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2700 years ago, these guys, they're building stuff like this?

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Yeah, you can tell they're master engineers having built this.

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If I were to bet what would be the most successful culture in Italy,

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it would be the Etruscans.

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And yet, they're gone.

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This is bone everywhere here.

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It's littered all over this bed.

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The more we look at this map, the more that it seems like there might be tombs everywhere.

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Do you want to go in?

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No.

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There's science in there.

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No, there's spiders in there.

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There's an opening here.

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I think we can drop right into it.

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Here we go.

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Look at this place.

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This is serious construction.

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It's cut out of the hill.

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If you were an outsider, it would look really imposing.

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Wow, I mean, so beautiful.

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I've scanned hundreds of historical sites, and I've never seen anything like this.

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This is real Game of Thrones.

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Absolutely.

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It is said that all roads lead to Rome, but where do those roads begin?

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The groundwork for the mighty Roman Empire might have been built by a civilization you may never have heard of, the Etruscans.

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They flourished around 700 BCE and dominated the Italian peninsula for five centuries.

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Priceless goods discovered in elaborate tombs are revealing they traded far and wide, but they didn't leave behind many clues about themselves.

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Etruscan literature and language is largely lost, some say deliberately destroyed by later conquerors.

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What we're left with is their legend as told by others, who saw them as pirates that communed with dark gods.

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To foretell the future through strange, bloody rituals.

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But who was this lost civilization, this missing link of the Mediterranean?

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I aim to find out.

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Groundbreaking new research may be settling the controversy of their origin.

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A city of the dead could reveal how powerful the Etruscans were in life.

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And an archaeologist and fellow member of the world famous explorers club is on a historic expedition using cutting edge technology to search for a vanished Etruscan necropolis.

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A search that may reveal how this ancient superpower helped give rise to the modern world.

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So let's fly the flag of exploration as we unlock the secrets of the elusive Etruscans.

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My name is Josh Gates.

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Hello!

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Explorer.

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Adventurer.

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Amazing.

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Woo!

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And a guy who ends up in some very strange situations.

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Oh, s***.

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Woo, that was exciting.

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With a degree in archaeology and a passion for the unexplained, I travel to the ends of the earth investigating the greatest legends in history.

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Okay, let's punch it.

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This is Expedition Unknown.

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My journey begins in the so-called capital of the ancient world.

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Even today, travelers come from all corners to stroll among the vaunted columns of the Forum, to marvel at the Colosseum, and to stand in awe of the magnificent Vatican.

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But before I get too deep in history, I'll be damned if I'm not going to eat something.

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The Sistine Chapel is all well and good, but homemade cacio e pepe is a masterpiece you can eat.

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The bowls made out of cheese.

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It's genius.

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Also, nobody looks at you funny when you drink before noon.

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Today, this incredible metropolis stretches in all directions, but the best view can be found high above on Jeuniculum Hill.

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This is the picture on the postcards.

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Rome.

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Just the name seems chiseled in marble.

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To most people, Rome has always been here.

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It's called the Eternal City, after all.

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And the long-standing story, at least the one they taught me in grade school, is that the Romans conquered the Greeks, borrowing their gods, building on their culture, and evolving into a powerhouse, the likes of which the world had never seen.

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Ancient Rome lasted for nearly 2,000 years.

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It started as a small tribal settlement in central Italy around 750 BCE and expanded, to put it mildly.

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By about the year 100, the Roman Empire covered nearly 2 million square miles, stretching from Britain to Egypt.

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At its height, Rome governed nearly 20% of the world's population.

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We credit the Romans with awe-inspiring architecture and groundbreaking innovations in engineering.

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Roman authors love to brag about the unrivaled glory of their empire, a beacon of light in an otherwise dark world.

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But Rome didn't come out of nowhere.

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Every story has a beginning.

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And it might just be that this one has some hidden chapters.

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We all know that Rome wasn't built in a day, but what if Rome wasn't even built by Romans?

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I descend down to the famous Capitoline Museum, a place that celebrates Rome's monumental origins.

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Well, there's definitely a mystery afoot.

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It's a big foot.

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The answers I'm looking for begin with a sculpture tied to the very foundations of this empire.

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All cities have their icons.

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New York has the Statue of Liberty, Rio has Christ the Redeemer, and this here is the Capitoline Wolf, symbol of Rome.

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The she-wolf and the twins suckling below represent the legendary founding of the city.

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The kids here are Romulus and Remus, twin demigod sons of the god of war, Mars.

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According to myth, Romulus kills Remus and goes on to found the city of Rome.

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This image is seen as quintessentially Roman.

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Even today, there are depictions of this all over the city.

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It's on every bridge and lamppost.

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And yet, this very symbol of Rome and many of the achievements of this city may come from a region that's much older,

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a place known as Etruria and a people known as the Etruscans.

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But who were they? Where did they come from? And where did they go?

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In search of answers, I leave Rome in the rear view and head into the country in an Italian classic.

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This here is a fiat Campagnolo, was introduced after World War II, basically Italy's version of a Jeep or a Land Rover.

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It's a pretty known nonsense, 4x4 though, does have a touch of Italian style.

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And if you pull on the door handles too hard, they're probably going to break off in your hands.

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3,000 years ago, this region was known as Etruria, realm of the mysterious Etruscans.

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And one of their largest cities was a place called Tarquinia.

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Today, the picturesque city that stands here is largely medieval.

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But like all of Italy, it's also a layer cake of history.

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I stroll through the gates of the Tarquinia National Museum, where, amidst the galleries, it's possible to do a little time traveling.

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This museum is a literal treasure trove of Etruscan art and artifacts beyond compare.

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And these items paint a picture of not just an ancient culture, but of an incredibly sophisticated civilization.

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Everywhere I look, I'm amazed.

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From stone, ceramic, and terracotta, to gold, bronze, and marble.

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It seems there was no medium that the Etruscans couldn't shape into something beautiful.

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And everyday items like delicate umbrellas, bone dice, and hand mirrors reveal a familiar and personal side to their lives.

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Each item here is more intriguing than the next, and the collection begs one simple question.

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Who were these people?

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To find out, I make my way just outside the modern city to an archaeological park, where I meet its director, Dr. Vincenzo Bielelli.

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So we are on the outskirts here of what was Tarquinia.

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Yes.

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And this was a big Etruscan city, right?

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One of the most important Etruscan cities.

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And there were a number of these big, powerful Etruscan cities, right?

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Exactly. Etruscans created a dozen of city-states, independent, like the cities of Ancient Greek.

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Etruscan civilization can be traced back to roughly 1100 BCE, when Ancient Greece was still in its dark ages.

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The Etruscans would rise to power in the 8th century BCE.

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Twelve individual city-states that form an Etruscan League, ruled by wealthy families that come to dominate the Italian peninsula.

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In its prime, Etruria covered thousands of square miles, all while Rome was a tiny rural backwater.

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In the museum, I see these incredible objects. Objects from Etruria, but also from all over the Mediterranean.

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From everywhere, yes.

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How are the Etruscans getting all of this stuff?

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They were traders.

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The Etruscans were adept seafarers, and traded all over the known world from Egypt to the Baltic.

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The Greeks sometimes described them as pirates who practiced black magic.

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But no one knows if that's an honest assessment or ancient fake news.

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So the Etruscans seem like they're very powerful, very sophisticated.

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In what is now Italy, the Etruscans were the most sophisticated people.

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Right. And so where are we right now? I mean, it just feels like endless fields out here. What is this?

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This is the Necropolis of Tarquinia.

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The Necropolis. So this would have been a cemetery?

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Cemetery.

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Okay. And these buildings we see, these are?

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Tooms.

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What appears to be an empty field is anything but.

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Dotting the landscape are small, modern buildings, each of which protect the entrance to an Etruscan burial.

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These are the entrances of tombs? Okay. So how many tombs are here?

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More or less 6,000 tombs.

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6,000?

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Yeah.

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Oh, you get your work cut out for you?

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Yes, there is a lot to do.

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Okay. Can we see one of the tombs?

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Yes.

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Please.

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Josh, are you ready to visit the Trascon underworld?

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It depends. Do I get to come back after?

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Yes, of course.

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Then I'm ready.

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Let's go.

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Let's go to the underworld.

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Vincenzo leads me down a sloping hallway deep into the earth.

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Wow. I mean, I'm not sure.

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I mean, so beautiful.

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Oh, I mean, look at the designs and the color.

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This was painted when?

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Around 400 ADBC.

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So this is nearly 2,500 year old paint?

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Exactly.

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And it is so vivid, like it was done yesterday?

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Yes, it is the best preserved painted tomb of Tarquinio.

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Of the 6,000 tombs in Tarquinio, only 2% are painted and preserved like this one.

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The walls depict an idyllic party.

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Even the ceiling is decorated to give us the feeling that we're inside a kind of tent, part of the scene.

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Wow. Incredible.

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So let's talk about what they're doing.

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They're feasting?

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It is a banqueting scene.

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This reminds me of kind of a Greek scene.

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The main difference is that women are allowed to participate.

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These are women laying down with the men?

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This is not possible in the Greek world.

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Right. Or in the Roman world you wouldn't really have seen this, right?

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And it goes far beyond feasting.

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Women were even known to fight alongside men in military campaigns.

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Okay. Forward thinking atreskens.

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Yes.

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And these folks look like they're wearing almost togas.

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Which is again something I think of as being Roman.

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But I guess the toga was around already.

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The toga was everywhere in the Trudio.

