I rather suspect that like me
00:00:25.22\00:00:27.08
most of you have
never been to the moon
00:00:27.09\00:00:29.43
and we probably never
shall, but the next best place
00:00:29.44\00:00:32.71
to visit is an area
called Cappadocia in Turkey,
00:00:32.72\00:00:36.17
and that's where
we're going next.
00:00:36.18\00:00:38.45
For it's the land of the
lost Empire of the Hittites.
00:00:38.46\00:00:41.83
Well, how do you
like these fairy chimneys
00:01:18.15\00:01:20.42
as they're
called, with their hat set
00:01:20.43\00:01:24.00
all sorts of rakish angles?
00:01:24.01\00:01:27.64
You just really
wonder how they creator
00:01:27.65\00:01:29.29
thought this
one up wouldn't you?
00:01:29.30\00:01:31.23
Now, of course, you can tell
me it's a natural phenomenon
00:01:31.24\00:01:34.34
and it really is.
Actually this was some soft
00:01:34.35\00:01:38.94
stone that was
laid all over this area.
00:01:38.95\00:01:43.34
And then on top of
that came a layer of lava,
00:01:43.35\00:01:48.16
you know, a volcanic
layer spread out all over here.
00:01:48.17\00:01:51.96
And as the harder lava
cracked and got worn away,
00:01:51.97\00:01:58.22
then of course
what was not covered
00:01:58.23\00:02:00.09
by lava was also worn away.
00:02:00.10\00:02:03.37
But where the lava still stood
then of course it was protected.
00:02:03.38\00:02:07.18
And so, here we have
these fairy chimneys.
00:02:07.19\00:02:10.74
During the Christian era,
there was a lot of persecution
00:02:27.41\00:02:30.93
and so many
Christians settled in this area
00:02:31.11\00:02:33.82
not, not that they
escaped the persecution,
00:02:33.83\00:02:35.79
but to attracted less attention.
00:02:35.80\00:02:37.97
And so, they were
less harassed here.
00:02:37.98\00:02:40.17
And they dug their
houses out of the soft rock,
00:02:40.18\00:02:42.98
out of these pinnacles.
00:02:42.99\00:02:44.65
In fact, some people
today still live in these houses
00:02:44.66\00:02:48.29
that they dug or build their
own houses attached to them.
00:02:48.30\00:02:51.64
I would say this is one
of the better class houses,
00:02:54.19\00:02:58.50
it is dug out of the
cliff face soft rock,
00:02:58.51\00:03:02.69
easily cut into,
you see the pick marks
00:03:02.70\00:03:05.77
where they have chiseled it out.
00:03:05.78\00:03:08.33
And there are recesses,
where they could store food
00:03:08.34\00:03:12.12
and other domestic
items needed in the house.
00:03:12.13\00:03:15.78
And there are niches
where they could place
00:03:15.79\00:03:18.72
their lamps to illuminate
the inside of the house
00:03:18.73\00:03:21.91
at night time.
00:03:21.92\00:03:22.89
I'd say they live
rather comfortably here.
00:03:23.50\00:03:26.27
The Christians also
carved their churches
00:03:34.41\00:03:36.73
and chapels out
of this soft rock.
00:03:36.74\00:03:38.50
And adorned the walls of them
with very colorful frescoes.
00:03:38.51\00:03:42.02
Many of the
Christians went a step further
00:03:44.16\00:03:46.30
and burrowed into the ground,
they dug into the cliff face
00:03:46.61\00:03:50.50
and then made just
like a rabbit warren,
00:03:50.51\00:03:53.12
they lived right underground.
00:03:53.13\00:03:54.42
They burrowed down
through this soft rock,
00:04:07.78\00:04:10.56
there are
passages and staircases
00:04:10.57\00:04:12.82
and housing rooms.
00:04:12.83\00:04:14.37
Do you know they
went down eight stories,
00:04:14.38\00:04:17.19
eight stories down
below the ground surface.
00:04:17.20\00:04:20.32
And there were rooms and houses
and places to live down here.
00:04:25.14\00:04:30.06
You're at least
close to your neighbors.
00:04:30.07\00:04:31.65
No doubt this was
great for the children,
00:04:38.27\00:04:40.08
but what about the adults?
00:04:40.09\00:04:42.10
They must have had a
permanently bend back
00:04:42.11\00:04:44.24
to be able to walk along
these passages and feel at home.
