WEBVTT 1 00:00:06.480 --> 00:00:09.160 If you had to pick seven ancient wonders of the world, 2 00:00:09.439 --> 00:00:14.839 which ones would they be? We've compiled a list of 3 00:00:14.880 --> 00:00:18.199 our top seven, from the soaring heights of the Great Pyramid, 4 00:00:19.039 --> 00:00:24.719 through the statues of Easter Island, exotic Mayan temples, a 5 00:00:24.879 --> 00:01:00.479 Roman Amphitheater, and the Great Wall of China. The next 6 00:01:00.479 --> 00:01:04.040 two hours, we'll explore some of the most awesome ancient wonders, 7 00:01:04.599 --> 00:01:10.400 each rich in stories of mystery and intrigue. Will take 8 00:01:10.439 --> 00:01:14.719 part in the summer Solstice celebrations at Stonehenge, walk the 9 00:01:14.760 --> 00:01:19.079 Great Wall of China, and join archaeologists in Mexico as 10 00:01:19.079 --> 00:01:25.760 they hunt for treasure in the Maya Temples. By searching 11 00:01:25.799 --> 00:01:29.959 for clues hidden within these historic monuments, we can begin 12 00:01:30.079 --> 00:01:32.959 to unlock their secrets and reveal the marvels of these 13 00:01:33.000 --> 00:02:05.200 ancient wonders of the world. The three Pyramids of Giza 14 00:02:05.359 --> 00:02:08.039 have stood on a high plateau by the Nile for 15 00:02:08.080 --> 00:02:12.080 more than four and a half thousand years. These wonders 16 00:02:12.080 --> 00:02:16.159 were built by the ancient Egyptian king Trufu, his son, 17 00:02:16.560 --> 00:02:27.039 and his grandson. Kufu's Great Pyramid is the largest and 18 00:02:27.120 --> 00:02:28.719 most impressive of them all. 19 00:02:31.919 --> 00:02:36.199 The pyramid has magic admestry, and I always say, if 20 00:02:36.240 --> 00:02:39.960 you come by to visit the Giza plateau and just 21 00:02:40.159 --> 00:02:43.159 walk and you can see the pyramid for the first time, 22 00:02:44.000 --> 00:02:47.879 your heart will be going up and down because it's 23 00:02:47.919 --> 00:02:52.960 something that cannot be explained. The Great Pyramid of Kufu 24 00:02:53.240 --> 00:02:54.159 is immortal. 25 00:03:07.080 --> 00:03:10.560 Amazingly, these ancient wonders are only a few minutes from 26 00:03:10.599 --> 00:03:26.439 downtown Cairo. The Pyramids at Giza are the planet's original 27 00:03:26.520 --> 00:03:27.400 tourist attraction. 28 00:03:32.280 --> 00:03:35.400 Awesome to think that you are standing on ancient history 29 00:03:35.479 --> 00:03:36.759 and seeing it in person. 30 00:03:37.560 --> 00:03:39.199 This is so much better than any kind of picture 31 00:03:39.240 --> 00:03:40.199 or television or anything. 32 00:03:40.240 --> 00:03:41.639 It's just unbelievable. 33 00:03:44.759 --> 00:03:47.840 Today millions of visitors from around the world come to 34 00:03:47.919 --> 00:03:49.159 marvel at the pyramids. 35 00:03:50.759 --> 00:03:54.159 You know, I have always been thinking about pyramids since 36 00:03:54.159 --> 00:03:55.919 I was a little kid. For me, it's kind of 37 00:03:55.919 --> 00:04:04.439 a dream come true. 38 00:04:05.639 --> 00:04:08.080 I tried to read up on ahead of time, and there's. 39 00:04:07.919 --> 00:04:11.840 Just no way to. 40 00:04:10.599 --> 00:04:12.599 Prepare yourself for this, which is absolutely amazing. 41 00:04:15.319 --> 00:04:18.560 One scene, these ancient giants are never forgotten. 42 00:04:20.279 --> 00:04:24.160 All of this Lily capture the heart of everyone who 43 00:04:24.319 --> 00:04:26.800 come to visit the ship. And therefore, when you got 44 00:04:26.800 --> 00:04:29.800 to Paradise, God will say the only mistake that you 45 00:04:29.879 --> 00:04:35.879 do in your life that you did not visit the. 46 00:04:33.839 --> 00:04:37.480 The Great Pyramid is the largest monument ever built. The 47 00:04:37.560 --> 00:04:40.920 base is bigger than any temple or cathedral, and until 48 00:04:40.959 --> 00:04:44.519 the Eiffel Tower was finished in eighteen eighty seven, it 49 00:04:44.680 --> 00:04:48.519 was the tallest structure for over four thousand years. 50 00:04:50.439 --> 00:04:53.079 When we did an estimation a few months ago, we 51 00:04:53.199 --> 00:04:56.279 found out that the stones of the Great Pyramid are 52 00:04:56.879 --> 00:05:00.800 one million and three hundred thousand blocks. This the pyramids 53 00:05:01.279 --> 00:05:03.959 were massive, built of massive stones. 