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Alright. Sorry Roman togas.

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There's atreskent togas.

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Hate to break it to you.

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The atreskens seem to be an enlightened society.

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So why don't we know more about them?

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Dr. Bilelli leads me to another subterranean tomb.

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Which holds one of the most mysterious clues from this lost civilization.

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Oh my word. Look at this place.

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Oh my word. Look at this place.

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I'm exploring the underworld of the atreskens.

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A lost civilization that I'm quickly learning was extremely advanced.

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So what do we know from this scene?

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We have mourners here.

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Yeah mourners here.

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And they are identified with inscription.

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This is writing. Amazing.

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The atreskens had their own sophisticated language.

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But very few written examples of it survive.

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Without more inscriptions like these, historians aren't able to decode the writing.

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So what percentage of the atreskent language can we understand?

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I think 30%.

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30% only?

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Yeah. We hope to find more texts in the future.

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And then we have this big scene on this wall.

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Help me understand this. What are we looking at here?

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Representation of the atlantic games that took place at the funerals of the atreskokragic family.

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It's not just a funeral. It's a spectacle. It's an event.

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Yes.

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Wow.

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This gory fighting scene depicts a slave, who is in this case also a professional fighter,

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which, come to think of it, rings a bell.

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So slaves who are professional fighters brought here to entertain this family.

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Yes.

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Which sounds a lot like gladiators. That sounds like something we see later in Rome, right?

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That's exactly right.

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00:14:04,000 --> 00:14:09,000
So wait a minute. This thing that we totally associate with Rome.

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Gladiator games. I mean, there's nothing that we think of as more Roman than that.

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It comes from the atreskens.

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Yes, for sure.

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Wow. That's incredible.

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And across from our atreskin gladiator is an unusual figure.

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This is the fersu.

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So fersu. What does that word mean?

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Fersu means mask.

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Okay. And that's what he's wearing, this red covering on his face.

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Yes.

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The character is perhaps an actor playing a kind of executioner.

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Again, without more writing, it's hard to know.

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But this fersu has trickled down to our own language.

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And it is interesting that the Latin term persona derives from atreskin fersu.

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So the word persona and the word person that we use today comes from fersu, comes from the atreskens.

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Yes.

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Who knew every time we use the word person, we owe a debt to the atreskens.

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And what do we think these birds represent here?

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The birds are probably associated to the auguri.

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Okay, so auguri is kind of weird.

235
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In this case, it is the mystic art of reading the patterns of birds in flight to tell fortunes.

236
00:15:14,000 --> 00:15:23,000
Atreskens were also big into herespasy, a killer scrabble word defined as reading the livers of animals to predict the future.

237
00:15:23,000 --> 00:15:26,000
But apparently, the atreskens were really good at it.

238
00:15:26,000 --> 00:15:32,000
So much so that the Romans later employed atreskens to practice this strange magic.

239
00:15:32,000 --> 00:15:39,000
And speaking of the supernatural, I'm led into one last tomb, one that is decidedly darker than all the rest.

240
00:15:39,000 --> 00:15:44,000
Josh, this is the tomb of the blue demons.

241
00:15:44,000 --> 00:15:47,000
The blue demons, okay? This blue character here.

242
00:15:47,000 --> 00:15:48,000
Yes.

243
00:15:48,000 --> 00:15:50,000
And somebody here with blue eyes and blue hair.

244
00:15:50,000 --> 00:15:52,000
That's right, demons.

245
00:15:52,000 --> 00:15:58,000
And as time marched on, the depiction of these demons grew more and more dark.

246
00:15:58,000 --> 00:16:06,000
They emerge in the time of crisis because the 5th century BC is a time of crisis for all the central Mediterranean.

247
00:16:06,000 --> 00:16:13,000
These monsters appear to represent a threat, a rising enemy to the very existence of the atreskens.

248
00:16:13,000 --> 00:16:18,000
But at that point, when we see them in their darkest representations, Rome is coming.

249
00:16:18,000 --> 00:16:20,000
Rome is coming.

250
00:16:20,000 --> 00:16:24,000
In the 4th century BCE, Rome is beginning to expand.

251
00:16:24,000 --> 00:16:30,000
And only 100 years after that, they've conquered Etruria.

252
00:16:30,000 --> 00:16:36,000
To learn more, I thank Dr. Bilelli and Take to the Road, happy to return to the land of the living.

253
00:16:36,000 --> 00:16:42,000
The tombs here in Tarquiniya tell us a lot about the lives of the elusive atreskens.

254
00:16:42,000 --> 00:16:48,000
But history's done a pretty good job of obscuring their full story to solve more of the atreskent mysteries,

255
00:16:48,000 --> 00:16:52,000
where they're from, how they fell, and what made them so powerful.

256
00:16:52,000 --> 00:16:55,000
We have to do more than just visit historic sites.

257
00:16:55,000 --> 00:16:57,000
We have to dig.

258
00:16:57,000 --> 00:17:02,000
I floor my fiat toward another Etruscan settlement about 30 miles away.

259
00:17:02,000 --> 00:17:06,000
That is, if I don't get stuck trying to navigate through the tightest streets in Italy.

260
00:17:08,000 --> 00:17:10,000
Very narrow.

261
00:17:10,000 --> 00:17:12,000
Okay, so...

262
00:17:12,000 --> 00:17:15,000
This is the charming town of Barbarano Romano.

263
00:17:15,000 --> 00:17:19,000
It's 1,000 years old and one of the prettiest little villages in Italy.

264
00:17:19,000 --> 00:17:22,000
I'd stop, but there's no way the doors would open.

265
00:17:25,000 --> 00:17:27,000
We're alive.

266
00:17:27,000 --> 00:17:33,000
I make it through with both my side mirrors and drive on, reaching the hills of San Giuliano.

267
00:17:33,000 --> 00:17:38,000
My GPS leads me to a wooded area, where I hike up to discover an active dig,

268
00:17:38,000 --> 00:17:41,000
and archaeologist Dr. David Zori.

269
00:17:41,000 --> 00:17:43,000
Look at this, beautiful site.

270
00:17:43,000 --> 00:17:44,000
Yeah, archaeological paradise.

271
00:17:44,000 --> 00:17:45,000
That's amazing.

272
00:17:45,000 --> 00:17:46,000
This is a flag I recognize here.

273
00:17:46,000 --> 00:17:48,000
It is, the Explorers Club flag.

274
00:17:48,000 --> 00:17:49,000
Yeah, you're in some good company.

275
00:17:49,000 --> 00:17:50,000
Yes, we are.

276
00:17:50,000 --> 00:17:56,000
The Explorers Club was founded in 1904 to celebrate accomplishment in field sciences.

277
00:17:56,000 --> 00:18:02,000
It's a gathering place for trailblazers, and its daring members have included Teddy Roosevelt,

278
00:18:02,000 --> 00:18:07,000
Sir Edmund Hillary, Buzz Aldrin, and, you know, charming TV hosts.

279
00:18:07,000 --> 00:18:12,000
In his 1918, flags like this one have been carried to the farthest corners of the Earth,

280
00:18:12,000 --> 00:18:14,000
and even into outer space.

281
00:18:14,000 --> 00:18:17,000
Okay, so let's talk about what's going on here in central Italy.

282
00:18:17,000 --> 00:18:18,000
What's happening at this site?

283
00:18:18,000 --> 00:18:19,000
Let me show you.

284
00:18:19,000 --> 00:18:20,000
All right, please, yeah.

285
00:18:20,000 --> 00:18:23,000
David brings me to see his site.

286
00:18:23,000 --> 00:18:27,000
His project was partially financed by a Discovery Expedition Grant,

287
00:18:27,000 --> 00:18:30,000
working in partnership with the Explorers Club.

288
00:18:30,000 --> 00:18:32,000
This was originally in a Truscan site.

289
00:18:32,000 --> 00:18:36,000
This was a large Truscan town, several thousand people living up here.

290
00:18:36,000 --> 00:18:37,000
Let's talk about why they're here.

291
00:18:37,000 --> 00:18:39,000
We're up on a big hill here.

292
00:18:39,000 --> 00:18:41,000
So is that why they're here because it's defensible?

293
00:18:41,000 --> 00:18:42,000
That's why they're here.

294
00:18:42,000 --> 00:18:49,000
The most defensible are the isolated plateaus that are defensible on all approaches.

295
00:18:49,000 --> 00:18:55,000
And in this period, you want a well-defended site because folks seem to be allies and enemies a lot, right?

296
00:18:55,000 --> 00:18:58,000
Right, so these are Truscan city-states.

297
00:18:58,000 --> 00:19:01,000
There's a Truscan League of 12 cities, and sometimes they're allied with each other.

298
00:19:01,000 --> 00:19:05,000
Let's say fighting against Rome, or other external enemies.

299
00:19:05,000 --> 00:19:07,000
But when they're not fighting external enemies, they're trying to kill each other.

300
00:19:07,000 --> 00:19:09,000
Right, this is real Game of Thrones.

301
00:19:09,000 --> 00:19:11,000
Absolutely, just exactly like that.

302
00:19:11,000 --> 00:19:13,000
It is, I mean, minus the dragons, it's Game of Thrones, right?

303
00:19:13,000 --> 00:19:14,000
Right, right.

304
00:19:14,000 --> 00:19:18,000
But the challenge is finding the Truscans under the other layers of history.

