looks set to many stunts. on facebook and on twitter it's been good having your company. with you at the top of the next hour. in mexico many pushing. us right now in the morning climb a tree if you call the story this is one place where from just one week. we're going to really just. we still have time to.

the desert of turkmenistan contains an array of hidden treasures ancient forgotten kingdoms once flourished here along plentiful rivers who were the people living here and what led to their downfall. after that it was completely abandoned. new excavation projects are now underway but the traditions of these advanced ancient civilizations are still alive today in turkmenistan. a fat women say to significant role in governing that's how. was it natural disasters or dramatic climate change that led to this garden of beaton's demise. the current coom deserts of turkmenistan. archaeologist who. has come here

from paris to study. a long lost kingdom. is over 3000 years old. set off long before sunrise as their destination is several hours drive from the capital. they're headed for the hospitable south east of the country and the foothills of the dag mountains. a manmade hill with ruins rises over the endless flatland. situated to the east of the caspian sea and central asia turkmenistan's territory is 80 percent desert but it was once home to the teeming metropolises of the legendary kingdoms 4000 years ago. was the capital of marciano which developed a sophisticated system. around $1000.00 b.c.

they controlled the mountain passes leading to an ancient persia. 27 b.c. alexander the great conquered the trade of a crossroads of the major axes of the silk road. in the 2nd century b.c. the parthians extended their territory from their capital of nice to the borders of the roman empire in 1280. the capital of the me an empire reached its apogee as the now almost forgotten kingdom wielded tremendous power. a truck brings the excavation team to the ancient trade hub of. located in the middle of a restricted area just a few kilometers from iran. and many of them are delighted to join the archaeologists again as their families look forward to the extra money.

speaks to the workers in russia as they were all born in the soviet union and most still understand the language. recently won a renowned research grant in france and is using the funds to pay for this year's dig. his limited resources have to be used efficiently so each and every step must be well thought through team needs to be highly motivated well organized. to. go over those are boarded up with. the excavation was interrupted for several years so everyone has to familiarize themselves with the situation on site. the early morning hours are terribly cold.

the dawn light reveals the true structure of the in conspicuous hill. its interior comprises clay brick buildings testifying to thousands of years of history and still mostly concealed. but. the project will keep archaeologists busy for many years. and clay rapidly decomposes if left unprotected after it's on earth and the restores used the same wrong material and techniques to cover it as the builders employed 5000 years ago. the clay is mixed with water and straw then thoroughly needed. the mixture is poured into a mold and its surface smoothed. then the finished bricks just have to draw in the sun. the structures at the dig

site were built in around $1000.00 b.c. . they formed a trade hub and center of power amid fertile farm country in the foothills of the copa dagg mountains. up i think up through up this is the highest point of the hill about the ego it's where we made the biggest discovery in the early setting the fortress. in one day it's 40 meters long with them hosing walls and outer corridors resold. like these modern masons the people back then worked with clay bricks transporting the stone variety over long distances was laborious and there was clay in the immediate vicinity earthen plastering is also an ancient technique and is meant to help the fortresses walls survive just like in past centuries or now you see. i mean. this was really

a big city for its time comparable to modern paris. there was a commercial district that conducted trade with places all over central asia far to the east and south and especially with the region of modern afghanistan. particularly in the colder part of the year strong descending winds from the mountains must have made life difficult for the people in lake dep a. french archaeologist camille is measuring the area excavated during the last dig with the help of her brazilian assistants some are. precise data is important so that some are can later make detailed drawings of the excavation. the wind kicks up sand and dirt constantly threatening to cover up the archaeologists work. the fine dust gets everywhere clocking up the team's eyes and making breathing more difficult. but i

don't know when it is very real for. me and has to coordinate all the teams excavating the monumental hill requires a well conceived plan so that the researchers work during the 6 week digging season isn't in vain i feel sure well not free i mean all those some us cities western outer wall stood here and behind it was more or less fallow land. residence through waist over the wall. where. standing on ruins that date back to the bronze age when this adjacent hill was quite important. because it is completely different from the rest as the settlement developed on top of it during the bronze age and the 2nd millennium b.c. and more and more layers of structures were built on top from generation to generation until far into the iron age in the 1st millennium b.c.

