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The Show "Unearthing Secret America" will air October 8, 2002, until then, take a look at these related stories from the Frontiers Archive:

				A Texan Tall Tale Did legendary gunfighter Wild Bill Longley escape the hangman's noose?
		Select text to jump ahead in the clip: They're burying Wild Bill Longley today. MINISTER: Our Lord said repent and believe the gospel. Your relative, your cousin, your kinsman in the flesh. It was said, before he died, he repented. ALDA: Wild Bill goes to his grave a repented sinner-- for the second time-- and this time, it really is him. For the day when you look into that eastern sky, right over there... ALDA: Last time he was buried, 120 years ago many people believed he wasn't in the coffin-- it was just a bunch of rocks. Wild Bill had gotten away with it once again, it was said. William Preston Longley was an outlaw and a killer. In 1878, at the age of 27, he was hanged for murder. But the rumor was that the rope was attached to a secret harness to hold him up and that he was spirited away still alive. Now, this wouldn't be Wild Bill Longley inhere, would it? It is. It took 15 years to prove that but it is him. I can't wait to see this guy. ALDA: Doug Owsley, who's also working on the Jamestown project identified Wild Bill. What were you able to find out when you examined these bones? Well, this is a long story in the sense I started looking for this skeletonin 1986. I was asked to help a man who believed that his grandfather was William Preston Longley. We want to thank the scientists here at the Smithsonian for their perseverance. ALDA: Although the man who firsapproached Doug Owsley turned out eventually not to be related to Wild Bill the 15-year search turned into something of an obsession for Owsley and dozens of Wild Bill's relatives. I had a chance to chat with family members when they came to Washington for the press conference. "...though I will come there just when I please." Arrogant, wasn't he? He was, wasn't he? "I rode by your house..." ALDA: Two relatives had descendefrom Wild Bill's grandparents and one, Helen Chapman, is descended from his sister. That'll be important later in the story. Had you always wondered if he, in fact, died at that hanging? For 50 years. Really? Was this the topic of a lot of family conversation? HANNES: It was. It was. I remember, as a kid, hearing the adults talk about this and debate about this. And I got the impression that they thought... they really thought he had escaped this hanging. ALDA: Wild Bill was a truly bad man widely feared, but a little admired, too. He possessed a lethal combination: great skill as a gun fighter, a quick temper and a fondness for whiskey. In jail after his final arrest he bragged that he'd killed 32 men and one woman. He wasn't even sure which one they'd come to get him for. REESE: He thought he was going to be accused of killing a preacher named Lee and he was worried about that because that was an outright killing. The man was unarmed; he was milking a cow, and he was... There's something about that that Bill just didn't like, right? REESE: Well... (all laughing) He didn't like the man to start with. The man had spread some rumors. But, I mean, milking a cow... it's kind of going too far, don't you think? I think so. Right. You just got to kill a man for that. Well, some people just have a short temper, you know? CHAPMAN: It might have been Bill's cow. ALDA: Oh, you know, I never thought of that. ALDA: Wild Bill was convicted for oneof his many other murders. He was hanged and supposedly buried somewhere here. There's a Bill Longley grave marker, put up in 1976. Doug Owsley had to find out if it was actually Wild Bill's grave or just a marker. This photograph-- taken 50 years after the burial, around 1930-- is the only visual record of Wild Bill's grave if the caption is accurate. Let me show you, let's go over here... ALDA: Owsley and Brooks Ellwood,a geologist first tried to match the 1930 photograph to what's visible today. ELLWOOD: What you have is these two treesright here. That's those two trees right there. Then you have this tree here-- that's that tree there. The configuration is just right. ALDA: Things seemed to match when they stood beside the 1976 marker. There's another one closer in. ALDA: Brooks Ellwood sat in place of the headstone which had been visible in 1930. Well, I agree with the three trees. The three trees look really nice. ALDA: Recently we asked Ellwood and Owsley to return to the cemetery to go over what happened next. They had probed all around the 1976 marker looking for the telltale mottling which is a sign of soil disturbed when a grave is dug. The upper soil core here is what they