305
00:19:18,000 --> 00:19:21,000
David leads me to where his team is hard at work,

306
00:19:21,000 --> 00:19:26,000
digging into the more recent part of the site, which is still a thousand years old.

307
00:19:26,000 --> 00:19:28,000
You've got an army at work here. What's going on?

308
00:19:28,000 --> 00:19:34,000
Yes, this archaeological army is excavating inside of a medieval crypt.

309
00:19:34,000 --> 00:19:37,000
So here in this crypt, we have these cuts here. These are all burials?

310
00:19:37,000 --> 00:19:44,000
These are all medieval Christian burials with their heads to the west, which is a classic medieval tradition.

311
00:19:44,000 --> 00:19:49,000
These remarkable burials show us just how long this plateau was occupied.

312
00:19:49,000 --> 00:19:52,000
There's even the footprint of a large hall from a medieval castle.

313
00:19:52,000 --> 00:19:56,000
You really just barely have to squint, and you can totally imagine this place.

314
00:19:56,000 --> 00:19:57,000
You can see it, right?

315
00:19:57,000 --> 00:20:01,000
But the Middle Ages, right, we're in like 1100 AD here.

316
00:20:01,000 --> 00:20:02,000
Correct.

317
00:20:02,000 --> 00:20:06,000
And we're in like about 1500, 2000 years earlier to get to the Truscans.

318
00:20:06,000 --> 00:20:10,000
They were up here, right? They were living in this same spot.

319
00:20:10,000 --> 00:20:12,000
This would have been the ritual heart of their city.

320
00:20:12,000 --> 00:20:13,000
Right.

321
00:20:13,000 --> 00:20:15,000
So there would have been temples and houses up here for sure.

322
00:20:15,000 --> 00:20:17,000
And we can't go any deeper here to find them.

323
00:20:17,000 --> 00:20:18,000
Because this is bedrock?

324
00:20:18,000 --> 00:20:19,000
We're on bedrock.

325
00:20:19,000 --> 00:20:21,000
So how do we get to the Truscans?

326
00:20:21,000 --> 00:20:24,000
I think there still remains underneath this bedrock.

327
00:20:24,000 --> 00:20:25,000
Okay.

328
00:20:25,000 --> 00:20:27,000
In the subterranean parts of their city.

329
00:20:27,000 --> 00:20:28,000
Okay, and how do we get there?

330
00:20:28,000 --> 00:20:30,000
We've got to find another way down. I'll show you.

331
00:20:30,000 --> 00:20:32,000
Okay. We're going down.

332
00:20:35,000 --> 00:20:39,000
We walk over to the edge of the plateau where I immediately notice two things.

333
00:20:39,000 --> 00:20:42,000
A lot of rope and a very steep drop.

334
00:20:43,000 --> 00:20:44,000
What is this?

335
00:20:44,000 --> 00:20:46,000
We've arrived at the edge of the Etruscan city.

336
00:20:46,000 --> 00:20:48,000
Like literally the edge.

337
00:20:48,000 --> 00:20:51,000
There is a cliff here that drops straight down.

338
00:20:51,000 --> 00:20:52,000
Okay.

339
00:20:52,000 --> 00:20:53,000
And what is all this?

340
00:20:53,000 --> 00:20:57,000
This is the rigging that's going to take us down over the edge.

341
00:20:57,000 --> 00:20:59,000
No. Why? What is down here?

342
00:20:59,000 --> 00:21:01,000
There's a tunnel made by the Etruscans.

343
00:21:01,000 --> 00:21:02,000
We saw it with the drone.

344
00:21:02,000 --> 00:21:07,000
We mapped the edge of the plateau and we saw a tunnel leading in underneath the city.

345
00:21:07,000 --> 00:21:09,000
Okay. And what is it?

346
00:21:09,000 --> 00:21:11,000
We think it's a water management system.

347
00:21:12,000 --> 00:21:13,000
Are you trying to say sewer?

348
00:21:13,000 --> 00:21:14,000
It's a sewer.

349
00:21:14,000 --> 00:21:15,000
It's a sewer.

350
00:21:15,000 --> 00:21:16,000
We're climbing into an ancient sewer.

351
00:21:16,000 --> 00:21:17,000
Good idea, right?

352
00:21:17,000 --> 00:21:18,000
Yeah. No, it's one of your best.

353
00:21:18,000 --> 00:21:19,000
Yeah.

354
00:21:19,000 --> 00:21:20,000
Here we go.

355
00:21:22,000 --> 00:21:25,000
To learn about the Etruscan city from the perspective of their sewer,

356
00:21:25,000 --> 00:21:29,000
David and I gear up and prepare to repel down the cliff.

357
00:21:29,000 --> 00:21:30,000
You ready?

358
00:21:30,000 --> 00:21:32,000
I'm excited to go down and see it.

359
00:21:32,000 --> 00:21:33,000
Are you excited?

360
00:21:33,000 --> 00:21:36,000
You don't look, if I'm being honest, you don't look that excited.

361
00:21:36,000 --> 00:21:37,000
You're not scared of heights, are you?

362
00:21:37,000 --> 00:21:38,000
I'm very scared of heights.

363
00:21:38,000 --> 00:21:39,000
Are you really?

364
00:21:39,000 --> 00:21:40,000
Yeah.

365
00:21:40,000 --> 00:21:41,000
Let me give you a tip.

366
00:21:41,000 --> 00:21:42,000
Some people say don't look down.

367
00:21:42,000 --> 00:21:43,000
Yeah.

368
00:21:43,000 --> 00:21:45,000
The real key is don't do things like this in the first place.

369
00:21:45,000 --> 00:21:46,000
That's their secret.

370
00:21:46,000 --> 00:21:47,000
I've been trying to avoid this my whole life.

371
00:21:47,000 --> 00:21:48,000
Perfect.

372
00:21:48,000 --> 00:21:49,000
Okay, well, today's the day.

373
00:21:49,000 --> 00:21:50,000
Okay.

374
00:21:50,000 --> 00:21:51,000
All right, we ready?

375
00:21:52,000 --> 00:21:55,000
Oh, all right.

376
00:21:55,000 --> 00:21:56,000
David, ciao.

377
00:21:56,000 --> 00:21:57,000
I'm headed down.

378
00:21:57,000 --> 00:21:58,000
Don't look down.

379
00:22:12,000 --> 00:22:14,000
Hey, David, I can see a tunnel.

380
00:22:14,000 --> 00:22:15,000
We got an opening.

381
00:22:21,000 --> 00:22:23,000
Yeah, there's an opening here.

382
00:22:23,000 --> 00:22:25,000
What do you see down there?

383
00:22:25,000 --> 00:22:27,000
It looks like a narrow slot that goes back.

384
00:22:27,000 --> 00:22:28,000
Can we get in?

385
00:22:28,000 --> 00:22:30,000
Yeah, I think we can drop right into it.

386
00:22:30,000 --> 00:22:31,000
Here we go.

387
00:22:31,000 --> 00:22:34,000
Archaeologist and Explorers Club member Dr. David Zori and I

388
00:22:34,000 --> 00:22:39,000
are repelling down into an ancient sewer beneath a lost Etruscan city,

389
00:22:39,000 --> 00:22:43,000
hoping to find rare artifacts from the people who once lived here.

390
00:22:43,000 --> 00:22:45,000
Okay, I'm coming into the tunnel.

391
00:22:46,000 --> 00:22:47,000
Man.

392
00:22:48,000 --> 00:22:51,000
Okay, I got a little bit of purchase here.

393
00:22:53,000 --> 00:22:55,000
Okay, I got a little handhold here.

394
00:22:55,000 --> 00:22:56,000
I can see the tunnel, man.

395
00:22:56,000 --> 00:22:58,000
It goes way back.

396
00:22:58,000 --> 00:22:59,000
All right, Josh, I'm coming.

397
00:22:59,000 --> 00:23:02,000
Oh, look at this.

398
00:23:02,000 --> 00:23:04,000
Now it's David's turn.

399
00:23:06,000 --> 00:23:08,000
Oh, good Lord, that's high.

400
00:23:08,000 --> 00:23:09,000
Woo.

401
00:23:11,000 --> 00:23:13,000
Okay, David, you got this.

402
00:23:13,000 --> 00:23:14,000
I think I can get down.

403
00:23:14,000 --> 00:23:16,000
Yeah, like right here, this little foothold right here.

404
00:23:16,000 --> 00:23:17,000
Right there.

405
00:23:17,000 --> 00:23:18,000
Okay.

406
00:23:23,000 --> 00:23:24,000
Boom.

407
00:23:24,000 --> 00:23:27,000
Okay, let's see what's in the dark here.

408
00:23:31,000 --> 00:23:33,000
How are the spiders back there?

409
00:23:33,000 --> 00:23:34,000
What does that mean?

410
00:23:34,000 --> 00:23:35,000
Should I be expecting to see them?

411
00:23:35,000 --> 00:23:36,000
You should.

412
00:23:36,000 --> 00:23:37,000
Oh, yeah.

413
00:23:37,000 --> 00:23:41,000
There's like some Hollywood-style spider webs down here, dude.

414
00:23:41,000 --> 00:23:43,000
Don't worry, they usually don't bite.

415
00:23:45,000 --> 00:23:47,000
All right, walk me through this place.

416
00:23:47,000 --> 00:23:48,000
We are in a sewer.

417
00:23:48,000 --> 00:23:49,000
We're in a water pipe, literally.

418
00:23:49,000 --> 00:23:52,000
We're in an Etruscan pipe underneath the city.

