lines, incised, 650 00:32:43,077 --> 00:32:46,043 and the shapes, that as the finger would follow, 651 00:32:46,146 --> 00:32:49,974 They would prompt the next part of the story. 652 00:32:50,077 --> 00:32:53,318 NARRATOR: Another theory is that they are talismans. 653 00:32:53,422 --> 00:32:56,284 MacDONALD: They feature carefully engraved decoration, 654 00:32:56,387 --> 00:33:00,422 showing what could be interpreted as human eyes. 655 00:33:00,525 --> 00:33:03,905 Might seem to suggest that they were watchers, 656 00:33:04,008 --> 00:33:06,836 that they are somehow overseeing the sleep of this 657 00:33:06,939 --> 00:33:09,249 child in death within the tomb. 658 00:33:09,353 --> 00:33:11,836 That they are, in a sense, protective objects. 659 00:33:14,663 --> 00:33:17,284 NARRATOR: That fits with the drums' resting place, 660 00:33:17,387 --> 00:33:19,767 but it doesn't explain the most puzzling thing 661 00:33:19,870 --> 00:33:21,318 about them. 662 00:33:21,422 --> 00:33:25,077 Their sizes form a precise geometric sequence. 663 00:33:25,180 --> 00:33:29,456 It's not clear why this should be the case. 664 00:33:29,560 --> 00:33:31,560 NARRATOR: Now, new research suggests 665 00:33:31,663 --> 00:33:33,560 that the answer could lie in one 666 00:33:33,663 --> 00:33:36,560 of the greatest and most mysterious monuments of 667 00:33:36,663 --> 00:33:39,836 the Neolithic world -- Stonehenge. 668 00:33:44,732 --> 00:33:49,939 The drums are dated to around 3000 to 2500 BCE, 669 00:33:50,043 --> 00:33:53,456 the same time that Stonehenge is being built. 670 00:33:53,560 --> 00:33:56,594 The scale and precision of Stonehenge suggests 671 00:33:56,698 --> 00:33:59,767 that it must have an important function -- 672 00:33:59,870 --> 00:34:03,767 a pagan temple, a ceremonial burial ground, 673 00:34:04,801 --> 00:34:07,284 and astronomer's solar calendar. 674 00:34:07,387 --> 00:34:09,249 We're still looking for answers. 675 00:34:11,353 --> 00:34:13,905 In the early 2000s, archaeologists 676 00:34:14,008 --> 00:34:16,491 Andrew Chamberlain and Mike Parker Pearson 677 00:34:16,594 --> 00:34:19,249 investigate the layout of the site in detail. 678 00:34:19,353 --> 00:34:21,594 BELLINGER: They went to measure the concentric circles of 679 00:34:21,698 --> 00:34:23,456 Stonehenge and discovered 680 00:34:23,560 --> 00:34:27,353 something quite extraordinary, that each of them was 681 00:34:27,456 --> 00:34:33,008 a multiple of a measurement of 1.056 modern feet, 682 00:34:33,111 --> 00:34:35,698 which they called "the long foot." 683 00:34:38,111 --> 00:34:39,594 NARRATOR: And the long foot doesn't just 684 00:34:39,698 --> 00:34:41,836 appear at Stonehenge. 685 00:34:41,939 --> 00:34:46,249 Two miles away is a site known as Durrington Walls. 686 00:34:46,353 --> 00:34:49,215 Durrington Walls itself may have been 687 00:34:49,318 --> 00:34:52,387 a settlement for people who are creating Stonehenge. 688 00:34:52,491 --> 00:34:55,870 It also features a now-disappeared henge 689 00:34:55,974 --> 00:34:59,180 monument, which was probably made in wood. 690 00:34:59,284 --> 00:35:02,284 The Durrington Wall site happened to have 691 00:35:02,387 --> 00:35:05,594 circular structures, which also have 692 00:35:05,698 --> 00:35:08,422 this ratio to the long foot. 693 00:35:10,077 --> 00:35:12,491 NARRATOR: The further afield researchers look, 694 00:35:12,594 --> 00:35:15,422 the more structures they find that seem to be built using 695 00:35:15,525 --> 00:35:16,836 this same measurement. 696 00:35:19,525 --> 00:35:23,836 The Ring of Brodgar in Orkney, 500 miles away, 697 00:35:23,939 --> 00:35:27,525 and the Great Circle in Newgrange, over 300 miles away 698 00:35:27,629 --> 00:35:31,974 across the Irish sea, they all seem to use the long foot. 699 00:35:32,077 --> 00:35:35,767 What's so intriguing is the possibility that it 700 00:35:35,870 --> 00:35:40,146 represents a standardized measurement system that was in 701 00:35:40,249 --> 00:35:44,215 use not just in the immediate vicinity of Stonehenge, 702 00:35:44,318 --> 00:35:47,353 but potentially throughout Neolithic Britain. 703 00:35:49,387 --> 00:35:51,870 NARRATOR: It's as if someone sent a memo to everyone 704 00:35:51,974 --> 00:35:55,111 across Stone Age Britain to agree the same system, 705 00:35:55,215 --> 00:35:58,284 and yet this was 5,000 years ago, 706 00:35:58,387 --> 00:36:02,525 almost 3,000 years before writing even appears in Britain. 