La región histórica de Germania, conocida como Magna Germania, fue un vasto territorio en el centro-norte de Europa durante la era romana. Este fascinante lugar se extendía desde el Medio y Bajo Rin hasta el Vístula, abarcando incluso el Alto Danubio y llegaba a las zonas de Escandinavia. Aunque los pueblos germánicos dominaban, también coexistían con grupos no germánicos como celtas y protoeslavos. La Edad del Hierro Romana encontró su representación arqueológica en esta rica región, ofreciendo una ventana al pasado. Explorar Germania no solo es sumergirse en la historia, sino también entender las dinámicas culturales y sociales de una época crucial. La interrelación entre diferentes grupos étnicos en esta vasta área nos brinda lecciones valiosas sobre la convivencia y el intercambio cultural. Descubre más sobre esta intrigante parte de la historia europea y su legado hasta nuestros días.
#Germania, #HistoriaEuropea, #CulturaGermánica
**Keywords:** Germania, Magna Germania, historia de Germania, pueblos germánicos, Edad del Hierro Romana, historia europea, celtas, protoeslavos, arqueología en Germania, legado cultural europeo.
#Germania, #HistoriaEuropea, #CulturaGermánica
**Keywords:** Germania, Magna Germania, historia de Germania, pueblos germánicos, Edad del Hierro Romana, historia europea, celtas, protoeslavos, arqueología en Germania, legado cultural europeo.
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00:001929, south-west of Germany.
00:11Near the town of Burlingen, a new railway line has been built.
00:16The workers had received orders to be careful.
00:19It was suspected that a German cemetery had been buried underground.
00:24And indeed, shortly, the men had to interrupt their work.
00:30They came across a grave and made a spectacular discovery.
00:34The tip of a spear in which some runes appeared printed.
00:38The mysterious characters used by the Germanic tribes.
00:42Who engraved those signs and what was their meaning?
00:46It is not known who was the owner of the spear,
00:49because the Germanic tribes did not leave behind any testimony of any personal life.
00:54But archaeological discoveries and historical sources
00:57allow us to get an idea of what the life of a Germanic warrior was like at that time.
01:02Let's call him Griffo.
01:04This could be his story.
01:09I had been chasing my prey for several hours
01:12and I had the feeling that I was not far away.
01:20I lived with my tribe in the area that delimited the border with the Roman Empire.
01:25We lived in peace.
01:27But that day, everything was going to change.
01:33My parents' house was on fire.
01:36What had happened?
01:43A group of riders had attacked my tribe to sell us as slaves.
01:50The Germanic world of the third century of our era was crumbling.
01:54The Germanic tribes fought each other.
01:57The bandits threatened peace.
02:02The chiefs surrounded themselves with young warriors
02:05and promised them wealth and adventure.
02:08They supplied weapons to their followers.
02:11They traded with stolen objects and with slaves.
02:15The greatest discovery of weapons of the third century
02:18is a clear testimony of how warlike they were in Germany at that time.
02:22Helmets, spearheads, blade blades,
02:25the complete equipment of a group that amounted to a thousand warriors.
02:29At that time in Germany, it was a powerful army.
02:34The weapons were found in the Hellerup Swamp,
02:37in the north of Denmark.
02:39In the past, it had been a sacred place
02:42where the Germanic peoples offered their sacrifices to the gods.
02:46Today it is a real hidden treasure for archaeologists.
02:50The weapons found in Hellerup
02:52allowed the investigators for the first time
02:55to have a precise image of what a Germanic army of the third century was like.
02:59They found more than 15,000 pieces of equipment,
03:02from a mount chair to a belt buckle.
03:06Why did so many weapons end up in this swamp?
03:09And what do they tell us about their owners?
03:12Archaeologist Jörgen Ilkje has been trying to solve this mystery.
03:16He suspects that the army was defeated
03:19and that the winners destroyed the valuable weapons
03:22and offered them to the gods as a sign of gratitude.
03:25Jörgen Ilkje has used the objects found
03:28to make a list of the most valuable weapons in the world.
03:32Jörgen Ilkje has used the objects found
03:35to reconstruct the system of organization of the warriors.
03:39If we imagine an army of 1,000 warriors
03:42and look closely at their equipment,
03:45we will clearly see that there was a defined hierarchy.
03:48Someone had to be in command.
03:50Otherwise, it would never have been possible to lead such an army in a war.
03:54Here in the north of Denmark, iron ore was extracted.
03:57But gold, bronze and silver had to be imported.
04:00These precious metals that we have found among the equipment
04:03were evidently reserved for the army leaders.
04:08Therefore, the armed groups were not wild hordes,
04:11but they were perfectly structured.
04:14Around a third of the army were standing warriors.
04:17The distribution of gold, bronze and iron makes that extreme clear.
04:21Their leaders had good contacts with the Roman Empire,
04:24which was the one who provided them with weapons.
04:27Who were those warriors?
04:29Jörgen Ilkje suspects that the spearheads will provide him with a clue.
04:33Each type of spear can be classified incorrectly.
04:36The archaeologist believes that the group came from Norway
04:39and that the attack was well prepared and carefully planned.