. within the ancient settlement german archaeologist zani a coal is tending to a very special site. yeah we've found a bronze age woman's tombs which we're calling the princesses too it was plundered already back then but we have found some beautiful jewelry and here we have a splendid cow suddenly be made we have lapis lazuli imported from the afghanistan area turquoise which is very common here and beautiful golden b.s. . in france scientists examine the artifacts found in. the joint on the yank collects clues that might indicate women having enjoyed a privileged status and the oxes civilization up and ship turkmenistan. certainly the chief if in the quest except. this year the team made an

extraordinary discovery in or look to pay thing a grave with several skeletons and imported burial good citizenship $1.00 exciting find is the remarkably well preserved female skeleton the truth fam in one of the women's grave sympathetic killer were filled with precious items and some such examples of also being found in the capital of the oaks a civilization that go no dip a little that there was and then had to sit on defend generally the women's tombs the directly next to the men's in the royal necropolis this shows that women in the oaks the civilization played a significant role in governing well some this yes from nukes was. the name like dep it means big hill and turkmen and it towers 30 meters over the desert even today. a car comb is one of the most arid regions on the

planet with the heat and constant wind leaving a barren landscape. surviving here requires resilience to this extreme climate and enduring hardship. and even then it's extraordinarily difficult. but that wasn't always the case as ancient accounts reveal. they tell of a time when the desert was home to a flourishing paradise of sorts called marciano. societies need a reliable supply of fresh water yet the capital of marciano was in the middle of the car a comb and today the murky river tapers off into a delta in the desert but what was it like back then. since gold or death is so far

away from other settlements little was known of the ancient margy on a civilization until modern times and there was seemingly little reason to seek out traces of the past in the current desert. turkmen archaeologist mohamed begley was present when a russian researcher happened to make the find of his life in 1972 a bronze age palace. the original name of the city had been lost but local herders called the site owner dep a meaning great hill. excavation teams an earth an expansive hilltop settlement 500 meters in diameter and over 3 metres in height with the town center fortified by mud brick walls and defensive towers. the researchers had rediscovered

and danced ancient civilizations. to date turkmen archaeologists protect the remote site have gone or depp a grave wrong. and whether damage. to. the center of gone or death they boast so once magnificent building perhaps a palace or temple but with no written records available archaeologists can only speculate did this column based support a wooden roof or a divine figure. this large alcove on the front side of the hall may have contained the rulers throne. who reigned here. king high priest. the diggers here have found an artifact that appears ordinary at 1st glance but demonstrates the sophisticated pottery skills of the people of gone or. another

clue is the advanced technology used and their kilns. 9 metres long and almost 4 in width this kiln contained 2 chambers with one used to make a fire and the other to process ceramics. this innovation enable the firing process to be effectively controlled with evenly distributed temperatures which in turn allowed ceramics to be mass produced the glaze on the walls is still visible and there's minimal evidence of misfiring in the kiln. the domed of an as served by the millennia and continues to be used in a somewhat altered form in the turkmen countryside. this one is being used to make a traditional specialty. meat filled dumplings.

grown or dep it was situated between the then still flowing arms of the more gob river which. by melt water from the mountains and flowed down into the flat lands bringing the desert to life. and intricate canal network distributed the water in the fields something that required a highly effective division of labor and organization similar to that in other advanced cultures. the waters of the most abundant in spring. the land flourished with herds of cattle grazing along the banks the fields were rich with grain fruits vegetables and cotton meanwhile the population grew and produced surpluses to trade with other peoples. but changing climate send natural disasters remained a constant threat. of. rare but intense rainfall caused tremendous

flooding and threaten the clay buildings. so the devised a sophisticated drainage system to keep large water volumes under control. undergoing or deputy a complex network of clay conduits was installed for fresh water and sewage a technological innovation that reflects the bronze age people's advanced way of life. and surrounded by large cemeteries filled with thousands of graves. most of them are simple. but near the palace the excavators chanced upon some very special burial sites. here the deceased were

laid to rest in mortuary houses. archeologists also found the skeletons of camels dogs and this. wasn't used for writing. or cards. food for the afterlife. one thing is certain horses played an important role in. just outside the modern capital of is the state run horse breeding farm house. building. the fountain in itself is a monument with the oil rich nation investing heavily it's prized horses. to this day many turkmens are passionate about horse breeding.

