1 00:00:02,880 --> 00:00:04,880 In the deserts of Iraq, 2 00:00:04,960 --> 00:00:07,800 a team of archeologists unearths evidence 3 00:00:07,880 --> 00:00:11,280 for a 2,500-year-old site of worship. 4 00:00:12,360 --> 00:00:14,160 Was this the base of a 5 00:00:14,240 --> 00:00:16,240 incense burner, a statue, or something like that? 6 00:00:16,320 --> 00:00:17,920 Uh, both. 7 00:00:18,240 --> 00:00:19,760 As they dig deeper, 8 00:00:19,840 --> 00:00:21,720 their discoveries reveal insights 9 00:00:21,800 --> 00:00:25,040 into one of the greatest monuments in the Bible... 10 00:00:25,920 --> 00:00:28,520 We have both sides of the courtyard 11 00:00:28,600 --> 00:00:30,440 for the first time ever. 12 00:00:30,520 --> 00:00:33,520 It's a extremely exciting find for us. 13 00:00:35,800 --> 00:00:39,040 ...the legendary Tower of Babel. 14 00:00:41,000 --> 00:00:47,074 Watch Online Movies and Series for FREE www.osdb.link/lm 15 00:00:54,400 --> 00:00:56,000 Babylon, 16 00:00:56,080 --> 00:00:59,520 one of the greatest cities of the ancient world. 17 00:00:59,600 --> 00:01:02,320 This metropolis in modern-day Iraq 18 00:01:02,400 --> 00:01:05,000 is a vast archeological site... 19 00:01:05,880 --> 00:01:09,440 and a place of myth and wonder. 20 00:01:09,520 --> 00:01:11,520 Anyone coming would've been 21 00:01:11,600 --> 00:01:14,520 awe-inspired by Babylon's power and its might. 22 00:01:15,000 --> 00:01:16,600 In the Book of Genesis, 23 00:01:16,680 --> 00:01:17,960 Babylon is the setting 24 00:01:18,040 --> 00:01:20,560 for the biblical Tower of Babel, 25 00:01:20,640 --> 00:01:26,200 a legendary megastructure so tall, it angers God. 26 00:01:26,280 --> 00:01:29,600 What lies behind this fantastical story? 27 00:01:29,680 --> 00:01:31,080 How much is grounded 28 00:01:31,160 --> 00:01:33,520 in the history of this ancient region? 29 00:01:36,560 --> 00:01:39,280 Babylon sits in the heart of Mesopotamia, 30 00:01:39,840 --> 00:01:41,760 a region in which many of the Bible's 31 00:01:41,840 --> 00:01:44,640 most famous stories are set. 32 00:01:47,520 --> 00:01:50,640 Now, new archeological discoveries, 33 00:01:50,720 --> 00:01:52,720 buried for thousands of years, 34 00:01:52,800 --> 00:01:54,560 shed light on the real events 35 00:01:54,640 --> 00:01:57,840 that may have given rise to these legends. 36 00:01:59,280 --> 00:02:02,760 This season, international teams of experts 37 00:02:02,840 --> 00:02:05,080 dig through centuries of earth 38 00:02:05,160 --> 00:02:07,600 and use cutting-edge technology 39 00:02:07,680 --> 00:02:11,680 to piece together these millennia-old mysteries. 40 00:02:12,680 --> 00:02:14,760 Their discoveries could help 41 00:02:14,840 --> 00:02:17,840 to reveal the world of Babylon. 42 00:02:22,400 --> 00:02:24,200 In central Iraq, 43 00:02:24,280 --> 00:02:26,400 an ambitious project is underway 44 00:02:26,480 --> 00:02:28,600 in the heart of ancient Babylon. 45 00:02:29,360 --> 00:02:31,840 Much of the architecture visible here today 46 00:02:31,920 --> 00:02:36,600 is modern restoration built around the original walls. 47 00:02:36,680 --> 00:02:39,880 Most of the ancient city remains hidden. 48 00:02:41,640 --> 00:02:44,440 Osama Hisham and his Iraqi team 49 00:02:44,520 --> 00:02:48,320 are on a mission to rebuild its impressive structures. 50 00:02:49,600 --> 00:02:51,600 There is only a few percent 51 00:02:51,680 --> 00:02:54,920 of the ancient city of Babylon discovered. 52 00:02:55,400 --> 00:02:58,960 Only a scratch on the surface. 53 00:02:59,040 --> 00:03:01,040 Osama has worked at Babylon 54 00:03:01,120 --> 00:03:03,120 for the past 15 years, 55 00:03:03,200 --> 00:03:04,840 and his connection with the site 56 00:03:04,920 --> 00:03:07,360 stretches back much further. 57 00:03:07,960 --> 00:03:12,200 I grew up from childhood nearby this site. 58 00:03:12,280 --> 00:03:16,880 All of this rich culture affected my way of thinking. 59 00:03:17,960 --> 00:03:20,840 I am very proud working here 60 00:03:20,920 --> 00:03:24,720 in one of the most important Heritage Site in the world. 61 00:03:28,280 --> 00:03:31,480 This season, the team plans to reconstruct 62 00:03:31,560 --> 00:03:34,280 a spectacular archway at one of the city's 63 00:03:34,360 --> 00:03:37,960 most sacred buildings, the Ninmakh Temple. 64 00:03:42,280 --> 00:03:45,600 They want to understand how the city was built 65 00:03:45,680 --> 00:03:48,680 and what it looked like in its prime. 66 00:03:50,600 --> 00:03:52,480 This building is Ninmakh Temple. 67 00:03:52,560 --> 00:03:56,200 It's a temple dedicated for Mother Goddess Ninmakh. 68 00:03:56,880 --> 00:03:58,880 It is one of the most important temples 69 00:03:58,960 --> 00:04:00,560 in ancient Babylon. 70 00:04:00,640 --> 00:04:03,960 The greatest challenge that this building is facing 71 00:04:04,040 --> 00:04:06,560 is the termites and the rainwater 72 00:04:06,640 --> 00:04:09,680 because the building is made from mud bricks 73 00:04:09,760 --> 00:04:12,760 and wood beams for the roof. 74 00:04:14,800 --> 00:04:17,280 Termites infest the wooden beams, 75 00:04:17,360 --> 00:04:19,960 quickly rendering them unstable. 76 00:04:20,800 --> 00:04:22,800 Substantial parts of this temple 77 00:04:22,880 --> 00:04:25,680 date back 2,500 years. 78 00:04:27,240 --> 00:04:31,560 They require ongoing work to stop them collapsing. 79 00:04:36,400 --> 00:04:38,000 There was a leak in the rainwater 80 00:04:38,080 --> 00:04:40,640 from the roof, and the water 81 00:04:40,720 --> 00:04:43,160 caused a settlement in the foundation. 82 00:04:43,240 --> 00:04:46,680 And this, in its turn, caused the collapse in the arch. 83 00:04:49,640 --> 00:04:52,440 Babylon showcased some of the earliest known 84 00:04:52,520 --> 00:04:54,520 arches in history. 85 00:04:56,200 --> 00:05:00,600 The city rose to prominence in the second millennium BCE 86 00:05:00,680 --> 00:05:04,080 and dominated the region for 1,500 years. 87 00:05:05,200 --> 00:05:09,200 At its peak, between the 7th and 6th century BCE, 88 00:05:09,280 --> 00:05:11,280 it was a thriving metropolis. 89 00:05:11,760 --> 00:05:14,760 Babylon was the capital of a mighty empire, 90 00:05:14,840 --> 00:05:18,040 and perhaps, the largest city of its time. 91 00:05:18,480 --> 00:05:20,480 In an era when most settlements 92 00:05:20,560 --> 00:05:22,480 were little more than villages, 93 00:05:22,560 --> 00:05:25,280 Babylon may have been the first city in the world 94 00:05:25,360 --> 00:05:29,360 to reach a population of 200,000 people. 95 00:05:30,680 --> 00:05:32,880 It was filled with decorated palaces 96 00:05:32,960 --> 00:05:35,280 and holy places of worship... 97 00:05:35,720 --> 00:05:39,760 all surrounded by miles of protective city walls. 98 00:05:41,040 --> 00:05:45,440 In the 5th century BCE, the Greek writer, Herodotus, 99 00:05:45,520 --> 00:05:48,720 penned stories about this extraordinary place. 