04:45But only after observing through a magnifying glass,
04:48he discovers the crucial clue.
04:50Runic symbols with a clear message.
04:55The runic inscription is clearly legible.
04:58In the three objects the same legend appears.
05:01Vagnillo is a name.
05:04One of the runic inscriptions is sealed.
05:07That means that the spears were already massively produced.
05:12This is the equipment of a complete army of more than a thousand men
05:15who came from Denmark in search of war.
05:19But were defeated.
05:21These are their weapons.
05:23The weapons of the defeated.
05:25That the victors threw into the lake as a sacrifice for the gods of war.
05:32The armament treasure of Gellerup
05:34confirms a change of great reach in Germany.
05:41In the third century many of the old Germanic tribes were dissolved.
05:45Small warlike groups were slowly transforming into new and large tribes,
05:50such as the Saxons, the Franks, the Alamans, the Burgundians and the Goths.
05:56Not only did they fight among themselves.
05:58The military leaders of those great tribes
06:00soon began to challenge the Roman Empire as well.
06:07The headhunters kept stepping on my heels.
06:10Hours passed and I kept running.
06:14Suddenly I saw the Roman border in front of me.
06:17This was where our land ended.
06:20But what did I have to lose?
06:22I had no choice, I had to risk it all.
06:26The slave traders could not follow me beyond the border.
06:35A Roman chronicler tells.
06:38Emperor Adrian had made large trunks of united wood
06:41encroach on the ground to mark a border with the land of the barbarians.
06:48At the beginning of the second century,
06:50the Romans fortified the northern border of their empire.
06:53The Limes, as they were called,
06:55had in palisades, ditches and 900 atalañas.
06:58They were designed to protect the empire of the Germanic tribes.
07:01The Limes crossed 500 kilometers of forests.
07:05After the Great Wall of China,
07:07it is the largest structure the world has seen.
07:10For the Germanic tribes they were a clear sign.
07:13This is where the power of Rome began.
07:18The wall of Adrian in northern England
07:21was built shortly after the Limes.
07:23It continues to be an imposing example
07:26of how the Roman border fortifications dominated the landscape.
07:30They represent Adrian's foreign policy in the form of stone.
07:34Rome had surpassed the peak of its power
07:37and was enclosing behind its borders.
07:41The remains of the Germanic Limes
07:43can only be observed by carrying out an exhaustive inspection.
07:47An example of this is a section of the remains of the wall
07:50and the strip in the current German state of Gese.
07:53Unlike in England, the Limes of northern Germany
07:56were made only of wood and earth.
07:59In palisades and ditches were important components of the Limes.
08:04What function did the Limes have?
08:07After the devastating defeat in the Battle of Teotoburgo,
08:10in the 16th year of our era,
08:12Rome permanently withdrew to the other side of the Rhine and the Danube.
08:16The Limes closed the space between the two rivers.
08:19At the same time, the empire annexed a particularly fertile area of Germany.
08:25But only slight traces of the border wall of almost 2,000 years of antiquity
08:29can be distinguished in the terrain.
08:32Archaeologists hope to discover new clues through aerial observations.
08:40Climbing over the walls of the Limes,
08:42it is possible to see the remains of the ancient wall
08:45and the remains of the walls of the Limes.
08:48Climbing over the walls of the Limes,
08:50it is possible to see the remains of the ancient wall
08:53and the remains of the walls of the Limes.
08:56This expert is able to recognize remains in the terrain,
08:59such as graves, ceilings and walls,
09:02even if they have thousands of years of antiquity.
09:05The archaeologist is lucky,
09:08the light conditions are favorable.
09:11He has discovered a sign that only an expert is able to see.
09:14He has discovered a sign that only an expert is able to see.
09:17A dark discoloration in the terrain.
09:20This is where the Limes were located in the past.
09:23This is where the Limes were located in the past.
09:26And those marks, of a lighter tone, are the foundations of two atolls.
09:29And those marks, of a lighter tone, are the foundations of two atolls.
09:32Archaeologist Egon Schallmayr has also been examining the route of the Limes.
09:35Archaeologist Egon Schallmayr has also been examining the route of the Limes.
09:38The researchers of the Limes are continuing a task
09:40that began under the auspices of the German government in 1892.
09:43The work carried out by the first researchers was fundamental.
09:46The work carried out by the first researchers was fundamental.
09:49But currently many assumptions must be reviewed.
09:52A hundred years ago, people thought that the Limes were a border for the war of wear and tear.
09:55A hundred years ago, people thought that the Limes were a border for the war of wear and tear.
09:58That is, for the military defense against the invaders,
10:01mainly the German invaders.
10:04But today we know more about it,
10:07and we can affirm that the Limes were a barrier of political, economic and population control.
10:10But today we know more about it,
10:13and we can affirm that the Limes were a barrier of political, economic and population control.
10:16That means that the Romans controlled the movements of the population
10:19and also the flow of products that entered the empire through specific border passages,
10:22where they were applied to aranceles
10:25and people were forced to identify.
10:31I wanted to escape crossing the border,
10:34but I ran into some Roman guards.