hoped to find, but no luck. We probed in this area right here looking in front of the marker. We probed down the back of the marker just to make sure that there was nothing here. ALDA: So what was the 1930 headstone marking? Maybe nothing, it turned out. Notes kept by the president of the Cemetery Association showed that over the course of 50 years he'd moved the headstone several times. MAN: We figured out that he probably moved it down into the Hispanic part of the cemetery then moved it back up here just beyond us to the road. And then when they put in the road-- at that time there wasn't any road-- they moved it here. Then as a result of that we felt that we'd lost the location of the grave. ALDA: So now they were looking for one unmarked grave in a five-acre cemetery. Okay, move it. ALDA: Brooks Ellwood and his wife, Suzanne-- also a geologist-- tried magnetic measurements to detect disturbed soil in the most likely sections-- like here along the old fence line. Wild Bill was supposedly buried outside the original cemetery boundary. Just in one 1,500-square-foot area they found 14 possible unmarked graves. Before too long, we had 60 unmapped, unmarked graves. So now we're faced with a problem: Well, okay, is it this one? Or is it this one? We had a real needle in a haystack. ALDA: There was no choicebut to start digging concentrating on the areas suggested by the magnetic surveys. Right away they began to find burials all without any kind of marker on the surface. That's common in cemeteries of this age. It was quite a show for the town with the added attraction of maybe solving the Wild Bill mystery. Doug Owsley was kept busy identifying the finds. OWSLEY: Just like this. A black male that's about 40. Okay, so this one's not our guy. Okay... yes. This skull's got to be female. He's got to be at least in his 40s. He's got suture closure. He's got a lot of periodontal disease, periodontal resorption. And he's black. Okay, well, let's fill this one in and go to the next one, I guess. We have a guy over there, huh? We still haven't found who we're looking for because this one's going to be too old. Okay, that one's ruled out and this one's ruled out. ALDA: 35 burials, and no Wild Bill. Damn, I wish we'd get lucky. ALDA: So they went back to the 1976 marker. After all, those trees seemed to line up before. They took a photograph and cropped out everything that was modern. Then they lined that up with the 1930 photograph. Three trees and six monuments seemed to match. Bill's grave just had to be nearby. Back came the Bobcat this time working within feet of the 1976 grave marker. Soon they found an unmarked grave. When they probed here six years ago they must have missed it by inches. OWSLEY: It's Jesse James gold. ALDA: Then coffin nails. Would bones be next, or was it filled with rocks? MAN: I've got something down there. We got wood. OWSLEY: Okay, that's our lid. See-- here's rib, rib, rib. ALDA: Things were looking good when this Catholic medallion was found. Before his execution, Wild Bill had converted. So at this point, Doug Owsley knew he had a tall, young, white male who was a Catholic-- definitely not a pile of rocks. The remains were carefully excavated and brought to the Smithsonian for examination. One of the last things Bill did while on the gallows is... they allowed him to smoke a cigar. And he liked his cigars. And if you look at the teeth you'll see the brown stains in the teeth. Yes. That's going to be from the tobacco stains. And they're heavier, of course, in front. He smoked more often than just on the gallows. True, true. So this is from years of cigars. He appreciated a good cigar. ALDA: Another find was this artificial leaf. Wild Bill's niece had given him a rosette to wear just before his execution. The evidence was accumulating, but how much is enough? Tobacco stains on his teeth-- Not enough. not inconsistent with his life but it wouldn't prove it. Same thing with this-- this is in the general category of what you knew was there. Same thing with the medal but not any one of them says "This is the guy." Is there a number of these, that when you arrive at it you say, "Well, that must be the guy"? Well, it's not like fingerprints. In fingerprints, for instance when you're making an identification you have to have so many landmarks that you can say are unique. So it's not quite like that, but it's still... What we've got is very consistent, but it's not enough. ALDA: What put the identification beyond doubt was a member of the family. Helen Chapman, descended from Wild Bill's sister gave a blood sample so that her DNA could be compared to fragments found in the pulp of a tooth from the burial. When you compare her DNA and this tooth you find out that it is, straight down the line, a match. That's Bill Longley. Unless Bill Longley had a brother. Well, all right, now, uh, you know... but, uh, you need to go track him down. (laughing) Does anybody know? I've had enough. (laughing)