00:04:44.25\00:04:48.29
And I suppose
they were used to it.
00:04:50.18\00:04:51.56
And of course they lived here
during the night and evening,
00:04:53.80\00:04:57.43
day time they went out
and looked after their fields.
00:04:57.44\00:05:00.14
And of course, they
have-to-have some fresh
00:05:12.10\00:05:14.79
air, even the way down here.
00:05:14.80\00:05:15.87
So they dug this
shaft from the surface
00:05:15.88\00:05:19.11
right down to
the lowest stories,
00:05:20.15\00:05:23.07
so that the fresh
air could come down here
00:05:23.08\00:05:25.50
and circulate
through the passageways
00:05:25.51\00:05:27.54
and into the rooms in
which they were living.
00:05:27.55\00:05:29.97
And I'm still not
sure, sure that this
00:05:42.03\00:05:44.66
where I would
really like to live.
00:05:44.67\00:05:46.99
This then is Hittite country.
00:05:58.57\00:06:00.65
They occupied all of
Cappadocia and Anatolia.
00:06:02.04\00:06:06.62
In other words, what
we'd call most of Turkey.
00:06:06.63\00:06:09.35
And there were a
very great nation.
00:06:09.36\00:06:11.34
In fact, at one
stage in ancient history
00:06:11.35\00:06:13.70
they were the greatest
nation in the Middle East.
00:06:13.71\00:06:17.93
And yet the extraordinary part
is they were lost, forgotten.
00:06:17.94\00:06:22.64
Scholars even
denied their existence.
00:06:22.65\00:06:26.69
It's interesting to look
at the Encyclopedia Britannica
00:06:26.70\00:06:29.69
for the year 1861.
00:06:29.70\00:06:32.53
And under the title Hittites,
00:06:32.54\00:06:34.70
do you know what, there's
just eight and a half lines.
00:06:34.71\00:06:39.15
And if you examine those
eight and half lines carefully,
00:06:39.16\00:06:43.12
you'll find that
it's purely and simply
00:06:43.13\00:06:45.22
a summary of
what the Bible says.
00:06:45.23\00:06:47.27
Just a brief summary of
what the biblical record
00:06:47.28\00:06:49.76
has to say about them.
Well, actually there is a lot
00:06:49.77\00:06:51.99
in the Bible about the Hittites.
00:06:52.00\00:06:54.08
As far as the Bible is
concerned they were never lost.
00:06:54.09\00:06:56.81
Forty-seven references in
the Bible to the Hittites.
00:06:56.82\00:07:00.92
Goes right back to
the days of Abraham.
00:07:00.93\00:07:03.38
In Genesis chapter 23,
when his wife Sarah died,
00:07:03.39\00:07:07.32
it says, "Then Abraham
stood up from before his dead
00:07:07.33\00:07:10.35
and spoke to the sons of Heth,
00:07:10.36\00:07:12.07
they're the
Hittites you see saying,
00:07:12.08\00:07:14.12
give me property
for a burial place."
00:07:14.13\00:07:16.18
And he purchased a
place to bury his wife Sarah.
00:07:16.19\00:07:20.71
And many references in
respect of the Israelites
00:07:20.72\00:07:23.19
coming into the Promised Land.
00:07:23.20\00:07:24.44
For instance in
Genesis 7 verse 1 it says,
00:07:26.02\00:07:28.92
"When the Lord your God
brings you into the land
00:07:28.93\00:07:30.70
which you go to
possess, and has cast out
00:07:30.71\00:07:32.82
many nations before you.
00:07:32.83\00:07:34.63
The Hittites and the
Girgashites and the Amorites
00:07:34.64\00:07:38.04
and the
Canaanites and the Perizzites
00:07:38.05\00:07:39.73
and the Hivites
and the Jebusites."
00:07:39.74\00:07:41.53
Now, there are
seven nations there,
00:07:41.54\00:07:42.83
and you'll notice the Hittites
are at the top of the list
00:07:42.84\00:07:45.47
And yet the
Amorites, the Canaanites,
00:07:45.48\00:07:47.95
we're very familiar
with them and they were
00:07:47.96\00:07:50.45
very well-known
and strong nation.
00:07:50.46\00:07:52.10
Yet they Hittites are
put at the top of the list.
00:07:52.11\00:07:56.08
Now, there's another
verse that should have
00:07:56.09\00:07:58.19
caused the scholars to do
a little deep thinking on.