707 00:36:04,146 --> 00:36:07,077 Formerly, when we looked at Neolithic Europe, 708 00:36:07,180 --> 00:36:10,663 we imagined small farming communities 709 00:36:10,767 --> 00:36:12,560 living in relative isolation. 710 00:36:12,663 --> 00:36:16,215 BELLINGER: if there was a standard measurement system 711 00:36:16,318 --> 00:36:18,180 in use at the time, 712 00:36:18,284 --> 00:36:21,043 well, the next question becomes, how are they sharing it 713 00:36:21,146 --> 00:36:22,111 with one another? 714 00:36:22,215 --> 00:36:24,077 NARRATOR: Recently, an archaeologist 715 00:36:24,180 --> 00:36:26,629 has found an extraordinary possibility, 716 00:36:26,732 --> 00:36:31,077 a link between the long foot and the mysterious drums. 717 00:36:31,180 --> 00:36:33,146 Could they hold the answer to 718 00:36:33,249 --> 00:36:36,215 these strange connections right across the country? 719 00:36:45,905 --> 00:36:47,318 The Folkton Drums have 720 00:36:47,422 --> 00:36:51,077 a precise mathematical relationship to one another. 721 00:36:51,180 --> 00:36:55,180 NARRATOR: The largest drum is 5.575 inches in diameter. 722 00:36:55,284 --> 00:37:00,146 The next 4.88, and the next 4.1. 723 00:37:00,249 --> 00:37:05,077 Each one is .84 times the size of the next biggest drum. 724 00:37:05,180 --> 00:37:07,491 Could this simply be coincidence? 725 00:37:10,284 --> 00:37:12,629 In 2016, a researcher at 726 00:37:12,732 --> 00:37:16,663 Manchester University discovers something amazing. 727 00:37:16,767 --> 00:37:20,491 Dr. Anne Teather examines the smallest drum 728 00:37:20,594 --> 00:37:26,560 and discovers that its circumference is 1.056 feet. 729 00:37:26,663 --> 00:37:27,905 NARRATOR: The long foot. 730 00:37:28,008 --> 00:37:33,008 Dr. Teather takes a cord measuring exactly 10 long feet. 731 00:37:33,111 --> 00:37:36,180 She wrapped it around the smallest of these 732 00:37:36,284 --> 00:37:40,525 chalk drums, and it went around 10 times precisely. 733 00:37:40,629 --> 00:37:43,422 NARRATOR: She repeats the test on the other two drums. 734 00:37:43,525 --> 00:37:45,732 She did the same with the larger drums, 735 00:37:45,836 --> 00:37:48,111 and it went around eight or seven. 736 00:37:48,215 --> 00:37:51,180 NARRATOR: This suggests an astonishing possibility. 737 00:37:51,284 --> 00:37:55,008 One theory is that these drums could have been used as 738 00:37:55,111 --> 00:37:58,732 portable devices for the wrapping around of cords, 739 00:37:58,836 --> 00:38:01,905 for the creating of standard measurements, for laying out 740 00:38:02,008 --> 00:38:04,043 buildings or monuments. 741 00:38:06,215 --> 00:38:08,353 NARRATOR: The suggestion is that these are like 742 00:38:08,456 --> 00:38:10,698 5000-year-old measuring tapes, 743 00:38:10,801 --> 00:38:13,353 but with only one isolated find, 744 00:38:13,456 --> 00:38:15,974 it could all be coincidence, 745 00:38:16,077 --> 00:38:17,698 except... 746 00:38:17,801 --> 00:38:20,180 it's no longer just one find. 747 00:38:22,008 --> 00:38:25,939 In 1993 in West Sussex, 50 miles from Stonehenge, 748 00:38:26,043 --> 00:38:29,594 archaeologists discover another drum. 749 00:38:29,698 --> 00:38:32,801 But this time with no carved decorations, 750 00:38:32,905 --> 00:38:34,974 almost as if it were unfinished. 751 00:38:35,077 --> 00:38:37,870 NARRATOR: When Dr. Teather tests the new drum with 752 00:38:37,974 --> 00:38:39,456 the 10 long feet cord, 753 00:38:39,560 --> 00:38:42,249 it wraps around exactly nine times. 754 00:38:43,491 --> 00:38:45,560 The idea that these strange drums are 755 00:38:45,663 --> 00:38:49,456 tools for the architects of Stonehenge is attractive, 756 00:38:49,560 --> 00:38:51,939 but there's one very big problem. 757 00:38:54,491 --> 00:38:56,698 The drums are made out of chalk. 758 00:38:56,801 --> 00:38:59,180 There is a problem with chalk, 759 00:38:59,284 --> 00:39:01,836 particularly if you're using it for some kind of 760 00:39:01,939 --> 00:39:03,525 measuring standard. 761 00:39:03,629 --> 00:39:06,663 It is soft, and it erodes easily. 