				Archeology Decade A decade of Frontiers stories which reveal the past -- Chinese mummies, Egyptian tombs, Viking longboats, the Leaning Tower of Pisa, Custer’s Last Stand.
		Select text to jump ahead in the clip: HAVE BEEN ABOUT THE PAST. INCREASINGLY IN RECENT YEARS HISTORY AND ARCHEOLOGY HAVE BENEFITED FROM THE USE OF SCIENTIFIC METHODS LIKE DNA ANALYSIS, ACCURATE DATING TECHNIQUES REMOTE SENSING. AND EXPERIMENTAL ARCHEOLOGY IS GETTING TO BE A BIG THING. WHY NOT MAKE THE BOAT OR THE MACHINE THE WAY THEY MADE IT THEN, AND SEE HOW IT ACTUALLY WORKED? BUT YOU KNOW, THERE'S SOMETHING DIFFERENT ABOUT THIS FIELD. IT DOES SEEM TO ATTRACT MORE THAN ITS FAIR SHARE OF PEOPLE WHO ARE REALLY PASSIONATE ABOUT WHAT THEY DO. MAYBE YOU HAVE TO BE THAT WAY TO PUT UP WITH THE OFTEN ROTTEN CONDITIONS IN OUT OF THE WAY PLACES; OR MAYBE IT'S JUST THE SUBJECT-- IT'S EXCITING TO DIG IN THE SAND, AND REVEAL OUR OWN PAST. Alda: DURING THE DECADE HUMAN ORIGINS IN AFRICA CONTINUED TO BE TEASED OUT. OUR CAMERAS WITNESSED ONE TEAM UNCOVERING THE FIRST PIECE OF AN ARCHAIC HUMAN'S SKULL, 300,000 YEARS OLD. THERE SHE COMES. HOPEFULLY, EVENTUALLY, WITH A LOT OF LITTLE PIECES WE'LL BE ABLE TO PUT HIM BACK TOGETHER BUT THAT'S A FANTASTIC FIND, HUH? Alda: THIS HILLTOP EXCAVATION REVEALED A RICH NATIVE AFRICAN PAST WHICH SUDDENLY, WITH THE END OF APARTHEID IT WAS ALL RIGHT TO STUDY. IT WAS THE FIRST ROYAL BURIAL FOUND IN THE REGION A KING AND QUEEN WHO WERE PROBABLY ANCESTORS OF THE PRESENT KING OF VENDA WHO INVITED ME TO JOIN IN THE CELEBRATION DANCE. ( playing local music ) IN NORTHWEST CHINA, AFTER PROTRACTED NEGOTIATIONS OURS WAS THE FIRST TV CREW ALLOWED TO FILM 4,000-YEAR-OLD MUMMIES, PRESERVED IN THE DRY DESERT. THE MUMMIES' APPEARANCE SUGGESTED CAUCASIANS REACHED CHINA MUCH EARLIER THAN HAD BEEN THOUGHT. IN EGYPT, NEW FINDS WERE ALSO FORCING NEW THINKING AS EXCAVATION GOT UNDERWAY OF A CEMETERY FOR WORKERS ON THE GIZA PLATEAU. THE CONVENTIONAL WISDOM WAS THAT SLAVES HAD BUILT THE PYRAMIDS BUT HERE WERE HUNDREDS OF RESPECTFUL AND COSTLY TOMBS EVEN A FINE STATUE OF ONE SITE FOREMAN. IT WAS A REVELATION TO ARCHAEOLOGISTS. Man: THEY WERE TREATED AND RESPECTED BY THE KING BECAUSE THOSE ARE THE PEOPLE WHO BUILT THE PYRAMIDS AND THE TOMBS. THOSE ARE THE PEOPLE WHO MAKE THE KING ETERNAL. WITHOUT THEM THE KING WOULD NEVER BE A GOD. ( speaking Danish ) Alda: IN DENMARK, I EXPERIENCED ONE OF THE BEST EXAMPLES OF A NEW TREND-EXPERIMENTAL ARCHAEOLOGY. Alda: A CINCH. Alda: THESE EXACT REPLICAS OF VIKING WARSHIPS WERE BASED ON WRECKS EXCAVATED FROM THE BOTTOM OF THE FJORD. THEIR SUPERB SAILING QUALITIES SHOWED WHY THE VIKINGS RULED THE WAVES AROUND THE NINTH CENTURY. IN ITALY, WE SAW HOW THEY'RE TRYING TO AVOID A WRECK OF HISTORIC PROPORTIONS. ( rumbling ) ( crashing ) ANDIAMO. OKAY. Alda: THERE'S AN ELABORATE RESCUE PLAN IN THE WORKS BUT AS A FIRST STEP STEEL BANDS NOW HOLD THE LEANING TOWER TOGETHER AT THE POINT OF MAXIMUM STRESS. THEY ARE EMBRACING ACTUALLY THE EXTERNAL WALL OF THE STRUCTURE AND THEY ARE MEANT TO CONTAIN THE RISK OF LOCAL EXPLOSION OF MATERIAL. THAT'S NICE, GOOD. SO GLAD TO HEAR THAT. EMBRACING THE STRUCTURE SO IT DOESN'T EXPLODE. YES. HERE IN AMERICA, EXPERIMENTAL ARCHAEOLOGY RETURNED A GIFT TO NATIVE AMERICANS. IT'S A BALDARKA-- THE TRADITIONAL ALEUT BOAT. THEY WERE ALL GONE, BUT A RECONSTRUCTED MODEL BASED ON OLD DRAWINGS AND MEMORIES WAS TRIED OUT IN ROUGH ALEUTIAN SEAS. THE MYSTERIOUS DOUBLE BOW, COMBINED WITH A FLEXIBLE FRAME GAVE SPEED AND BUOYANCY IN THE WAVES. Man: FEELS REAL NICE IN THE ROUGH WATER. IT FEELS LIKE IT WAS MADE FOR ROUGH WATER. Alda: THEY WERE PERFECT HUNTING BOATS FOR THESE CONDITIONS. FINALLY, WE SHOWED HOW MODERN METHODS HELPED CLEAR UP A LINGERING MYSTERY FROM CUSTER'S LAST STAND. THE PROBLEM WAS TO IDENTIFY AN UNKNOWN SOLDIER FROM HIS REMAINS. USING VIDEO TECHNOLOGY HISTORIANS WERE ABLE TO SUCCESSFULLY MATCH THE SKULL TO A SPECIFIC 19th-CENTURY ARMY PHOTOGRAPH. THIS HAS BEEN A DECADE THAT AT LEAST ONE GROUP OF SCIENTISTS WOULD RATHER NOT HAVE WITNESSED.

				Copper Island Bronze Age copper smelters are excavated and reconstructed on the island of Cyprus. Then the researchers try to make them work.