00:07:58.20\00:08:01.96
And that's in Second
Kings chapter 7 and in verse 6,
00:08:01.97\00:08:05.84
where it says, I'm referring
to the Syrians besieging Samaria
00:08:05.85\00:08:11.73
and all of a
sudden the besieging army
00:08:11.74\00:08:13.71
packed up and fled.
00:08:13.72\00:08:15.11
And what was the reason?
00:08:15.12\00:08:16.64
Well, it tells us here,
"For the Lord had caused
00:08:16.65\00:08:19.62
the army of the
Syrians to hear the noise
00:08:19.63\00:08:21.94
of the chariots and
the noise of the horses.
00:08:21.95\00:08:23.82
The noise of a great army.
00:08:24.02\00:08:25.69
So they said to one and another,
00:08:25.70\00:08:27.53
look the King of
Israel has hired against us
00:08:27.54\00:08:31.14
the Kings of the Hittites
and the Kings of the Egyptians
00:08:31.15\00:08:34.71
to attack us."
00:08:34.72\00:08:35.69
Now, everyone
knew that the Egyptians
00:08:35.70\00:08:37.43
were very strong and powerful.
00:08:37.44\00:08:39.66
But here it puts the Hittites
ahead of the Egyptian army.
00:08:39.67\00:08:44.40
Now, quite
obviously the Bible knew
00:08:44.41\00:08:46.63
that they were a
very powerful nation.
00:08:46.64\00:08:48.95
You've got these 47 references
00:08:48.96\00:08:50.38
and yet they were
lost and forgotten.
00:08:51.36\00:08:53.53
For a long time, the
story of their discovery
00:08:53.54\00:08:56.89
is a very exciting one,
00:08:56.90\00:08:58.34
it's one of the
long drawn out dramas.
00:08:58.35\00:08:59.34
And I want to tell
you all about that.
00:09:02.71\00:09:04.78
Our story really doesn't
begin here in this village,
00:09:22.38\00:09:26.07
it began in the City of
Hamath in the Northern Syria
00:09:26.08\00:09:30.53
in the year 1810,
when Johann Burckhardt,
00:09:30.54\00:09:34.56
the man who
discovered Petra later on,
00:09:34.57\00:09:38.31
was visiting there and
he found built into a house,
00:09:38.32\00:09:43.06
some stones that had
some strange writings on it.
00:09:43.07\00:09:45.42
And he wrote later in his
book called, "Travels In Syria,"
00:09:46.44\00:09:49.69
of this stones, he said
there were hieroglyphics.
00:09:49.70\00:09:53.22
But they weren't
Egyptians hieroglyphics.
00:09:53.23\00:09:55.33
But of course he didn't
know who was responsible
00:09:55.34\00:09:57.33
for these strange writings
and he simply recorded it.
00:09:57.34\00:10:01.25
Now, the scholars
should have picked it up,
00:10:01.26\00:10:02.67
but I suppose there
were so many other exciting
00:10:02.68\00:10:04.60
things in his book they
just didn't notice this.
00:10:04.61\00:10:07.18
So, the next thing
was in the year 1834,
00:10:08.59\00:10:11.42
when Charles Texier was
traveling through Turkey
00:10:11.43\00:10:15.39
and he was
looking for a lost city.
00:10:15.40\00:10:17.23
The lost City of
Tavium, a Roman city.
00:10:17.24\00:10:19.59
And he would go
from village-to-village,
00:10:19.60\00:10:21.30
town-to-town and he would
say, are there any ruins here?
00:10:21.31\00:10:25.90
And he'd go and
look at them to try
00:10:25.91\00:10:27.06
and identify them
as Tavium you see.
00:10:27.07\00:10:30.08
And when he came here,
he asked his usual question,
00:10:30.09\00:10:32.26
are there any ruins around here?
00:10:32.74\00:10:34.26
And they said, yeah,
sure there are ruins here.
00:10:34.91\00:10:37.64
There's plenty up on the hill.
So, up on the hill he went.
00:10:38.26\00:10:42.90
What Texier saw here
really made him gasp.
00:10:43.54\00:10:46.61
There was this
King's Gate as it is called.
00:10:47.45\00:10:49.69
It was partially
buried in his day of course,
00:10:49.83\00:10:51.93
but in the front of it
here there is a figure that
00:10:51.94\00:10:56.80
I thought it was the King really
looks like a priced fighter
00:10:57.50\00:11:00.62
you know, doesn't he, actually
one of the Hittite Gods.