10:38They told me that it was forbidden to enter the empire with weapons.
10:43As I had no money on me, they arrested me.
10:51The Germans who entered illegally into Roman territory
10:54were treated by the Romans as prisoners of war.
10:57The risk of being discovered was high,
11:00since the Roman border was controlled with an ingenious system.
11:04The atalayas were the backbone of the border line.
11:07The atalayas were the backbone of the border line.
11:10They were in sight of each other
11:13so that the soldiers could have an uninterrupted vision of the border.
11:16They were also scattered through the forest
11:19so that the soldiers could control the area located in front of the Limes.
11:22A watchtower could house up to 8 soldiers.
11:25A watchtower could house up to 8 soldiers.
11:28These remained in their positions for several weeks, uninterruptedly.
11:31They stored their supplies in the towers and cooked their own bread.
11:34They stored their supplies in the towers and cooked their own bread.
11:37The most important mission of the troops of the Limes was to give the alarm,
11:40emitting horn signals in the event of an attack.
11:43At night they used torches to stay in contact with the neighboring towers
11:46At night they used torches to stay in contact with the neighboring towers
11:49and with smaller fortifications inside, guarded by cavalry troops.
11:52It was a simple but effective alarm system,
11:55like a kind of archaic radar.
11:58The Limes were an important element
12:01in the Romanian border defense against the Germanic tribes.
12:09Of course, the Romans placed their troops on the border line.
12:12Of course, the Romans placed their troops on the border line.
12:15From there they controlled the area several kilometers beyond the wall.
12:19And if a threat arose, the troops were informed and they were able to react.
12:22And if a threat arose, the troops were informed and they were able to react.
12:25They invaded the enemy territory and tried to restore peace.
12:29And when a group of Germans crossed the Limes,
12:32the guards gave the signal of alarm.
12:37Intervention troops mounted,
12:39stationed at a greater distance from the Limes,
12:41intercepted the invaders.
12:43If the Germanic tribes still managed to enter the territory
12:47and returned loaded with large boots,
12:49the Roman alarm system again gave the warning to the mounted troops.
12:55These intercepted then the invaders
12:57when they tried to cross again to Germany.
13:03The German Commission of the Limes rebuilt
13:05one of the fortifications or castles guarded by mounted troops,
13:08the Saalburg in S.
13:10Here the riders were located day and night,
13:12prepared to respond to any attack.
13:18But for a long time in the Limes,
13:20the battles were an exception.
13:22The norm was to maintain a reduced and peaceful traffic on the border.
13:25There is archaeological evidence that proves it.
13:28Klaus Berman has found direct evidence in the Limes.
13:32In this aerial photograph we can see perfectly
13:35that the Limes had a slit.
13:38Behind that slit there was an atalaya.
13:41It was a typical border crossing of the Limes.
13:44We can deduce that his commitment was the following.
13:47When a group of Germanics, for example merchants,
13:50tried to enter the empire in the Roman province,
13:53the soldiers reviewed the articles they transported
13:56and also charged them with tariffs.
13:59Once the procedure was completed,
14:01they were allowed to enter and also sell their products in the markets.
14:04Then they returned to Germany by the same border crossing.
14:11Ancient sources reveal vivid examples of peaceful border traffic,
14:15such as cattle trade with the guards in the Limes.
14:18A business that both sides benefited from.
14:21The Roman soldiers needed fresh meat
14:24and the Germanic peoples were interested in Roman luxury goods.
14:35One of the most exuberant Germanic burials
14:38is the tomb of Prince Goebbels in Thuringia.
14:41It confirms that the Germanic nobility
14:43was passionate about Roman luxury goods.
14:46It is a treasure of incredible wealth.
14:49Coins and finely carved Roman jewels,
14:52but also a magnificent gold and silver coffering.
14:57They are valuable symbols of status,
15:00which left no doubt about the privileged position of their owners.
15:04But why a Germanic prince,
15:06almost 400 kilometers from the border,
15:08wanted to take to the other world Roman coffering?
15:12Matthias Becker was one of the directors of the excavation
15:16when the treasure was discovered.
15:18For him it is a clear demonstration
15:20of the ties that united the Romans and the Germanic tribes
15:23in the third century.
15:28Roman articles also shed light
15:30on the daily culture of the Germanic nobility.
15:33The relationship between the Romans and the Germanic tribes
15:36was not defined only by confrontations and military raids,
15:40but also by multiple peaceful interactions,
15:43such as trade, banquets or even gifts.
15:46What the discoveries made in the tomb of Goebbels
15:49make perfectly clear
15:51is that the Germanic people
15:53tried to imitate the style of Roman life.
15:55The prince of Goebbels used objects
15:57from the culture of Roman drink on his table.
15:59Probably he was addicted to the Roman model
16:01when he drank in society,
16:03something that he had possibly known
16:05through his experiences in the empire.
16:07Then he copied it on his land,
16:09and gave it to his Germanic compatriots.
16:13Humble people could only dream of such luxuries,
16:16both in Germany and in the Roman Empire.