54 00:05:06.879 --> 00:05:10.879 The precision of their construction is astonishing. The four sides 55 00:05:10.879 --> 00:05:15.399 were aligned almost exactly with true north, southeast, and west, 56 00:05:15.839 --> 00:05:19.319 and the outer casing blocks were so skillfully laid that 57 00:05:19.399 --> 00:05:25.639 even a knife blade won't fit between them. Robert Bouval, 58 00:05:25.920 --> 00:05:29.439 born in Egypt, has been fascinated by the pyramids all 59 00:05:29.480 --> 00:05:33.560 his life. He's a construction engineer and full of admiration 60 00:05:33.720 --> 00:05:36.720 for the amazing skills of the ancient pyramid builders. 61 00:05:38.360 --> 00:05:41.120 There is no question that the Disneycropolis is the largest 62 00:05:41.199 --> 00:05:45.480 engineering project in the world in history, and omal sky 63 00:05:45.600 --> 00:05:47.720 Rise will contain something in the order of two hundred 64 00:05:47.720 --> 00:05:53.120 thousand tons of material. This is six million tons. You're 65 00:05:53.160 --> 00:05:57.560 talking about ten to fifteen times greater. So they're the 66 00:05:57.839 --> 00:06:00.000 giant skycrapers of history. 67 00:06:01.199 --> 00:06:03.639 Four and a half thousand years on, we still have 68 00:06:03.759 --> 00:06:07.360 no real idea how the Egyptians managed to construct these 69 00:06:07.399 --> 00:06:11.600 gigantic monuments, the largest stone structures ever built. 70 00:06:12.439 --> 00:06:14.720 The thing that makes them special is the father that 71 00:06:14.720 --> 00:06:17.720 we know very little about them. We don't know exactly 72 00:06:17.759 --> 00:06:19.800 who build them, we don't know exactly how old they are, 73 00:06:20.319 --> 00:06:23.519 we don't know why the building, So it's a huge 74 00:06:23.600 --> 00:06:30.040 question mark that looms in the desert. Some of the 75 00:06:30.240 --> 00:06:34.040 blocks that we use way up to sixty tons. These 76 00:06:34.079 --> 00:06:37.879 blocks are made of granite. Granite is imported from six 77 00:06:37.959 --> 00:06:41.199 hundred miles to the south of Egypt down the Nile. 78 00:06:41.240 --> 00:06:46.000 Can imagine sixty tons. Sixty tons is sixty family cars, 79 00:06:46.040 --> 00:06:49.319 you know, compacted into one block. So this is the 80 00:06:49.399 --> 00:06:51.920 kind of problems that we see, and they seem to 81 00:06:51.959 --> 00:06:53.959 sort of tease us with this mystery. 82 00:06:54.879 --> 00:06:55.399 It is a. 83 00:06:55.439 --> 00:06:58.279 Challenge to future generation to say, figure out how we 84 00:06:58.319 --> 00:06:58.639 did it. 85 00:07:10.279 --> 00:07:13.680 All three pyramids at Giza were originally cased with polished 86 00:07:13.720 --> 00:07:17.800 white limestone. Over the centuries, most of this limestone has 87 00:07:17.839 --> 00:07:21.040 been pillaged, but a few blocks remain around the base 88 00:07:21.079 --> 00:07:23.920 of the Great Pyramid and on the summit of King 89 00:07:24.000 --> 00:07:25.000 Kaffra's pyramid. 90 00:07:28.120 --> 00:07:31.000 You can't see the pyramids today from Bianzidan, but with 91 00:07:31.120 --> 00:07:34.680 this reflective surface they would have been sparkling, so you 92 00:07:34.680 --> 00:07:36.800 can imagine when they were new, they would have been 93 00:07:36.879 --> 00:07:38.040 absolutely staggering. 94 00:07:42.040 --> 00:07:46.120 If their size remains a marble, their purpose remains one 95 00:07:46.160 --> 00:07:54.199 of the greatest mysteries. The traditionally accepted view is that 96 00:07:54.240 --> 00:07:57.120 they were built as tombs for the mummified bodies of 97 00:07:57.199 --> 00:07:57.839 the pharaohs. 