| Transcript |
| 0:13 | · | Christopher Columbus. To many, he is still the man who discovered America. |
| 0:22 | · | Yet, there had been others before him. And he knew it. There were tales and even maps pointing the way. |
| 0:32 | · | But who were the bold men who had preceded Columbus? |
| 0:41 | · | Best known among them, the Viking Leif Eriksson, 500 years before Columbus. |
| 0:52 | · | A Welsh Prince named Madoc, supposed to have built fortified castles along the Ohio River, |
| 0:58 | · | 300 years before Columbus. Or King Abubakari from West-African Mali, |
| 1:05 | · | who is said to have used his immeasurable riches to finance a gigantic fleet, 200 years before Columbus. |
| 1:31 | · | Seville, at the time of the "Semana Santa". Even in the days of Columbus, |
| 1:36 | · | the holy week was the biggest religious feast in all of Andalusia. |
| 1:43 | · | The widely-travelled seafarer and outstanding navigator is preparing for an extraordinary voyage |
| 1:49 | · | that will bring him everlasting fame. |
| 1:56 | · | In the cathedral of Seville, they have erected a grandiose monument to honour the man, who - in 1492 - |
| 2:03 | · | allegedly discovered a new continent for the Spanish Crown. |
| 2:08 | · | Columbus opened the gate to fabulous riches and to an overseas empire for Spain. To this day, |
| 2:14 | · | his name is synonymous with the discovery of America. But was his achievement really unique? |
| 2:24 | · | There's another tomb in the cathedral, that of his son, Hernando Colon. |
| 2:29 | · | He inherited the personal papers of his father and spent his life collecting information about the famous discoverer. |
| 2:38 | · | Today, his library is kept in the Institución Colombina. |
| 2:44 | · | You might well call it the most important library of the Renaissance worldwide, |
| 2:50 | · | because Hernando Colon strove to bring together everything about his father and all the knowledge of his time. |
| 3:00 | · | Columbus meticulously recorded geographical data of contemporary discoveries as well as ancient sources. |
| 3:07 | · | When he set out on his famous voyage, he had already travelled most of the known world. |
| 3:12 | · | As early as 1477, one of his forays even took him as far north as the mythical island of Thule. |
| 3:20 | · | Modern historians believe that he must have reached Iceland. |
| 3:26 | · | The land of the Sagas, with tales of its most famous inhabitant, Leif Eriksson. |
| 3:35 | · | His nickname was "the Fortunate". He was born into a family of daring explorers. |
| 3:41 | · | Leif's grandfather had emigrated from Norway to Iceland. His father, the legendary Erik the Red, |
| 3:48 | · | had navigated the icy waters off Greenland and became the first settler on its eastern shores. |
| 3:59 | · | Iceland. This is where Leif grew up. At Eiriksstadir, the farm of Erik the Red. |
| 4:08 | · | When Leif was 12 years old, his father was banned from Iceland for three years for manslaughter. |
| 4:14 | · | Erik wasn't called the Red simply because of his fiery red hair. |
| 4:20 | · | Archaeologist Natascha Mehler is an expert on the history of the Norsemen. To her this is familiar ground. The site where Leif and Erik lived. |
| 4:30 | · | Within walls of sod, two metres thick. Wood is rare on Iceland. There are no windows, |
| 4:36 | · | just a small smoke outlet in the ceiling. In these dark, sparse rooms Leif was born in the year 970 AD. |
| 4:45 | · | 15 years later, his father took him and his family to Greenland, an ice-covered island in the west, discovered during Erik's banishment. |
| 4:53 | · | It was an incredibly daring undertaking for all those giving up their farms on Iceland. |
| 4:58 | · | Leif stood beside his father during the dangerous crossing, and he also witnessed how Erik managed to persuade others to come along. |
| 5:06 | · | He told his people that he had discovered a green land to the west, what we now call Greenland. |
| 5:14 | · | It was, of course, a marketing trick to lure other settlers into joining him. Anyway, he won over so many people, |
| 5:21 | · | that a fleet of 25 ships set sail for Greenland. |
| 5:28 | · | Erik's glowing descriptions apart, at the end of the tenth century there were definitively good reasons for leaving Iceland. |
| 5:35 | · | Natasha takes us to an excavation in Olafsdalur, the valley of Olaf, which clearly shows what made the Vikings leave. |
| 5:43 | · | According to Natascha, the discovery of America can only be understood by the phenomenon of "Island hopping" from Norway via Iceland to Greenland. |
| 5:53 | · | The excavators are investigating a farm from the tenth century, exactly the period when Erik and Leif set out westward. |
| 6:08 | · | The ship-like layout of the house is still visible. Obviously, this was a considerable estate. So, what had happened? |
| 6:18 | · | This homestead dates from the tenth century when most of the arable land had already been occupied. |
| 6:24 | · | So, when Olaf came to Iceland, he had little choice but to put up with this patch of land here. |
| 6:30 | · | It was far from ideal for a farmer. During the past 100 years, Norsemen settling here |
| 6:38 | · | had exploited the island's nature to such a degree, that its resources could no longer meet the demands of everyone. |