on this training ground the local star horses the. breed are showcased and all their splendor they're essentially a sacred national treasure. instructs the team of trainers. which. are extraordinarily skilled at galloping their movements take up wide spaces and are very elastic. the extreme desert climate has lent the breed exceptional resilience and stamina and they are top class in. long distance riding even through desert areas devoid of water. be the. horses of the most beautiful purebreds in the world so compared to what the breed. is really. and

actually all of the horses have a techie blood in them because the breed is 5000 years old. there are only 8000 purebred techies in the world making them very valuable. one horse costs 100000 euros on average. but some enthusiasts have paid as much as 2000000. and go to the burial sites presumably bill for margi on his rulers resembled the above ground palace interior. and while the priceless grave goods were robbed a long ago archaeologists still make astonishing find. servants were buried alongside their masters and in one till they were laid to rest next to a 4 wheel carriage

a mere status symbol it was surely never ridden through the desert. many of the fines from going out are now kept at the museum of the modern regional capital of mari near the ancient awaits of merit. in the prestigious building reflects the turkmens pride in their history. the museum director presents unique pieces of bronze age art the likes of which have only been associated with highly developed ancient cultures. the inlay work from the royal necropolis was an unprecedented 2 luxury in central asia and it adorned jewelry cases and wooden chests and. these treasures show the diverse cultural influences that reached turkmenistan 4000 years ago a region that was anything but peripheral at the time. metal analyses of the large

bronze containers reveal that they were usually made of elaborate copper and arsenic alloys rather than the more common copper in tin combination found in most bronze. this wouldn't describe also one ball to completely new technology and was stabilised by a bronze tire. this figure adorned with gold plating depicts an eagle diving down and symbolizes a power conscious ruling elite. gone adept as one of the largest bronze age settlements ever excavated but large areas remain unstudied to this day. archaeologists hope to find potential signs of temple complexes what gods were worshiped here and what led to marciano's fall. of the old the ancient oasis city of merit in the car

a comb desert is shrouded in legend and lay at the intersection of the old silk road trade routes leading from china to the middle east and onwards to europe america is steeped in a long and varied history. since the 2nd century b.c. has blossomed several times palaces and 12 kilometers of fortification walls were erected here again out of clay bricks its former glory can only be imagined. dynasty after dynasty each one left its mark. during his conquest of the persian empire alexander the great renamed mer of alexandria and marciano reconstructing it as a greek city. but wind and rain have a road at the once thriving trade hub rendering it largely on recognizable. merits wealth and strategic location made it highly coveted among major powers in

the 1st century a deep the city acted as a border fortress to ward off nomads coming from the east while in the middle ages it rose to become one of the most illustrious cities in the world and an important center of islamic learning little remains of that legacy today. the ancient craft of jewelry making has remained alive in the region of mer. turkmens ascribe mystical powers to silver such as driving out evil spirits through its sound or neutralizing poison. and the traditional jewelry crafted in the american area is considered uncertain past even today. and matter really. in heaven my name is an asian out even if i live in ma and come from a family of jewellers. i'm proud of this goulding

a medal that the president awarded to me personally it makes me very happy thank you for everything you are too good and our heroic protector received an additional name this year we call him the people's elder in graduation. and that enthusiasm for the president is widespread a number of ruins in the city have been elaborately reconstructed. while the muslims primarily attract believers from neighboring iran who come to pay respects to their shiite saints. america has always been a melting pot for not just luxury goods but also news and ideas changed hands between cultures. around $200.00 b.c.

the 1st capital of the parthian civilization rose to become a bustling trade hub the magnificence of nice that was renowned well beyond the borders of the kingdom which developed into a powerful rival of the roman empire. professor carlo li police has been studying the ancient center of power for years. his italian team have already studied the imposing palace of nisa together with their turkmen colleagues. now there are on earth thing the palace is storerooms ancestor. and there was the message in our exploratory digs these past weeks we discovered 2 large storage containers and we're still busy excavating these round one vessel was there really a baked into the ground.

we found little inscribed tablets used as labels that marked the contents from quantity of the big containers. any part. of it so that's. what lipa lease especially hopes to find are written documents precious little is known about this mysterious people who ruled bast expanses of territory in central and western asia for half a millennium party and culture featured a blend of ancient persian and greek traditions. the view in part was an extraordinarily exciting place about me i'm fascinated by the entire period which began through the political and cultural conquest of central asia by alexander the great. the cultural impact in particular continue to resonate for a long time and later king this anybody of this which is see. here we've dug

up these architectural elements might have fired clay. these leaf motifs a typical of western style i mean characteristically greek central i usually. in the lingo gray adopting greek culture and utilizing greek artistic and stylistic elements them emphasized the elite stand a good lead to known greek rulers i am to uphold as a way of demonstrating the power in the kid a grand the baby its here and now in that way let. the fines unease of our testament to the strong greek influence in the region. is this one of the heroes of greek legends. this marble goddess of love is reminiscent of figures on the acropolis in athens.