100 00:05:49,280 --> 00:05:50,800 According to the Bible, 101 00:05:50,880 --> 00:05:54,480 there was one megastructure greater than all others... 102 00:05:55,840 --> 00:05:57,840 the Tower of Babel. 103 00:06:05,400 --> 00:06:07,000 The Book of Genesis says 104 00:06:07,080 --> 00:06:09,720 that at the dawn of civilization, 105 00:06:09,800 --> 00:06:13,480 all humans speak one language. 106 00:06:13,560 --> 00:06:15,560 Settling in Mesopotamia... 107 00:06:16,160 --> 00:06:20,160 they set out to build a tower that will reach the heavens. 108 00:06:21,240 --> 00:06:24,440 Afraid of what else they might achieve... 109 00:06:24,520 --> 00:06:27,560 God makes the people speak in many tongues 110 00:06:27,640 --> 00:06:30,040 to stop them from working together... 111 00:06:31,200 --> 00:06:33,800 and scatters them across the Earth. 112 00:06:35,000 --> 00:06:36,880 They never complete the tower, 113 00:06:36,960 --> 00:06:39,800 or the city they planned to build around it. 114 00:06:39,880 --> 00:06:42,480 How capable were the Babylonian builders 115 00:06:42,560 --> 00:06:46,560 in achieving the engineering feats described in the Bible? 116 00:06:48,640 --> 00:06:51,720 First, Osama's team starts by repairing 117 00:06:51,800 --> 00:06:54,360 the badly damaged lower walls. 118 00:06:54,440 --> 00:06:57,160 They lay the same type of sun-dried mudbricks 119 00:06:57,240 --> 00:07:01,080 that ancient builders used 2,500 years ago. 120 00:07:01,520 --> 00:07:05,840 We are building four rows of, uh, mud bricks each day. 121 00:07:06,200 --> 00:07:10,400 Then, we will leave the wall and the mortars to be dry, 122 00:07:10,480 --> 00:07:13,880 so we can build another four rows the next day. 123 00:07:16,760 --> 00:07:19,160 Osama thinks the size of the walls 124 00:07:19,240 --> 00:07:23,440 hints at the engineering skill of the Babylonian builders. 125 00:07:26,040 --> 00:07:29,360 Tall walls need thick foundations, 126 00:07:29,440 --> 00:07:33,040 these walls are up to 13 feet wide. 127 00:07:36,840 --> 00:07:40,240 The Babylonians built this thick, 128 00:07:40,320 --> 00:07:43,720 so they could build towering-like monuments. 129 00:07:43,800 --> 00:07:45,600 Osama's specialist team 130 00:07:45,680 --> 00:07:49,520 puts the Babylonians' techniques to the test... 131 00:07:49,600 --> 00:07:52,640 to uncover the expert engineering used to stop 132 00:07:52,720 --> 00:07:56,480 these vast and heavy structures from collapsing. 133 00:07:56,560 --> 00:07:58,760 These secrets could be the key 134 00:07:58,840 --> 00:08:02,120 to constructing a tower of biblical proportions. 135 00:08:04,000 --> 00:08:06,400 If such a tower did exist here, 136 00:08:06,480 --> 00:08:08,560 what might it have looked like? 137 00:08:09,600 --> 00:08:13,000 A clue could lie 250 miles away, 138 00:08:13,080 --> 00:08:17,280 along the Tigris river, at another site called Nimrud. 139 00:08:19,560 --> 00:08:22,160 American archaeologist, Michael Danti, 140 00:08:22,240 --> 00:08:24,240 leads the excavation. 141 00:08:26,320 --> 00:08:28,400 His work begins at 5 a.m. 142 00:08:28,480 --> 00:08:31,160 to beat the blazing hot desert sun, 143 00:08:31,240 --> 00:08:35,480 with highs here hitting more than 100 degrees Fahrenheit. 144 00:08:36,120 --> 00:08:38,120 Just looking out across Nimrud, 145 00:08:38,200 --> 00:08:41,400 you can see why we all like to dig in Iraq so much. 146 00:08:41,480 --> 00:08:44,680 It's really, for me, an archeological paradise. 147 00:08:46,280 --> 00:08:48,480 Walking out every morning 148 00:08:48,560 --> 00:08:50,840 to dig at an archeological site like this, 149 00:08:50,920 --> 00:08:55,040 you get this incredible sense of anticipation. 150 00:08:55,120 --> 00:08:58,920 You're always finding things. It's never boring. 151 00:09:02,320 --> 00:09:05,120 Nimrud is home to an intriguing structure 152 00:09:05,200 --> 00:09:06,920 that could shed light on the tower 153 00:09:07,000 --> 00:09:10,200 in the biblical story, a ziggurat. 154 00:09:14,080 --> 00:09:17,400 What you have is the core of the ziggurat. 155 00:09:19,080 --> 00:09:21,400 Ziggurats were towering monuments 156 00:09:21,480 --> 00:09:24,880 built in many cities across Mesopotamia. 157 00:09:27,360 --> 00:09:29,560 Designed with stepped platforms, 158 00:09:29,640 --> 00:09:33,440 some were constructed to allow priests to reach the top. 159 00:09:36,520 --> 00:09:39,120 The earliest ziggurats predate the pyramids 160 00:09:39,200 --> 00:09:41,000 of ancient Egypt. 161 00:09:42,600 --> 00:09:45,280 Until recently, the ziggurat at Nimrud 162 00:09:45,360 --> 00:09:47,960 stood at least 100 feet tall. 163 00:09:48,760 --> 00:09:51,760 The ziggurat was flattened by extremists 164 00:09:51,840 --> 00:09:55,600 of the so-called Islamic State using an earthmover. 165 00:09:55,680 --> 00:09:58,880 They went up to the top of the 34-meter-high ziggurat. 166 00:09:58,960 --> 00:10:01,360 It was a really impressive structure. 167 00:10:01,720 --> 00:10:03,800 The militant group, ISIS, 168 00:10:03,880 --> 00:10:07,960 captured parts of Northern Iraq in 2014 169 00:10:08,040 --> 00:10:09,840 and leveled this historic site 170 00:10:09,920 --> 00:10:13,560 as part of its war against non-Islamic heritage. 171 00:10:14,560 --> 00:10:18,880 Spectacular winged guardians that once lined the gateways, 172 00:10:18,960 --> 00:10:21,160 are now reduced to rubble. 173 00:10:22,040 --> 00:10:23,840 When we began our work here... 174 00:10:26,200 --> 00:10:28,600 we started in this area where you can see 175 00:10:28,680 --> 00:10:31,280 the floor has been damaged by a frontloader. 176 00:10:36,360 --> 00:10:38,680 [narrator] Parts of the city were first excavated 177 00:10:38,760 --> 00:10:40,520 in the 1840s, 178 00:10:40,600 --> 00:10:42,600 but Michael and the Iraqi team 179 00:10:42,680 --> 00:10:46,280 are uncovering more structures beneath the ground. 180 00:10:51,560 --> 00:10:53,560 We're beginning to excavate the sides 181 00:10:53,640 --> 00:10:56,640 to get a better understanding of that building as well. 182 00:10:58,320 --> 00:10:59,920 There are large bricks 183 00:11:00,000 --> 00:11:02,200 just beneath the surface. 184 00:11:10,640 --> 00:11:14,360 It's a fairly good-sized piece of a brick. 185 00:11:14,440 --> 00:11:15,720 The material is clay. 186 00:11:15,800 --> 00:11:17,960 Uh, very clean clay that is 187 00:11:18,040 --> 00:11:20,240 dug in the surrounding plain. 188 00:11:21,520 --> 00:11:23,920 This is a baked brick 189 00:11:24,000 --> 00:11:26,800 with a fragmentary cuneiform inscription. 190 00:11:28,120 --> 00:11:32,120 Probably from the reign of Ashurnasirpal II. 191 00:11:32,520 --> 00:11:33,920 The distinctive symbols 192 00:11:34,000 --> 00:11:36,400 of King Ashurnasirpal's name 193 00:11:36,480 --> 00:11:38,520 are inscribed on numerous bricks 194 00:11:38,600 --> 00:11:40,640 emerging from the ground. 