16:21People capable of preserving their freedom
16:24on both sides of the Limes
16:26could be considered fortunate.
16:28Slavery was the dark side of ancient societies.
16:32I got rid of the Germanic headhunters,
16:35but now they had sold me to the Roman circus.
16:40I landed among the gladiators.
16:43Soon I had to defend my life
16:45fighting as a mercenary,
16:47a fighter with a net.
16:50Among the other fighters there were captives like me,
16:53but also professional gladiators.
16:55It was clear who would be my opponent.
16:57A strong-armed and well-trained executioner.
17:00A fighter with a sword.
17:02Did I have any chance against him?
17:09Bread and circus was what the Romans offered
17:12to all their subjects throughout the empire.
17:15In Augusta Treverorum, the current Trier,
17:18spectators occupied their seats
17:20at the first hour of the morning.
17:23In the circus various everyday objects were sold
17:26with reasons of gladiators.
17:30Bottles to drink with representations
17:32of combat scenes.
17:34Glasses in the shape of a helmet and decorated lamps.
17:37They are a clear demonstration
17:39that the gladiators were the idols of the masses.
17:44The doors of the amphitheaters were called
17:46vomitoria, vomitorios.
17:48That is, the place where the spectators
17:50entered and left.
17:52From there the masses accessed
17:54jubilant and expectant to their seats
17:56to witness the imminent show.
17:58Many gladiators of Augusta Treverorum
18:00were Germanic captives on the other side of the Limes.
18:08The day of the games had come.
18:13Which of us would leave the circus alive?
18:16Who would not return?
18:21With the entrance of the gladiators
18:23the bloody games to life or death began,
18:26with the Roman rulers seeking
18:28to win the sympathy of the people.
18:37Morituri greets you.
18:39Those who are going to die greet you.
18:44That was the greeting that the gladiator
18:46directed to the nobles who sponsored the event,
18:48senators and personalities of the province.
18:50The Germanic gladiators were
18:52considered especially good,
18:54so the rich and powerful liked
18:56to have Germanic escorts.
19:00Germanic escorts were popular
19:02until ancient times,
19:04particularly among emperors,
19:06when foreigners were not interested
19:08in internal intrigues or
19:10Roman murder conspiracies.
19:12The Suetonian imperial biographer
19:14admired Germanic escorts
19:16for being the most loyal of all units.
19:22A Roman mosaic recalls scenes of the circus.
19:26It also shows a fight between
19:28a executioner and his opponent, a mercenary.
19:31The mosaic was discovered near Trier.
19:35The fascination for games of life or death
19:37covered all layers of Roman society.
19:45I was waiting for my turn.
19:48I was waiting for my death.
19:55I heard the noise of combat
19:57and the frenetic masses outside.
20:04The public wanted to see blood
20:09and their wishes were fulfilled.
20:17The gladiators waited in their cells
20:19for the time of their fight.
20:21Their desperation must have been immense.
20:25A source refers to 30 Germanic war prisoners
20:28of the Saxon tribe.
20:30They strangled each other.
20:32The last survivor swallowed a sponge.
20:36They took their lives to avoid
20:38the bloody spectacle in the arena.
20:41But the games continued
20:43with new supplies of human material.
20:52I swore that my blood
20:54would not stain the wheel that afternoon.
20:58My opponent was a veteran,
21:00a first-class sword.
21:05My only chance of survival
21:07was to fight with speed and skill.
21:15Virtually no one opposed
21:17gladiator fights.
21:19In Rome, the Seneca philosopher was the exception.
21:23It is a massacre.
21:25There is nothing a gladiator can protect himself with.
21:28Why bother?
21:30It would only prolong his agony.
21:32Why resist so vehemently to die?
21:36When a gladiator fell to the ground,
21:38the spectators shouted,
21:40He has fallen, he has fallen.
21:42And the public decided whether to die or live.
21:49I was already sentenced,
21:51but I did not give up.
21:54Fast as lightning,
21:56I took advantage of the moment.
22:00And Votan rewarded me with victory.
22:07He had won me my freedom.
22:15A wooden sword was the prize
22:17for gladiators especially valiant.
22:20They were granted freedom.
22:22According to some testimonies,
22:24gladiators were also rewarded with money.
22:26But the number of gladiators
22:28who could celebrate a happy ending
22:30had to be exceeded.
22:35I had been told of a great city
22:37on the banks of the Rhine.
22:39The Agrippina Colony.
22:41There you could get any wish
22:43to come true if you had money.
22:45I had never seen a city like this.
22:47I was curious.
22:51In ancient times,
22:53Agrippina was the largest city
22:55in the north of the Alps.
22:57In the square of the cathedral,
22:59an arch of the northern Roman door
23:01has survived to this day.
23:03From here, one of the two main streets
23:05led to the Forum.
23:09In the third century,
23:11the Agrippina Colony was in its heyday.
23:13The small settlement
23:15that Emperor Augustus had built
23:17for the Germanic tribe of the Ubios
23:19had become an image
23:21of the Roman Empire.
23:23Up to 40,000 people,
23:25between natives and Romans,
23:27lived peacefully
23:29in this shell of the Roman civilization.