| 6:45 | · | Erik knew where he wanted to go. He took his fleet and sailed along the ice-covered east coast of Greenland around Cape Farvel, |
| 6:54 | · | and after 1.500 storm-tossed kilometres steered them into a fjord, duly named Erik's Fjord. |
| 7:04 | · | In their open boats, they had fought their way west, through floating ice, murderous waves and icebergs threatening to rip open their vessels. |
| 7:13 | · | 14 of the 25 boats made it. On-board were 300 settlers, their cattle and their household goods. |
| 7:21 | · | Greenland became a crucial stepping stone on the path to the New World. |
| 7:28 | · | The sagas relate this in colourful detail. Of the daring crossing to Greenland and of the nature of the newly discovered land. |
| 7:37 | · | When reaching Thule, Columbus must have been thrilled by these stories. And most of all, by the deeds of their greatest hero, Leif Eriksson. |
| 7:47 | · | Who, as the sagas go, had discovered another mysterious land west of Greenland. |
| 7:53 | · | And since he found grapes there, he called it Vinland - wine land. |
| 8:03 | · | In Iceland's capital Reykjavik, Natascha joins historian Gisli Sigurdsson to take a closer look |
| 8:09 | · | at the original texts of the Sagas. So, how factual are these heroic tales of a legendary Wine Land? |
| 8:18 | · | The picture that is drawn up of all these voyages, the chronology, the origins of the people and so on, |
| 8:27 | · | all fit the general story that the archaeology tells us. And there was no way that the people in Iceland at the time |
| 8:35 | · | could have this accurate historical information from anywhere but a continous oral tradition. |
| 8:42 | · | But that doesn't prove that the love affairs and the individuals of the stories |
| 8:47 | · | are all reflections of what actually happened 200 or 300 years earlier. |
| 8:52 | · | But something along theses general lines is very likely to have been part of reality in the settlement period. |
| 9:01 | · | To the historian, the sagas are more precious than a hoard of gold. |
| 9:06 | · | Here it is written how in the year 1000 AD Leif founded the first settlement on a land which had to wait |
| 9:12 | · | another 500 years to be called America. |
| 9:26 | · | Sigurdsson is convinced that Columbus knew of these sagas. |
| 9:32 | · | Yet, what conclusions might he have drawn from them? How are they related to his later voyages? |
| 9:44 | · | The important learning or information that he obtained |
| 9:50 | · | is that he could cross over open waters, sail away from the continent and continue and continue into the West |
| 9:58 | · | without ever risking falling off. So, the enquiring young seafarer who collected all available information |
| 10:07 | · | and all the maps he could lay his hands on, must have known - there is land in the West, |
| 10:13 | · | and it had been reached by Europeans long before him. But he also must have known about the dangers of the northern route |
| 10:20 | · | through the ice-ridden waters off Greenland. Natasha follows the settlers' route into Erik's Fjord. |
| 10:30 | · | With the help of engine power, GPS and a compass, it's considerably easier than a thousand years ago. |
| 10:50 | · | But back then, how did the Vikings chart their route and navigate in the vastness of the Atlantic |
| 10:56 | · | between Iceland, Greenland and America? The key to their navigational skill was a small wooden dial |
| 11:03 | · | with a needle rising in the middle. When sighting the sun, its shadow would fall on a groove |
| 11:10 | · | which gave the sailor the cardinal point, enabling him to keep course along a specific latitude. |
| 11:16 | · | This is what made the Vikings the most proficient seafarers of their time. |
| 11:28 | · | Brattahlid in Southern Greenland. This is where Leif Eriksson lived after he had turned 16. |
| 11:35 | · | And it's from here that he would soon set out on his own, on voyages to Iceland and Norway, where he took on the Christian faith. |
| 11:48 | · | A current excavation further inland hints at why Leif left his home once more to venture yet again to pastures new further west. |
| 11:58 | · | At first glance the site seems unusual. Three kilometres form the coast at the foot of a glacier. |
| 12:09 | · | It's only accessible via an arduous track. Why did the Vikings choose this barren place? |
| 12:23 | · | The excavation shows, as on Iceland, late settlers had to go where they still could find unoccupied pastures. |
| 12:31 | · | As a matter of fact, only a few of Greenland's coastal strips are actually green. |
| 12:37 | · | Four-fifths of the gigantic island's surface are covered by a solid layer of ice. And so, all fertile ground was quickly settled. |
| 12:46 | · | Greenland's population back then must have soon reached a critical size. As proved by an abundance of Viking finds in the area. |
| 12:55 | · | There are about 20,000 of them, according to chief excavator Christian Koch Madsen. |
| 13:01 | · | And this is the showpiece. The skull of a walrus. Only the tusks are missing. |
| 13:16 | · | Walrus ivory was in high demand among the medieval rulers of Europe. It was used to carve prestigious sets of chess figures or reliquaries. |
| 13:27 | · | Walrus tusks became a prime export commodity for the Greenlanders. When Northern Europe had been christianized, |