195 00:11:41,280 --> 00:11:44,280 They are strong evidence that he was the king 196 00:11:44,360 --> 00:11:48,400 that built this now ruined structure. 197 00:11:48,480 --> 00:11:51,360 Ashurnasirpal ruled the Assyrian Empire 198 00:11:51,440 --> 00:11:54,160 in the 9th century BCE, 199 00:11:54,240 --> 00:11:58,040 a rival kingdom to the Babylonians. 200 00:11:58,120 --> 00:12:01,120 Blocks from this ziggurat reveal the materials 201 00:12:01,200 --> 00:12:04,800 used in constructing great towers in this area. 202 00:12:08,400 --> 00:12:11,400 Some of these bricks are kiln-baked, 203 00:12:11,480 --> 00:12:13,480 even stronger than the sun-dried ones 204 00:12:13,560 --> 00:12:15,960 used for the temple in Babylon. 205 00:12:16,520 --> 00:12:19,120 It takes real expertise to bake them. 206 00:12:20,000 --> 00:12:23,640 If the kiln is too hot, they easily crack. 207 00:12:24,200 --> 00:12:25,520 The brick that I'm holding, 208 00:12:25,600 --> 00:12:28,960 while it's broken, is still extremely intact. 209 00:12:29,040 --> 00:12:31,480 It's quite hard. Very heavy. 210 00:12:31,560 --> 00:12:33,440 Uh, you could reuse this material now. 211 00:12:37,120 --> 00:12:38,320 On completion, 212 00:12:38,400 --> 00:12:40,360 the base of the original ziggurat 213 00:12:40,440 --> 00:12:43,640 was more than 160 feet across. 214 00:12:45,360 --> 00:12:47,360 It would've been an imposing structure 215 00:12:47,440 --> 00:12:49,640 within the City of Nimrud. 216 00:12:52,560 --> 00:12:55,040 Each one of these bricks really is, uh, 217 00:12:55,120 --> 00:12:57,120 not a cheap thing to produce in antiquity. 218 00:12:57,200 --> 00:12:58,760 And if you think about the number of bricks 219 00:12:58,840 --> 00:12:59,920 that went into the ziggurat, 220 00:13:00,000 --> 00:13:02,200 it's a r-- it's a really impressive project. 221 00:13:02,280 --> 00:13:05,040 In terms of the industry that's behind it and the technology, 222 00:13:05,120 --> 00:13:07,320 the expenditure that the Assyrians 223 00:13:07,400 --> 00:13:09,800 were willing to make to build the ziggurat. 224 00:13:11,600 --> 00:13:15,200 What were these ancient ziggurats used for, 225 00:13:15,280 --> 00:13:18,240 and how might they have influenced the story 226 00:13:18,320 --> 00:13:20,120 of the Tower of Babel? 227 00:13:26,200 --> 00:13:28,280 If a ziggurat gave rise 228 00:13:28,360 --> 00:13:30,760 to the legend of the Tower of Babel... 229 00:13:32,200 --> 00:13:34,040 clues to the story's origin 230 00:13:34,120 --> 00:13:36,040 could be found in something else 231 00:13:36,120 --> 00:13:38,520 the Babylonians left behind. 232 00:13:40,960 --> 00:13:43,080 As well as being excellent builders, 233 00:13:43,160 --> 00:13:45,960 they also kept detailed written records 234 00:13:46,040 --> 00:13:49,240 in a writing system called cuneiform. 235 00:13:51,000 --> 00:13:53,320 Lara Bampfield is one of the few people 236 00:13:53,400 --> 00:13:56,600 in the world who can read and write it. 237 00:14:00,920 --> 00:14:04,520 Cuneiform is one of the oldest writing styles in the world. 238 00:14:04,600 --> 00:14:08,360 It actually predates Egyptian hieroglyphs. 239 00:14:08,440 --> 00:14:09,840 Cuneiform was developed 240 00:14:09,920 --> 00:14:11,800 more than 5,000 years ago. 241 00:14:12,600 --> 00:14:14,200 It was carved into stone 242 00:14:14,280 --> 00:14:16,800 or written using a wedge-shaped stylus 243 00:14:16,880 --> 00:14:19,800 pressed into wet clay. 244 00:14:19,880 --> 00:14:21,880 Tablets with this ancient script 245 00:14:21,960 --> 00:14:24,360 have been found across Babylon. 246 00:14:26,080 --> 00:14:28,080 Some provide valuable details 247 00:14:28,160 --> 00:14:31,160 about the city's long-lost monuments... 248 00:14:31,680 --> 00:14:34,880 like this slab called a stele. 249 00:14:35,840 --> 00:14:38,480 The surface is badly damaged. 250 00:14:38,960 --> 00:14:41,680 Lara's trained eye picks out a drawing 251 00:14:41,760 --> 00:14:44,160 barely visible on the left side. 252 00:14:44,640 --> 00:14:46,600 You can see a six-stepped ziggurat 253 00:14:46,680 --> 00:14:48,440 with a temple on the top. 254 00:14:48,520 --> 00:14:51,120 These aren't steps that we as people would climb. 255 00:14:51,200 --> 00:14:53,960 These are very high, they're higher than a human, 256 00:14:54,040 --> 00:14:56,760 and they're multi-level and they change height 257 00:14:56,840 --> 00:14:59,120 as you get closer to the top. 258 00:14:59,200 --> 00:15:00,800 The ziggurat rises up 259 00:15:00,880 --> 00:15:03,960 in a pyramid of seven stepped levels. 260 00:15:04,040 --> 00:15:06,240 Ziggurats with multiple platforms 261 00:15:06,320 --> 00:15:09,120 were common across ancient Mesopotamia. 262 00:15:09,200 --> 00:15:10,400 When this was found, 263 00:15:10,480 --> 00:15:12,800 it was exceedingly exciting. 264 00:15:12,880 --> 00:15:15,480 On the left-hand side, there is a cuneiform inscription 265 00:15:15,560 --> 00:15:22,560 which reads, "E temon anqi zii ker ra at ka dinga ra," 266 00:15:23,280 --> 00:15:26,920 and this translates as, "Etemenanki, 267 00:15:27,000 --> 00:15:29,120 the ziggurat of Babylon." 268 00:15:29,200 --> 00:15:31,600 And we can actually translate this name 269 00:15:31,680 --> 00:15:34,400 and it reads as, "The house, the foundation 270 00:15:34,480 --> 00:15:35,560 of Heaven and Earth." 271 00:15:36,120 --> 00:15:39,520 What's really interesting is the word "ziggurat" itself, 272 00:15:39,600 --> 00:15:41,480 which means "rising building." 273 00:15:42,440 --> 00:15:45,160 It is the only contemporary surviving copy 274 00:15:45,240 --> 00:15:47,400 of the Ziggurat of Babylon. 275 00:15:47,480 --> 00:15:49,480 More cuneiform is inscribed 276 00:15:49,560 --> 00:15:52,800 at the bottom of the slab. 277 00:15:52,880 --> 00:15:57,480 This translates to, "The base of the Etemenanki," 278 00:15:57,560 --> 00:16:01,320 and the base of the, "E ur may imen anki." 279 00:16:01,400 --> 00:16:04,280 "I filled in to make a high terrace," 280 00:16:04,360 --> 00:16:06,000 "Etemenanki," 281 00:16:06,080 --> 00:16:08,440 and, "E ur may imen Anki," 282 00:16:08,520 --> 00:16:11,440 "I built their structures with bitumen 283 00:16:11,520 --> 00:16:13,560 "and baked brick throughout. 284 00:16:13,640 --> 00:16:15,160 I completed them, 285 00:16:15,240 --> 00:16:17,920 making them gleam bright as the sun." 286 00:16:19,680 --> 00:16:21,480 What's really nice about this piece 287 00:16:21,560 --> 00:16:23,480 is that it explains some of the materials 288 00:16:23,560 --> 00:16:25,800 that were used to build the ziggurat. 289 00:16:25,880 --> 00:16:29,280 So, we can see that it was made of baked brick and bitumen. 