		Select text to jump ahead in the clip: THE INTERIOR OF THE ISLAND OF CYPRUS. IT WOULD HAVE BEEN A VISTA OF FORESTS A FEW THOUSAND YEARS AGO. BUT THE FORESTS WENT UP IN SMOKE BURNED IN SMELTERS TO PRODUCE COPPER. THE MINES AND SMELTERS OF CYPRUS BECAME THE EASTERN MEDITERRANEAN'S MAJOR SOURCE OF COPPER SOON AFTER THE BEGINNING OF THE BRONZE AGE 4,000 YEARS AGO. BRONZE IS 90% COPPER, SO IN SOME WAYS CYPRUS WAS THE FOUNDATION OF THE BRONZE AGE. METAL TOOLS MADE SOPHISTICATED WOODWORKING POSSIBLE SO STURDY, SEAWORTHY TRADERS LIKE THIS WERE A COMMON SIGHT. SHE WAS BUILT BY HARRY TZALAS IN THE '70s BASED ON A WRECK FROM 300 B. C. DISCOVERED HERE AT THE PORT OF KYRENIA ON THE CYPRUS COAST. A LOCAL SPONGE DIVER'S CHANCE DISCOVERY AND THE SUBSEQUENT EXCAVATION HAD YIELDED ENOUGH INFORMATION TO MAKE AN EXACT REPLICA. HARRY FOUND SHE SAILED BEAUTIFULLY. SO, THERE'S NO SECRET ABOUT HOW CYPRUS COPPER HAD REACHED THE FARTHEST CORNERS OF THE MEDITERRANEAN. BUT BACK ON SHORE, THINGS AREN'T QUITE SO EASY. Alda: WHAT WENT WRONG HERE? SOMETHING WENT WRONG THAT THE TUBE WAS PLUGGED AND NOW I HAVE TO EXCHANGE IT BECAUSE I BROKE IT. ONE OF THESE PIPES DOWN THERE? SO WE HAVE THESE TWO PIPES. THEY PUT THE AIR INTO THE FURNACE VIA TWO TUYERES. Alda: SWISS ARCHEOLOGIST WALTER FASNACHT AND HIS STUDENTS HAVE AN EMERGENCY ON THEIR HANDS. THEY'RE TRYING TO SMELT COPPER IN A REPLICA ANCIENT FURNACE AND THEY'VE JUST BROKEN A TUYERE ONE OF THE CLAY NOZZLES THAT SQUIRT AIR INTO THE FURNACE. HERE'S ONE PART OF THE BROKEN TUYERE. THE OTHER HAS TO BE FISHED OUT. THE END MELTED AFTER IT WAS BLOCKED BY SLAG AND OVERHEATED WALTER SHOULD HAVE BEEN KEEPING IT CLEAR. Alda: THE FACT THAT THE OTHER NOZZLE MELTED MEANS THAT YOU'RE ALREADY ABOVE 1,200 DEGREES? YES. SO WHAT DOES THAT TELL YOU? WHEN YOU'RE ABOVE 1,200 DEGREES, WHAT HAPPENS? WELL, IT IS FORMING SLAG. SO THE PROCESS SHOULD BE GOING ON AND IT LOOKS GOOD FOR THE PROCESS. WE JUST HAD THIS LITTLE ACCIDENT. Alda: ONCE THE NEW TUYERE'S INSTALLED, IT'S TIME TO CHECK THE OTHER ONE WITHOUT BREAKING THE END OFF THIS TIME. Fasnacht: I HAVE TO PUNCH IT AND... WATCH OUT-- VERY CAREFULLY. THIS IS THE SLAG THAT FORMS. TELL ME, WALTER YOU THINK THEY HAD EMERGENCIES JUST LIKE THIS ALL THE TIME IN ANTIQUITY? THIS ACCIDENT PROBABLY WOULDN'T HAVE HAPPENED TO THEM BECAUSE THEY WOULDN'T HAVE BEEN TALKING TO TV CREWS FOR AN HOUR. WELL, YOU HAVEN'T FOUND ANY REMAINS OF TV CREWS. YOU REALLY DON'T KNOW. Alda: IN 1989, WALTER, AN EXPERT ON ANCIENT METALS UNCOVERED THE ONLY COMPLETE COPPER-WORKING SITE EVER FOUND IN CYPRUS. THERE WERE TWO BROKEN SMELTERS, MADE OF CLAY. THERE WERE SECTIONS OF FURNACE WALL, BURNED ON THE INSIDE. THIS IS A SOLIDIFIED PUDDLE OF SLAG THE WASTE PRODUCT FROM SMELTING. HE FOUND CHARCOAL FUEL. AND SECTIONS OF ROUND CLAY PIPE, LIKE THE ONE WALTER BROKE. THERE WAS ALSO A LARGE, CLAY-LINED PIT AND NEARBY, A SOURCE OF COPPER ORE. WALTER DECIDED THE ONLY WAY TO FULLY UNDERSTAND THE DISCOVERIES WAS TO TRY REPRODUCING HOW THEY WORKED ON THE HILL BESIDE THE ANCIENT SITE. FIRST, THE ORE IS CRUSHED. IT'S CHALCOPYRITE A MIXTURE OF COPPER, IRON AND SULFUR THE MOST COMMON COPPER ORE. NEXT, FIRE UP THE OPEN CLAY PIT. IT'S A HALF-SCALE MODEL OF THE CLAY PIT EXCAVATED ON THE SITE. ANALYSIS OF THE ANCIENT RESIDUES SHOWED THAT THE PIT WAS USED FOR LOW-TEMPERATURE ROASTING WHICH DRIVES OFF SOME OF THE SULFUR IN THE ORE. WALTER HAS TO BRING IN HIS OWN CHARCOAL IT'S THE KIND USUALLY USED IN VACATION BARBECUES. THE FINELY CRUSHED ORE, HELD TOGETHER WITH A LITTLE CLAY IS ROASTED FOR SEVERAL HOURS. THIS STEP WILL REMOVE THE SULFUR ATTACHED TO THE IRON. THE RED COLOR SHOWS THAT'S BEEN ACCOMPLISHED. BUT THERE'S STILL SOME SULFUR ATTACHED TO THE COPPER. BURNING THAT OFF IS THE NEXT STEP. WE'RE GOING TO NEED HIGH TEMPERATURES AND THAT MEANS A FORCED DRAFT, FROM LEATHER BELLOWS. BELLOWS WERE COMMON THROUGHOUT THE ANCIENT WORLD. WALTER FOUND PIECES OF THE CLAY BASES AND TUBES SO HE'S PRETTY CERTAIN THIS IS HOW THEY WERE MADE HERE. THE GOAL IS TO BOTH BURN THE SULFUR OFF THE COPPER AND AT THE SAME TIME MELT SAND WITH THE IRON TO MAKE SLAG. THAT'LL TAKE TEMPERATURES INSIDE THE FURNACE OF OVER 1,200 DEGREES CELSIUS SUSTAINED FOR AT LEAST SIX HOURS. THERE'S A LOT OF PUMPING TO BE DONE. CAN I TRY IT IF I'M REALLY CAREFUL? Fasnacht: YEAH, SURE, SURE. OH, THAT'S VERY GOOD. YOU'VE GOT TO OPEN AND CLOSE IN RHYTHM. Alda: IN GOES THE FIRST CHARGE OF ROASTED ORE NOW CRUSHED WITH A LITTLE SAND. Fasnacht: IT SMELLS PRETTY BAD. Alda: WE'LL BE STEADILY ADDING CHARCOAL AND ORE THROUGHOUT THE DAY. IT'S A PRETTY ELABORATE RECIPE, SO I HAD A QUESTION: HOW DID ALL THESE THINGS COME TOGETHER? HOW DID EARLY PEOPLE ARRIVE AT THIS COMPLICATED PROCESS? HOW DID THEY KNOW THEY WERE GOING TO GET COPPER OUT OF THIS PROCESS? TO BEGIN WITH, THEY HAD BLUE OR GREEN COPPER MINERAL 10,000 YEARS AGO. THEY... THEY FOUND THIS NICE COLORED STONE AND THEY FIDDLED AROUND WITH IT, MADE NICE JEWELRY AND THEN IT FELL INTO THE FIRE AND MELTED AND GAVE THEM COPPER. Alda: THAT'S FOR THE SIMPLE COPPER ORES THAT SMELT EASILY. WALTER THINKS FOR THE COMPLEX ORE WE'RE USING PEOPLE MAY JUST HAVE FOUND IT SO