| 13:33 | · | they were even used to pay the tithes. On the other side of the fjord, on a mysterious island off Gadar, |
| 13:42 | · | Natasha comes across another unusual source of income for the Viking settlers. |
| 13:49 | · | Today, Gadar, now called Igaliku, is merely a cluster of wooden huts. |
| 13:55 | · | Once this was a rich settlement and even the seat of a bishop. There was a cathedral as well as the bishop's manor and huge stables. |
| 14:12 | · | The measurements of the foundations reveal that the walls must have been massive and solidly constructed. |
| 14:18 | · | Only wealthy settlers could have afforded such buildings. Written sources document that the inhabitants |
| 14:25 | · | were able to offer a large sum of money to Norway's King Sigurd to be granted the seat of a bishop. |
| 14:32 | · | But the Norwegian King demanded more. Something very select indeed. |
| 14:39 | · | To find out more, Natasha heads for an islet offshore. |
| 14:47 | · | There are strange heaps of stone. The archaeologist recognizes at once, that they are the remains of the same massive way of building |
| 14:54 | · | as on the mainland. But what would have been the purpose of such laboriously and elaborately erected houses |
| 15:00 | · | on such a tiny island? We have found a number of houses in the Igaliku area. |
| 15:08 | · | But even out here, there are remains of two very large massive stone buildings. |
| 15:13 | · | Since they stood directly opposite the mainland, they must have had a very special function. |
| 15:22 | · | So, why apply so much effort to transporting blocks of stone weighing up to a ton across the water to build here, |
| 15:29 | · | when there is ample space and material on the mainland? Was the tiny island a kind of prison - a Viking's Alcatraz? |
| 15:37 | · | Or were these houses intended as storage rooms for luxury goods? |
| 15:44 | · | Walrus ivory was an important commodity that was traded from here to many parts of Europe. But there are also hints |
| 15:53 | · | that there was trade in polar bears' fur and maybe even in live polar bears. |
| 16:01 | · | A live polar bear. That is exactly what King Sigurd had wanted. A risky proposition for the people of Gadar. But they succeeded. |
| 16:10 | · | The king got his polar bear, and Greenland its own bishop. |
| 16:24 | · | Hunting the largest land-based predator may have been profitable, but it was also highly dangerous. |
| 16:31 | · | Even when captured, the white giants were a deadly menace. There is a story that Leif Eriksson |
| 16:36 | · | went hunting for his first polar bear when he was merely 16. |
| 16:49 | · | Awaiting their transport to Europe, the huge beasts had to be held in massive cages. |
| 16:55 | · | And to keep them away from the settlements - just in case - the tiny island would have been the perfect spot. |
| 17:02 | · | Even if luxury items like polar bears, ivory and furs could be traded for expensive Norwegian wood, |
| 17:08 | · | life on Greenland remained a constant struggle. For the surplus population, there was only one way out - |
| 17:15 | · | expansion beyond their homeland. Leif Eriksson was of course one of those who looked west. |
| 17:21 | · | Yet, Natascha believes that, apart from escaping imminent pressures, there may have been other things on his mind. |
| 17:27 | · | He was out for fame and glory. He knew, that if he returned with precious goods from the new territories, |
| 17:34 | · | his fellow Norsemen would hold him in great esteem. And so, Leif made his bid and secured himself a place in history. |
| 17:43 | · | He set course across the Davis Strait, the shortest distance between Greenland and America, followed the coast southward until he became the first European |
| 17:52 | · | to set foot on American soil, probably in Newfoundland. |
| 18:01 | · | It was a venture into the unknown, a murderous struggle against the waves. |
| 18:09 | · | But Leif and 35 companions made it. |
| 18:17 | · | Manoeuvring his ship past towering icebergs. |
| 18:22 | · | Until he made landfall somewhere along the north-eastern shores of the American continent. An incredible achievement. |
| 18:35 | · | If Columbus - as is presumed - heard of Leif's exploits and of his tales of a land far across the Atlantic Ocean, |
| 18:42 | · | the 26-year-old navigator from Genoa might well have been prompted to envisage a voyage of his own steering true West. |
| 18:51 | · | Knowing he would make landfall somewhere. |
| 18:58 | · | Where exactly Leif Eriksson set foot on the new continent for the first time and where else he might have landed |
| 19:05 | · | is one of the great unsolved questions of Archaeology. |
| 19:11 | · | Remains of houses near L'Anse aux Meadows in Newfoundland testify to the fact that he did reach America. |
| 19:19 | · | The layouts are the same as in Greenland or on Iceland. They are the best-documented Viking remains ever found in America. |
| 19:28 | · | Their excavation in the 1960s was a breakthrough in Viking research, proving the historical veracity of the Sagas. |
| 19:38 | · | Eleven houses have been located and excavated. Three of them massive, winterproof buildings. |
| 19:44 | · | Spindle whorls tell of the presence of women. |
| 19:50 | · | This was a permanent settlement, with a smithy erected in about 1000 AD. |