419
00:23:52,000 --> 00:23:55,000
And 2700 years ago, these guys are advanced enough

420
00:23:55,000 --> 00:23:56,000
that they're building stuff like this?

421
00:23:56,000 --> 00:23:59,000
Yeah, they're the most advanced culture in Central Italy,

422
00:23:59,000 --> 00:24:00,000
definitely in terms of engineering.

423
00:24:00,000 --> 00:24:02,000
You can tell they're master engineers.

424
00:24:02,000 --> 00:24:04,000
They're collecting water to use.

425
00:24:04,000 --> 00:24:05,000
They're collecting them at cisterns,

426
00:24:05,000 --> 00:24:08,000
so they can draw the water up on top of their city

427
00:24:08,000 --> 00:24:09,000
for drinking water.

428
00:24:09,000 --> 00:24:12,000
They're also making sure that the water stays off

429
00:24:12,000 --> 00:24:13,000
of the top of the plateau.

430
00:24:13,000 --> 00:24:14,000
Like storm drains?

431
00:24:14,000 --> 00:24:17,000
Yeah, these are usable, manageable systems

432
00:24:17,000 --> 00:24:19,000
of drainage and water collection.

433
00:24:19,000 --> 00:24:21,000
I mean, when I think about this kind of engineering,

434
00:24:21,000 --> 00:24:23,000
I think about Rome.

435
00:24:23,000 --> 00:24:24,000
That's right.

436
00:24:24,000 --> 00:24:26,000
The drainage of the Roman Forum was accomplished

437
00:24:26,000 --> 00:24:28,000
during the reign of the Etruscan kings.

438
00:24:28,000 --> 00:24:32,000
Almost 3,000 years ago, the Roman Forum was marshland

439
00:24:32,000 --> 00:24:33,000
along the Tiber River,

440
00:24:33,000 --> 00:24:36,000
but an Etruscan king during the earliest days of Rome

441
00:24:36,000 --> 00:24:39,000
commissioned massive drainage systems

442
00:24:39,000 --> 00:24:41,000
that made the area habitable.

443
00:24:41,000 --> 00:24:43,000
Cutting edge for the Etruscans,

444
00:24:43,000 --> 00:24:46,000
and Rome has been bragging about it ever since.

445
00:24:46,000 --> 00:24:49,000
Literally, Rome was built on Etruscan engineering.

446
00:24:49,000 --> 00:24:52,000
So all that talk about Roman sewers and water management,

447
00:24:52,000 --> 00:24:53,000
that starts here?

448
00:24:53,000 --> 00:24:55,000
It starts in the Etruscan cities.

449
00:24:55,000 --> 00:24:57,000
Wow. I mean, that's insane.

450
00:24:57,000 --> 00:24:59,000
So every time I flush my toilet?

451
00:24:59,000 --> 00:25:00,000
Think of the Etruscans.

452
00:25:00,000 --> 00:25:01,000
Think of the Etruscans.

453
00:25:01,000 --> 00:25:03,000
This is crazy, dude.

454
00:25:03,000 --> 00:25:06,000
So the question is, what's left in the sewers here?

455
00:25:06,000 --> 00:25:07,000
Let's find it.

456
00:25:07,000 --> 00:25:08,000
Yeah, let's see what's here.

457
00:25:08,000 --> 00:25:09,000
Come on.

458
00:25:12,000 --> 00:25:14,000
Tunnel's getting a little shorter.

459
00:25:14,000 --> 00:25:15,000
Yeah.

460
00:25:15,000 --> 00:25:18,000
Just like today, all manner of personal articles

461
00:25:18,000 --> 00:25:20,000
would get flushed into the sewers of Etruria.

462
00:25:20,000 --> 00:25:23,000
Remind me to wash my hands when we get out of here.

463
00:25:23,000 --> 00:25:25,000
Definitely a layer of fill here on the ground.

464
00:25:25,000 --> 00:25:27,000
Looks like pottery here. Look at this.

465
00:25:31,000 --> 00:25:33,000
Oh, yeah, a piece of pottery.

466
00:25:33,000 --> 00:25:36,000
Yeah, this pottery looks medieval.

467
00:25:36,000 --> 00:25:37,000
And that makes sense,

468
00:25:37,000 --> 00:25:39,000
because they built a medieval castle on top.

469
00:25:39,000 --> 00:25:40,000
Right.

470
00:25:40,000 --> 00:25:42,000
And then they reutilized these tunnels.

471
00:25:42,000 --> 00:25:44,000
Right, these tunnels were still perfectly good at that time.

472
00:25:44,000 --> 00:25:45,000
Oh, yeah.

473
00:25:47,000 --> 00:25:48,000
Much like the ground above,

474
00:25:48,000 --> 00:25:51,000
this tunnel was repurposed through the Middle Ages,

475
00:25:51,000 --> 00:25:53,000
which means we might have to pick through some thorns

476
00:25:53,000 --> 00:25:55,000
before we find a rose.

477
00:25:58,000 --> 00:26:01,000
David, I got something here that feels like...

478
00:26:01,000 --> 00:26:04,000
First, I thought it was a piece of stone, but it's like waxy.

479
00:26:04,000 --> 00:26:05,000
It's a candle.

480
00:26:05,000 --> 00:26:06,000
This is a candle?

481
00:26:06,000 --> 00:26:07,000
Yeah.

482
00:26:07,000 --> 00:26:08,000
It is a candle.

483
00:26:08,000 --> 00:26:09,000
Look at that. I can actually see the wick in it.

484
00:26:09,000 --> 00:26:10,000
Wait, when is this from?

485
00:26:10,000 --> 00:26:12,000
Right, it's not a trustee. It's not medieval.

486
00:26:12,000 --> 00:26:13,000
Oh.

487
00:26:13,000 --> 00:26:14,000
Right, that's pretty modern.

488
00:26:14,000 --> 00:26:17,000
There's remnants of a looter probably having worked in here.

489
00:26:17,000 --> 00:26:19,000
Wow, that's crazy.

490
00:26:19,000 --> 00:26:21,000
Evidence of tomb raiders right there.

491
00:26:21,000 --> 00:26:22,000
Although I guess they're not tomb raiders.

492
00:26:22,000 --> 00:26:23,000
They're sewage raiders.

493
00:26:23,000 --> 00:26:24,000
Yeah.

494
00:26:24,000 --> 00:26:25,000
Poop raiders.

495
00:26:26,000 --> 00:26:30,000
The looters obviously left this candle here by accident.

496
00:26:30,000 --> 00:26:31,000
I know, one of my worst.

497
00:26:31,000 --> 00:26:34,000
The question is, what else did they leave?

498
00:26:35,000 --> 00:26:38,000
Soon, the tunnel narrows and forks.

499
00:26:38,000 --> 00:26:42,000
David should probably get a look at what's ahead somehow.

500
00:26:42,000 --> 00:26:46,000
You're going to have to get ahead of me, although I have no idea how that's going to happen.

501
00:26:46,000 --> 00:26:47,000
Okay.

502
00:26:47,000 --> 00:26:48,000
Did you get over me?

503
00:26:48,000 --> 00:26:52,000
I can't, but there's three of these cave spiders right above you.

504
00:26:52,000 --> 00:26:53,000
What kind of spider?

505
00:26:53,000 --> 00:26:54,000
A cave spider.

506
00:26:54,000 --> 00:26:57,000
Just don't tell me about that and climb over me.

507
00:26:57,000 --> 00:26:59,000
Wow, those are really ugly spiders there, Josh.

508
00:26:59,000 --> 00:27:00,000
Okay, this is great.

509
00:27:00,000 --> 00:27:03,000
I'm laying face down in an ancient sewer.

510
00:27:03,000 --> 00:27:04,000
You smell anything?

511
00:27:04,000 --> 00:27:06,000
Just my career drying up.

512
00:27:06,000 --> 00:27:09,000
All right, how many creatures are going to get in this tunnel?

513
00:27:09,000 --> 00:27:10,000
Oh my God.

514
00:27:10,000 --> 00:27:12,000
I'm almost there.

515
00:27:12,000 --> 00:27:15,000
This is very intimate.

516
00:27:15,000 --> 00:27:19,000
I can see what you mean.

517
00:27:19,000 --> 00:27:20,000
It divides them two.

518
00:27:20,000 --> 00:27:22,000
All right, so what's our move?

519
00:27:22,000 --> 00:27:25,000
I think we've come almost as far as we can.

520
00:27:25,000 --> 00:27:30,000
But if the looters left anything from the Etruscan period, this is where we'd find it.

521
00:27:32,000 --> 00:27:33,000
Back to digging.

522
00:27:36,000 --> 00:27:45,000
Yes, this is kind of loose debris on top, but then within just a couple centimeters,

523
00:27:45,000 --> 00:27:48,000
you get to this more hard packed stuff.

524
00:27:48,000 --> 00:27:52,000
I think this is slowly filled up in the medieval period.

525
00:27:52,000 --> 00:27:53,000
Uh-huh.

526
00:27:59,000 --> 00:28:00,000
Oh, here you go.

527
00:28:00,000 --> 00:28:01,000
Here's something.

528
00:28:01,000 --> 00:28:02,000
What do you got?

529
00:28:02,000 --> 00:28:03,000
A piece of black pottery.

530
00:28:03,000 --> 00:28:04,000
Let me see.

531
00:28:04,000 --> 00:28:05,000
Yeah.

532
00:28:05,000 --> 00:28:06,000
Here you go.