23:39The Ubios had become
23:41unconditional citizens
23:43of the Roman Empire.
23:45They wore their hair
23:47according to Roman fashion,
23:49no one wanted to give up
23:51life in the city
23:53and return voluntarily
23:55to the forests of Germany.
24:01In the 50s of our era,
24:03the city founded by Augustus
24:05was granted the status of Colony.
24:07It was baptized as
24:09Colonia Claudia Ara Agrippinensium.
24:13Granddaughter of Emperor Augustus,
24:15Agrippina was the driving force
24:17of that movement.
24:21It would be unfair not to mention
24:23that Colonia would not exist
24:25without Agrippina,
24:27at least with that name,
24:29because Agrippina was born
24:31in that city of the Ubios
24:33and when she married her uncle,
24:35Emperor Claudius,
24:37in the year 48 of our era,
24:39he wanted to equal his husband
24:41in his external prestige.
24:43Claudius had been born in Lyons,
24:45so he took his name.
24:47Claudia was also part
24:49of the name of Lyons,
24:51so it was Agrippina's wish
24:53that her hometown
24:55was elevated to the status of Colony
24:57and took her name.
24:59Hence, Colonia Claudia Ara Agrippinensium.
25:05And its most singular feature
25:07was that it was the only colony
25:09in the entire Roman Empire
25:11that took the name of a woman.
25:15The Empire tolerated the faith
25:17and culture of the subdued peoples,
25:19a formula thanks to which
25:21the Agrippina colony was a success.
25:23The Ubios were allowed
25:25to continue to worship their godmother,
25:27the Matrona.
25:29That cult would even be adopted
25:31by the Romans later.
25:35In Colonia the archaeologists
25:37have made excavations
25:39in the immense palace
25:41of the Roman governor.
25:43In Colonia, on the banks of the Rhine,
25:45resided the Praetorium,
25:47which at that time was the center
25:49of the governmental district.
25:51During that period,
25:53a constant flow of petitioners,
25:55diplomats and imperial mail
25:57filled the important rooms.
25:59But the Praetorium also had
26:01a symbolic meaning.
26:05Rome tried, as far as possible,
26:07to show its greatness
26:09in a visual way.
26:11That was also the function
26:13of the Praetorium.
26:15In particular,
26:17through the 180 meters of façade
26:19that occupied the banks of the Rhine.
26:21It is not difficult to imagine
26:23the impression that the embassies
26:25of the Germanic tribes should feel
26:27at the greatness of such a colossal building
26:29when they came to parliament
26:31with the governor.
26:33And the same should happen
26:35inside, whose sumptuosity
26:37was undoubtedly equal to that
26:39of the outside world.
26:41Surely it had a great profusion
26:43of marbles, mosaics and all kinds of luxuries.
26:45It was really the embodiment
26:47of the power of Rome
26:49at the service of the foreigners
26:51who entered the building.
26:53Such a demonstration of power
26:55seemed to be aimed
26:57mainly at the barbaric Germanic tribes
26:59on the other side of the Rhine.
27:01Rome saw itself as the bearer
27:03of civilization.
27:05An ancient poet expressed it like this.
27:07The word Romans
27:09has become the embodiment
27:11of a single people.
27:13Everyone comes to them
27:15as he goes to a market,
27:17each one waiting to get
27:19what he has come to look for.
27:23When I arrived in the Agrippina colony
27:25I stopped in a tavern.
27:29Some Roman soldiers
27:31were sitting at a table
27:33playing dice to kill time.
27:35The Romans must have thought
27:37they would have it easy
27:39with a German like me.
27:41They ignored that the game of dice
27:43is one of our favorite pastimes.
27:49Tacitus wrote
27:51the Germanic peoples
27:53play dice completely sober
27:55as if they were dealing
27:57with a very serious matter.
27:59That day my luck
28:01seemed to have no end.
28:03I won one game after another.
28:05When the Romans lost all their money
28:07they put on the table
28:09the only thing they had to bet on.
28:11Some bright yellow stones.
28:17The legionaries called them
28:19the gold of Germania.
28:21But they also fell into my hands.
28:23The Roman naturalist Plinio
28:25said the following
28:27about the origin of this gem
28:29very appreciated in Rome.
28:31There is no doubt that the amber
28:33comes from the islands
28:35of the northern seas
28:37and the Germanic peoples
28:39know it with the name
28:41Glaesum.
28:43The etymology of the English word
28:45glass
28:47comes from the Germanic term
28:49Glaesum.
28:51In ancient Rome
28:53amber was bought and sold
28:55at a high price.
28:57After being processed
28:59and polished in the Roman workshops
29:01amber was also used to decorate
29:03the Germanic women
29:05as the princess of Haslibe.
29:11The coin found between his teeth
29:13witnessed his adoption
29:15of Roman beliefs.
29:17It was a tribute to the boatman Caronte
29:19who died crossing the Estigia lagoon
29:21towards the Avernus.
29:23In the 3rd century, being buried
29:25following the Roman customs
29:27was considered a sign of wealth
29:29and power by the Germanic nobility.