290 00:16:29,360 --> 00:16:31,600 But it also explains that there might have been 291 00:16:31,680 --> 00:16:33,920 something coating these mud bricks 292 00:16:34,000 --> 00:16:36,080 that would have given it a gleam in the sun. 293 00:16:36,160 --> 00:16:38,040 Now, this could've been kind of a whitewash. 294 00:16:38,120 --> 00:16:40,480 So, when anyone looked up towards the sky 295 00:16:40,560 --> 00:16:41,880 with the sun glaring on it, 296 00:16:41,960 --> 00:16:45,000 it would've almost been blinding to the people looking up. 297 00:16:46,760 --> 00:16:49,760 The text describes the Etemenanki Ziggurat 298 00:16:49,840 --> 00:16:51,840 in remarkable detail. 299 00:16:53,640 --> 00:16:55,240 It's an invaluable source 300 00:16:55,320 --> 00:16:57,800 that helps reveal the engineering secrets 301 00:16:57,880 --> 00:17:00,480 of the ancient ziggurat builders. 302 00:17:05,080 --> 00:17:06,880 The Mesopotamians stacked 303 00:17:06,960 --> 00:17:09,960 mudbricks to build their ziggurats... 304 00:17:10,840 --> 00:17:14,880 using waterproof bitumen as mortar. 305 00:17:14,960 --> 00:17:17,360 They laid layers of reeds horizontally 306 00:17:17,440 --> 00:17:19,120 at regular intervals 307 00:17:19,200 --> 00:17:22,440 to strengthen the walls so they could build high. 308 00:17:22,920 --> 00:17:27,240 Early ziggurats stemmed from simple raised platforms. 309 00:17:27,320 --> 00:17:30,400 They elevated temples to symbolize closeness 310 00:17:30,480 --> 00:17:31,760 to the gods, 311 00:17:31,840 --> 00:17:34,560 making them visible for miles around, 312 00:17:34,640 --> 00:17:37,040 and protecting them from floods. 313 00:17:37,840 --> 00:17:40,320 Over time, they evolved into complex, 314 00:17:40,400 --> 00:17:42,720 multi-tiered structures. 315 00:17:42,800 --> 00:17:45,800 Some reached more than 300 feet tall, 316 00:17:45,880 --> 00:17:49,040 using several million mudbricks. 317 00:17:49,120 --> 00:17:51,200 It is really interesting to see 318 00:17:51,280 --> 00:17:53,920 how much work was put in by the locals 319 00:17:54,000 --> 00:17:57,400 to make such a monumental and tall structure. 320 00:18:01,200 --> 00:18:02,400 In Babylon, 321 00:18:02,480 --> 00:18:05,320 whilst Osama restores the Ninmakh Temple... 322 00:18:06,760 --> 00:18:10,120 archaeologist, Ahmed Aziz Selman, 323 00:18:10,200 --> 00:18:12,000 investigates the rest of the more than 324 00:18:12,080 --> 00:18:14,800 3-square-mile site. 325 00:18:14,880 --> 00:18:17,520 People like to visit Babylon 326 00:18:17,600 --> 00:18:21,440 to see architectures, to see long history, 327 00:18:21,520 --> 00:18:24,160 to see what was mentioned about it 328 00:18:24,240 --> 00:18:27,440 in the Old Testament and Holy Quran. 329 00:18:29,320 --> 00:18:31,120 Although the stele confirms 330 00:18:31,200 --> 00:18:33,440 that Babylon did have a ziggurat, 331 00:18:33,520 --> 00:18:36,520 it doesn't reveal its exact location. 332 00:18:37,760 --> 00:18:40,160 Ahmed hunts for clues in the landscape. 333 00:18:42,520 --> 00:18:44,320 The best way to survey the city 334 00:18:44,400 --> 00:18:46,640 for evidence of the fabled tower 335 00:18:46,720 --> 00:18:48,120 is from the air. 336 00:18:57,320 --> 00:18:59,200 You have to start from the, 337 00:18:59,280 --> 00:19:01,680 from the corner by there. 338 00:19:03,360 --> 00:19:05,360 The drone view from above 339 00:19:05,440 --> 00:19:08,040 reveals the heart of the ancient city. 340 00:19:10,000 --> 00:19:12,000 Almost half a mile to the south, 341 00:19:12,080 --> 00:19:15,720 there are still signs of the city's vast monuments. 342 00:19:15,800 --> 00:19:19,000 Many remain buried beneath mounds of earth. 343 00:19:19,520 --> 00:19:22,720 One strange feature within the walls of Babylon 344 00:19:22,800 --> 00:19:25,480 looks unlike anything else, 345 00:19:25,560 --> 00:19:27,960 a huge square ruin. 346 00:19:29,520 --> 00:19:32,040 What we see here on the monitor 347 00:19:32,120 --> 00:19:34,360 is a square shape. 348 00:19:34,440 --> 00:19:41,240 What we see right now is only the core of the Babylon tower. 349 00:19:42,720 --> 00:19:45,720 These foundations are a similar square shape 350 00:19:45,800 --> 00:19:48,000 to those found in Nimrud... 351 00:19:49,280 --> 00:19:52,280 a sign that this may also be a ziggurat. 352 00:19:54,640 --> 00:19:57,640 But these ruins in Babylon are much larger. 353 00:19:58,480 --> 00:20:02,080 This is all that's left of the Etemenanki Ziggurat... 354 00:20:02,640 --> 00:20:05,240 depicted on the ancient stele. 355 00:20:11,320 --> 00:20:13,720 The Bible says that the Tower of Babel 356 00:20:13,800 --> 00:20:16,560 soared all the way to the heavens. 357 00:20:16,640 --> 00:20:21,160 Illustrations often depict a spiraling circular design, 358 00:20:21,240 --> 00:20:22,440 but there is no description 359 00:20:22,520 --> 00:20:24,920 of its shape in the biblical text. 360 00:20:26,200 --> 00:20:29,000 The archeological evidence at Babylon... 361 00:20:29,960 --> 00:20:33,960 points to a square-based, multi-layered structure. 362 00:20:41,000 --> 00:20:43,200 It soared above the city. 363 00:20:44,760 --> 00:20:47,480 Could this ziggurat be the real tower 364 00:20:47,560 --> 00:20:50,760 that features in the Bible's famous story? 365 00:20:55,680 --> 00:20:57,080 Ahmed pieces together 366 00:20:57,160 --> 00:20:59,080 the surviving evidence 367 00:20:59,160 --> 00:21:02,240 to reveal the height of this original ziggurat. 368 00:21:04,280 --> 00:21:07,080 We have a real measurement 369 00:21:07,160 --> 00:21:09,960 derived from the tablets 370 00:21:10,040 --> 00:21:13,920 and, uh, taken from the archeological studies. 371 00:21:14,000 --> 00:21:18,200 So, 91.5 meters, 372 00:21:18,280 --> 00:21:20,200 that's the dimension 373 00:21:20,280 --> 00:21:23,160 of the basement of Babylon Tower. 374 00:21:23,240 --> 00:21:27,480 The height was equal to the basement measurement. 375 00:21:28,000 --> 00:21:30,320 The dimensions appear to match those 376 00:21:30,400 --> 00:21:32,240 on the Etemenanki stele. 377 00:21:32,680 --> 00:21:36,280 In its prime, this tower was more than 300 feet tall 378 00:21:36,600 --> 00:21:38,080 and it had a greater footprint 379 00:21:38,160 --> 00:21:40,360 than the Empire State Building. 380 00:21:41,240 --> 00:21:43,240 Many experts think the writers 381 00:21:43,320 --> 00:21:45,560 of the Biblical story were inspired 382 00:21:45,640 --> 00:21:48,720 by the construction of this gleaming ziggurat. 383 00:21:50,200 --> 00:21:52,920 Across the site from the ziggurat mound, 384 00:21:53,000 --> 00:21:56,520 Osama's team continues work on the Ninmakh Temple. 385 00:21:57,400 --> 00:22:00,120 The temple walls are built with similar materials 386 00:22:00,200 --> 00:22:02,000 to the towering ziggurat, 387 00:22:02,080 --> 00:22:06,080 like mud bricks, reed mats, and mortar. 388 00:22:07,280 --> 00:22:12,760 We are using the reed mats between the mud bricks rows, 389 00:22:12,840 --> 00:22:15,680 simulating the ancient way of building. 