533
00:28:08,000 --> 00:28:09,000
See what I mean?

534
00:28:09,000 --> 00:28:11,000
Yeah, it's just black on the outside.

535
00:28:11,000 --> 00:28:13,000
I think it could be Bukaro.

536
00:28:13,000 --> 00:28:21,000
Bukaro is the signature ceramic style of the Etruscans, gleaming black thanks to a unique method for firing the pottery.

537
00:28:21,000 --> 00:28:25,000
To think that this could be 2,500 years old is crazy.

538
00:28:25,000 --> 00:28:30,000
And maybe just a little trace of the Etruscans here, but man, they are elusive.

539
00:28:30,000 --> 00:28:31,000
Yeah, you're telling me, man.

540
00:28:31,000 --> 00:28:32,000
I know.

541
00:28:32,000 --> 00:28:41,000
These tunnels, though, look pretty clean, you know, some medieval refuse, but it looks like the looters have been through here, so I don't think we're going to find anything major down here, do you?

542
00:28:41,000 --> 00:28:44,000
Not from the Etruscan period, but you ain't seen nothing yet.

543
00:28:44,000 --> 00:28:45,000
Really?

544
00:28:45,000 --> 00:28:48,000
There's a part of this site that will blow your mind.

545
00:28:48,000 --> 00:28:49,000
Okay.

546
00:28:49,000 --> 00:28:51,000
Better than the sewers, David?

547
00:28:51,000 --> 00:28:55,000
Well, this is hard to beat, but there's a part of this site that will make your jaw drop.

548
00:28:55,000 --> 00:28:56,000
Really?

549
00:28:56,000 --> 00:28:57,000
Etruscan. Absolutely.

550
00:28:57,000 --> 00:28:58,000
All right, let's move. Here we go.

551
00:28:59,000 --> 00:29:05,000
David and I return to the surface, having seen firsthand the ingenuity of Etruscan plumbing.

552
00:29:05,000 --> 00:29:16,000
But to understand more about who the Etruscans were, what else they accomplished, and where they went, David leads me to a part of their city that needs to be seen to be believed.

553
00:29:19,000 --> 00:29:21,000
Okay, take a look at this landscape.

554
00:29:21,000 --> 00:29:24,000
This is crazy. It's like we're in a slot canyon.

555
00:29:24,000 --> 00:29:26,000
Exactly like that, but it's a road.

556
00:29:26,000 --> 00:29:27,000
This is a road.

557
00:29:27,000 --> 00:29:33,000
This is an Etruscan road carved into the hillside to create a ramp leading down through the necropolis and towards the city.

558
00:29:33,000 --> 00:29:37,000
If you were an outsider coming into the city, this would have looked really imposing.

559
00:29:37,000 --> 00:29:46,000
Absolutely. There are tombs everywhere here. Several layers of tombs on the right and on the left on either side and looking down on us as we approach the city.

560
00:29:47,000 --> 00:29:54,000
Known as Etruscan cuts, remains of roads like this one can be found all over central Italy.

561
00:29:54,000 --> 00:29:58,000
Before all roads led to Rome, the Etruscans had things covered.

562
00:29:58,000 --> 00:30:01,000
The Etruscans are the road builders.

563
00:30:01,000 --> 00:30:05,000
That's right. They build a whole network of roads across the central Italian peninsula.

564
00:30:05,000 --> 00:30:11,000
And when Rome comes, they build on that infrastructure and create the famous Roman road network.

565
00:30:11,000 --> 00:30:13,000
The Etruscans need a better PR agency.

566
00:30:13,000 --> 00:30:14,000
Right? Can you work on that?

567
00:30:14,000 --> 00:30:19,000
I'm trying. I mean, because this is another thing that we think of as a Roman innovation.

568
00:30:19,000 --> 00:30:21,000
The Romans were their original plagiarizers.

569
00:30:21,000 --> 00:30:26,000
They were masters at taking innovations of other cultures and incorporating them into their own empire.

570
00:30:26,000 --> 00:30:29,000
Meanwhile, underneath all that, Etruscan highways.

571
00:30:29,000 --> 00:30:31,000
That's right. And we're walking down one.

572
00:30:31,000 --> 00:30:33,000
Okay, let's see where this road leads.

573
00:30:33,000 --> 00:30:34,000
All right. Onward.

574
00:30:34,000 --> 00:30:35,000
Yeah, onward.

575
00:30:36,000 --> 00:30:42,000
Okay, the road has now spit us out into a plaza, with tombs all surrounding us.

576
00:30:42,000 --> 00:30:46,000
And we have entered into the heart of the Necropolis.

577
00:30:46,000 --> 00:30:48,000
Look at this place.

578
00:30:49,000 --> 00:30:52,000
These cities weren't just built for the living.

579
00:30:52,000 --> 00:30:59,000
This is what's known as a city of the dead, a community of souls that surrounded and watched over the Etruscans.

580
00:30:59,000 --> 00:31:00,000
This is insane.

581
00:31:00,000 --> 00:31:03,000
I feel like I'm in Angkor Wat in Southeast Asia.

582
00:31:03,000 --> 00:31:04,000
Looks like that, right?

583
00:31:04,000 --> 00:31:07,000
We've entered into a different environment here in the bottom of the ravine.

584
00:31:07,000 --> 00:31:10,000
This area here is meant to be awe-inspiring.

585
00:31:10,000 --> 00:31:11,000
It's meant to impress.

586
00:31:11,000 --> 00:31:12,000
Yeah.

587
00:31:12,000 --> 00:31:17,000
It's meant to give the sensation that are entering into a landscape that's already claimed by the Etruscans,

588
00:31:17,000 --> 00:31:18,000
by the inhabitants of the city.

589
00:31:18,000 --> 00:31:20,000
Right. The Etruscans are one with this land.

590
00:31:20,000 --> 00:31:21,000
That's right.

591
00:31:21,000 --> 00:31:24,000
And especially this city is one with this landscape.

592
00:31:24,000 --> 00:31:25,000
That's right.

593
00:31:25,000 --> 00:31:29,000
Maybe in contrast to other Etruscans, remember, there's always a lot of people who are not familiar with the Etruscans.

594
00:31:29,000 --> 00:31:32,000
Remember, there's always conflict and rivalry.

595
00:31:32,000 --> 00:31:33,000
Right.

596
00:31:33,000 --> 00:31:34,000
Who's got the best necropolis?

597
00:31:34,000 --> 00:31:36,000
Who's got the most impressive tombs?

598
00:31:36,000 --> 00:31:40,000
All these are meant to impress visitors and maybe even attract alliances.

599
00:31:40,000 --> 00:31:41,000
Right.

600
00:31:41,000 --> 00:31:49,000
And when it comes to trying to impress, David leads me toward a nearby clearing to see just how far the Etruscans would go.

601
00:31:50,000 --> 00:31:51,000
Whoa.

602
00:31:51,000 --> 00:31:52,000
Hey, look at this.

603
00:31:52,000 --> 00:31:53,000
What is this thing?

604
00:32:00,000 --> 00:32:01,000
Look at this thing.

605
00:32:01,000 --> 00:32:03,000
This is what's known as a tumulus.

606
00:32:03,000 --> 00:32:04,000
A tumulus?

607
00:32:04,000 --> 00:32:07,000
It's a tomb cut into the summit of a hill.

608
00:32:07,000 --> 00:32:09,000
Literally cut into the top of the hill.

609
00:32:09,000 --> 00:32:10,000
That's right.

610
00:32:14,000 --> 00:32:19,000
So you have to imagine this being kind of the main tomb area of a whole family.

611
00:32:19,000 --> 00:32:23,000
And there are tombs carved in all along the outside of this tumulus.

612
00:32:23,000 --> 00:32:24,000
Right.

613
00:32:24,000 --> 00:32:28,000
And then there's one of the biggest, the principal tomb, which would have been maybe for the founder of a dynasty,

614
00:32:28,000 --> 00:32:30,000
but you're definitely the leader of that family group.

615
00:32:30,000 --> 00:32:31,000
Wow.

616
00:32:31,000 --> 00:32:32,000
Can we see it?

617
00:32:32,000 --> 00:32:33,000
Yeah, let's go.

618
00:32:33,000 --> 00:32:37,000
I mean, look at this place.

619
00:32:37,000 --> 00:32:39,000
This is serious construction.

620
00:32:39,000 --> 00:32:40,000
It's cut out of the hill.

621
00:32:40,000 --> 00:32:45,000
A big passageway leading into the main tomb, but you can see here how it's carved into the summit of the hillside,

622
00:32:45,000 --> 00:32:49,000
and then blocks are used to build up the top and make an even more impressive entryway.

623
00:32:49,000 --> 00:32:52,000
This is definitely like the big bosses too.

624
00:32:52,000 --> 00:32:55,000
The big boss in the middle of the 7th century BC was buried right in here.

625
00:32:55,000 --> 00:32:56,000
And what's going on inside?

626
00:32:56,000 --> 00:32:57,000
Let's go see.

627
00:32:59,000 --> 00:33:05,000
The painted chambers we saw back in Tarquinia aren't the only type of a Truscan tomb.

628
00:33:05,000 --> 00:33:10,000
Here we see them carving what life may have been like in three dimensions.

629
00:33:10,000 --> 00:33:12,000
Now this is legit.

630
00:33:12,000 --> 00:33:14,000
Look at this carved columns.

631
00:33:14,000 --> 00:33:15,000
This is like very regal.