29:31Colonia Agripina, the current Colonia
29:33was an important center of commerce
29:35of jewelry of value.
29:37While I was looking for an amber
29:39I saw that they were also
29:41trading with slaves.
29:43I looked at a young woman
29:45who pleased me
29:47and I felt compassion for her.
29:51The seller wanted to bargain with me
29:53as if we were in a cattle market.
29:57But I did not hesitate long
29:59and I gave him the sum he asked me.
30:05His name was Farah.
30:07He came from Germany,
30:09just like me.
30:13The great demand for slaves
30:15was closely linked to the Germanic prisoners
30:17captured in the Limes.
30:19The person who fell into the hands
30:21of a slave trader
30:23had practically no chance
30:25to regain his freedom.
30:27I was scared.
30:29However, when I saw that my intentions
30:31were good, I began to trust me.
30:37Together we left for our homeland
30:39on the other side of the border.
30:41We walked for many days
30:43until we finally reached
30:45the land of my parents.
30:51Suddenly we fell into an ambush.
30:53We were surrounded
30:55by a group of men.
30:57But they were young warriors
30:59of my clan.
31:03The paths of fate are mysterious.
31:05This unexpected reunion
31:07filled us with joy.
31:09I told the young warriors
31:11my adventures in the Roman Empire
31:13on the other side of the Limes.
31:19Like me, they had managed to escape
31:21from the slave traders
31:23and now they lived in the forest.
31:25That same night
31:27we formed a sworn group
31:29of which I assumed command.
31:39The runic sealed our pact.
31:41With magical symbols
31:43I summoned Botan, our supreme god.
31:47The runes
31:49would transmit their power to us.
31:57The runes are written characters
31:59but they are also endowed
32:01with a religious meaning.
32:03The linguist Edith Marle
32:05has been trying for years
32:07to decipher them.
32:09Some words have lost their meaning
32:11and we find them unintelligible
32:13while others can be translated
32:15still 1,700 years later.
32:21A crucial element to decipher them
32:23is the words that have persisted
32:25in the German language
32:27since modern German
32:29developed first from the language
32:31of the Germanic tribes.
32:33All the words that appear
32:35still exist in the modern German language.
32:37The Germanic word Schamel
32:39which means foot
32:41is similar to the German word Schemel.
32:43Also the word Alki
32:45is similar to the German word Elch.
32:47In English Elch, Alce and Scadi
32:49is very similar to Schaden
32:51which means wounded.
32:53The inscription of the banquet
32:55therefore says Alce Wounded
32:57referring to the hunt of this animal.
32:59The images support the runic writing.
33:01Those that appear in the bones
33:03refer to the magical banquet.
33:05The word of the ancient German
33:07Rune means inscription
33:09but also message or secret.
33:11A rune is composed of
33:13three graphic elements
33:15branch, hook and rod.
33:17The characters were often written
33:19in Aya wood, Buche in German
33:21which is precisely where the
33:23German word Buchtabe comes from
33:25which means letter.
33:27There are also runes carved
33:29in this fragment of skull
33:31which served as amulet.
33:33What does the inscription say?
33:35Did the Germanic people believe
33:37that they could cure diseases
33:39by means of runes?
33:41Edith Marl managed to decipher
33:43and translate the runic phrase
33:45inscribed in the bone.
33:47Ulf and Odin and the great Tyr.
33:55The hole against the pain helps
33:57and the elf is defeated.
34:01The inscription on the skull fragment
34:03is undoubtedly a healing spell.
34:05And since it is a fragment of skull
34:07it is likely that it was a spell
34:09against the headache.
34:11It is possible that the purpose
34:13was to cure the jaqueca
34:15trying to convince the elf
34:17to abandon his head
34:19through the hole.
34:21However, the spell was not whispered
34:23or sung simply
34:25but was expressed in writing.
34:27And it was not so that it could be easily remembered
34:29but because the Germanic people
34:31attributed their writing to certain powers.
34:33They believed that the spell
34:35once written
34:37was two or three times more powerful
34:39and effective.
34:41At the tip of the spear
34:43of Burlingame's tomb
34:45are engraved also some runes.
34:49Gitori
34:51means
34:53grant me power and glory.
34:55The runes had the ability
34:57to strengthen the desire
34:59to obtain the help of the gods.
35:01The Germanic world
35:03consisted of many gods
35:05but what did they look like
35:07to the Germanic people
35:09these great deities?
35:11Very few images have come to us.
35:13The golden amulets called
35:15Brakteates are the only vestige
35:17that has come to us
35:19that represents the Germanic gods.
35:21A rider going to war.
35:23On the back of his horse
35:25the divine granter of victory.
35:27He assured that the rider
35:29of the spear would rise victorious
35:31over his enemies.
35:33The Brakteates describe the world
35:35of the gods with a graphic language
35:37full of mystery.
35:39The meaning of these representations
35:41is quite enigmatic to us.
35:43Alexandra Pech has been trying for a long time
35:45to decipher these images.
35:47The most surprising fact is that
35:49all the Germanic people
35:51have the same adventures and legends of Botan
35:53from Scandinavia to Elrin.