00:11:00.63\00:11:03.38
This is not the original,
the original is in the museum.
00:11:03.39\00:11:06.77
This one is simply a plastic
cast and it's rather badly worn.
00:11:06.78\00:11:10.51
When I first came here, it
was in very good condition.
00:11:10.52\00:11:12.78
And then Texier
went up on the look wall
00:11:13.66\00:11:16.26
and what he saw there
made him even more amazed.
00:11:16.27\00:11:18.98
When Texier got up
here, he could look along
00:11:22.67\00:11:26.69
the wall and trace it
going right up the hill there,
00:11:26.70\00:11:30.43
you can see it at
the top of the hill,
00:11:30.44\00:11:32.35
partially
reconstructed up there.
00:11:32.36\00:11:34.55
And following it
around, he found that altogether
00:11:34.56\00:11:38.04
it was about five
kilometers in circumference.
00:11:38.05\00:11:40.92
Well, this
certainly wasn't Tavium,
00:11:41.73\00:11:43.89
it was far too big for that.
00:11:43.90\00:11:45.46
But what was it?
00:11:46.06\00:11:47.08
The locals couldn't tell
him and he didn't have a clue.
00:11:47.09\00:11:50.65
So, what was this place?
00:11:51.56\00:11:53.30
The following year 1835, a
British explorer by the name
00:11:56.47\00:12:00.74
of William Hamilton came
on the scene and he stumbled
00:12:00.75\00:12:03.91
across a place
called Alacahuyak.
00:12:03.92\00:12:06.41
This is the entrance
to Alacahuyak and these
00:12:07.22\00:12:11.33
sphinxes on the side
here are very well carved
00:12:11.34\00:12:14.40
and these were
obvious to William Hamilton
00:12:14.75\00:12:16.55
when he first came
here, there's one each side
00:12:16.56\00:12:18.46
of this gateway.
00:12:18.47\00:12:19.95
He couldn't
identify them, he didn't know
00:12:20.36\00:12:23.05
who was responsible for them
and he simply recorded them.
00:12:23.06\00:12:26.75
Then in the year 1862,
00:12:26.76\00:12:29.66
George Perrow
came across this place,
00:12:29.67\00:12:32.35
it's called the Nishan
Tash, and here were some strange
00:12:32.36\00:12:35.86
hieroglyphic characters
which again were the similar
00:12:35.87\00:12:39.33
to the ones on
the Hamath stones.
00:12:39.34\00:12:42.48
And of course, he couldn't
identify who is responsible
00:12:42.49\00:12:45.10
for these hieroglyphs,
but he recorded them.
00:12:45.11\00:12:49.73
And then in the year
1870, two American explorers
00:12:49.74\00:12:54.65
by the name of Johnson
and Jessup also visited
00:12:54.80\00:12:57.91
Hamath and recorded
their visit and noted
00:12:57.92\00:13:02.09
the Hamath stones with
the hieroglyphs on them.
00:13:02.10\00:13:05.77
But then in the year 1872, a man
of a totally different character
00:13:06.32\00:13:12.31
came on the scene,
and he was William Wright,
00:13:12.32\00:13:16.54
who was an Irish
missionary in Hamath.
00:13:17.05\00:13:20.04
Now, he spoke the language,
00:13:20.84\00:13:22.98
he understood the
Arabs and the Turks
00:13:23.19\00:13:25.95
and he saw these stones
and recognized their value.
00:13:25.96\00:13:30.09
And what was more important,
he was on friendly terms
00:13:30.98\00:13:34.04
with the Turkish
governor Subhi Pasha.
00:13:34.05\00:13:37.37
And so he went to the
governor and he said look,
00:13:37.88\00:13:40.15
it would be in the interest
of the Turkish government
00:13:41.08\00:13:42.99
to have these stones removed
and send off to the museum.
00:13:43.00\00:13:46.98
And so Subhi Pasha
being an enlightened man,
00:13:47.78\00:13:50.97
agreed to that.
00:13:50.98\00:13:51.95
And so, next day
he sent his soldiers
00:13:51.96\00:13:54.72
along statues, chiseling
the stones out of the wall.
00:13:54.73\00:13:56.92
And that is where
the trouble started
00:13:56.93\00:13:59.75
because the locals
regarded these not only as
00:13:59.76\00:14:03.17
important stones and
the building itself and,
00:14:03.33\00:14:06.12
they didn't want
the building spoiled.