632
00:33:15,000 --> 00:33:19,000
Back in the day, these huge family tombs, they must have looked so impressive.

633
00:33:19,000 --> 00:33:21,000
I think they would have been magnificent.

634
00:33:21,000 --> 00:33:26,000
Crowning the hilltops of the Necropolis on all the hills surrounding the city of the living.

635
00:33:26,000 --> 00:33:28,000
Absolutely unbelievable.

636
00:33:28,000 --> 00:33:31,000
One such hilltop still exists.

637
00:33:31,000 --> 00:33:37,000
A nearby Truscan Necropolis called Chervetterie has stone made to look like wood beams,

638
00:33:37,000 --> 00:33:41,000
benches, long hallways, and detailed reliefs.

639
00:33:41,000 --> 00:33:44,000
There's even a carving of a book on a night table,

640
00:33:44,000 --> 00:33:47,000
evidence that the Truscans once had literature.

641
00:33:47,000 --> 00:33:53,000
But those tombs, like the ones I saw at Tarquinia, and even the sewer here, had been largely raided.

642
00:33:53,000 --> 00:33:55,000
When this tomb was discovered, it had been looted.

643
00:33:55,000 --> 00:33:56,000
It had been looted.

644
00:33:56,000 --> 00:33:59,000
We have some objects and some sculptures from inside.

645
00:33:59,000 --> 00:34:02,000
For instance, there were two griffins guarding the entrance.

646
00:34:02,000 --> 00:34:05,000
This gives you an idea of how important the individual was.

647
00:34:05,000 --> 00:34:07,000
This really is a tombfist for a king.

648
00:34:07,000 --> 00:34:08,000
Very high status.

649
00:34:08,000 --> 00:34:09,000
Yeah.

650
00:34:12,000 --> 00:34:16,000
David is determined to find undisturbed burials here at this site,

651
00:34:16,000 --> 00:34:20,000
which may contain inscriptions that could unlock a Truscan language,

652
00:34:20,000 --> 00:34:25,000
as well as priceless grave goods to explain their culture and origins.

653
00:34:25,000 --> 00:34:30,000
But as it turns out, even some of the tombs that have been broken into aren't totally empty.

654
00:34:31,000 --> 00:34:39,000
Right under our feet is an old funerary path that leads along the side of a row of tombs.

655
00:34:39,000 --> 00:34:40,000
There's one here.

656
00:34:40,000 --> 00:34:41,000
Uh-huh.

657
00:34:41,000 --> 00:34:42,000
There's another one here.

658
00:34:42,000 --> 00:34:43,000
Oh, wow, look at this.

659
00:34:43,000 --> 00:34:48,000
I mean, I would never have seen this just totally filled up and overgrown.

660
00:34:48,000 --> 00:34:52,000
This is a good example of what the tombs look like when we first encountered them.

661
00:34:52,000 --> 00:34:54,000
So why isn't this fully covered?

662
00:34:54,000 --> 00:34:59,000
Because at some point in the past, somebody broke into this tomb by removing the top block of the doorway.

663
00:34:59,000 --> 00:35:00,000
So it's been looted.

664
00:35:00,000 --> 00:35:01,000
Has it been excavated?

665
00:35:01,000 --> 00:35:07,000
It has not been excavated, but typically the looters leave a wealth of information inside the tomb for us to document.

666
00:35:07,000 --> 00:35:08,000
Okay.

667
00:35:08,000 --> 00:35:09,000
Do you want to go in?

668
00:35:09,000 --> 00:35:10,000
No.

669
00:35:10,000 --> 00:35:11,000
There's science in there.

670
00:35:11,000 --> 00:35:12,000
No, there's spiders in there.

671
00:35:12,000 --> 00:35:13,000
Spiders and science.

672
00:35:13,000 --> 00:35:14,000
Yeah, but a lot of spiders.

673
00:35:14,000 --> 00:35:15,000
Let's go.

674
00:35:15,000 --> 00:35:16,000
You're going first though.

675
00:35:16,000 --> 00:35:17,000
All right.

676
00:35:18,000 --> 00:35:20,000
Spiders or not, we're going in.

677
00:35:24,000 --> 00:35:26,000
All right, here we go.

678
00:35:29,000 --> 00:35:31,000
This is horrible.

679
00:35:33,000 --> 00:35:34,000
Okay.

680
00:35:34,000 --> 00:35:36,000
Ooh, I'm in.

681
00:35:38,000 --> 00:35:40,000
Wow, this is awesome in here, actually.

682
00:35:40,000 --> 00:35:45,000
Okay, so we've got two beds here with these kind of lower bunks carved out here.

683
00:35:45,000 --> 00:35:46,000
That's right.

684
00:35:46,000 --> 00:35:49,000
There's room for two on each side here to be laid out.

685
00:35:49,000 --> 00:35:52,000
Each tomb has its own particularities.

686
00:35:52,000 --> 00:35:54,000
All right, well, let's have a look around, yeah?

687
00:36:01,000 --> 00:36:03,000
Oh, wow, Josh, look over here.

688
00:36:03,000 --> 00:36:04,000
What do you have?

689
00:36:04,000 --> 00:36:06,000
There's this bone everywhere here.

690
00:36:06,000 --> 00:36:08,000
It's littered all over this bed.

691
00:36:10,000 --> 00:36:14,000
All these little white flakes that we see here, this big piece, that's all human bone?

692
00:36:14,000 --> 00:36:15,000
That's right.

693
00:36:15,000 --> 00:36:18,000
These remains weren't deliberately damaged.

694
00:36:18,000 --> 00:36:22,000
Chances are the ancient brittle bones shattered as the tomb was being looted.

695
00:36:22,000 --> 00:36:23,000
What is that?

696
00:36:23,000 --> 00:36:24,000
That dark thing?

697
00:36:24,000 --> 00:36:26,000
This is a piece of bronze.

698
00:36:26,000 --> 00:36:28,000
Wow, look at that.

699
00:36:28,000 --> 00:36:30,000
What do you think this is from?

700
00:36:30,000 --> 00:36:32,000
I think it would have been a decorative element, perhaps.

701
00:36:32,000 --> 00:36:33,000
Like something they were wearing?

702
00:36:33,000 --> 00:36:37,000
Yeah, probably a breastplate, maybe part of a belt.

703
00:36:37,000 --> 00:36:40,000
These people would have been laid out here wearing their best, right?

704
00:36:40,000 --> 00:36:42,000
They would have been laid to rest in their finest clothes.

705
00:36:42,000 --> 00:36:43,000
Right.

706
00:36:44,000 --> 00:36:45,000
Look at that.

707
00:36:45,000 --> 00:36:47,000
It's a tooth, a molar.

708
00:36:47,000 --> 00:36:49,000
Oh, my word.

709
00:36:49,000 --> 00:36:50,000
That is a tooth.

710
00:36:50,000 --> 00:36:51,000
That is a human tooth.

711
00:36:52,000 --> 00:36:54,000
That is an Etruscan tooth right there.

712
00:36:54,000 --> 00:36:56,000
Not just the trace of their pottery now,

713
00:36:56,000 --> 00:36:58,000
not just the trace of their architecture,

714
00:36:58,000 --> 00:37:00,000
but actually the remains of an individual.

715
00:37:00,000 --> 00:37:02,000
That's right, and this is important data.

716
00:37:02,000 --> 00:37:04,000
We can do a series of analyses on bones like this

717
00:37:04,000 --> 00:37:08,000
that'll tell us about the life and the diet, the health and migrations,

718
00:37:08,000 --> 00:37:10,000
and the origins of the Etruscans.

719
00:37:10,000 --> 00:37:13,000
This is a big question, their origins, right?

720
00:37:13,000 --> 00:37:14,000
Right.

721
00:37:14,000 --> 00:37:16,000
Because they do seem to us to be this culture

722
00:37:16,000 --> 00:37:18,000
that just kind of comes out of nowhere,

723
00:37:18,000 --> 00:37:22,000
and people have been debating their origins since ancient times, right?

724
00:37:22,000 --> 00:37:23,000
That's right.

725
00:37:24,000 --> 00:37:26,000
From their writings, the Romans and Greeks

726
00:37:26,000 --> 00:37:29,000
looked at the Etruscans as an exotic culture

727
00:37:29,000 --> 00:37:32,000
that could not have been from the Italian peninsula.

728
00:37:33,000 --> 00:37:36,000
The Roman writer Livy speculated they were from Turkey,

729
00:37:36,000 --> 00:37:38,000
home of the mighty Trojans.

730
00:37:38,000 --> 00:37:41,000
Others thought they were originally from Greece.

731
00:37:41,000 --> 00:37:44,000
But because the Etruscan language hasn't survived,

732
00:37:44,000 --> 00:37:46,000
they've never been able to speak for themselves.

733
00:37:47,000 --> 00:37:50,000
Recently, there's been an increasing number of genetic studies

734
00:37:50,000 --> 00:37:53,000
both using modern populations and ancient populations.

735
00:37:53,000 --> 00:37:57,000
Okay, and those studies may show us where the Etruscans were really from.

736
00:37:58,000 --> 00:38:01,000
Recently, scientists gathered genetic information

737
00:38:01,000 --> 00:38:04,000
from the ancient remains of 82 Etruscans

738
00:38:04,000 --> 00:38:08,000
to compare the DNA against other ancient and modern peoples.

739
00:38:09,000 --> 00:38:11,000
Okay, so where are they really from?