35:55The divine legends
35:57were transmitted only orally
35:59until at the beginning of the Middle Ages
36:01the first written testimonies appeared.
36:05These are images
36:07that illustrate key scenes
36:09of the Germanic religion.
36:11To be able to interpret these images
36:13we need to know the context
36:15the historical background in which they are based.
36:17It is like trying to decipher
36:19the meaning of the Christian cross
36:21without knowing the story behind it.
36:23It would be impossible.
36:25So we must look for the historical background
36:27to be able to reconstruct them.
36:29Since the Germanic tribes
36:31did not leave any written document
36:33we have to resort to parallel stories
36:35extracted from another context.
36:37And that parallel tradition
36:39we find it in the second enchantment
36:41of Merseburg.
36:45The manuscript tells the story
36:47of the healing of a horse.
36:49Fol and Botan went to the forest.
36:51Baldr's horse twisted a leg.
36:53Then Botan recited
36:55the spells he knew.
36:57If the bones, if the blood,
36:59if the limbs twist,
37:01bone with bone, blood with blood,
37:03limb with limb,
37:05may all be united.
37:07And indeed, this theme can be contemplated
37:09in the stylized form of this golden amulet.
37:11Botan
37:13is healing with his dance
37:15a wounded horse.
37:19More than 900 amulets
37:21have been found from Norway to the Danube.
37:23And over and over again
37:25the same themes are repeated.
37:27Did the Germanic tribes share
37:29the same cult or uniform?
37:33Until now we had assumed
37:35that they were small groups
37:37grouped around their respective leaders.
37:41In that case, it would have been
37:43to wait for each of these groups
37:45to develop their own graphic language,
37:47as well as their own written language.
37:49However,
37:51we have only reached
37:53a single graphic language
37:55and a single runic writing,
37:57common to all of them.
37:59In this sense, it could be said
38:01that the Germanic tribes
38:03used a single corporate design
38:05to represent themselves
38:07and to distinguish themselves
38:09from the cultures of their neighbors.
38:11It is a surprising revelation.
38:13Despite the wars
38:15all of them were united
38:17by the same faith.
38:19One of the evidence
38:21that proves how strongly rooted
38:23the gods were in the beliefs
38:25of all the Germanic tribes
38:27can be found in the names
38:29of the days of the week
38:31that the Anglo-Saxons still keep.
38:33The goddess Freyja gave them
38:35Friday, Thursday, and Wednesday.
38:37Grant me power and glory.
38:39With Botan's blessing
38:41we were eager
38:43to leave.
38:45I showed my men
38:47the last piece of gold
38:49I had left.
38:51And I told them
38:53the immeasurable wealth
38:55that awaited us
38:57in the Roman Empire.
38:59But to do this
39:01we had to cross the Limes
39:03stealthily.
39:07Germanic armed groups
39:09organized raids
39:11They looted everything they could
39:13transport.
39:15The barbarian treasure of Neupoz
39:17is one of those war booty.
39:19It was found in the Rhine.
39:21Its value is incalculable.
39:23More than a thousand individual pieces
39:25whose total weight
39:27exceeds 700 kilos.
39:31How far did the Germanic armed groups
39:33penetrate the interior of the Roman Empire
39:35during their raids?
39:37The archaeologist Matthias Kohl
39:39found some answers in another treasure
39:41found in the Rhine.
39:43The treasure of Hagenbach.
39:45The booty plates stolen from a temple
39:47are a very clear clue.
39:49In them are the names of their benefactors
39:51because they were used at the time
39:53as thanks or petitions to the gods.
39:57The archaeologist discovered that most
39:59of the names came exclusively
40:01from the region of Aquitania,
40:03at the foot of the Pyrenees.
40:05This implies that the Germanic tribes
40:07entered from the Limes
40:09more than 2,000 kilometers
40:11in the territory of the Roman Empire
40:13in their raids.
40:17When they seized
40:19precious metal objects
40:21the looters did not care
40:23too much about the object itself
40:25although they were beautifully ornamented pieces.
40:27All they were interested in
40:29was the material value of the item.
40:31This plate is a clear example.
40:33As you can see, it is divided in two.
40:35This means that two Germans
40:37divided the object into equal parts.
40:39They did it before crossing the Rhine.
40:41And the most curious fact
40:43about this plate
40:45is not the discovery of both pieces
40:47but the fact that they were found
40:4980 meters away
40:51in a lagoon of gravel.
40:55The looters had to use
40:57at least two rafts to cross
40:59their booty to the other side of the Rhine.
41:01The rafts may have overturned
41:03by Roman patrol boats.
41:07The raids in the Empire
41:09were very risky for the Germans.
41:11However, the temptation
41:13that the Roman civilization posed
41:15made them forget the dangers.
41:21The loot that interested us
41:23was on the other side of the border
41:25in the Roman Empire.
41:27But we did not know
41:29if we could cross the Limes.
41:33There was no Roman soldier in sight.
41:37Was it a trap?
41:39We did not want to risk it.
41:41So we inspected the terrain.
41:51I could hardly believe it.
41:53The watchtower was empty.