ATTRACTIVE THAT THEY BELIEVED IT WAS WORTH EXPERIMENTING A LOT UNTIL THEY GOT RESULTS. OPEN THIS... Alda: IT'S NOW THE END OF THE DAY-- TIME TO SEE HOW WE DID. Fasnacht: NOW, I WILL HAVE TO TAKE THIS WHOLE LUMP OUT AS AN ENTIRE UNIT. I HOPEFULLY SUCCEED. I'LL JUST TRY IT WITH THIS SHOVEL. WATCH OUT. IF THIS IS THE WAY YOU WANT IT WHAT DO YOU DO WITH IT NEXT? IF IT'S THE WAY I WANT IT WE HAVE TO SEPARATE THE SLAG FROM THE MATTE. Alda: HERE'S THE LUMP CUT IN HALF. THE BOTTOM IS THE MATTE, ABOUT 60% COPPER-- DOUBLE WHAT WE STARTED WITH. NEXT, THE SLAG AT THE TOP WOULD BE REMOVED AND THE MATTE RE-SMELTED, A STEP WALTER HAS NOT YET TRIED. IN FACT, THIS WAS ONLY THE THIRD SMELTING TRIAL HE'S DONE HERE. SO, SKIPPING AHEAD WALTER SET OUT TO ACTUALLY CAST SOMETHING OUT OF BRONZE WHICH IS COPPER WITH A LITTLE TIN ADDED AS A HARDENER. IN ANTIQUITY THE TIN WOULD HAVE COME FROM THE MAINLAND. WE CHEATED, OUR BRONZE WAS FACTORY MADE BUT THE CASTING TECHNIQUE IS AUTHENTIC. THE AIM IS A RAPID, HIGH-TEMPERATURE MELT THEN AN IMMEDIATE POUR BEFORE THE TIN BURNS OFF. CHARCOAL KEEPS THE HEAT IN BUT IT MUSTN'T CONTAMINATE THE METAL. Fasnacht: IT'S A CRUCIAL MOMENT NOW. IF I MISS IT, WE BURN THE METAL AND THEN WE'RE IN TROUBLE. YUP, IT'S LIQUID. Alda: THERE'S STILL A LOT OF CHARCOAL IN THE CRUCIBLE. WE'RE MAKING ASTRAGALI-- DICE SHAPED, LIKE THE HEEL BONE OF SHEEP OR GOATS. ( sizzling ) SO... THIS ONE IS QUITE OKAY. AND THIS ONE HAS A LOT OF CHARCOAL IN IT. THIS ONE THEY WOULD CONSIDER AS A FAILURE. THEY WOULD RE-MELT THIS. I THOUGHT THESE WOULD HAVE NUMBERS ON THEM OR ARE THERE NUMBERS? I CAN'T TELL. YOU HAVE TO KNOW THE NUMBERS IN YOUR HEAD. OH, I LIKE DICE LIKE THAT. YOU'D THROW A COUPLE OF BLANK DICE. YOU SAY, "I REMEMBER WHERE THE NUMBERS WERE AND I GOT A SEVEN. " WHENEVER YOU SEE THESE TWO HORNS THAT'S THE NUMBER FOUR. AND THIS ROUND PART IS THE NUMBER THREE. I SEE. Alda: YOU NEED FIVE ASTRAGALI FOR AN ANCIENT GREEK FORTUNE SO WE THREW REAL SHEEP BONES. I CAN'T TELL WHAT THESE NUMBERS ARE. FOUR, FOUR, THREE... FOUR, THREE. 12 AND SIX, 18. HMM... OKAY... SO NOW THE... HIGH PRIEST WOULD LOOK IT UP ON HIS XEROXED SHEET, RIGHT? IT WAS HAMMERED INTO STONE. THEY WOULD WRITE THE TEXT INTO STONE. SO, THAT'S HOW WE COME TO KNOW WHAT THE MEANING IS. "WHEN THREE FOURS AS WELL AS TWO THREES FALL, WAIT. "YOU WILL HAVE SUCCESS, BUT ONLY LATER. "FOR NOW STAY QUIET OBEY THE GODS AND BE AWAITING. " I THINK I NEED TO THROW AGAIN. I NEED A LITTLE MORE, UM... IMMEDIACY HERE. BUT WATCH OUT THERE ARE ALSO LESS COMFORTABLE ONES. LESS GOOD ONES? THANKS VERY MUCH. Alda: THE NEXT DAY, FORTUNE SMILED ON US. WALTER MADE A PERFECT SET OF BRONZE ASTRAGALI ON HIS CYPRUS HILLSIDE. Alda: WE'RE IN SARDINIA, THE MEDITERRANEAN'S LARGEST ISLAND.

				City of Gold Excavations uncover the first royal tribal burial in southern Africa, revealing a rich and little-known 13th century trading culture.
		Select text to jump ahead in the clip: IT'S HISTORY. ( singing in Venda, drumming ) THIS PARTICULAR SONG COMPLAINING OF HARD TIMES UNDER COLONIAL MASTERS WAS COMPOSED 100 YEARS AGO. ( whistles playing, singing ) IN THE NEW SOUTH AFRICA STUDYING AFRICAN HISTORY IS SUDDENLY RESPECTABLE WHICH IS HOW I FOUND MYSELF ON THE WAY TO VISIT THE KING OF VENDA WITH AN ENTHUSIASTIC ARCHEOLOGIST, SYDNEY MILLER. SYD, IS THIS THE PALACE? THAT'S RIGHT, ALAN. WHY ARE THESE WHITE STONES HERE AT THE ENTRANCE? THESE WHITE STONES ARE THE MONOLITHS THAT SHOW US PLACES WHERE THE NORMAL COMMONER PEOPLE ARE NOT REALLY SUPPOSED TO GO UNLESS THEY'RE ESCORTED. THIS IS SAMUEL. ALAN. ( they exchange greetings ) SO WE'RE GOING TO GO UP TO THE CHIEF'S PRIVATE RECEPTION AREA NOW AND HE ESCORTS US ALL THE WAY UP THERE. Alda: IT'S DELIBERATELY BEEN MADE TIRING AND CONFUSING FOR THE VISITOR TO WORK HIS WAY UP THROUGH THE COMPOUND. EVERYTHING IS DESIGNED TO PROMOTE RESPECT. THERE ARE STRICT STANDARDS OF CONDUCT. ( greeting in Veda ) KING KENNEDY ARRIVES ACCOMPANIED BY HIS BROTHERS AND A PRAISE SINGER WHOSE JOB IS TO RECOUNT AND EXPLAIN THE HISTORY OF THE KING'S NAMES. WE SHOW THE RESPECT THAT IS TRADITIONALLY PRACTICED HERE. ALTHOUGH THE KING IS A MEMBER OF PARLIAMENT IN CAPE TOWN WHEN HE'S HERE IN VENDA HE TRIES TO KEEP THE TRADITIONAL CUSTOMS GOING. IS THAT ONLY WHEN YOU'RE GREETING A STRANGER OR IS IT WHEN YOU GO FROM BREAKFAST TO YOUR CAR? YEAH, TO MY CAR... TO ANYWHERE. WHEREVER I GO, THEY DO THAT. I SEE. DO YOU SOMETIMES WISH YOU COULD MOVE A LITTLE FASTER? OR HAVE YOU MADE IT PART OF YOUR LIFE AND...? UH... YOU KNOW, SOMETIMES I FEEL A LITTLE BIT SHY. Alda: HISTORY FOR THE VENDA IS PASSED ON BY TRADITION. BUT TRADITION IS NEVER STATIC. IT'S NOT JUST THE KING WHO NOW WORKS FAR AWAY. AND IT'S UNLIKELY THAT THE KINGS WHO WENT BEFORE HIM WOULD HAVE JOINED IN THE DANCING. THE RISK IS THAT TRADITION AND HISTORY MIGHT BE LOST. BUT THE KING BELIEVES THIS NEW OPENNESS IS ESSENTIAL. Kennedy: SO THERE'S STILL SOME OF THE OLD AND SOME OF THE NEW. TELL ME ABOUT THAT GUN. WHAT ARE WE BRINGING THAT FOR? WELL, WE'RE IN THE MIDDLE OF THE PARK AND THE ELEPHANTS ARE STARTING TO USE THE FOOTPATH-- THIS ONE THAT WE MADE UP TO THE SITE. SO WE NEED A BIT OF PROTECTION. YOU CAN STOP AN ELEPHANT WITH THAT? WELL, IT'S A . 