390 00:22:16,520 --> 00:22:19,240 You can see the remaining of the bitumen, 391 00:22:19,320 --> 00:22:22,160 but very much decayed through the time. 392 00:22:22,240 --> 00:22:24,320 How did the Babylonians use 393 00:22:24,400 --> 00:22:29,000 these simple elements to build such magnificent monuments? 394 00:22:33,440 --> 00:22:35,640 Osama and his conservation team 395 00:22:35,720 --> 00:22:38,040 are determined to make the Ninmakh Temple 396 00:22:38,120 --> 00:22:40,720 reconstruction historically accurate. 397 00:22:43,440 --> 00:22:46,920 They use firsthand accounts from cuneiform tablets, 398 00:22:47,000 --> 00:22:49,360 including the Etemenanki stele, 399 00:22:49,440 --> 00:22:52,360 to decode the ancient builders' techniques. 400 00:22:55,680 --> 00:22:59,160 The tablets that are found in the temple 401 00:22:59,240 --> 00:23:02,800 told us about the structure of the temple, 402 00:23:02,880 --> 00:23:05,720 which is built mainly from mud bricks. 403 00:23:06,120 --> 00:23:09,560 The recipe came for these mud bricks... 404 00:23:10,080 --> 00:23:13,400 from analyses of the original bricks 405 00:23:13,480 --> 00:23:16,440 that used to build the temple of Ninmakh, 406 00:23:16,520 --> 00:23:20,520 and we are doing it on the same process. 407 00:23:21,960 --> 00:23:23,280 The height of a structure 408 00:23:23,360 --> 00:23:26,480 depends on the strength of its building materials. 409 00:23:26,560 --> 00:23:30,000 Too soft, and it will crumble under pressure. 410 00:23:30,080 --> 00:23:32,120 Ancient builders had to find a way 411 00:23:32,200 --> 00:23:35,360 to make the mud strong and elastic. 412 00:23:35,440 --> 00:23:39,080 It starts from making the mud mixture. 413 00:23:39,160 --> 00:23:44,880 This mixture contained water, soil, and straw. 414 00:23:44,960 --> 00:23:50,960 Then, the mixture will be left for one week or two. 415 00:23:52,640 --> 00:23:57,040 The tools that we are using are only basic tools... 416 00:23:57,880 --> 00:24:01,600 to make the mixture and to cut the bricks 417 00:24:01,680 --> 00:24:03,880 through a wooden molds. 418 00:24:07,120 --> 00:24:08,840 It takes almost a month 419 00:24:08,920 --> 00:24:11,520 to complete each batch of bricks. 420 00:24:15,120 --> 00:24:17,520 These bricks are dried... 421 00:24:17,600 --> 00:24:19,400 in the heat of the weather. 422 00:24:22,640 --> 00:24:25,240 We put the brick in the shade 423 00:24:25,320 --> 00:24:27,280 and not under the direct sun 424 00:24:27,360 --> 00:24:31,640 because the heat of the sun will dry them faster 425 00:24:31,720 --> 00:24:34,320 and cause them to crack. 426 00:24:38,240 --> 00:24:39,640 The team has made thousands 427 00:24:39,720 --> 00:24:42,520 of bricks this way over the past year. 428 00:24:44,640 --> 00:24:47,720 These sun-dried mud bricks are the same style 429 00:24:47,800 --> 00:24:51,800 originally used to build the Etemenanki Ziggurat. 430 00:24:59,560 --> 00:25:02,680 Osama's team finds that the ingredients used 431 00:25:02,760 --> 00:25:04,520 by the ancient Babylonians 432 00:25:04,600 --> 00:25:07,800 creates incredibly strong building blocks. 433 00:25:12,160 --> 00:25:15,880 Sun-dried bricks formed the core of a ziggurat, 434 00:25:15,960 --> 00:25:19,000 while kiln-baked bricks lined the facade 435 00:25:19,080 --> 00:25:22,080 to protect it against the extremes of weather. 436 00:25:22,840 --> 00:25:24,320 This is a simple process 437 00:25:24,400 --> 00:25:26,720 to produce these mud bricks, 438 00:25:26,800 --> 00:25:30,000 but they are, uh, bearing a very, very huge weight. 439 00:25:30,440 --> 00:25:34,600 Some of the bricks even bear a weight of 1,500 kilograms. 440 00:25:35,680 --> 00:25:37,080 The Babylonian bricks 441 00:25:37,160 --> 00:25:40,160 are capable of holding immense pressure. 442 00:25:41,160 --> 00:25:44,360 This is a vital feature for building big. 443 00:25:46,360 --> 00:25:47,960 If the bricks were weak, 444 00:25:48,040 --> 00:25:49,560 the colossal weight of a building, 445 00:25:49,640 --> 00:25:51,360 like the Tower of Babel, 446 00:25:51,440 --> 00:25:53,640 could cause the base to crumble. 447 00:25:56,400 --> 00:26:00,400 So, how tall could mudbrick ziggurats reach? 448 00:26:06,640 --> 00:26:11,120 To the north in Nimrud... Michael and the team's 449 00:26:11,200 --> 00:26:14,800 excavations are yielding fascinating finds. 450 00:26:15,200 --> 00:26:20,000 They unearth rectangular rooms next to the ziggurat mound. 451 00:26:20,080 --> 00:26:23,280 We found this stele against the wall. 452 00:26:27,960 --> 00:26:30,680 It's a extremely exciting find for us. 453 00:26:30,760 --> 00:26:33,120 These are fairly rare sorts of objects, 454 00:26:33,200 --> 00:26:34,960 standing stones or stele. 455 00:26:35,040 --> 00:26:38,120 And we're slowly piecing together the entire scene 456 00:26:38,200 --> 00:26:39,640 and what this might have meant. 457 00:26:39,720 --> 00:26:42,320 The beautiful carved relief is damaged, 458 00:26:42,400 --> 00:26:45,160 but Michael can make out the shapes of two figures. 459 00:26:45,240 --> 00:26:46,600 On the right-hand side of the stele, 460 00:26:46,680 --> 00:26:48,480 you see a barefoot figure, 461 00:26:48,560 --> 00:26:51,680 and, very importantly, they're standing on a pedestal. 462 00:26:52,560 --> 00:26:54,560 We can tell from the garment... 463 00:26:55,240 --> 00:26:56,320 that this is a male. 464 00:26:56,720 --> 00:26:59,720 We're reasonably certain that we have a deity here 465 00:26:59,800 --> 00:27:01,920 on this podium or platform. 466 00:27:02,000 --> 00:27:04,080 They are raised above the profane, 467 00:27:04,160 --> 00:27:06,160 the realm of human beings, 468 00:27:06,240 --> 00:27:08,960 and this is a kind of an-- a microcosm, 469 00:27:09,040 --> 00:27:10,600 the idea behind a ziggurat, 470 00:27:10,680 --> 00:27:12,360 where you're elevating up temples 471 00:27:12,440 --> 00:27:14,480 or you're elevating up gods. 472 00:27:14,920 --> 00:27:16,040 The figure on the left 473 00:27:16,120 --> 00:27:18,120 is standing on a lower level. 474 00:27:18,480 --> 00:27:19,480 They're not as important 475 00:27:19,560 --> 00:27:21,040 as the deity, clearly, 476 00:27:21,120 --> 00:27:24,160 and this is a very typical scene for Mesopotamia. 477 00:27:24,240 --> 00:27:26,680 It's the presentation of an individual 478 00:27:26,760 --> 00:27:28,840 before a deity or god. 479 00:27:29,600 --> 00:27:33,200 Michael thinks this wasn't just any individual. 480 00:27:34,000 --> 00:27:35,200 Images like this, 481 00:27:35,280 --> 00:27:38,160 where a god is handing symbols of kingship 482 00:27:38,240 --> 00:27:40,200 and is in the presence of a human, 483 00:27:40,280 --> 00:27:43,320 help to convey this individual's special status. 484 00:27:43,400 --> 00:27:45,800 For Mesopotamian rulers, 485 00:27:45,880 --> 00:27:47,760 this was a very important scene 486 00:27:47,840 --> 00:27:50,160 for legitimizing their power. 