762 00:39:06,767 --> 00:39:09,698 If these objects were part of some Neolithic toolkit, 763 00:39:09,801 --> 00:39:13,698 then you'd expect to see marks of wear upon them. 764 00:39:13,801 --> 00:39:16,456 NARRATOR: But up close, there are no cord marks 765 00:39:16,560 --> 00:39:19,836 or signs of damage from regular use as tools. 766 00:39:20,974 --> 00:39:23,111 But weirdly, in Neolithic Britain, 767 00:39:23,215 --> 00:39:25,732 not all tools are made to be used. 768 00:39:25,836 --> 00:39:28,870 We call these sorts of objects skeuomorphs, 769 00:39:28,974 --> 00:39:32,491 objects which were functionally in one material, 770 00:39:32,594 --> 00:39:35,629 but for which replicas can be made in another material, 771 00:39:35,732 --> 00:39:37,767 which is not functionally suitable. 772 00:39:37,870 --> 00:39:40,663 A good example of this would be a chalk ax, 773 00:39:40,767 --> 00:39:43,249 which, while looking like an ax, 774 00:39:43,353 --> 00:39:46,456 would shatter if you actually used it like an ax. 775 00:39:46,560 --> 00:39:48,318 And we've actually found such 776 00:39:48,422 --> 00:39:51,905 a chalk ax from near Arundel in Britain. 777 00:39:53,456 --> 00:39:55,594 NARRATOR: The working theory is that the real drums would 778 00:39:55,698 --> 00:39:58,698 have been made of something more durable, like wood. 779 00:40:01,215 --> 00:40:04,249 So why make copies out of chalk? 780 00:40:04,353 --> 00:40:08,146 MacDONALD: Their use appears to have been largely ritual. 781 00:40:08,249 --> 00:40:11,077 It would appear that the long foot measurement had 782 00:40:11,180 --> 00:40:14,698 an important symbolic as well as functional use in 783 00:40:14,801 --> 00:40:15,836 this society. 784 00:40:15,939 --> 00:40:19,870 We may view these two realms, 785 00:40:19,974 --> 00:40:23,043 the functional and the spiritual, 786 00:40:23,146 --> 00:40:25,318 as different phenomena today, 787 00:40:25,422 --> 00:40:29,146 but for the people of the past, this was not the case. 788 00:40:30,456 --> 00:40:33,008 NARRATOR: That fits with the long foot being used 789 00:40:33,111 --> 00:40:35,491 at a ritual site like Stonehenge 790 00:40:35,594 --> 00:40:37,767 and why the drums might be buried in 791 00:40:37,870 --> 00:40:39,043 a tomb. 792 00:40:39,146 --> 00:40:42,284 But if the drums really are connected to the monuments, 793 00:40:42,387 --> 00:40:44,180 how is it they were found 794 00:40:44,284 --> 00:40:46,491 hundreds of miles away from any of them? 795 00:40:48,422 --> 00:40:51,422 New evidence that Durrington Walls may hold an answer. 796 00:40:51,525 --> 00:40:56,594 BELLINGER: Researchers analyzed 38,000 teeth and bones 797 00:40:56,698 --> 00:40:59,215 from animals that had been butchered and consumed 798 00:40:59,318 --> 00:41:02,284 at the Durrington Walls site, and they were quite astonished 799 00:41:02,387 --> 00:41:04,663 to find that many of them had come from 800 00:41:04,767 --> 00:41:07,456 as far away as the northern tip of Scotland, 801 00:41:07,560 --> 00:41:09,767 500 miles. 802 00:41:09,870 --> 00:41:12,353 NARRATOR: Archaeologists have had to rethink 803 00:41:12,456 --> 00:41:15,525 ideas of Neolithic communities being isolated. 804 00:41:15,629 --> 00:41:19,525 There was a huge amount of contact, and not just with 805 00:41:19,629 --> 00:41:21,111 neighboring communities, 806 00:41:21,215 --> 00:41:24,836 but communities that spanned the British Isles and could 807 00:41:24,939 --> 00:41:26,560 have even included the continent. 808 00:41:30,629 --> 00:41:33,111 NARRATOR: The idea that knowledge of measuring drums 809 00:41:33,215 --> 00:41:35,249 could have traveled hundreds of miles 810 00:41:35,353 --> 00:41:37,422 no longer seemed so strange. 811 00:41:37,525 --> 00:41:39,974 People were traveling long distances, 812 00:41:40,077 --> 00:41:43,318 and when people come together, they share ideas. 813 00:41:43,422 --> 00:41:46,422 They talk, they talk about religion, 814 00:41:46,525 --> 00:41:50,180 they talk about what they've experienced. 815 00:41:50,284 --> 00:41:53,077 It's what humans always do. 816 00:41:53,180 --> 00:41:56,111 NARRATOR: These beautiful and strange chalk objects 817 00:41:56,215 --> 00:41:58,456 are fundamentally challenging our views 818 00:41:58,560 --> 00:42:01,043 on both the skills and the beliefs of 819 00:42:01,146 --> 00:42:05,180 the Stone Age people who crafted them 5,000 years ago.