458 AND IT DOES THE JOB IF IT NEEDS TO. WHY DON'T YOU GO AHEAD? ( laughs ) AND KEEP YOUR EYES OPEN. Alda: 15 MILES FROM KING KENNEDY'S COMPOUND INSIDE THE KRUGER PARK SYDNEY MILLER HAS BEEN WORKING AT A SITE WHICH IS REVEALING VENDA HISTORY IN RICH DETAIL. DATING BACK TO THE 13th CENTURY, IT'S CALLED THULAMELA-- A ROYAL CITADEL JUST LIKE KING KENNEDY'S PERCHED ON A COMMANDING HILLTOP. FOR THREE LABORIOUS YEARS SYD AND TWO HELPERS REBUILT THE COLLAPSED WALLS STONE BY STONE. ARRIVING VISITORS PASS UNDER THESE BAOBAB TREES. THEN THE SAME KIND OF STONE MARKERS THAT KING KENNEDY HAS POINT THE WAY. UP THE HILL, WE ENTER THE FIRST CEREMONIAL SPACE WHERE THE DANCING WOULD HAVE BEEN STAGED. Alda: WHAT HAPPENED IN HERE? THIS IS NOW WHERE ONE OF THE REAL PROBLEMS THAT WE HAVE GOT ON THE SITE. THIS IS A FEMALE ENCLOSURE WHERE A WIFE WOULD HAVE LIVED AND WHEN I TRIED TO EXCAVATE THIS AREA LOOKING FOR A STRUCTURE I FOUND A FLOOR THAT HAD COLLAPSED IN THE MIDDLE. AND WHEN I HAD EXCAVATED THROUGH THAT I ACTUALLY FOUND A SKELETON DOWN THERE OF A MALE WHICH IS A VERY TALL PERSON-- OVER TWO METERS TALL. WHAT SECTION IS EVERYBODY WORKING ON OVER HERE? THIS IS THE CHIEF'S ENCLOSURES AND THE... Alda: SYD HAD SOME UNSOLVED PROBLEMS, BUT SOME EXCITING FINDS, TOO. ACROSS THE ROYAL RECEPTION AREA WAS THE KING'S PRIVATE ENCLOSURE ONCE CONTAINING A THATCHED HOUSE. WE WEREN'T PERMITTED TO FILM IN THIS PART OF KING KENNEDY'S COMPOUND. IS THIS A POT HERE? Miller: THAT'S RIGHT. IT'S A POT THAT WE HAVE FOUND IN THIS VERY EARLY PHASE. YOU CAN SEE THE FLOOR HERE IS MUCH HARDER THAN THE FLOORS WE'VE SEEN AT THE TOP AND THIS POT IS ACTUALLY SITTING ON THE FLOOR IN POSITION THERE. I SEE. BUT WHAT'S ALSO VERY INTERESTING HERE IS THIS LITTLE COWRIE SHELL. IT'S A SEASHELL AND IT'S BEEN USED FOR TRADE MONEY IN THE OLDEN DAYS. SO YOU MIGHT EVEN BE SITTING HERE WITH A POT THAT HAD SOME OTHER VALUABLE OBJECTS IN IT. OH, I SEE, THIS IS LIKE A LITTLE JEWELRY CHEST MAYBE. Alda: ALSO IN THE KING'S ENCLOSURE IRON BELLS OF A TYPE KNOWN IN WEST AFRICA 2,000 MILES AWAY BUT NEVER BEFORE SEEN IN SOUTHERN AFRICA. AND SYD HAS FOUND GLASS BEADS FROM AS FAR AFIELD AS INDIA. SO THULAMELA HAD WIDE OUTSIDE CONTACTS. THEY WERE ALSO GREAT METAL WORKERS. THESE BEAUTIFULLY MADE HARPOONS ARE FOR HUNTING HIPPO. THERE WERE TOUGH IRON HOES FOR FIELD WORK A COPPER INGOT CAUGHT AT THE MOMENT OF SMELTING AND GOLD, INCLUDING DROPLETS FRESH FROM THE CRUCIBLE. IT'S ALWAYS BEEN KNOWN THAT THIS PART OF AFRICA HAD TRADE CONTACTS WITH THE ARABS AND PORTUGUESE BUT IT'S THANKS TO SYD'S ARCHAEOLOGY THAT THE BREADTH AND SOPHISTICATION OF WHAT WENT ON HERE IS BEEN REVEALED. Miller: ARCHAEOLOGY IS LIKE TAKING THE SOIL AND OPENING UP THE HISTORY BOOK. AFRICA HAS ALWAYS BEEN SEEN AS THE NEGLECTED COUNTRY. EVERYBODY THINKS ABOUT THE EGYPTIANS AS HIGH CULTURE BUT FOR THE WHOLE WORLD TO KNOW THAT THIS PEOPLE WERE AS IMPORTANT AS THE EGYPTIANS I THINK THAT IS WHAT IT'S ABOUT. Alda: BUT THULAMELA IS NOT JUST ABOUT HISTORY. IT'S ABOUT THE PRESENT AS WELL. IN AN APPROACH PROBABLY UNIQUE IN THE WORLD EXCAVATION IS OVERSEEN BY A COMMITTEE NOT ONLY OF SCIENTISTS, BUT ALSO OF LOCAL PEOPLE FROM OUTSIDE THE PARK WHOSE ANCESTORS CREATED THULAMELA. AND THEY'LL STAY INVOLVED IN THE FUTURE, TOO. I MET THE VENDA SCHOOL TEACHER, ISRAEL NEMAHENI WHO WILL BE INTERPRETING THE DISCOVERIES FOR VISITORS. WHAT DOES THIS MEAN TO YOU? Alda: THE SKELETON IN THE WOMEN'S ENCLOSURE PRESENTED THE COMMITTEE WITH A CHALLENGE. TO PROCEED WOULD RISK DISTURBING AN ANCESTOR'S GRAVE SO THEY COMPROMISED. EXCAVATION COULD GO AHEAD SO LONG AS THE REMAINS WHERE GIVEN A RESPECTFUL REBURIAL. AND WHAT A FIND THEY MADE. IT WASN'T A MAN AS SYD HAD THOUGHT BUT A TALL WOMAN DECORATED WITH GOLD JEWELRY-- PROBABLY THE 16th CENTURY QUEEN OF THULAMELA. SOON AFTER, THE TEAM FOUND THE KING BURIED IN HIS ENCLOSURE ALSO WEARING LOTS OF GOLD. THE DISCOVERIES HIT THE HEADLINES-- THE FIRST ROYAL COUPLE EVER EXCAVATED IN SOUTHERN AFRICA. THERE WAS REJOICING AMONG THE VENDA PEOPLE BY ONE FAMILY IN PARTICULAR WHO HAD ALWAYS THOUGHT THEIR ANCESTORS WHERE BURIED HERE. Alda: TO STAY IN TOUCH WITH ANCESTORS IS OF THE DEEPEST SIGNIFICANCE BECAUSE THEY PROVIDE THE LINK TO GOD. SO FROM THE FAMILY LEVEL TO THE NATIONAL THULAMELA TURNED OUT TO HAVE GIFTS FOR EVERYBODY. ISRAEL NEMAHENI SUMMED IT UP. Alda: CLASSIC AFRICA.