41:55There was no guard.
41:57But why?
42:03For a long time
42:05historians believed that the Limes
42:07had been crossed by the Germanic tribes
42:09after a large-scale attack.
42:11But today we know that the cause
42:13was very different.
42:15In the year 260 of our era
42:17Valerius, the Roman emperor
42:19was captured by the Persians.
42:21This fact constituted
42:23the first catastrophe of a long series
42:25of unfortunate events
42:27that shook the Empire.
42:29The troops of the border
42:31received the order to withdraw.
42:35The Empire was facing
42:37the greatest crisis
42:39it had known until then
42:41and its services were required
42:43elsewhere.
42:45A civil war had been declared
42:47around the vacant throne of the emperor.
42:51Rome made a drastic decision
42:53in the Limes.
42:55In the year 260 of our era
42:57the soldiers abandoned
42:59the border with Germany.
43:01Rome withdrew behind the Rhine
43:03and the Danube.
43:05The Alamans entered the territory
43:07without opposition, now clear
43:09and located on the other side of the Limes.
43:11The Empire decided to close itself
43:13on a new border behind the rivers.
43:15At dawn
43:17we saw an appetizing objective.
43:19A Roman farm.
43:23But someone had been ahead of us.
43:27After the Roman withdrawal
43:29of the Limes
43:31there was a rapid growth
43:33of the Germanic incursions
43:35in the territory of the Empire.
43:37This fact is documented
43:39by numerous signs of destruction
43:41dating from that time.
43:43The main objectives
43:45of the Germanic incursions
43:47were the rich Roman farms.
43:49What fate occupied the families
43:51established there?
43:53Without the protection of the border soldiers
43:55or the mercy of any attacker.
43:59Archaeologists
44:01continue to make terrible discoveries
44:03dating from the 3rd century.
44:05Skeletons and skulls
44:07with extreme signs of violence.
44:15In the Institute of Forensic Medicine
44:17of Vienna, scientists investigate
44:19how the Roman settlers died.
44:25The forensic scientist
44:27Christian Reiter
44:29received several Roman skulls
44:31from the time of the Germanic attacks
44:33for his later study.
44:37He is trying to find out
44:39what happened between the Germanic invaders
44:41and the settlers
44:43after the troops left the Limes.
44:47In the skull of this child
44:49you can see a fracture
44:51in the temporal frontal region.
44:53It was probably caused
44:55by a forceful object
44:57such as a cart.
45:01This find
45:03is perfectly comparable
45:05to one of the specimens
45:07of our museum
45:09that shows a slit
45:11in the left parietal region
45:13made with this cart.
45:15In the skull
45:17of a Roman woman
45:19he discovered
45:21some curious marks.
45:23Barely perceptible
45:25at first glance,
45:27he found small incisions
45:29in the skull bone
45:31with the help of a magnifying glass.
45:35The interesting thing
45:37in this woman's skull
45:39was the discovery
45:41of very narrow cuts
45:43in the area of the bone
45:45zygomatic.
45:47This suggests
45:49that they tore off
45:51the scalp
45:53and took the hair
45:55and scalp as a trophy.
46:05This man's skull
46:07shows
46:09two signs of violence
46:11in the temporal region
46:13on the right and on the left.
46:17Both have a V-shape
46:19they run towards the outside
46:21of the forehead
46:23and were caused
46:25by an object similar
46:27to a sword.
46:29You can see the deep incision
46:31in the bone.
46:33The sword hit
46:35once here and again here.
46:37This also indicates
46:39that the subject
46:41was probably lying on his back
46:43and was murdered
46:45with two double-edged swords
46:47of the sword.
46:55However,
46:57murder was not the dominant norm
46:59when the clash of both cultures
47:01occurred in the Limes.
47:03Most Germans did not want
47:05to destroy the Roman world,
47:07but to live in it,
47:09not as subordinates
47:11and even less as slaves,
47:13but as free warriors.
47:15Farah and I took possession
47:17of the Roman farm
47:19in the interior of the Limes.
47:21The Romans had abandoned it.
47:23One day it would be
47:25the home of our children.
47:29The abandonment of the Limes
47:31meant the end of the Roman hegemony
47:33on the right bank of the Rhine.
47:35The Roman colonies,
47:37located between the Rhine
47:39and the Danube,
47:41fell again in the power
47:43of the Germans.
47:45The Roman colonies
47:47faced a dilemma,
47:49reach an agreement
47:51with the Alamans
47:53or leave their properties
47:55forever.
47:57In Burlingen, Swabia,
47:59the place where the spear
48:01was found with the runes,
48:03they found post holes,
48:05the characteristic sign
48:07of German architecture.
48:09On the remains
48:11of the Germanic rustic village,
48:13it seems that people
48:15had built a building.
48:17Little by little,
48:19the Germans were establishing
48:21their way over the ruins
48:23of the Roman civilization.
48:25The abandonment of the Limes
48:27gave rise to the beginning
48:29of a new era.
48:31The Germanic tribes would accept
48:33the legacy of Rome
48:35and would lead Europe to its future
48:37under the sign of the cross.
49:01.