| 19:55 | · | Iron nails - an item unknown to the indigenous Americans - bear witness to its Viking origin. |
| 20:04 | · | The fabled Vinland offered what the Norsemen needed most. Wood in abundance - for their boats and their large assembly halls. |
| 20:17 | · | Yet, there remains one question. How much further south did the Vikings advance? |
| 20:25 | · | These butternuts were found on site her at L'Anse aux Meadows. And why they're so relevant and important is, |
| 20:32 | · | as you can probably see when you are walking around today, there is no butternuts growing in this area, |
| 20:38 | · | and there never has been. And also, the Norse came here looking for grapes, and there was never any grapes growing in L'Anse aux Meadows. |
| 20:46 | · | So, where did they come from? Butternuts and grapes only grow much further south. |
| 20:52 | · | Historians presume that the Vikings must have progressed as far as today's New York City. |
| 20:59 | · | A survey from space was launched to locate settlements further south. When evaluating these images, American archaeologists thought |
| 21:06 | · | that Point Rosee in Southern Newfoundland might be a site worth exploring. |
| 21:12 | · | Point Rosee excavation site, it's interesting because they originally |
| 21:18 | · | had identified what might be a farm based on satellite imagery. And so, they went in to go and investigate |
| 21:25 | · | and look at it in more detail. And what they were really hoping to find was evidence of a Viking-age farm. |
| 21:32 | · | And it looked like there could be a long-house, it looked like there could be a nice field around it, |
| 21:38 | · | it looked like there might be some other features. Yet, as Douglas Bolender recalls, excavating it was anything but easy. |
| 21:47 | · | The terrain is barely accessible, and the features which stood out so clearly in the satellite images, |
| 21:53 | · | defied precise locating on the ground. |
| 21:59 | · | However, the team around archaeologist Sarah Parcak found discolorations in the soil which may have resulted |
| 22:05 | · | from walls of sod, as well as materials that resembled iron clinker from the smithies of the Vikings. |
| 22:16 | · | One of the exciting things to come out of the work at Point Rosee, whether or not it is a Viking site, |
| 22:22 | · | is that the satellite imagery work does seem to be effective |
| 22:28 | · | We've tried it in other places, Sarah Parcak has tried it in other locations. |
| 22:33 | · | And, frequently, if it looks like there is something, there has been something there. |
| 22:39 | · | So, this is clearly a very effective technique tot try to find additional sites. |
| 22:44 | · | Alas, at Point Rosee the high hopes of the researchers were to be disappointed. After all finds had been analysed, |
| 22:51 | · | there was only one conclusion. What seemed to have been the traces of Viking houses had been caused by natural phenomena. A major disappointment. |
| 23:04 | · | But there are other new promising approaches of research. Natascha is on her way to Halifax to meet Kevin Smith. |
| 23:10 | · | He's the foremost expert on Viking archaeology in North America. And his smoking gun - is flint. |
| 23:18 | · | Kevin applies forensic science to examine the samples that have been found at L'Anse aux Meadows along with the butternuts. |
| 23:28 | · | The finds from America's only known Viking settlement to date are of inestimable value. Accordingly, they are treated with the utmost care. |
| 23:38 | · | I think, modern technology that we have really gives us a great opportunity. The device that we're using, portable x-ray fluorescence, |
| 23:46 | · | means that we can work on these objects which are part of a world heritage site without having to destroy any part of them. |
| 23:53 | · | In the past, 10, 20 years ago, we'd have had to grind the objects out, put them into a nuclear reactor or another sort of a thing, |
| 23:59 | · | and the object would be partially destroyed. In this case, we can try to solve new mysteries |
| 24:05 | · | and try the get data right down to the elemental level without having to destroy or damage anything of the heritage. |
| 24:12 | · | And that's really an important thing. Changes the game entirely. Natascha is more than eager to join in the new game. |
| 24:20 | · | Will it produce clues pointing to another Viking settlement on the North American continent? |
| 24:30 | · | Flint might provide the answer to this question, since there is no natural layer of flint in the area around L'Anse aux Meadows. |
| 24:38 | · | So, where does it come from? What we're trying to do here, is to find out where the Vikings travelled. |
| 24:45 | · | Using pieces of stone. Basically the pieces of stone they used to start fires with, |
| 24:51 | · | and tracing them back to the places where they came from. It's a little bit like in the old detective movies |
| 24:58 | · | where the detective solves the puzzle of the murder by finding a match-book. And on the match-book, it says |
| 25:04 | · | where the person had been before. These were the matches in the pockets of the Vikings. And if we can find out where the stones came from |
| 25:12 | · | that they used to make their stone tools, we know where they came from, and where they travelled out to. |