98 00:08:00.319 --> 00:08:03.839 The pyramid was a tomb, but it was also a 99 00:08:04.079 --> 00:08:08.560 national project of the whole nation. Every household in the 100 00:08:08.600 --> 00:08:11.560 north of Egypt and the south participated in building the 101 00:08:11.560 --> 00:08:16.959 pyramid by sending workforce, grain food to help the king. 102 00:08:17.279 --> 00:08:21.680 Because the pyramid will help that the birth of the king. 103 00:08:22.079 --> 00:08:24.560 It would make the king as a god. When they 104 00:08:24.639 --> 00:08:27.199 put the cap stone in the top of the pyramid, 105 00:08:27.560 --> 00:08:31.879 it meant that the pyramid was finished and everyone dance 106 00:08:32.039 --> 00:08:32.440 and sing. 107 00:08:36.320 --> 00:08:40.279 But Robert Bouval has a controversial alternative theory, which he 108 00:08:40.320 --> 00:08:44.279 began to formulate twenty years ago. His first seeds of 109 00:08:44.360 --> 00:08:58.039 doubt were sown deep inside the pyramid. The experience of 110 00:08:58.120 --> 00:09:03.799 climbing through this ancient ructure is unforgettable and completely impossible 111 00:09:03.840 --> 00:09:19.519 if you suffer even the tiniest degree of claustrophobia. Close 112 00:09:19.559 --> 00:09:23.039 to the heart of the pyramid, the tiny passageway opens 113 00:09:23.120 --> 00:09:27.080 up into the grand gallery. Over the centuries, the pale 114 00:09:27.120 --> 00:09:31.360 limestone has been blackened by the soot from countless candle flames. 115 00:09:35.600 --> 00:09:38.480 It was here in the King's chamber that Boval first 116 00:09:38.600 --> 00:09:42.039 questioned the Orthodox view that this was a tomb for 117 00:09:42.159 --> 00:09:49.240 King Kufu's mummified body. 118 00:09:50.159 --> 00:09:52.559 The Gyptologists say that this is a coffin for a 119 00:09:52.639 --> 00:09:56.679 dead body, but it may not be a coffin. It 120 00:09:56.840 --> 00:10:00.600 may be a place where great resurrection rituds take place. 121 00:10:01.240 --> 00:10:03.840 In fact, it may be something that served for the living, 122 00:10:03.919 --> 00:10:04.600 not for the dead. 123 00:10:10.279 --> 00:10:14.600 No human remains have ever been found inside any Egyptian pyramid. 124 00:10:15.559 --> 00:10:19.279 Boval believes this suggests that the monuments were built not 125 00:10:19.399 --> 00:10:23.799 as tombs, but as a grand setting for symbolic resurrections. 126 00:10:25.519 --> 00:10:28.879 He was also intrigued by the curious layout of the pyramids. 127 00:10:29.600 --> 00:10:33.159 The two largest are set along a southwest diagonal line, 128 00:10:33.559 --> 00:10:38.080 but the smaller pyramid of my Serinas was slightly offset 129 00:10:38.080 --> 00:10:41.840 to the east. Why was the third pyramid both smaller 130 00:10:42.200 --> 00:10:46.840 and built out of line. 131 00:10:48.039 --> 00:10:50.759 It was one of those things that being an engineer 132 00:10:50.799 --> 00:10:54.799 and being a surveying engineer was totally puzzling. I had 133 00:10:54.799 --> 00:10:57.279 a hunch that it had something to do with the 134 00:10:57.320 --> 00:11:05.960 stars the started engine. 135 00:11:06.120 --> 00:11:09.159 Boval followed up his hunch by taking a closer look 136 00:11:09.200 --> 00:11:13.000 at a completely different pyramid at the ancient side of Sakara, 137 00:11:13.480 --> 00:11:20.559 twenty five miles from Giza. This small pyramid was built 138 00:11:20.559 --> 00:11:24.440 for King Unas two hundred years after the Great Pyramid. 139 00:11:25.039 --> 00:11:27.519 It may look decrepid, but it holds some of the 140 00:11:27.519 --> 00:11:36.279 most revealing testimonies of the ancient Egyptian culture. Apart from 141 00:11:36.320 --> 00:11:41.519 some insignificant graffiti, the Pyramids of Giza are completely devoid 142 00:11:41.559 --> 00:11:47.159 of writing. But deep inside this pyramid are the Pyramid Texts, 143 00:11:47.679 --> 00:11:56.080 the oldest religious writing in the world. Two tiny rooms 144 00:11:56.120 --> 00:12:00.559 are crammed with magical spells, prayers, and hymns about the 145 00:12:00.600 --> 00:12:03.960 rebirth of the king and his reunion with the gods 146 00:12:04.000 --> 00:12:04.960 in the afterlife. 147 00:12:06.519 --> 00:12:09.399 They're intensely astronomy. They speak of the stars, they speak 148 00:12:09.440 --> 00:12:12.159 of the sun. It seems it's all about the sky, 149 00:12:12.720 --> 00:12:15.480 which is not surprising because this was the afterlife destiny 150 00:12:15.480 --> 00:12:15.840 of the king. 151 00:12:18.320 --> 00:12:20.960 Many of the hieroglyphs tell of the king making his 152 00:12:21.080 --> 00:12:27.279 afterlife journey to the stars, in particular the constellation of Orion. 