these magnificent ivory drinking horns were likely used during lively feasts in the royal court. the works of art are adorned with elements from greek mythology such as this winged lion with snakes on its head . or this nim bathing. and this centaur half man half horse carrying a child through the air. this scene is from the day to day life of greek heroes. but this desert land holds more than treasures from the past the car a comb also boasts one of the largest reserves of natural gas in the world. this wealth of natural resources has its dark side noxious gas that seeps out here in

countless places. the current desert poses a potential threat to the global climate. at least the east german scientist. has spent years trying to find a way of stopping the gas from escaping. in the middle of the desert. far away from the big cities of the country here in one of the largest deserts in the world camels have always been invaluable much sought after goods were transported from china on their backs along the silk road to the middle east and europe we'll carriages and carts would have gotten stuck in the sand to this day roots to darvocet are all unpaved in 1901 geologists who were drilling chanced upon a gas filled cavern causing it to collapse through the sudden drop in pressure.

this formed a crater 70 meters in diameter that has been expelling methane ever since. the geologists set the greenhouse gas on fire to prevent it from spreading and it still burning. ideally the scientists would stop the leak but they've yet to find a solution. locals call this place the gates of hell. the air the fiery spectacle draws visitors from far and wide to the dirt's of the desert nomads. their hosts greet them with a rousing musical performance. made of turkmen singers are highly esteemed in the country. they are considered to embody the crowd nations memory and have an

important place at family celebrations and formal dinners they play musical accompaniment on traditional turkmen instruments the 2 string long necked guitar and the free string violin like. theirs was. the 1st meanwhile pockets of gas blaze away in the dark crater day and night methane streams out of the desert floor. and enormous quantities still lie deep in the earth. turkmenistan has yet to find an answer to this daunting problem. the northern silk road running from summer khan to awestricken in russia passed through the car a comb along it laid the trade hub of konya against a team in

a way says thanks to the waters of the river today the former capital of the islamic empire has been reduced to rubble and ruins. few structures remain that attest to the former greatness of one of the most significant metropolises of its time. again was called the heart of islam and capital of a 1000 wise men the famed physician even seen or known in the west is obvious saina taught here. the could look timor minaret remains the tallest in central asia and has miraculously survived the various wars and earthquakes young couples traditionally walk around it praying for a happy marriage and healthy children. as in their. golden age ended in 1221 when gang marched to the city with

a huge army. the mongol ruler redirected the waters of the daria flooding the city and allegedly killing over $100000.00 inhabitants now the walls are being repaired and a project that will take decades to complete. after turkmenistan gained independence from the soviet union its own history became acutely important the ancient city of is now being elaborately restored. among goal ruler could look to more presumably had this magnificent tomb built for his wife. its interior depicts a stone calendar with 4 large windows standing for the weeks of the months 12 curved arches for the months of the year 24 pointed arches for the hours of the day

. and $365.00 mosaics representing the days of the year and ensemble symbolizing divine order. the husband of a tour of big buried here must have loved her deeply as he spared no expense also with the sumptuous stores carved from fine woods. in the. bot today makes quite an impression as well with many modern buildings constructed in an eastern architectural mix and featuring white marble facades and mirrored glass. it's also home to the largest mosque in central asia. a city of super lives. also claims to have the world's biggest indoor ferris wheel

. and the place wouldn't be complete without and a limpid complex with a mascot wearing traditional attire. heroes of the past stand at many public squares as the country seeks to affirm its own great history after the many years of soviet occupation and suppression of the turkmen culture and language. for thousands of years life was dictated here by trade routes and the availability of water. and now turkmenistan's economic lifeblood is natural gas along with its market price. this great ancient mosque of a now had withstood numerous disasters intact but then in 1948

a tremendous earthquake sent the magnificent structure and many other cultural treasures tumbling down. for many local women this ruin is now a pilgrimage site. childless women are particularly drawn to the tomb of the soupy st keys. whose spirit is said to help them become pregnant. and we had a thing of of to remember how come of the 87 that said you let me do this it is to shake gemma leadin last day just come as pilgrims to the tomb if this legendary saint. they also make animal sacrifices and and share the meat with their relatives and neighbors who join them here. if they have troubles they find comfort and help from beyond it in this ruin and it's really