487 00:27:50,240 --> 00:27:53,960 They were essentially God's agents on Earth. 488 00:27:54,040 --> 00:27:55,960 Unlike the Egyptians and some other cultures 489 00:27:56,040 --> 00:27:57,520 in the ancient Near East, 490 00:27:57,600 --> 00:28:01,200 they believed that the king was God's servant on Earth. 491 00:28:01,560 --> 00:28:03,760 These clues lead Michael to believe 492 00:28:03,840 --> 00:28:06,920 this scene depicts the ruler who built the city 493 00:28:07,000 --> 00:28:11,400 and commissioned the ziggurat, King Ashurnasirpal. 494 00:28:13,160 --> 00:28:16,760 The king wanted to claim an association with the gods 495 00:28:16,840 --> 00:28:19,280 to cement his right to rule. 496 00:28:19,360 --> 00:28:22,160 He was so powerful, he was capable of building 497 00:28:22,240 --> 00:28:25,880 larger monumental buildings than his predecessors. 498 00:28:25,960 --> 00:28:28,160 It provides some really interesting clues 499 00:28:28,240 --> 00:28:31,560 as to how this building was used in antiquity. 500 00:28:31,640 --> 00:28:33,840 This stele reveals the king 501 00:28:33,920 --> 00:28:36,320 behind Nimrud's Ziggurat. 502 00:28:36,840 --> 00:28:39,920 Is there any evidence for a similar mastermind 503 00:28:40,000 --> 00:28:43,000 behind the ziggurat in Babylon? 504 00:28:46,560 --> 00:28:49,440 In the workshop, Lara takes a closer look 505 00:28:49,520 --> 00:28:52,560 at the inscriptions on the Etemenanki stele. 506 00:28:53,240 --> 00:28:54,880 The Bible simply says that 507 00:28:54,960 --> 00:28:56,800 people in southern Mesopotamia 508 00:28:56,880 --> 00:28:59,600 constructed the legendary Tower of Babel. 509 00:28:59,680 --> 00:29:01,880 Lara thinks this stone reveals 510 00:29:01,960 --> 00:29:05,400 who commissioned Babylon's soaring ziggurat. 511 00:29:05,480 --> 00:29:08,560 We can see a figure standing tall. 512 00:29:08,640 --> 00:29:11,120 We can tell it's a male, due to the beard. 513 00:29:11,200 --> 00:29:14,400 He is wearing a long robe and a conical hat. 514 00:29:14,840 --> 00:29:18,240 The combination can tell us that this is a royal figure. 515 00:29:22,680 --> 00:29:25,160 More than 100 kings ruled Babylon 516 00:29:25,240 --> 00:29:29,040 during the empire's nearly 2,000-year lifespan. 517 00:29:30,000 --> 00:29:32,480 So, which ruler is depicted alongside 518 00:29:32,560 --> 00:29:34,960 the Etemenanki Ziggurat? 519 00:29:37,000 --> 00:29:40,400 Lara writes out a section of the cuneiform text. 520 00:29:43,760 --> 00:29:45,360 From the cuneiform here, 521 00:29:45,440 --> 00:29:47,480 we can see several signs. 522 00:29:47,560 --> 00:29:52,640 We can see "ag nig do" and "uru." 523 00:29:52,720 --> 00:29:58,920 These can be transliterated as, "Nabu kaduri ussa," 524 00:29:59,000 --> 00:30:03,760 which can be translated as, "Nabu, watch over my heir." 525 00:30:03,840 --> 00:30:07,280 This is King Nebuchadnezzar II, King of Babylon. 526 00:30:08,920 --> 00:30:10,120 [narrator] His name appears 527 00:30:10,200 --> 00:30:12,800 over and over again in the Bible. 528 00:30:15,320 --> 00:30:18,240 Nebuchadnezzar II was the greatest king 529 00:30:18,320 --> 00:30:21,040 of the late Babylonian Empire, 530 00:30:21,120 --> 00:30:24,120 who conquered thousands of miles of land. 531 00:30:25,160 --> 00:30:26,560 Legend has it he built 532 00:30:26,640 --> 00:30:29,280 the famous hanging gardens of Babylon 533 00:30:29,360 --> 00:30:32,360 to make his Persian wife feel more at home. 534 00:30:32,840 --> 00:30:35,840 But he also had a cruel streak. 535 00:30:36,560 --> 00:30:39,960 The Bible claims that when he had a troubling dream 536 00:30:40,040 --> 00:30:43,120 and his wise men failed to guess and interpret it, 537 00:30:43,200 --> 00:30:45,800 he ordered them all to be executed. 538 00:30:47,000 --> 00:30:51,320 He built a golden statue of himself, 90 feet tall, 539 00:30:51,400 --> 00:30:54,160 that all Babylonians had to worship. 540 00:30:54,240 --> 00:30:58,800 Those who refused, got thrown into a fiery furnace. 541 00:30:59,920 --> 00:31:03,160 Nebuchadnezzar's largest monument at Babylon 542 00:31:03,240 --> 00:31:05,640 was the Etemenanki Ziggurat. 543 00:31:09,160 --> 00:31:11,640 The stele says he repaired and enlarged 544 00:31:11,720 --> 00:31:13,720 a smaller structure here... 545 00:31:14,600 --> 00:31:17,600 to make something even more spectacular. 546 00:31:19,360 --> 00:31:22,160 There are many reasons to why Nebuchadnezzar 547 00:31:22,240 --> 00:31:24,960 might have wanted to rebuild the ziggurat. 548 00:31:25,040 --> 00:31:28,760 This is an emblem of his power and authority. 549 00:31:28,840 --> 00:31:32,280 It took almost his whole reign to rebuild it. 550 00:31:32,360 --> 00:31:35,960 So, it was definitely a status symbol. 551 00:31:36,800 --> 00:31:38,800 The king's ambition for building 552 00:31:38,880 --> 00:31:42,200 seems to mirror the account in the Bible story. 553 00:31:42,280 --> 00:31:44,080 Like the biblical builders, 554 00:31:44,160 --> 00:31:47,760 Nebuchadnezzar intended to leave his mark. 555 00:31:49,200 --> 00:31:50,800 What further purpose 556 00:31:50,880 --> 00:31:53,880 did ziggurats serve in Mesopotamia? 557 00:31:55,120 --> 00:31:57,640 At the ancient city of Nimrud... 558 00:31:58,120 --> 00:32:00,320 Michael and his team work tirelessly 559 00:32:00,400 --> 00:32:03,200 to clear the areas around the ziggurat. 560 00:32:03,760 --> 00:32:05,920 The rubble from the demolished tower 561 00:32:06,000 --> 00:32:09,240 hides the city monuments that surround it. 562 00:32:09,320 --> 00:32:11,800 We're really hoping that by re-excavating 563 00:32:11,880 --> 00:32:13,800 and opening up new areas, 564 00:32:13,880 --> 00:32:18,520 we're going to shed light on ancient religious practices. 565 00:32:19,360 --> 00:32:22,240 There's a large area that's never been explored before. 566 00:32:23,800 --> 00:32:26,280 Michael and his colleague, Brad Hafford, 567 00:32:26,360 --> 00:32:27,800 excavate the structure 568 00:32:27,880 --> 00:32:30,480 next to the walls of the ziggurat. 569 00:32:31,360 --> 00:32:33,360 The team digs deeper. 570 00:32:35,320 --> 00:32:37,840 Was this the base of a incense burner, 571 00:32:37,920 --> 00:32:39,240 a statue, or something like that? 572 00:32:39,320 --> 00:32:40,320 Uh, both. 573 00:32:40,400 --> 00:32:41,920 Yeah, it could be either. 574 00:32:42,000 --> 00:32:43,840 There is some preserved wall above the baked brick, 575 00:32:43,920 --> 00:32:45,720 so we'll have to watch carefully for that, 576 00:32:45,800 --> 00:32:50,600 but it's pretty badly eroded on this, uh, east side I think. 577 00:32:53,520 --> 00:32:55,240 Incense was often burned 578 00:32:55,320 --> 00:32:57,520 by worshipers in temples. 