153 00:12:31.240 --> 00:12:35.799 The Egyptians believed Orion was the representation of Osiris, the 154 00:12:35.799 --> 00:12:41.399 god of regeneration and symbol of eternal life. So Boval 155 00:12:41.519 --> 00:12:43.879 wondered if there could be a link between Orion and 156 00:12:43.919 --> 00:12:52.279 the unusual layout of the pyramids at Giza. After the break, 157 00:12:52.840 --> 00:13:01.000 we reveal Boval's ingenious solution to the mystery. Author Robert 158 00:13:01.039 --> 00:13:04.679 Bovell's brain wave about the unusual alignment of the pyramids 159 00:13:04.679 --> 00:13:08.200 of Giza came during a chance conversation in the desert. 160 00:13:08.840 --> 00:13:12.679 His friend was contemplating the three stars of Orion's belt. 161 00:13:13.720 --> 00:13:17.960 And he pointed specifically about the stars, and he referred 162 00:13:17.960 --> 00:13:21.039 to them as the three stars in a row. And then, 163 00:13:22.039 --> 00:13:24.080 just as an afterthought, said, but the third one is 164 00:13:24.120 --> 00:13:28.960 offset to the left, and the penny dropped. Suddenly, there 165 00:13:29.000 --> 00:13:32.960 was a correlation in my mind as to why this designed, 166 00:13:33.080 --> 00:13:35.840 this layout of the three pyramids had been said this way. 167 00:13:37.559 --> 00:13:41.320 With mounting excitement, Boval began to formulate his theory that 168 00:13:41.360 --> 00:13:44.720 the ancient Egyptians based the layout of the pyramids on 169 00:13:44.799 --> 00:13:55.120 a plan of the stars When he got back to Giza, 170 00:13:55.240 --> 00:13:58.399 Boval found further proof that the pyramids were designed to 171 00:13:58.440 --> 00:14:07.080 assist the king's afterlife journey to the stars. In the 172 00:14:07.200 --> 00:14:10.639 King's chamber of the Great Pyramid, a so called ventilation 173 00:14:10.840 --> 00:14:15.279 shaft is aligned directly with the peak position of Orion's belt, 174 00:14:15.600 --> 00:14:18.200 as it would have been seen in the ancient Egyptian 175 00:14:18.320 --> 00:14:23.279 night sky, and similar shafts originating from the center of 176 00:14:23.279 --> 00:14:27.840 the pyramid point directly towards other constellations that also had 177 00:14:27.879 --> 00:14:33.519 important significance in the ancient Egyptian star religion. By now, 178 00:14:33.600 --> 00:14:37.480 Boval had enough evidence to construct his controversial theory. 179 00:14:38.360 --> 00:14:40.720 That the whole machinery of the religion was how to 180 00:14:40.840 --> 00:14:46.080 ensure that their pharaohs after death would manage to undertake 181 00:14:46.159 --> 00:14:49.919 this celestial journey and return to the stars, and these 182 00:14:49.960 --> 00:14:53.639 monuments are the agency to produce that results. They are 183 00:14:53.720 --> 00:14:57.159 launching pads, if you like, for the pharaohs to reach 184 00:14:57.200 --> 00:14:59.799 the stars. 185 00:15:00.039 --> 00:15:04.120 How famous Orian correlation theory took the world by storm 186 00:15:04.279 --> 00:15:08.799 and reopened the debate about the mystery of the pyramids. 187 00:15:10.759 --> 00:15:14.120 Most Egyptologists stand firm in their belief that the pyramids 188 00:15:14.120 --> 00:15:18.720 were built as tombs, and they've completely dismissed Boval's star theory. 189 00:15:20.559 --> 00:15:25.799 It's beautifully written, it's beautifully made, its computer analysis, but 190 00:15:25.960 --> 00:15:31.000 it's strong because those people they come and smell the dirt, 191 00:15:31.600 --> 00:15:33.600 like I always say that those people they go and 192 00:15:33.799 --> 00:15:37.039 ride this box in an air cordition room in London 193 00:15:37.240 --> 00:15:41.600 or in America. But we excavate and our perfume is 194 00:15:41.639 --> 00:15:42.080 a dirt. 195 00:15:45.240 --> 00:15:49.559 Whichever theory is correct, there remains an unsolved mystery what 196 00:15:49.799 --> 00:15:53.519 happened to the mummified corpses of King Kufu, his son, 197 00:15:53.919 --> 00:15:58.399 and his grandson. If Boval's theory holds true and the 198 00:15:58.440 --> 00:16:02.080 pyramids weren't used as tomb, the mummies might have been 199 00:16:02.080 --> 00:16:03.440 buried somewhere nearby. 