				Digging Up the Past Excavations in Turkmenistan have uncovered the Bactrians - an unknown desert civilization that flourished around the time of the Pharaohs.
		Select text to jump ahead in the clip: Narrator: WE'RE IN TURKMENISTAN 2,000 MILES AND HALF A WORLD AWAY FROM MOSCOW WITH IRAN AND AFGHANISTAN JUST OVER THE BORDER. IT'S A PLACE WITH A DISTINCT CULTURE. FOR 1,000 YEARS, ITS PEOPLE HAVE FOLLOWED THE PROPHET MOHAMMED; THEY'RE MOSLEMS. BUT CENTURIES EARLIER, WHAT PROPHET FOLLOWED THEM? THE TURKMENISTAN DESERT IS REVEALING THE ANSWER. RECENTLY UNCOVERED FROM ITS SANDS ARE THE REMAINS OF ANCIENT AND IMMENSE BUILDINGS. THIS ONE WAS EXCAVATED IN 1981. THIS ONE, WITH ITS ENORMOUS FORTRESS-LIKE WALLS TWO YEARS LATER. AND THIS, WHICH PROMISES TO BE THE LARGEST YET IS JUST NOW BEING EXCAVATED. EVEN IN SEPTEMBER, IT'S STILL OVER 100 DEGREES OUT HERE SO THE ARCHAEOLOGY STUDENTS DRESS ACCORDINGLY. TO DO WORK LIKE THIS IN THE MIDDLE OF THE DESERT YOU MUST BE A BIT OF A FANATIC-- LIKE THE DCOVER OF THESE SITES ARCHEOLOGY PROFESSOR VICTOR SARIANIDI. HE'S HERE TO EXPLORE THE UNKNOWN. MAYBE IT IS PALACE... I DON'T KNOW EXACTLY. BECAUSE WE ONLY FOUND... WE'RE BEGINNING OUR EXCAVATION. WE DON'T KNOW EXACTLY WHAT IS THIS-- THAT'S INTERESTING. Narrator: SARIANIDI IS INTERESTED IN RESULTS SO HE'S USING MACHINES TO SHIFT LARGE AMOUNTS OF DIRT. IT'S A CONTROVERSIAL METHOD-- MAYBE HE'LL DESTROY SOMETHING UNWITTINGLY. BUT WITH SMALL CREWS AND TIGHT BUDGETS "IT'S THE ONLY WAY TO WORK," HE RESPONDS. ONCE HIS CREWS GET DOWN TO THESE WALLS, THOUGH THEY'RE VERY CAREFUL AND SEEM TO KNOW JUST WHERE TO DIG. OLEG ROSENTHAL IS THEIR TOP WALL-FINDER. SINCE MUD BRICKS AREN'T MUCH DIFFERENT FROM DESERT SAND IT'S NOT SO SIMPLE. Translator: THERE HAS TO BE A WALL HERE SOMEPLACE BUT WHERE, WE DON'T KNOW. Narrator: OLEG LOOKS FOR CLUES IN THE COLOR AND TEXTURE OF THE DESERT FLOOR. ( speaking Russian ) Translator: HERE, LOOK, AN EDGE JUST APPEARED. IT'S EASY TO SEE IT. ONE SIDE IS DARK AND THE OTHER SIDE IS MUCH LIGHTER. Narrator: WELL, MAYBE IT'S EASY FOR HIM. HE'S SO SURE OF HIS JUDGMENT THAT HE STARTS DIGGING OUT THE SAND INSIDE THE WALLS. HE USES TEXTURE AS HIS GUIDE-- PICKING OUT SOFT DIRT, LEAVING HARDER MATERIAL IN PLACE. TWO DAYS LATER, HE'S TRACED OUT THE WALLS AND CONFIRMED HIS JUDGMENT WITH SOMETHING YOU OFTEN FIND AGAINST THE WALL OF A ROOM. Translator: IN THE CORNER WHICH WE'VE EXCAVATED THERE IS A VESSEL. IT'S A BIG ONE, A COMMON TYPE PROBABLY USED TO STORE LIQUIDS AND GRAINS. SO FAR WE'VE ONLY FOUND TWO WALLS BUT THERE WILL BE FOUR. IN FACT, I THINK I'M UNCOVERING ONE RIGHT NOW. Narrator: THREE-FOOT-HIGH WALLS IS ALL THAT'S LEFT OF THE BUILDINGS NOW AFTER 3,500 YEARS OF EROSION BY THE DESERT. BUT IMAGINE WHAT THIS BUILDING USED TO LOOK LIKE-- A MASSIVE STRUCTURE, PERFECTLY LAID OUT ALL WITH AN ELEGANT SYMMETRY. SARIANIDI CALLS IT A FORTRESS, BUT THAT'S GUESSWORK. HOWEVER, THE PEOPLE WHO BUILT IT WERE HIGHLY CIVILIZED. ( speaking Russian ) Translator: BUILDING THIS ENTIRE FORTRESS WAS A GIANT UNDERTAKING. THE PEOPLE WHO LIVED HERE-- THE ARCHITECTS-- ALREADY KNEW MATHEMATICS, ASTRONOMY ALREADY KNEW THE FUNDAMENTALS OF GEOMETRY. Narrator: SARIANIDI HAS DISCOVERED NOTHING LESS THAN A NEW CIVILIZATION. HIS TEAM IS BUSY DEDUCING WHAT THESE PEOPLE-- HE CALLS THEM