740
00:38:12,000 --> 00:38:13,000
Here.

741
00:38:14,000 --> 00:38:15,000
On the Italian peninsula?

742
00:38:15,000 --> 00:38:16,000
In the middle of Italy.

743
00:38:17,000 --> 00:38:18,000
So they're not from somewhere else at all?

744
00:38:19,000 --> 00:38:20,000
It doesn't seem that way.

745
00:38:20,000 --> 00:38:23,000
So they're just part of this landscape, literally.

746
00:38:23,000 --> 00:38:24,000
They're from here.

747
00:38:24,000 --> 00:38:25,000
They're Italians.

748
00:38:25,000 --> 00:38:27,000
They're Italians. They're from here.

749
00:38:27,000 --> 00:38:31,000
Identifying the origins of the Etruscans is a major win.

750
00:38:31,000 --> 00:38:33,000
But even with these human remains,

751
00:38:33,000 --> 00:38:36,000
we're left with more questions than answers.

752
00:38:36,000 --> 00:38:40,000
Right here in front of us, we have, in many pieces,

753
00:38:40,000 --> 00:38:42,000
an Etruscan, an individual.

754
00:38:42,000 --> 00:38:43,000
That's right.

755
00:38:43,000 --> 00:38:45,000
I don't think the story is fully told.

756
00:38:47,000 --> 00:38:49,000
In order to fully know who the Etruscans were

757
00:38:49,000 --> 00:38:51,000
and why they fell to Rome,

758
00:38:51,000 --> 00:38:54,000
archaeologists need unlooted tombs.

759
00:38:54,000 --> 00:38:58,000
But every burial David's team has found to date has been robbed,

760
00:38:58,000 --> 00:39:01,000
and the tombs are hard to locate since they're overgrown,

761
00:39:01,000 --> 00:39:04,000
buried, or hidden along steep cliffs.

762
00:39:04,000 --> 00:39:07,000
In other words, we need some high-tech help.

763
00:39:08,000 --> 00:39:11,000
Josh, this is Forest, Laura, and Natalie from LIDAR USA.

764
00:39:11,000 --> 00:39:13,000
I'm very familiar with LIDAR USA.

765
00:39:13,000 --> 00:39:14,000
I've worked with your company before.

766
00:39:14,000 --> 00:39:15,000
Yes, you have.

767
00:39:15,000 --> 00:39:17,000
You worked with our dad, Jeff, and Roanoke.

768
00:39:17,000 --> 00:39:18,000
That's right.

769
00:39:18,000 --> 00:39:20,000
And my brother Daniel in Guatemala.

770
00:39:20,000 --> 00:39:21,000
Yes, at El Mirador.

771
00:39:21,000 --> 00:39:23,000
I think I made your brother throw up in a helicopter.

772
00:39:25,000 --> 00:39:27,000
Sometimes science is pukey.

773
00:39:29,000 --> 00:39:30,000
He's okay now?

774
00:39:30,000 --> 00:39:31,000
He's fine.

775
00:39:31,000 --> 00:39:32,000
He's fine. He's recovered.

776
00:39:32,000 --> 00:39:33,000
Okay.

777
00:39:33,000 --> 00:39:34,000
Sorry about that.

778
00:39:34,000 --> 00:39:35,000
Sorry.

779
00:39:35,000 --> 00:39:36,000
And here we are again.

780
00:39:36,000 --> 00:39:37,000
Yes.

781
00:39:37,000 --> 00:39:38,000
So, okay.

782
00:39:38,000 --> 00:39:39,000
Talk to me.

783
00:39:39,000 --> 00:39:40,000
What's the plan here?

784
00:39:40,000 --> 00:39:42,000
I'm excited about this because this is, as you've seen,

785
00:39:42,000 --> 00:39:44,000
a very hard site, very challenging to actually see what's on the surface.

786
00:39:44,000 --> 00:39:46,000
A lot of hills, a lot of vegetation.

787
00:39:46,000 --> 00:39:47,000
That's right.

788
00:39:47,000 --> 00:39:48,000
The LIDAR will get us through those trees.

789
00:39:48,000 --> 00:39:49,000
Right.

790
00:39:49,000 --> 00:39:53,000
The plan is for the LIDAR to peer down and image any additional cavities

791
00:39:53,000 --> 00:39:57,000
around the site, targets for potentially unlooted tombs.

792
00:39:57,000 --> 00:39:59,000
And what kind of area are we going to be scanning here today?

793
00:39:59,000 --> 00:40:02,000
So, we're looking at somewhere around 250 acres.

794
00:40:02,000 --> 00:40:04,000
250 acres is a lot.

795
00:40:04,000 --> 00:40:05,000
And that will take this drone how long?

796
00:40:05,000 --> 00:40:06,000
About 15 minutes.

797
00:40:06,000 --> 00:40:07,000
15 minutes.

798
00:40:07,000 --> 00:40:11,000
And in that 15 minutes or so, how many data points will this collect?

799
00:40:11,000 --> 00:40:12,000
Millions.

800
00:40:12,000 --> 00:40:13,000
Millions.

801
00:40:13,000 --> 00:40:14,000
It doesn't make any sense.

802
00:40:14,000 --> 00:40:15,000
Are you ready to fly for us?

803
00:40:15,000 --> 00:40:16,000
I'm ready.

804
00:40:16,000 --> 00:40:17,000
All right. Let's do it.

805
00:40:19,000 --> 00:40:20,000
She's alive.

806
00:40:20,000 --> 00:40:27,000
The drone hovers in the air, scanning along a pre-programmed route

807
00:40:27,000 --> 00:40:31,000
that will cover the same territory it would take years to explore on foot.

808
00:40:34,000 --> 00:40:37,000
The really mysterious thing about the Etruscans is that the more you learn about them,

809
00:40:37,000 --> 00:40:41,000
the more you understand that they were this really robust civilization.

810
00:40:41,000 --> 00:40:42,000
Right?

811
00:40:42,000 --> 00:40:43,000
They were politically smart.

812
00:40:43,000 --> 00:40:45,000
They were trading far and wide.

813
00:40:45,000 --> 00:40:46,000
They were innovative.

814
00:40:46,000 --> 00:40:49,000
And yet, they were so much more innovative.

815
00:40:49,000 --> 00:40:53,000
And yet, it seems today like they've just vanished off the face of the earth.

816
00:40:53,000 --> 00:40:57,000
I mean, if I were to bet, let's say, around 500 BC,

817
00:40:57,000 --> 00:41:00,000
what would be the most successful culture in Italy,

818
00:41:00,000 --> 00:41:03,000
it would be the Etruscans, definitely not the Romans.

819
00:41:03,000 --> 00:41:06,000
Why is it, do you think, in the end of the Etruscans couldn't stand up to Rome?

820
00:41:06,000 --> 00:41:09,000
I think the city-state division may have worked against them.

821
00:41:09,000 --> 00:41:13,000
Their rivalries between the nobilities may actually, in the end,

822
00:41:13,000 --> 00:41:16,000
have weakened them when they were faced with a power as strong as Rome.

823
00:41:16,000 --> 00:41:17,000
Right.

824
00:41:17,000 --> 00:41:18,000
And they were a divided group.

825
00:41:18,000 --> 00:41:20,000
They were these independent city-states.

826
00:41:20,000 --> 00:41:26,000
A league of 12, but not always supporting each other militarily when it came down to it.

827
00:41:26,000 --> 00:41:27,000
Right.

828
00:41:27,000 --> 00:41:28,000
It's an age-old lesson.

829
00:41:28,000 --> 00:41:31,000
United we stand, divided we fall.

830
00:41:31,000 --> 00:41:37,000
By the time Rome grew into a threat, the Etruscans weren't cohesive enough to withstand them.

831
00:41:37,000 --> 00:41:43,000
While David and I ponder the past, the drone finishes its program and gently touches down.

832
00:41:43,000 --> 00:41:48,000
Nice flying, by the way.

833
00:41:48,000 --> 00:41:49,000
Thank you.

834
00:41:49,000 --> 00:41:50,000
You excited?

835
00:41:50,000 --> 00:41:51,000
Oh man, let's get this data.

836
00:41:51,000 --> 00:41:56,000
Once the data is extracted from the drone, it's time to process it through the computer

837
00:41:56,000 --> 00:42:02,000
to see if this forest has been hiding some intact Etruscan tombs for over 3,000 years.

838
00:42:02,000 --> 00:42:07,000
Oh, look at that!

839
00:42:14,000 --> 00:42:15,000
Hello, sir.

840
00:42:15,000 --> 00:42:17,000
How's your pasta?

841
00:42:17,000 --> 00:42:18,000
Ecellente.

842
00:42:18,000 --> 00:42:19,000
What brings you to Italy?

843
00:42:19,000 --> 00:42:20,000
We're looking for the Etruscans.

844
00:42:20,000 --> 00:42:23,000
You know we have here in the restaurant an Etruscan tomb?

845
00:42:23,000 --> 00:42:24,000
In the restaurant?

846
00:42:24,000 --> 00:42:25,000
Yeah, of course.

847
00:42:25,000 --> 00:42:26,000
Is it under your feet?

848
00:42:26,000 --> 00:42:27,000
I'll show you.

849
00:42:27,000 --> 00:42:28,000
Move the table.

850
00:42:28,000 --> 00:42:29,000
Move the table.

851
00:42:29,000 --> 00:42:31,000
What?

852
00:42:31,000 --> 00:42:32,000
That's it.