200 00:16:04.399 --> 00:16:06.440 Perhaps one day they will pop out. I mean one 201 00:16:06.440 --> 00:16:09.279 has to bear in mind that you're looking at the 202 00:16:09.320 --> 00:16:13.039 tip of the iceberg here, because there are still a 203 00:16:13.120 --> 00:16:16.399 lot of unexcavated sites. I mean, they keep on finding 204 00:16:16.399 --> 00:16:19.919 things all the time. They say that seventy percent of 205 00:16:20.559 --> 00:16:23.639 what was here is still underground, so they may still 206 00:16:23.679 --> 00:16:26.159 pop out. 207 00:16:37.240 --> 00:16:39.879 There are many questions still to be answered about the 208 00:16:39.919 --> 00:16:43.639 pyramids at Giza, and it's likely that these ancient wonders 209 00:16:43.679 --> 00:16:48.759 will always be shrouded in mystery. Perhaps rightly so, they 210 00:16:48.799 --> 00:16:52.440 will remain one of the greatest enigmas of our time. 211 00:17:07.559 --> 00:17:10.920 The Tower of London is the oldest palace and fortress 212 00:17:10.960 --> 00:17:22.799 in Europe. Behind this facade of respectability, like dark, blood 213 00:17:22.920 --> 00:17:28.440 curdling tales of terror, sinister acts born of ruthless ambition. 214 00:17:34.880 --> 00:17:38.680 For over nine hundred years, these monumental walls have overshadowed 215 00:17:38.680 --> 00:17:46.640 the city of London. Even today, the Tower of London 216 00:17:46.839 --> 00:18:01.200 is one of the capital's most prominent landmarks. Standing on 217 00:18:01.240 --> 00:18:04.359 the banks of the River Thames, this great royal fortress 218 00:18:04.400 --> 00:18:07.400 is one of the most popular attractions in Britain, with 219 00:18:07.559 --> 00:18:09.480 two million visitors every year. 220 00:18:12.279 --> 00:18:14.000 Well, I've been working at the Tower of London as 221 00:18:14.039 --> 00:18:16.839 an assistant curator and archaeologist for six years and the 222 00:18:16.880 --> 00:18:19.440 place never ceases to amaze me how much there is 223 00:18:19.480 --> 00:18:23.079 to discover here. And one thing that I still can't 224 00:18:23.079 --> 00:18:24.440 get my head round is the fact that we have 225 00:18:24.480 --> 00:18:27.160 buildings here from every century, from the eleventh century to 226 00:18:27.200 --> 00:18:31.839 the twenty first century. I can't rethink of anywhere else 227 00:18:32.039 --> 00:18:34.000 in England or Europe, or anywhere else in the world 228 00:18:34.039 --> 00:18:36.440 that can say that. It's just immensely exciting. 229 00:18:38.640 --> 00:18:41.680 The White Tower is the center of today's castle. In 230 00:18:41.720 --> 00:18:45.200 the twelfth century, the monarchy, inspired by the design of 231 00:18:45.279 --> 00:18:52.759 European castles, built the first perimeter walls. At the end 232 00:18:52.839 --> 00:18:56.079 of the thirteenth century, Edward the First, one of the 233 00:18:56.079 --> 00:19:00.759 greatest castle builders of all time, constructed a second concentric 234 00:19:00.880 --> 00:19:04.000 wall and dug a new moat, giving us the shape 235 00:19:04.000 --> 00:19:05.440 of the castle we see today. 236 00:19:07.440 --> 00:19:10.119 One of the most long lasting functions of the Tyer 237 00:19:10.119 --> 00:19:12.119 of London, and the one that's impressed itself most on 238 00:19:12.160 --> 00:19:18.960 people's memories, is its function as a prison ah ah ah. 239 00:19:23.880 --> 00:19:27.240 For prisoners jailed in the tower, this would have been 240 00:19:27.440 --> 00:19:28.559 a dreadful place. 241 00:19:32.200 --> 00:19:35.279 They are kept, probably in solitary confinement, and food will 242 00:19:35.319 --> 00:19:37.480 be brought to them by their jae. They won't be 243 00:19:37.519 --> 00:19:42.640 able to talk to anyone. Sometimes prison must have been very, 244 00:19:42.720 --> 00:19:43.680 very unpleasant business. 245 00:19:43.680 --> 00:19:56.720 Indeed, many of the tormented prisoners left behind engravings and 246 00:19:56.799 --> 00:20:00.119 the walls of their cells that can still be seen today. 247 00:20:00.559 --> 00:20:04.240 The intricacy of these gruesome carvings reveals the depths of 248 00:20:04.319 --> 00:20:19.079 their suffering. Their misery was sometimes made much worse by 249 00:20:19.240 --> 00:20:29.319 merciless torturers. These cruel acts were often the result the 250 00:20:29.359 --> 00:20:36.200 ambitious desires of the monarchy. 