579 00:32:59,480 --> 00:33:03,480 At Nimrud, they worshipped the patron deity of the city, 580 00:33:03,560 --> 00:33:07,000 Ninurta, god of war and agriculture. 581 00:33:07,640 --> 00:33:11,640 As the archeologists remove the crumbling bricks and sand, 582 00:33:11,720 --> 00:33:13,920 walls come into view. 583 00:33:15,080 --> 00:33:17,400 We think that that's the main doorway 584 00:33:17,480 --> 00:33:20,160 and if that's the case, then we have both sides 585 00:33:20,240 --> 00:33:22,840 of the courtyard for the first time ever. 586 00:33:26,600 --> 00:33:30,200 It takes hard work to move many tons of earth. 587 00:33:30,280 --> 00:33:35,280 Finally, the team exposes the walls of a great temple. 588 00:33:36,600 --> 00:33:40,800 What we found is the front part of the Ninurta Temple. 589 00:33:52,280 --> 00:33:53,680 Michael's new discovery 590 00:33:53,760 --> 00:33:57,160 paints a vivid picture of life at the Nimrud Ziggurat. 591 00:33:57,240 --> 00:33:59,400 Ancient priests used this temple 592 00:33:59,480 --> 00:34:01,680 to worship the god, Ninurta. 593 00:34:01,760 --> 00:34:03,800 The cult statue would've been 594 00:34:03,880 --> 00:34:06,160 against the side of the ziggurat. 595 00:34:06,240 --> 00:34:08,120 Most of the activity in the temple 596 00:34:08,200 --> 00:34:10,720 took place at this lower level, 597 00:34:10,800 --> 00:34:14,440 with the ziggurat towering above the temple in the background. 598 00:34:14,880 --> 00:34:16,680 As well as religious activity 599 00:34:16,760 --> 00:34:18,760 taking place at its base, 600 00:34:18,840 --> 00:34:22,480 the ziggurat itself had a holy significance. 601 00:34:23,120 --> 00:34:26,120 This complex at Nimrud could shed light 602 00:34:26,200 --> 00:34:29,440 on the one that would've been found in Babylon. 603 00:34:33,360 --> 00:34:35,840 The Etemenanki Ziggurat at Babylon 604 00:34:35,920 --> 00:34:38,920 rose high above the temple complex. 605 00:34:40,400 --> 00:34:41,800 At the top of the stairs, 606 00:34:41,880 --> 00:34:43,680 there sat a temple... 607 00:34:44,640 --> 00:34:48,640 dedicated to the city's patron deity, Marduk. 608 00:34:49,800 --> 00:34:53,200 Only priests were permitted to climb to the top, 609 00:34:53,280 --> 00:34:55,480 bringing them closer to the gods. 610 00:34:56,600 --> 00:34:58,920 This attempt to reach the heavens 611 00:34:59,000 --> 00:35:03,200 may have inspired the story of God's anger in the Bible. 612 00:35:06,800 --> 00:35:09,200 Marduk was the god of justice, 613 00:35:09,280 --> 00:35:12,080 compassion, healing, and magic. 614 00:35:12,760 --> 00:35:16,360 He became the most prestigious god of Mesopotamia. 615 00:35:18,560 --> 00:35:20,280 The archeological evidence 616 00:35:20,360 --> 00:35:22,760 shows that Nebuchadnezzar's great ziggurat 617 00:35:22,840 --> 00:35:25,400 not only had religious significance, 618 00:35:25,480 --> 00:35:28,080 it was also a symbol of power. 619 00:35:31,920 --> 00:35:35,120 A worthy inspiration for the Babel legend. 620 00:35:36,600 --> 00:35:40,200 But the Bible's account is set at the dawn of human history, 621 00:35:40,280 --> 00:35:43,080 long before Nebuchadnezzar was born. 622 00:35:47,120 --> 00:35:50,520 Is there a reason for this strange chronology? 623 00:35:58,160 --> 00:36:00,360 Writing expert, Lara Bampfield, 624 00:36:00,440 --> 00:36:03,080 decodes another cuneiform tablet 625 00:36:03,160 --> 00:36:06,160 with a story from the ancient city of Uruk. 626 00:36:08,040 --> 00:36:11,040 Despite being written around 1,500 years before 627 00:36:11,120 --> 00:36:13,120 the Tower of Babel story... 628 00:36:13,960 --> 00:36:16,440 there are some striking similarities. 629 00:36:18,680 --> 00:36:20,880 So, the line on this tablet 630 00:36:20,960 --> 00:36:26,600 talks about how Enmerkar is trying to build a ziggurat, 631 00:36:26,680 --> 00:36:29,280 but there is this confusion of tongues. 632 00:36:29,360 --> 00:36:32,800 This line, in particular, talks about the harmony of tongues 633 00:36:32,880 --> 00:36:36,280 and how they want to create one tongue. 634 00:36:37,520 --> 00:36:39,720 This line reads... 635 00:36:39,800 --> 00:36:45,520 "The whole universe in unison to Enlil in one tongue." 636 00:36:45,600 --> 00:36:47,320 Although this is a Sumerian myth, 637 00:36:47,400 --> 00:36:50,000 we can see parallels to the biblical scriptures 638 00:36:50,080 --> 00:36:53,680 talking about multi-tongues and the confusion of tongues. 639 00:36:55,040 --> 00:36:57,760 The Sumerians were a neighboring civilization 640 00:36:57,840 --> 00:36:59,080 to the Babylonians 641 00:36:59,160 --> 00:37:01,560 who also wrote in cuneiform. 642 00:37:03,480 --> 00:37:06,280 The biblical story that talks about multi-tongues 643 00:37:06,360 --> 00:37:08,880 was written in about the 6th century... 644 00:37:08,960 --> 00:37:13,560 whereas this Sumerian myth was written in the 21st century BCE. 645 00:37:13,920 --> 00:37:15,520 A clue to understanding 646 00:37:15,600 --> 00:37:19,120 why this same story appears in different accounts 647 00:37:19,200 --> 00:37:22,000 could be the writing system itself. 648 00:37:22,760 --> 00:37:25,800 Cuneiform flourished in ancient Babylon. 649 00:37:26,360 --> 00:37:28,760 Babylon would've been a trading hub. 650 00:37:28,840 --> 00:37:32,520 A melting pot of different languages and cultures. 651 00:37:32,600 --> 00:37:35,400 Cuneiform was first invented to help 652 00:37:35,480 --> 00:37:37,160 as an administrative tool 653 00:37:37,240 --> 00:37:42,480 to track, trade barley or wheat or animals. 654 00:37:42,560 --> 00:37:44,240 During the time of Nebuchadnezzar, 655 00:37:44,320 --> 00:37:47,720 Babylon would have been an epicenter of writing. 656 00:37:50,560 --> 00:37:53,040 Archeologists have found evidence 657 00:37:53,120 --> 00:37:57,200 that in Babylonian schools, pupils learned to write 658 00:37:57,280 --> 00:37:58,760 by repetitively carving 659 00:37:58,840 --> 00:38:01,840 cuneiform lines on clay tablets. 660 00:38:02,880 --> 00:38:06,600 Babylonians used this early writing to record laws, 661 00:38:06,680 --> 00:38:11,720 send letters, and even record the movements of the stars. 662 00:38:12,200 --> 00:38:15,320 Scribes wrote down, copied, and collected myths 663 00:38:15,400 --> 00:38:17,240 from Mesopotamia 664 00:38:17,320 --> 00:38:20,120 and preserved them for future generations, 665 00:38:20,200 --> 00:38:22,200 carved in clay. 666 00:38:24,040 --> 00:38:27,480 Cuneiform became a really useful tool. 667 00:38:28,080 --> 00:38:30,560 The shared writing system of cuneiform 668 00:38:30,640 --> 00:38:32,280 may have led to the transmission 669 00:38:32,360 --> 00:38:34,800 of ancient Mesopotamian stories, 670 00:38:34,880 --> 00:38:38,080 through written accounts and copied texts. 671 00:38:40,480 --> 00:38:42,800 Myths and legends about languages 672 00:38:42,880 --> 00:38:46,480 may be a reflection of this multilingual region. 