BACTRIANS-- WERE LIKE. FLOURISHING AT THE SAME TIME AS THE PHARAOHS OF EGYPT THEY'RE BECOMING KNOWN AS THE WORLD'S FIFTH BRONZE AGE CIVILIZATION. LONG BURIED IN GRAVES AND EROSION-FILLED ROOMS ANCIENT BACTRIA IS SLOWLY EMERGING. ELEGANT DRINKING VESSELS. ODDLY STYLED FIGURES-- A GOD, MAYBE? ANIMALS OF THE DESERT: A CENTIPEDE... A SCORPION... CYLINDRICAL SEALS SHOWING SOME KIND OF RITUAL. AND A DISTINCTIVE KIND OF POT DECORATED WITH ANIMAL FIGURES. THIS ONE WAS RECONSTRUCTED FROM PIECES UNEARTHED IN THE SECOND BUILDING SARIANIDI EXCAVATED WHICH HE BELIEVES WAS A TEMPLE. IN SPITE OF HIS BULLDOZING IMAGE SARIANIDI IS ACTUALLY A CAREFUL INVESTIGATOR. IT'S HIS USUAL PRACTICE TO TAKE SOIL SAMPLES IN AND AROUND POTTERY AND THE SHATTERED PIECES OF THE ANIMAL FIGURE POT WERE NO EXCEPTION. THE SAMPLES WENT FOR CHEMICAL ANALYSIS AND THE RESULTS WERE STARTLING. THEY CONTAINED UNMISTAKABLE TRACES OF TWO LOCAL PLANTS WHICH APPARENTLY HAD BEEN MASHED BY GRINDING STONES ALSO FOUND HERE AT THIS SITE. ( speaking Russian ) Translator: DURING THE EXCAVATION OF THE CENTRAL PART OF THE TEMPLE WE FOUND THESE GRINDING STONES AND AS YOU CAN SEE, THEY'RE WORN FLAT FROM CONSTANT USE. ON THE STONES WE FOUND TRACES OF EPHEDRA AND POPPY. Narrator: POPPY PRODUCES OPIUM AND EPHEDRA CONTAINS A POWERFUL HALLUCINOGEN. MIX EITHER WITH WATER AND YOU'VE GOT DRINK WHICH PACKS A PUNCH. ALL THAT'S LEFT IS TO STRAIN OUT THE STALKS USING A PIECE OF GOATSKIN AND A 4,000-YEAR-OLD FILTER CONE ALSO FOUND IN THE RUINS. ACTUALLY, IT'S NOT SUCH A SURPRISE TO FIND THE BACTRIANS USED DRUGS. MANY ANCIENT CIVILIZATIONS INCORPORATED THEM INTO THEIR RITUALS AS A WAY TO FEEL CLOSER TO THE GODS. MORE OF BACTRIAN RITUAL LIFE WAS REVEALED BY THESE PITS WHICH HAD CLEAR SIGNS OF SOOT ON THEIR WALLS. SARIANIDI IS CONVINCED THESE PITS WERE USED TO ILLUMINATE ALTAR PLATFORMS NOW ERODED BUT ONCE SITUATED IMMEDIATELY BEHIND THE PITS. ( speaking Russian ) Translator: IT'S LIKELY THAT ON THESE TWO PLATFORMS SAT THE IMAGES OF GODS. AND IN THEIR HONOR A FIRE WAS BURNING HERE. WHAT DOES THIS MEAN? OF COURSE, FIRE PLAYS AN IMPORTANT ROLE IN MANY RELIGIONS OF THE WORLD. BUT HERE WE HAVE THE RITUALS OF FIRE AND EPHEDRA DRINKING TOGETHER; IT'S THE FIRST TIME KNOWN TO SCIENCE THAT THESE TWO RITUALS OCCURRED SIMULTANEOUSLY. Narrator: FOR SARIANIDI, IT'S A VERY EXCITING DISCOVERY BECAUSE FIRE AND A DRINK FROM EPHEDRA ARE BOTH USED BY ONE OF TODAY'S RELIGIONS: THE FOLLOWERS OF THE PROPHET ZOROASTER IN INDIA AND WORLDWIDE. THE STRANGE THING IS ZOROASTER WAS BORN 1,000 YEARS AFTER THE RIVERS FEEDING ANCIENT BACTRIA DRIED UP AND THE CIVILIZATION CRUMBLED. ZOROASTRIANS MUST HAVE TAKEN OVER THE RITUALS OF A PREEXISTING BACTRIAN RELIGION. ARCHAEOLOGISTS HAVE THEIR OWN RITUALS WHICH OFTEN SHOW UP WORLDWIDE. COMPLAINING ABOUT ARCHAEOLOGY IS ONE OF THEM. ( singing: ) Narrator: BUT IN TRUTH ARCHAEOLOGY IS A PASSION FOR THESE PEOPLE. WHAT ELSE WOULD SEND THEM BACK INTO THE DESERT WITH PICK AND SHOVEL TOMORROW AT DAWN? BUT WHY THE PASSION? IT'S BECAUSE THE REWARDS ARE UNIQUE. ( speaking Russian ) Translator: WE'VE DISCOVERED AN ENTIRE NEW COUNTRY. ITS CULTURE, ITS CIVILIZATION, ITS UNIQUENESS MUST HAVE HAD A STRONG EFFECT ON ITS NEIGHBORS. IT'S A NEW PAGE IN ANCIENT HISTORY. ( circus music ) ( instructions yelled in Russian )