251 00:20:37.519 --> 00:20:40.119 It's very, very important to be aware that torture in 252 00:20:40.160 --> 00:20:42.960 this instance was done only by royal warrant, and the 253 00:20:43.000 --> 00:20:46.559 interrogators did it out of sadism. They did it because 254 00:20:46.599 --> 00:20:47.920 they needed to get information. 255 00:21:00.319 --> 00:21:00.559 Ah. 256 00:21:11.480 --> 00:21:14.000 The Tower of London was founded by the first Norman 257 00:21:14.119 --> 00:21:17.799 King of England, William the Conqueror, soon after he invaded 258 00:21:17.880 --> 00:21:19.599 England in ten sixty six. 259 00:21:21.119 --> 00:21:24.079 We know from writers at the time that he thought 260 00:21:24.160 --> 00:21:26.279 that the people of London were a huge, fierce and 261 00:21:26.319 --> 00:21:28.920 fickle population, and for that reason he felt that he 262 00:21:28.960 --> 00:21:31.279 needed to protect himself within the city, and so he 263 00:21:31.319 --> 00:21:32.519 built the Tower of London. 264 00:21:34.400 --> 00:21:38.200 Next up gruesome tales of treason and treachery at the tower. 265 00:21:44.359 --> 00:21:47.400 As the Tower of London grew in size, a variety 266 00:21:47.480 --> 00:21:50.480 of intimidating defenses were added to resist attack. 267 00:21:53.319 --> 00:21:57.279 The reason why this one particular art was so securely 268 00:21:57.279 --> 00:22:00.759 defended is because all those hundreds and hundred of years ago, 269 00:22:01.039 --> 00:22:03.240 this was the only entry into the Inner Wars into 270 00:22:03.240 --> 00:22:04.400 the Royal Palace itself. 271 00:22:05.440 --> 00:22:08.880 Since the fourteenth century, the castle has been protected by 272 00:22:09.000 --> 00:22:13.039 jumen warders. Today there are thirty eight of them, all 273 00:22:13.119 --> 00:22:17.240 former non commissioned officers from the armed forces, and they 274 00:22:17.279 --> 00:22:19.640 live with their families within the Tower Wars. 275 00:22:20.960 --> 00:22:23.720 Most people call us beef Is. That's the nickname. No 276 00:22:23.759 --> 00:22:27.319 one's really sure where it came from. The nearest week 277 00:22:27.319 --> 00:22:29.839 you get to it is that certainly during the reign 278 00:22:29.880 --> 00:22:32.240 of Henry the eighth we were partly paid in beef. 279 00:22:32.640 --> 00:22:34.680 Ladies and gentlemen were now down beside one of the 280 00:22:34.680 --> 00:22:37.920 most famous infamous skates for that hatter in the history 281 00:22:37.920 --> 00:22:40.880 of the world. For before you lie, straight escape, And 282 00:22:41.039 --> 00:22:42.640 for all you lovely Americans, do you know what it was 283 00:22:42.680 --> 00:22:43.519 originally called? 284 00:22:44.759 --> 00:22:49.720 Water Gate? We are the tower Guardians. We are more 285 00:22:49.799 --> 00:22:52.720 or less a policeman. We're responsible for everything within the tower, 286 00:22:52.839 --> 00:22:55.680 the safety, the security of everything and the people that visit. 287 00:22:56.160 --> 00:22:59.279 But our main job is the security of this great 288 00:22:59.319 --> 00:22:59.960 royal palace. 289 00:23:01.400 --> 00:23:05.839 As well as being watched over by Yeoman warders, the 290 00:23:05.920 --> 00:23:09.039 tower is also secured by military guards from the same 291 00:23:09.119 --> 00:23:15.720 regiment as those at Buckingham Palace. Their most important duty 292 00:23:15.880 --> 00:23:18.680 is to guard the Crown jewels that are kept secure 293 00:23:18.799 --> 00:23:23.640 in the Waterloo barracks. And there are other residents of 294 00:23:23.680 --> 00:23:26.119 the tower that have an historic role to play in 295 00:23:26.160 --> 00:23:36.960 defending the castle. The Ravens, Yeoman water Derek Coyle is 296 00:23:37.000 --> 00:23:37.960 the raven master. 297 00:23:39.599 --> 00:23:41.960 Bit of a wall name. See two of our ravens. 298 00:23:42.319 --> 00:23:45.400 The one million is called Mooning, the one just behind 299 00:23:45.440 --> 00:23:48.920 her is called Cedric. It's my job to look after 300 00:23:48.960 --> 00:23:51.440 these birds. Now, whilst we're on about them. They are 301 00:23:51.480 --> 00:23:54.480 not tame. They are semi wild. You go into their territory, 302 00:23:54.680 --> 00:23:57.240 they'll attack. Put your finger out. They're allowed to take 303 00:23:57.240 --> 00:23:59.079 the finger and straight off. Look at the bags on 304 00:23:59.160 --> 00:24:02.480 them as well as not their talons. I raise the shop. 305 00:24:02.599 --> 00:24:05.720 So please give these birds the respect that they deserve. 