00:14:06.38\00:14:08.62
But they also had a
superstition that these stones
00:14:09.06\00:14:12.54
had magical qualities,
especially for eye diseases of
00:14:12.55\00:14:16.15
which it was no
shortage at that time.
00:14:16.16\00:14:17.99
And so, they violently objected.
00:14:18.56\00:14:21.13
However, the army was
on the governor's side and
00:14:21.78\00:14:24.60
they took the stones,
took them back to the palace.
00:14:24.61\00:14:26.83
Well, that night,
whirling dervishes raced
00:14:27.29\00:14:29.88
through the streets, stirring
up the passions of the crowd.
00:14:29.89\00:14:32.60
And they tried to storm the
gates of the governor's palace.
00:14:32.99\00:14:36.72
And William Wright, who
was also there was a little
00:14:37.24\00:14:39.63
frightened inside,
but the soldiers held out.
00:14:39.64\00:14:42.45
Next morning the
governor received a delegation
00:14:42.85\00:14:45.63
and the delegation came
in and stated their case.
00:14:46.70\00:14:49.08
Now, what it made matters
worse was during the night
00:14:49.26\00:14:51.47
there had been a
fall of meteorites.
00:14:51.48\00:14:55.06
And these falling
stars that really aroused
00:14:55.37\00:14:58.37
the superstitions of the people.
00:14:58.38\00:15:00.06
And so the delegation came in
00:15:00.07\00:15:02.03
and the governor
listened to them.
00:15:02.04\00:15:03.76
And finally after
their protests he said,
00:15:04.11\00:15:07.49
now let me see, did
these falling stars do any,
00:15:08.40\00:15:13.03
kill anyone?
00:15:13.04\00:15:14.01
And they said, no.
00:15:14.02\00:15:15.47
And he said, did they
kill any cattle or sheep?
00:15:16.21\00:15:19.68
No. And he said, did
they damage any buildings?
00:15:19.95\00:15:24.63
No. Ah! Said the governor.
00:15:24.99\00:15:27.45
Then what better
evidence do we have of Allah's
00:15:27.82\00:15:31.66
good pleasure on
what we have done.
00:15:31.67\00:15:33.83
And with that choice
bit of eastern logic,
00:15:34.23\00:15:36.19
the whole
delegation came to an end.
00:15:36.62\00:15:38.69
And the Hamath
stones were removed
00:15:39.10\00:15:41.45
to the Constantinople
museum, where there are today.
00:15:41.46\00:15:45.30
In 1876, excavations
were conducted at Carchemish.
00:15:47.85\00:15:51.83
Now, that's a way down long
way from here in Northern Syria.
00:15:52.20\00:15:55.55
And in these excavations
these strange artifacts
00:15:55.90\00:15:59.24
belonging to this same
people started turning up.
00:15:59.25\00:16:01.94
It was quite apparent
that whoever it was had
00:16:01.95\00:16:04.39
an impact extending right
down as far as Northern Syria.
00:16:04.40\00:16:07.29
And during the next few years,
artifacts where turning up
00:16:07.87\00:16:11.04
all over Turkey and the
scholars were embarrassed
00:16:11.05\00:16:13.89
because the
public were asking them.
00:16:13.90\00:16:16.45
Listen you fellows,
this was a great empire
00:16:16.48\00:16:19.30
and you don't know who it was?
00:16:19.33\00:16:21.23
Then in 1880, the
archeological bombshell burst.
00:16:22.36\00:16:27.16
Archibald Henry Sayce
announced to an august
00:16:27.82\00:16:31.31
gathering of scholars in London,
00:16:31.32\00:16:33.42
his conclusion that
all these artifacts,
00:16:33.90\00:16:36.18
all these evidences
should be attributed
00:16:36.35\00:16:38.97
to none other than
the biblical Hittites.
00:16:39.25\00:16:42.70
Well, the scholars went
off in appeals of laughter.
00:16:43.83\00:16:46.79
They said, Sayce,
you're mad. They dubbed him
00:16:47.36\00:16:50.27
the inventor of the Hittites.
00:16:50.28\00:16:52.25
But the factor accumulating,
00:16:52.26\00:16:54.71
and in 1881, the
Encyclopedia Britannica,
00:16:55.29\00:16:58.30
once more came out.