| 25:18 | · | Sounds simple enough. But it means that the archaeologists must find samples which match the geo-chemical fingerprints of the finds in L'Anse aux Meadows. |
| 25:28 | · | Given the length of the North American East Coast, it's like searching for a needle in haystack. |
| 25:39 | · | Finds which resemble the existing samples are checked on the spot for a possible match by using the mobile gauge. |
| 25:48 | · | Part of the reason we're doing this, we're trying to figure out if people went out to different places, and they had to get new - as I said - matches, |
| 25:57 | · | new things to strike fires. If we can find where the sources of those are, we can at least narrow the search down to the areas where those are found. |
| 26:07 | · | It's an immense help in surveying an area of such enormous magnitude. Did the Vikings set up colonies on the new continent |
| 26:14 | · | as they had done on Iceland and Greenland? The fact is, that after Leif Eriksson's discovery of America |
| 26:20 | · | there was a busy trade with Vinland. Ships from Greenland, Iceland and even Norway called at the coast. |
| 26:33 | · | But where exactly? Drones equipped with state of the art cameras and 3-D-software |
| 26:41 | · | are a potential means to facilitate the search. |
| 26:47 | · | It's a technology which allows wide areas to be scanned in a comparatively short time. |
| 27:01 | · | The new generation of American Viking hunters hopes that soon not just one but a swarm of drones |
| 27:07 | · | will set forth to look for anomalies along the coastal zones. |
| 27:17 | · | If their 3-D-profiles reveal conspicuous features reminiscent of, for instance, the layout of a Viking house, |
| 27:23 | · | archaeologists could pinpoint those sites and inspect them. Anything to narrow down the search. |
| 27:39 | · | Meanwhile, Kevin's geological research has paid first dividends. |
| 27:46 | · | There are hints that the Norsemen forayed considerably further south than previously assumed, and that they also might have moved further inland. |
| 27:55 | · | Kevin tells Natasha of his preliminary results. |
| 28:01 | · | The flint at L'Anse aux Meadows originates from Newfoundland and probably from Nova Scotia. |
| 28:07 | · | Kevin assumes that the Vikings even reached the greater area of Quebec and the region of New York. |
| 28:14 | · | Since this is where the butternuts and the grapes might have come from. Whether the Norsemen also established settlements there, |
| 28:21 | · | can only be answered by future excavations. |
| 28:32 | · | L'Anse aux Meadows was abandoned after some 50 years. The reason why is another enigma of American Viking research. |
| 28:43 | · | Many experts assume that the Nordic newcomers clashed with the indigenous population |
| 28:48 | · | they disparagingly called Skraelingers - weaklings. |
| 28:57 | · | It certainly had something to do with the indigenous people. Yet, we don't know exactly what happened. |
| 29:05 | · | However, another important reason is that the settlers did not get any support from the parent colony on Greenland. |
| 29:12 | · | Columbus had strong backing from the Spanish Queen, whereas the Viking settlers were on their own. |
| 29:21 | · | Queen Isabella of Spain did indeed finance the expeditions of Columbus and thereby laid the foundations for an immense colonial empire overseas. |
| 29:32 | · | The Institución Colombina in Seville holds thousands of original documents from that era. |
| 29:40 | · | Research these days focuses more and more on texts relating to Columbus' travels before he set out across the Atlantic. |
| 29:50 | · | Thanks to these documents, we are able to comprehend the thoughts, |
| 29:55 | · | experiences and the acts of Christopher Columbus. |
| 30:01 | · | Apart from documents on the voyage to Iceland in 1477, the Spanish researcher is particularly interested in a paper |
| 30:08 | · | in which Columbus refers to a stay in the English port of Bristol one year earlier. |
| 30:17 | · | Back then, Bristol was the starting point for the Iceland trade. Its harbour was filled with ships from Norway, Denmark and Britain. |
| 30:29 | · | In the quayside taverns sailors from many countries would meet, boast of their adventures, of daring voyages |
| 30:35 | · | far out into the Atlantic and to newly discovered lands. The perfect spot for Columbus and his enquiries. |
| 30:45 | · | There were tales of travels to a mysterious country far out in the West. Saint Brendan, the patron saint of seafarers, |
| 30:53 | · | was said to have crossed the Atlantic as early as the 6th century AD. In 1460, the Irish monk had even been immortalized in a book illustration. |
| 31:04 | · | In Bristol, Columbus may also have heard another fascinating lore. |
| 31:10 | · | It told of a Welsh King named Owen Gwynedd, who, when he died, left 19 sons. |
| 31:17 | · | One of them was Prince Madoc. |
| 31:23 | · | As the story goes, he took to sea to escape vicious fighting focused on the accession to his father's throne. |
| 31:30 | · | In today's Snowdonia National Park, near castle Dolwydellan, a previous building has been located which, archaeologists believe, |
| 31:38 | · | was the place where young Madoc was born and raised. Bill Jones of the Dolwydellan Historical Society |