673 00:38:48,240 --> 00:38:51,440 So, how might the writers of the Bible have come across 674 00:38:51,520 --> 00:38:55,920 the Sumerian tale of Enmerkar and the confusion of tongues? 675 00:38:57,040 --> 00:38:59,640 And why was Babylon the setting 676 00:38:59,720 --> 00:39:01,720 for their great tower? 677 00:39:05,640 --> 00:39:08,120 The Bible's Tower of Babel story 678 00:39:08,200 --> 00:39:10,760 is set at the dawn of civilization, 679 00:39:10,840 --> 00:39:13,560 long before the reign of King Nebuchadnezzar 680 00:39:13,640 --> 00:39:15,680 and his immense ziggurat. 681 00:39:16,200 --> 00:39:18,280 But this ruler played a vital role 682 00:39:18,360 --> 00:39:21,160 in the lives of the authors of the Old Testament. 683 00:39:23,160 --> 00:39:27,600 Lara thinks historical accounts could reveal why. 684 00:39:28,240 --> 00:39:30,960 We've heard of Nebuchadnezzar as a military king, 685 00:39:31,560 --> 00:39:33,280 and we have accounts of this, 686 00:39:33,360 --> 00:39:34,960 both in cuneiform inscriptions, 687 00:39:35,040 --> 00:39:38,360 but also from the Bible, where he's actually written 688 00:39:38,440 --> 00:39:42,640 as quite ruthless and quite harsh. 689 00:39:47,960 --> 00:39:50,160 In the 6th century BCE, 690 00:39:50,240 --> 00:39:53,360 Nebuchadnezzar II and his Babylonian army 691 00:39:53,440 --> 00:39:56,040 laid siege to Jerusalem. 692 00:39:57,360 --> 00:39:59,760 Jerusalem was set ablaze... 693 00:40:01,320 --> 00:40:04,520 its temple and homes reduced to ruins, 694 00:40:04,600 --> 00:40:07,000 leaving the city in ashes. 695 00:40:09,080 --> 00:40:12,080 The Judeans were forced to leave their homes 696 00:40:12,160 --> 00:40:13,960 and taken to Babylon. 697 00:40:14,560 --> 00:40:18,360 But even in exile, they protected their culture, 698 00:40:18,440 --> 00:40:21,640 inventing a new form of Hebrew alphabet... 699 00:40:22,600 --> 00:40:25,800 and writing down much of the Hebrew Bible. 700 00:40:25,880 --> 00:40:27,880 ♪♪ 701 00:40:32,040 --> 00:40:33,360 The accounts in the Bible 702 00:40:33,440 --> 00:40:36,400 were written by people Nebuchadnezzar oppressed, 703 00:40:36,480 --> 00:40:39,920 so it's not a surprise to hear that they portrayed him 704 00:40:40,000 --> 00:40:42,080 as this horrible person that came in 705 00:40:42,160 --> 00:40:44,760 and obliterated everything in his path. 706 00:40:48,080 --> 00:40:50,800 The Judeans living in exile at Babylon 707 00:40:50,880 --> 00:40:53,120 would have seen the Etemenanki Ziggurat 708 00:40:53,200 --> 00:40:55,640 and heard the stories told there. 709 00:40:56,360 --> 00:40:58,960 Some experts surmise that the Judeans 710 00:40:59,040 --> 00:41:02,080 wrote the Tower of Babel account in Babylon, 711 00:41:02,160 --> 00:41:04,760 beneath the shadow of its ziggurat... 712 00:41:05,560 --> 00:41:08,480 drawing on this city and its tyrant king 713 00:41:08,560 --> 00:41:13,000 to teach a wider moral lesson about the start of humanity. 714 00:41:13,080 --> 00:41:17,040 Whether he was actually as harsh, as ruthless... 715 00:41:17,120 --> 00:41:18,320 as any other king was 716 00:41:18,400 --> 00:41:21,160 when he went on a military campaign is unsure, 717 00:41:21,240 --> 00:41:24,400 but the accounts we do have definitely portray him this way. 718 00:41:25,840 --> 00:41:28,720 At the ancient city of Babylon... 719 00:41:29,400 --> 00:41:31,600 Osama and the conservation team 720 00:41:31,680 --> 00:41:33,400 replace the last few bricks 721 00:41:33,480 --> 00:41:36,080 in a length of the ancient city walls. 722 00:41:38,880 --> 00:41:40,600 The tower may be gone, 723 00:41:40,680 --> 00:41:43,120 but the mission to rebuild and understand 724 00:41:43,200 --> 00:41:46,200 Babylon's monuments goes on. 725 00:41:48,480 --> 00:41:52,520 Conservation of the monuments in Babylon 726 00:41:52,600 --> 00:41:57,520 will make them last longer for the next generations to enjoy 727 00:41:57,600 --> 00:42:02,240 and learn more about this famous city. 728 00:42:02,320 --> 00:42:04,320 The team's work here reveals 729 00:42:04,400 --> 00:42:07,400 that Babylon's monuments really were as impressive 730 00:42:07,480 --> 00:42:09,880 as the ancient legends suggest. 731 00:42:11,880 --> 00:42:14,960 They may not have matched the Biblical proportions, 732 00:42:15,040 --> 00:42:17,040 but their sheer size and ambition 733 00:42:17,120 --> 00:42:19,720 guaranteed their iconic status 734 00:42:19,800 --> 00:42:22,920 in legends like the Tower of Babel. 735 00:42:23,000 --> 00:42:25,240 The kings of Mesopotamia 736 00:42:25,320 --> 00:42:27,080 built larger and larger temples 737 00:42:27,160 --> 00:42:28,960 and ziggurats over time. 738 00:42:30,160 --> 00:42:32,640 They wanted to build the biggest and the best. 739 00:42:32,720 --> 00:42:34,120 They wanted to inspire 740 00:42:34,200 --> 00:42:35,960 the people that they ruled over, 741 00:42:36,040 --> 00:42:39,000 but also to foreigners who visited their cities. 742 00:42:39,760 --> 00:42:41,360 The Tower of Babel story 743 00:42:41,440 --> 00:42:42,960 in the Book of Genesis 744 00:42:43,040 --> 00:42:45,640 is not only a compelling origin myth... 745 00:42:46,800 --> 00:42:49,680 it seems to reflect the ingenious engineering 746 00:42:49,760 --> 00:42:53,360 of a real towering monument in ancient Babylon... 747 00:42:54,200 --> 00:42:56,440 the Etemenanki Ziggurat. 748 00:42:57,080 --> 00:42:59,680 The story may reveal the ancient world 749 00:42:59,760 --> 00:43:02,080 in which it was written... 750 00:43:02,160 --> 00:43:04,400 the development of early writing, 751 00:43:04,480 --> 00:43:06,880 uniting multiple languages. 752 00:43:07,600 --> 00:43:10,000 The legends that were preserved in clay 753 00:43:10,080 --> 00:43:11,960 and re-told over millennia... 754 00:43:12,920 --> 00:43:17,080 and the rulers that left their mark in the lands here. 755 00:43:17,160 --> 00:43:19,080 Babylon itself would've been 756 00:43:19,160 --> 00:43:23,520 such an impressive city to all who came to visit it. 757 00:43:23,600 --> 00:43:25,800 I don't think we can understand today 758 00:43:25,880 --> 00:43:31,080 how large and on a scale of pure power and show 759 00:43:31,480 --> 00:43:35,080 the King would've made the city seem to visitors. 760 00:43:36,800 --> 00:43:38,800 This season's discoveries 761 00:43:38,880 --> 00:43:40,840 shed light on the world 762 00:43:40,920 --> 00:43:45,600 in which this epic Bible story was set. 763 00:43:45,680 --> 00:43:47,320 It's a land of firsts: 764 00:43:47,400 --> 00:43:49,600 the cradle of civilization, the first kings, 765 00:43:49,680 --> 00:43:52,080 the first cities, the first writing. 766 00:43:54,200 --> 00:43:56,000 It's an incredible wealth of artifacts 767 00:43:56,080 --> 00:43:58,080 to excavate in Iraq. 767 00:43:59,305 --> 00:44:59,824 Watch Online Movies and Series for FREE www.osdb.link/lm