306 00:24:10.079 --> 00:24:11.319 All right, come on, hondy, good boy. 307 00:24:13.119 --> 00:24:16.119 Ravens have lived here for hundreds of years, and tradition 308 00:24:16.240 --> 00:24:19.359 holds that if they should ever leave, the White Tower 309 00:24:19.400 --> 00:24:23.559 will be destroyed and a great disaster will befall England. 310 00:24:24.799 --> 00:24:25.680 Go on, so a good boy. 311 00:24:28.559 --> 00:24:31.599 In sixteen sixty Charles the Sid took this belief so 312 00:24:31.799 --> 00:24:35.559 seriously had he decreed that at least six ravens should 313 00:24:35.559 --> 00:24:40.400 be kept here at all times. Today these birds have 314 00:24:40.480 --> 00:24:53.319 their wing feathers clipped so they can't fly away. These 315 00:24:53.319 --> 00:24:58.359 famous residents of the tower get five star treatment, and. 316 00:24:58.240 --> 00:24:58.880 That's what they get. 317 00:24:58.960 --> 00:24:59.160 Luck. 318 00:25:00.440 --> 00:25:08.319 Prime hard raven's are magnificent, whereas they're very humorous, they're 319 00:25:08.480 --> 00:25:14.160 very mischievous, and they're very very intellivision. Oh I love them. 320 00:25:14.400 --> 00:25:16.200 Come on, then, come on then. 321 00:25:17.720 --> 00:25:21.519 The London was originally built as a royal palace and 322 00:25:21.799 --> 00:25:26.200 was used as a royal residence until Elizabethan times. Many 323 00:25:26.279 --> 00:25:29.039 kings and Queens of England were treated to a lavish 324 00:25:29.079 --> 00:25:35.440 lifestyle here, but some of the aristocracy were brought to 325 00:25:35.519 --> 00:25:39.079 the tower for a much more sinister purpose, to be 326 00:25:39.200 --> 00:25:39.759 locked up. 327 00:25:45.279 --> 00:25:47.200 It's very important to know that this isn't just any 328 00:25:47.200 --> 00:25:49.960 old prison. This is a very important prison of state, 329 00:25:50.319 --> 00:25:52.559 and most of the people who are brought here are 330 00:25:52.599 --> 00:25:55.319 people who are either too important or too dangerous to 331 00:25:55.319 --> 00:25:56.200 be kept anywhere else. 332 00:25:57.960 --> 00:26:00.640 Prisoners at the Tower were expected to pay for their 333 00:26:00.680 --> 00:26:05.119 own cheap Wealthy royalty and noblemen could afford to live comfortably, 334 00:26:05.640 --> 00:26:09.759 bringing in their own possessions and buying themselves extravagant meals. 335 00:26:10.720 --> 00:26:13.079 Most of your prisoners would be living in houses, or 336 00:26:13.079 --> 00:26:18.400 would be living in towers. It's not like Alcatraz. It's 337 00:26:18.400 --> 00:26:20.319 an awful lot more like living under house arrest. And 338 00:26:20.319 --> 00:26:21.200 that's what it would be like. 339 00:26:22.799 --> 00:26:26.720 Sir Walter Raleigh, famous explorer of the Americas, was imprisoned 340 00:26:26.720 --> 00:26:30.359 in the Bloody Tower for thirteen years after his alleged 341 00:26:30.400 --> 00:26:35.359 involvement in a plot against King James the First. He 342 00:26:35.480 --> 00:26:38.279 lived here with his wife and two sons, wrote the 343 00:26:38.319 --> 00:26:41.519 history of the world, and even grew tobacco in the 344 00:26:41.559 --> 00:26:48.480 tower garden, and then he was finally executed in sixteen eighteen. 345 00:26:54.119 --> 00:26:57.400 The most notorious prisoners were brought to the Tower by river, 346 00:26:57.880 --> 00:27:00.880 often at night, where they entered the fortress through the 347 00:27:00.920 --> 00:27:03.000 now infamous Trader's Gate. 348 00:27:03.839 --> 00:27:06.839 Many and a leed traitor when it comes from these gatesphere, 349 00:27:07.000 --> 00:27:11.799 including four Queens of England, Queen Anne Boleyn, Queen Catherine Howell, 350 00:27:12.240 --> 00:27:14.880 Lady Jane Gray, the unprowned Queen of nine Days Only, 351 00:27:15.160 --> 00:27:18.319 and of course the young Princess Elizabeth, who later became 352 00:27:18.400 --> 00:27:19.759 Queen Elizabeth First. 