| 31:45 | · | is an expert on the life of Madoc. He is convinced that the Welsh prince did indeed brave the Atlantic Ocean. |
| 31:55 | · | It was a tale long cherished by the sea-faring nation of Great Britain, ideally suited to bolster its claim on the American colonies. |
| 32:06 | · | Today, scientists believe, that it may hold some truth. |
| 32:12 | · | So, what was the situation like in Wales, some 750 years ago? |
| 32:18 | · | There was a lot of family feuding. Owen Gwynedd and his sons, they didn't get on. |
| 32:26 | · | As it was in this part of Wales at that time, yeah. I would describe that time as a period of political upheaval. |
| 32:34 | · | We had a lot of feuding going on between different family members, we had different dynasties. |
| 32:41 | · | Possibly a good description might be The Game of Thrones. The Joneses agree that those were wild times. |
| 32:50 | · | Bill took part in the excavations of the castle where Madoc was born. To him the ruins are proof that there was a King Owen, |
| 32:57 | · | that he had numerous sons, and that the oral tradition can be trusted. |
| 33:09 | · | The castle was perfectly situated to dominate the valley. So, it was a good place to be, |
| 33:15 | · | but also the site of a relentless Game of Thrones. |
| 33:20 | · | I think that, potentially, you could relate it to the modern day. Many people feel the need to escape if things are chaotic. |
| 33:29 | · | Therefore, yes, potentially it's just that general feeling. He was quite young. I think he was born in 1150, |
| 33:36 | · | and then he left in 1170. So he was, you know, in his early twenties. Therefore, yes, potentially that's the reason. |
| 33:47 | · | This had happened 200 years before with the Vikings. They too, had left everything behind |
| 33:53 | · | to find a new home beyond the horizon. Allegedly, Madoc even returned one more time in 1171 |
| 34:02 | · | to recruit settlers for his new land across the Ocean and then set sail with ten ships. |
| 34:11 | · | Researchers have reconstructed his possible route. From Wales across the Irish Sea, then on across the Atlantic Ocean |
| 34:19 | · | heading south-west making landfall in Mobile Bay, Alabama. |
| 34:24 | · | There are several large rivers flowing into the bay, and on each of them Madoc and his boats could have penetrated far inland. |
| 34:36 | · | Time and again historians have tried to verify the legend of Madoc on American soil, with the De Soto Falls in Georgia catching their attention. |
| 34:47 | · | Next to them are strange caves, intriguingly called "Welsh Caves" by the locals. |
| 34:56 | · | The entrances, it is said, were once protected by stone walls. For good reason, because the Welsh were certainly not alone. |
| 35:07 | · | And the new world is new only to them. |
| 35:16 | · | The indigenous people had expelled the Vikings up in the North. Did the same happen down here? |
| 35:29 | · | Yet, is there really any substance to the legend of Madoc? At Athens State College in Alabama, historian Ronald Fritze |
| 35:37 | · | has followed up on the countless stories woven around the Welsh Prince. |
| 35:46 | · | In those tales, the arrival in Mobile Bay is a recurring theme, as are the references to strife and feuds among the clans of 12th century Wales, |
| 35:55 | · | which are given as the cause for Madoc's exodus. Other than in Wales, the story of Madoc |
| 36:02 | · | is little known in the United States. There are only a few researchers like Ronald Fritze |
| 36:07 | · | who seriously engage in evaluating historical and archaeological data on his alleged presence in North America. |
| 36:15 | · | One of the key questions in the debate is whether the voyage of Madoc is a legend or merely a myth. |
| 36:22 | · | Ronald Fritze explains the difference and its implications. The story of Madoc can be viewed by some people |
| 36:31 | · | and by other people as a myth. And if it's a legend, That would make it where there actually was a Welsh voyage, |
| 36:41 | · | and we're just trying to piece together the details. If it's a myth, that' a story that's actually made up |
| 36:48 | · | and did not occur. And there's arguments for both sides |
| 36:54 | · | whether it be a legend or a myth. Deep in the forests of Tennessee |
| 37:00 | · | there are, however, some remarkable clues in favour of the presence of Europeans. |
| 37:06 | · | They consist of huge blocks of stone which have been carved into shape by metal tools. |
| 37:12 | · | Madoc-researchers assume that they once were part of a fortress. It might have looked like this. |
| 37:17 | · | Placed on high ground to control the river valley. There is no archaeological evidence that the indigenous people of the area ever built in stone. |
| 37:26 | · | So, had this fortress been erected by people from medieval Europe? |
| 37:34 | · | As experts on the other side of the Atlantic see it, the building's design, materials and the size of the blocks |
| 37:40 | · | all fit the details of Welsh castles. |
| 37:46 | · | The Tennessee ruins may be a hint. But they alone are not sufficient proof of Madoc's presence |
| 37:52 | · | on American soil. Yet, there's a most unexpected clue. And it concerns an alleged encounter between the Welsh |
| 38:00 | · | and the native Americans. |