a wonderful place the high video. visitors put children's clothes and plastic toys into the remains of the walls an unusual ritual for an islamic country and amongst the debris believers placed little crips and baby dolls. it's based on an ancient bertelli ritual from pre islamic times hope springs eternal. it said that women must walk around the sacred ruin 3 times while praying in order for their wishes to be answered. i've got me going to cuba after being inhabited without interruption for 4000 years dep a was deserted in the early 1st millennium b.c. and the structure collapsed after a major fire through. a small number of inhabitants stayed in the city.

and in the 3rd century b.c. nomads settled in these ruins after that the site was completely abandoned and its former residents settled in other places in the foothills of the kobe dag mountain . animal bones from a look depp a are being analyzed by archaeologists at the french national museum of natural history in paris. they want to find out more about life in ancient turkmenistan it was especially regarding how people ate. still looked at him as i'm going deep we were lucky to find numerous to 3 means some in their entirety. the really exciting thing is that our finds include many very young animals particularly males that seem to have been deliberately killed. in this indicates to us that the farmers were only interested in producing milk.

is out for the extent that they're here. with this material we can reconstruct the life of the 5 to 6000 year old site and understand how the people ate back then. and look dep a this year's 6 week excavation season is ending. just the one card will be staying behind at the site. it is really a star manto is the last to leave his ruins. the work goes on in the expedition house where restores pieced together individual shards and filling gaps. it seems like a great deal of work for often meager findings but who knows if this very bronze aerotech might prove to be very important because it indicates surprising trade

relations or military conquest spy foreign rulers it's for an excavation supervisor the nights are short as the limited weeks at the dig site need to be utilized intensely. julio sarmiento knows that a successful expedition takes meticulous planning and a bit of luck. and then maybe he'll make a sensational find next year. after all the royal tombs of all the dead must still be lying on earth somewhere and the excavation site. even very ordinary finds are analyzed in a paris laboratory with state of the art equipment. one seemingly insignificant detail might be a crucial piece in the overall puzzle like these plant remains. these are carbonized plant remains they come from halls and of places where people were

cooking or making fire and they were preserved because they were exposed to the fire and called in as you can see the old black those remains we have wheat remains so the cultivated plants barley so another scenario but we also have great remains we have signed some great cultivation from the 3rd millennium b.c. so that's from the brawn sage and looked up and also on the sides julio's army and so as come to paris with the turkmen head archaeologist to learn more about the latest analysis results here we have some good this is from there and we put them under this reflected lights microscope where we can have strong magnification so if you want to have a look at the end of the structure. the specimen is juniper wood as can be found growing in the highlands around look deputy today. the

a clear indication that it wasn't climate change that drove people away. from a c.m. in paris regularly holds expert conferences in order to provide information on the latest developments and findings the focus today is on turkmenistan julio saw me and mohammad are reporting about the latest research there for a long time the country was basically a blank spot in the historical atlas but excavations show that for millennia it was a hotspot of world history from 4000 b.c. to the beginning of modern times it played an important role in the expansive eurasian cultural sphere ancient turkmenistan grew rich from conducting trade along the silk road which carried highly valued goods from eastern asia to the middle east and rome with its strategically important position between western and central asia the region formed

a vital link between the rulers of china and the emperors so far away rome. kick off. ghost town atmosphere. listless clay stuff from the. looks of guns and the relentless flights of mississippi. known stump excitement to the final match to. lucy got. to go. into minutes on d. w. . more than

a 1000 years ago europe witnesses a huge construction boom. christianity islam established itself. both religious and secular leaders or to display their power. play. a huge race begins. who can create the tallest biggest and most beautiful structure 1st. place stone masons builders and markets compete with each other. this is how massive churches are created. a contest of the cathedrals flame all 12 on g.w. .

the big. plane. this is the w. news live from berlin india is hit by a 2nd wave of the corona virus as new cases soar to almost 100000 for a 2nd day in a row state leaders call on prime minister narendra modi to open up vaccinations to more people. also coming up a call for a tougher long term lockdown in germany ahead of on the marcos to you party and would be chancellor says tougher restrictions would slow the 3rd wave of the pandemic. once they were loyal to the kremlin but now russia's.