353 00:27:21.319 --> 00:27:24.599 For prisoners such as Anne Boleyn, this journey would be 354 00:27:24.640 --> 00:27:30.559 their last. Anne Berlyn was the second wife of Henry 355 00:27:30.599 --> 00:27:34.160 the eighth, and after her conviction for adultery, she was 356 00:27:34.200 --> 00:27:39.000 brought to the tower. Ironically, her lodgings were the same 357 00:27:39.079 --> 00:27:41.559 rooms she had stayed in just three years earlier to 358 00:27:41.640 --> 00:27:48.240 prepare for her coronation. Anne was condemned to execution by beheading. 359 00:27:49.200 --> 00:27:52.839 At her request, a swordsman from France was summoned to 360 00:27:52.880 --> 00:27:56.559 deliver a swift death with a sharp sword rather than 361 00:27:56.640 --> 00:28:01.000 the traditional axe, which could take several blows. On the 362 00:28:01.039 --> 00:28:04.799 morning of the nineteenth of May fifteen thirty six, she 363 00:28:04.920 --> 00:28:08.119 was finally given the dignity of a private execution on 364 00:28:08.279 --> 00:28:24.000 Tower Green. Only seven prisoners, the most prestigious, were beheaded 365 00:28:24.000 --> 00:28:29.160 within the tower walls. All other unfortunates were executed outside 366 00:28:29.200 --> 00:28:36.960 the perimeter walls in full view of the public. Up 367 00:28:37.039 --> 00:28:40.200 until the nineteenth century, no one knew what happened to 368 00:28:40.240 --> 00:28:44.680 the bodies, but in eighteen seventy six workmen restoring the 369 00:28:44.720 --> 00:28:50.799 tower's chapel made a gruesome discovery. Fifteen hundred corpses were 370 00:28:50.880 --> 00:28:52.680 lying under the flagstones. 371 00:28:56.119 --> 00:28:58.160 They are still there now in the area of the alta, 372 00:28:58.480 --> 00:29:01.559 with a new Victorian pavement laid over the top of them, 373 00:29:01.759 --> 00:29:03.640 bearing their names in the coats of arms of the 374 00:29:03.640 --> 00:29:07.400 important people buried in that area, and Catherine Howard, Lady 375 00:29:07.480 --> 00:29:08.440 Jane Gray, the Earl of. 376 00:29:08.480 --> 00:29:17.599 Essex, and many others. Some of the royal victims still 377 00:29:17.640 --> 00:29:21.200 haunt the castle today. The tale of the Two Little 378 00:29:21.240 --> 00:29:24.200 Princes is one of the saddest stories of the tower. 379 00:29:26.640 --> 00:29:31.119 After their father Edward died in fourteen eighty three, the 380 00:29:31.200 --> 00:29:33.799 boys were lodged in the tower while the eldest was 381 00:29:33.839 --> 00:29:40.240 prepared for coronation, but their uncle Richard declared the boys 382 00:29:40.319 --> 00:29:44.279 illegitimate and had himself crowned as King Richard the Third. 383 00:29:46.440 --> 00:29:52.799 The princes were soon to mysteriously disappear. The common belief 384 00:29:52.920 --> 00:29:55.400 is that they were murdered, and many suspected that the 385 00:29:55.480 --> 00:30:02.640 dreadful crime was sanctioned by King Richard. Reports at the 386 00:30:02.720 --> 00:30:05.599 time stated that the youngest boy was smothered to death 387 00:30:09.400 --> 00:30:20.400 and his older brother fatally stabbed, but the full truth 388 00:30:20.440 --> 00:30:21.519 will never be known. 389 00:30:25.559 --> 00:30:28.680 There's an aftermath to this story that in the year 390 00:30:28.720 --> 00:30:31.640 sixteen seventy four, some workmen doing some work near the 391 00:30:31.640 --> 00:30:35.119 White Tower, quite by accident, came upon the burials of 392 00:30:35.160 --> 00:30:38.720 two small children. The authorities at the time convinced King 393 00:30:38.799 --> 00:30:41.079 Charles the Second, then on the throne, that these were 394 00:30:41.119 --> 00:30:43.920 none other than the bones of the two missing princes 395 00:30:43.960 --> 00:30:46.240 in the tower, and they were taken to Westminster Abbey, 396 00:30:46.240 --> 00:30:49.480 where even now they're buried, interred within a marble urn 397 00:30:49.559 --> 00:30:51.200 in a place called Innocence Corner. 398 00:30:57.519 --> 00:31:00.559 Every stone Every brick in the wall has its own 399 00:31:00.599 --> 00:31:02.839 little story to tell. And when you think that I 400 00:31:02.960 --> 00:31:06.200 walk around every day where kings and Queens of England 401 00:31:06.200 --> 00:31:09.759