| 38:05 | · | What if the Welsh warriors had met an Indian tribe which back then roamed the area between the Tennessee and Ohio Rivers? |
| 38:14 | · | What if this encounter had been peaceful, in contrast to that of the Vikings and the tribes of the North? |
| 38:22 | · | Ronald Fritze can call up a witness, albeit an indirect one. |
| 38:28 | · | George Catlin, the painter, when he visited them in the early 1830s, he basically observed |
| 38:36 | · | what he thought were Indians with, like, blue eyes or bloodish coloured hair and that sort of thing. |
| 38:43 | · | Catlin's observations are confirmed by another explorer, the German Maximilian Prince zu Wied, |
| 38:50 | · | who travelled the land of the Mandan at about the same time. |
| 38:57 | · | He, too, noticed that some of the Indians were particularly light skinned under their war paint. |
| 39:02 | · | And so, another legend was born. That of Prince Madoc and the White Indians. |
| 39:09 | · | Did the Welsh warriors merge with the Mandan tribe? And did the Mandan in turn pick up some of their vocabulary? |
| 39:20 | · | A Welsh missionary who was active in the area was allegedly able to communicate with them rather well. |
| 39:30 | · | And what's more, their huts are said to have resembled those of medieval Welsh villages. |
| 39:38 | · | And some had strikingly blue eyes. |
| 39:47 | · | George Catlin was one of the first to state that there were Welsh words embedded in the Mandan language. |
| 39:53 | · | However, such encounters were prone to all sorts of misunderstandings. |
| 40:12 | · | And now, it's impossible to follow up on Catlin's observations. At the end of the 19th century, the Mandan had been expelled |
| 40:20 | · | from their land and forced into reservations where they were almost totally wiped out by epidemics. |
| 40:30 | · | Yet, there is some more evidence of a link between the Welsh and the Mandan. As this old sketch shows, their boats have nothing in common |
| 40:38 | · | with the typical canoes of other indigenous tribes. They closely resemble the Coracles, simple contraptions |
| 40:45 | · | made of tarred animal skin and elastic lumber struts, which are still used by Welsh fishermen today. |
| 40:53 | · | It's hard not to come to the conclusion that the Mandan boats owed their design to Welsh immigrants. |
| 41:04 | · | The same goes for another find from the Mandan's territory. Roman coins. In Madoc's days, they were still used as a currency throughout medieval Europe. |
| 41:15 | · | Another strange tale concerns a grave on the banks of the Ohio River, supposedly dating from 1186. |
| 41:23 | · | In 1799, a party of locals is said to have exhumed six skeletons |
| 41:28 | · | covered by breastplates displaying a Welsh coat of arms. Alas, if they ever actually existed, the breast plates have long since vanished. |
| 41:37 | · | So, there's a lot of evidence, but it's mostly circumstantial. |
| 41:42 | · | Over in Wales, however, they are convinced that the legend of Prince Madoc having arrived in America, |
| 41:48 | · | 300 years before Columbus, is based on facts. I don't think there is any archaeological evidence. |
| 41:55 | · | However, there is a lot of mention of him in literature. |
| 42:02 | · | So, potentially, yes, there is potentially some truth behind it. |
| 42:13 | · | In Northern Wales, where Madoc once lived and from where he allegedly set sail, they firmly believe in a hero, |
| 42:21 | · | whom history has almost and unjustly forgotten. |
| 42:31 | · | Well, they said that Christopher Columbus was the first to have discovered America. But I think that Prince Madoc did that about 300 years before. |
| 42:41 | · | Back to Seville. The city is deeply marked by its Moorish past, and Columbus would have encountered it wherever he turned. |
| 42:49 | · | Especially in its libraries which still hold hundreds of Arabic documents. |
| 42:55 | · | Some of them tell of an expedition that set out westward from Africa. |
| 43:00 | · | As an eager collector of any nautical data, Columbus would not have missed these reports. |
| 43:10 | · | His travels, be it up north or along the African coast, helped him to develop an ever more complete image of the world. |
| 43:18 | · | And on these journeys, he met many people who provided him with new information. |
| 43:26 | · | In 1483, Columbus signs up on a Portuguese trading ship. Its destination suits him perfectly - the Arabic world of West Africa. |
| 43:36 | · | His enthusiasm comes across in his log. He draws maps, makes precise notes of wind conditions and currents. |
| 43:43 | · | He is now 32 years old and has spent 18 of them on the high seas, becoming a master mariner. |
| 43:49 | · | After the return from his African voyage, he begins to put together plans for a westward venture |
| 43:54 | · | that, he believes, will take him to India. |
| 44:01 | · | In Africa, he cannot but have heard more of the legendary westward expedition of Abubakari the Second, the King he had already read about |
| 44:09 | · | in the Arabian chronicles back in Seville. |
| 44:17 | · | In the markets of West Africa, storytellers still animatedly recount the feats of the King |
| 44:22 | · | who, according to them, in 1310, boldly set sail for America. |
| 44:40 | · | A tale brimming with pride about past exploits. |