853
00:42:32,000 --> 00:42:33,000
Are you kidding me?

854
00:42:33,000 --> 00:42:34,000
It's a real tomb?

855
00:42:34,000 --> 00:42:35,000
Of course, yes.

856
00:42:35,000 --> 00:42:36,000
Do you want to jump down?

857
00:42:36,000 --> 00:42:37,000
Yeah.

858
00:42:37,000 --> 00:42:39,000
Luciano, please, come here.

859
00:42:39,000 --> 00:42:40,000
Hello, Luciano.

860
00:42:40,000 --> 00:42:42,000
Luciano, we're going to open it.

861
00:42:42,000 --> 00:42:44,000
Oh, thank you, I...

862
00:42:44,000 --> 00:42:45,000
You got it?

863
00:42:45,000 --> 00:42:46,000
I can go down here, really?

864
00:42:46,000 --> 00:42:47,000
Yeah, of course, yes.

865
00:42:47,000 --> 00:42:49,000
Okay, I'll see you later, guys.

866
00:42:49,000 --> 00:42:50,000
Giang d'etre.

867
00:42:52,000 --> 00:42:57,000
There is literally a tomb thousands of years old underneath this restaurant.

868
00:42:57,000 --> 00:43:02,000
It just goes to show that when you eat out, it's important to inquire about specials that are off the menu.

869
00:43:03,000 --> 00:43:04,000
Hello?

870
00:43:04,000 --> 00:43:05,000
Hello, George.

871
00:43:05,000 --> 00:43:06,000
Hello, hello.

872
00:43:06,000 --> 00:43:07,000
Guys?

873
00:43:13,000 --> 00:43:14,000
Oh, my word.

874
00:43:14,000 --> 00:43:16,000
So that's the whole site.

875
00:43:16,000 --> 00:43:19,000
It's the whole plateau with the surrounding hillsides.

876
00:43:19,000 --> 00:43:20,000
That is so cool.

877
00:43:20,000 --> 00:43:24,000
No unlooted Etruscan tombs have been found at this site.

878
00:43:24,000 --> 00:43:31,000
Locating one could mean finding historic artifacts or inscriptions that could help decipher their lost language.

879
00:43:31,000 --> 00:43:33,000
And so walk me through the color pattern here.

880
00:43:33,000 --> 00:43:35,000
So this is colored based on height.

881
00:43:35,000 --> 00:43:36,000
Yep.

882
00:43:36,000 --> 00:43:41,000
So the dark blue is the lowest sections and the darkest red is the highest portions.

883
00:43:41,000 --> 00:43:43,000
And now can we remove that layer?

884
00:43:43,000 --> 00:43:45,000
Yes, so that's what we're going to do now.

885
00:43:46,000 --> 00:43:47,000
Look at that.

886
00:43:47,000 --> 00:43:49,000
How cool is that?

887
00:43:49,000 --> 00:43:52,000
So now that we can see this without any of the vegetation, let's get our bearings.

888
00:43:52,000 --> 00:43:55,000
So the main part of the site is where?

889
00:43:55,000 --> 00:43:56,000
Here.

890
00:43:56,000 --> 00:44:02,000
And this would have also been where the Acropolis, the ritual center of the Etruscan city, which extended across the plateau.

891
00:44:02,000 --> 00:44:05,000
Okay, so what jumps out on here for you?

892
00:44:05,000 --> 00:44:10,000
What jumps out, first of all, is you may be seeing segments of the circuit walls that might date back to the Etruscan city.

893
00:44:10,000 --> 00:44:14,000
Right, like above the site there, can we zoom in on that?

894
00:44:14,000 --> 00:44:16,000
This looks really squared off.

895
00:44:16,000 --> 00:44:18,000
Yes, this looks excellent right here and right there.

896
00:44:18,000 --> 00:44:19,000
You think that's part of a defensive wall?

897
00:44:19,000 --> 00:44:20,000
I would say it is.

898
00:44:20,000 --> 00:44:26,000
So if these are all sections of a defensive wall, does that mean this whole plateau might have been part of the city?

899
00:44:26,000 --> 00:44:30,000
It's further evidence that the city extended across the entirety of the plateau.

900
00:44:30,000 --> 00:44:32,000
Look at this down to the south.

901
00:44:32,000 --> 00:44:34,000
This feature comes in very clearly here.

902
00:44:34,000 --> 00:44:36,000
Right, this is one of these Etruscan roads here.

903
00:44:36,000 --> 00:44:41,000
Yeah, this is a road cut, like a ramp leading down from the hilltop, down into the Necropolis.

904
00:44:41,000 --> 00:44:45,000
Then this down here, there's our tumulus right there, yeah?

905
00:44:45,000 --> 00:44:46,000
That's right.

906
00:44:46,000 --> 00:44:55,000
And down the escarpment here of the hillside, layers of tombs and sequence would have been laid along the roads that connect the city of the dead.

907
00:44:55,000 --> 00:45:01,000
So all these pock marks we see, all these dark areas here, some of which look kind of squared off actually, are those tombs?

908
00:45:01,000 --> 00:45:03,000
I think those might be tombs.

909
00:45:03,000 --> 00:45:04,000
Oh man.

910
00:45:04,000 --> 00:45:07,000
And do they occur on the other hillside as well? Can we zoom out?

911
00:45:09,000 --> 00:45:10,000
Look at that.

912
00:45:10,000 --> 00:45:13,000
Look how many potential tombs are right there.

913
00:45:13,000 --> 00:45:19,000
You see these cluster of tombs would have been looking right towards the city of the living, right towards the ritual center.

914
00:45:19,000 --> 00:45:22,000
And up on the top here, we have additional constructed tombs.

915
00:45:22,000 --> 00:45:24,000
Can we zoom in there a little bit?

916
00:45:25,000 --> 00:45:28,000
Look at that. You can see them just cut out of the hillside there.

917
00:45:28,000 --> 00:45:29,000
That's right.

918
00:45:29,000 --> 00:45:33,000
The more we look at this map, the more that it seems like there might be tombs everywhere here.

919
00:45:33,000 --> 00:45:35,000
Oh, there certainly are.

920
00:45:35,000 --> 00:45:38,000
How many tombs did you survey on the ground just from what you could see?

921
00:45:38,000 --> 00:45:42,000
Our pedestrian survey documented 543 tombs.

922
00:45:42,000 --> 00:45:44,000
Sorry, 543 tombs?

923
00:45:44,000 --> 00:45:48,000
543 tombs, but there must be many more. This image helps to show that.

924
00:45:48,000 --> 00:45:50,000
I mean, I think there are thousands of tombs here.

925
00:45:51,000 --> 00:45:52,000
Thousands?

926
00:45:52,000 --> 00:45:53,000
Thousands of tombs.

927
00:45:53,000 --> 00:45:58,000
This model here shows us the pinpointing locations of probably even more.

928
00:45:58,000 --> 00:46:03,000
I've scanned hundreds of historical sites around the world, and I've never seen anything like this.

929
00:46:03,000 --> 00:46:10,000
I mean, it really does seem like everywhere you zoom in here, there are potentially tombs.

930
00:46:10,000 --> 00:46:16,000
There might be unlooted tombs here because we do not see those looters pits that penetrate down.

931
00:46:16,000 --> 00:46:21,000
We've not found an unlooted tomb, and unlooted tomb really would provide a wealth of data for us.

932
00:46:21,000 --> 00:46:25,000
An unlooted tomb is a gold mine in terms of understanding the Etruscans.

933
00:46:25,000 --> 00:46:26,000
It's the Holy Grail.

934
00:46:26,000 --> 00:46:27,000
Right.

935
00:46:29,000 --> 00:46:32,000
And that grail may be within David's grasp.

936
00:46:32,000 --> 00:46:37,000
Unlooted tombs that could finally give us the keys to the Etruscan language,

937
00:46:37,000 --> 00:46:41,000
or offer us stunning examples of their art and architecture.

938
00:46:41,000 --> 00:46:45,000
This lidar has just opened yet another door into the Etruscans' world,

939
00:46:45,000 --> 00:46:51,000
and David and his team will continue to chase down every lead in their pursuit of the past.

940
00:46:52,000 --> 00:46:58,000
Before heading home, I returned to the Eternal City, as if seeing it for the first time,

941
00:46:58,000 --> 00:47:01,000
now through the eyes of an Etruscan.

942
00:47:01,000 --> 00:47:08,000
This is the terminus of the Cloaca Maxima, that massive sewer system that once ran beneath ancient Rome.

943
00:47:08,000 --> 00:47:14,000
Waste from around the city would flow out into the Tiber River, and it quite literally drained the swamp,

944
00:47:14,000 --> 00:47:17,000
paving the way for the construction of the Roman Forum.

945
00:47:18,000 --> 00:47:22,000
And as we now know, it was the Etruscans who first built it.

946
00:47:24,000 --> 00:47:29,000
And not just the plumbing, chariot racing, and gladiator games.

947
00:47:29,000 --> 00:47:37,000
The first roads, fashion, and elements of their religion are all part of a Rome that exists to this day.

948
00:47:37,000 --> 00:47:40,000
Yet we're born with the Etruscans.

949
00:47:42,000 --> 00:47:46,000
If all roads lead to Rome, those roads begin with the Etruscans.

950
00:47:46,000 --> 00:47:48,000
And where did the Etruscans go?

951
00:47:48,000 --> 00:47:52,000
Well, it turns out, nowhere. They've been right here, all along.