| 44:50 | · | Abubakari, it says, took to sea with a gigantic fleet, in search of the shores beyond the great sea of al Muhit, the Atlantic Ocean. |
| 45:03 | · | It may sound fantastic, but the story has a good number of supporters here in Africa. |
| 45:09 | · | The Empire of Mali back then encompassed parts of today's Niger, Mali, Guinea and Burkina Faso. |
| 45:16 | · | Its rulers viewed themselves as the successors of the Egyptian Pharaohs. |
| 45:29 | · | Ancient Mali was an African superpower. The Trans-Sahara trade to Timbuktu as well as huge deposits of gold |
| 45:37 | · | made the rulers of Mali immensely rich. |
| 45:43 | · | Abubakari's successor, King Musa, has left a report on the voyage of his predecessor which is cited in Arabic documents. |
| 45:51 | · | To Momadou Diallo from Gaston Berger University in Senegal these sources are highly reliable since they emanated |
| 45:58 | · | at almost the same time as the events they describe. In the 14th century, |
| 46:06 | · | this African King undertook an expedition to America. It was an undertaking of pharaoh-like dimensions. |
| 46:19 | · | The estuary of the Senegal River provides a huge natural harbour. |
| 46:25 | · | It's from here that Abubakari is said to have set sail with a fleet of 2,000 ships. Surely an exaggeration, |
| 46:32 | · | yet he definitely had the means to do so. |
| 46:38 | · | His successor, King Musa, probably was the richest man of his times, if not of all time. |
| 46:44 | · | An extrapolation of his wealth runs up to 400 billion Dollars. |
| 46:50 | · | On his pilgrimage to Mecca he allegedly took along a retinue of 60,000 and 12 tons of gold, carried by 80 camels. |
| 47:01 | · | During a stay in Cairo he mentioned Abubakari's fantastic voyage to the Governor. |
| 47:07 | · | This conversation was duly chronicled by an Arab scribe. |
| 47:13 | · | Momadou Diallo has thoroughly analysed the content of this source. |
| 47:20 | · | Even today, the Senegal Estuary is filled with hundreds of boats, traditional pirogues used by the African fishermen |
| 47:28 | · | to venture far out onto the open sea. Western experts, however, are doubtful that Africans, 700 years ago, |
| 47:35 | · | had the know-how to cross the Atlantic Ocean. I am convinced that African ships |
| 47:42 | · | back then had the same kind of rigging as their European counterparts when they began navigating the high seas. |
| 47:54 | · | Western researchers doubt that a fleet once sailed from Saint Louis across al Muhit to America. |
| 48:00 | · | To their African colleagues this is a clear case of Eurocentric arrogance. |
| 48:10 | · | Arabic knowledge of geography, navigation, astronomy and the prevailing winds and currents would have provided a sound basis |
| 48:17 | · | for a crossing from West Africa to South America. At least for a one-way voyage. |
| 48:25 | · | That's why several experts believe Abubakari could have made it there. But not back. His whereabouts remain a mystery. |
| 48:38 | · | However, did some of his boats reach the American continent after all? |
| 48:43 | · | Columbus states in his logs, that he had heard of black natives and had seen cotton cloths like those he had come across in Guinea. |
| 48:51 | · | And metal spear heads, which when he had them analysed in Spain, fitted exactly the composition of those in West Africa. |
| 49:03 | · | Voyages like that of Abubakari had two goals. |
| 49:10 | · | One was discovery, to find another continent beyond the great sea. |
| 49:15 | · | The second was conquest. Between the 13th and 16th centuries, during the African Middle Ages, |
| 49:22 | · | there were many expeditions sent out to conquer new land. |
| 49:27 | · | So, were there Arabic-African conquistadors in America? Maybe, since many seafarers following in Columbus' wake |
| 49:35 | · | mentioned black-skinned people among the indigenous populations. |
| 49:42 | · | One thing is certain. Columbus was not the first to reach America. |
| 49:48 | · | There were others before him whose tracks he followed. |
| 49:56 | · | The ruler of Mali might have reached South America by making use of the trade winds. It's possible, but there's no proof. |
| 50:07 | · | Welsh Prince Madoc could have reached the Gulf of Mexico. There are several written hints to that end |
| 50:13 | · | as well as some evidence on the spot. |
| 50:19 | · | That Leif Erikson was the first European to set foot on American soil 500 years before Columbus |
| 50:25 | · | is an established fact. Latest research has even shown that the Vikings intended to establish |
| 50:33 | · | a far-flung net of colonies, or had at least achieved much in this direction. |
| 50:44 | · | Christopher Columbus knew that others had preceded him, having read or heard about their voyages. |
| 50:50 | · | He did not venture into the unknown. |
| 50:56 | · | He knew there was a landmass in the West. And that it must be of immense size if it could be reached from Africa |
| 51:04 | · | as well as from the British Isles and from the far North. Nevertheless, when he brought home the news of a new world, |
| 51:12 | · | Columbus heralded a turning point in the history of mankind. |
| 51:18 | · | An age of exploration, conquest and exploitation. |
| 51:26 | · | That is what has secured him a place in history. |