00:16:58.54\00:16:59.52
This time not
eight and a half lines,
00:16:59.93\00:17:01.94
but two whole pages.
00:17:02.33\00:17:04.14
And down at the
bottom of the article
00:17:04.56\00:17:06.14
there was this statement.
00:17:06.33\00:17:07.31
"We wait longingly for a
confirmation of professor
00:17:08.37\00:17:11.36
Sayce's view, that the
Hittites were the authors
00:17:11.37\00:17:14.42
of the Hamath art hieroglyphs.
00:17:14.43\00:17:16.77
If this be proved this
wonderful nation steps into
00:17:17.44\00:17:20.98
a position hardly surpassed
by that of any of the nations
00:17:20.99\00:17:25.04
of the distant east."
00:17:25.27\00:17:27.05
Well, it was a
prophetic statement
00:17:27.06\00:17:29.35
that really came true.
00:17:29.36\00:17:30.35
statement that really came true.
00:17:30.36\00:17:31.33
And during the next
few years more-and-more
00:17:31.47\00:17:34.54
information came in.
00:17:34.59\00:17:36.25
And in 1894, our
friend William Wright
00:17:36.26\00:17:40.42
published a book called
"The Empire of the Hittites,"
00:17:40.43\00:17:43.42
in which he
produced so much information
00:17:43.43\00:17:45.47
and evidence that the
scholars just had to back down
00:17:45.48\00:17:48.66
and admit that Sayce was
right and that these people
00:17:48.67\00:17:52.22
were the biblical Hittites.
00:17:52.23\00:17:54.30
Then in 1897, there was a
very interesting development.
00:17:55.31\00:17:58.57
In that year, what
known as the Tell El-Amarna
00:18:00.02\00:18:03.08
letters were
discovered, not here in Turkey,
00:18:03.09\00:18:05.39
but away over there in Egypt.
00:18:05.40\00:18:06.99
They were letters in
the cuneiform script,
00:18:07.78\00:18:10.56
at first of course the scholars
said that they were forgeries
00:18:10.57\00:18:13.10
because nobody expected
00:18:13.11\00:18:14.34
the cuneiform
would be found in Egypt.
00:18:14.35\00:18:15.98
But when they were
read and understood,
00:18:16.80\00:18:19.01
here were some
letters that were found
00:18:19.33\00:18:22.18
in the Assyrian
cuneiform script, but in the,
00:18:22.19\00:18:28.42
an unknown language
which scholars rightly
00:18:28.43\00:18:31.66
concluded was
the Hittite language.
00:18:31.67\00:18:35.19
They were known as
the Assyrian letters,
00:18:35.88\00:18:37.92
and scholars went to
work on trying to decipher
00:18:38.42\00:18:41.45
the Hittite language.
00:18:41.79\00:18:43.72
There was a scholar in
1902 by the name of Knudsen,
00:18:43.73\00:18:47.30
who concluded and announced
00:18:47.31\00:18:50.06
that the Hittite
language was actually
00:18:50.07\00:18:52.28
an Indo-European language.
00:18:52.29\00:18:54.61
That also made
the scholars laugh.
00:18:55.38\00:18:57.19
Indo-European, why
it might be some other,
00:18:57.78\00:19:00.64
it might be Semitic language
or it might be Hermetic,
00:19:00.87\00:19:04.57
but not Indo-European.
00:19:04.58\00:19:06.55
And they produced so
many arguments that poor
00:19:06.81\00:19:09.03
Knudsen recanted and admitted
that he had made a mistake.
00:19:09.04\00:19:12.89
Time was to prove
that Knudsen was correct.
00:19:14.47\00:19:18.62
In the year 1906, a very
eccentric German came here,
00:19:19.69\00:19:25.90
who was totally
unsuited to the harsh
00:19:26.79\00:19:29.86
Middle East Turkish conditions.
00:19:30.17\00:19:32.01
And he was not
really an archeologist,
00:19:32.62\00:19:35.52
he was an epigraphist,
that means he was an expert
00:19:36.15\00:19:39.97
in inscriptions and he
was looking for tablets.
00:19:40.26\00:19:44.33
And so, he came to
this place, Bogazkoy,
00:19:45.35\00:19:48.61
known to the
Hittites as Hattusas.
00:19:48.62\00:19:51.59
And his interest
was to find tablets.
00:19:52.32\00:19:56.28
And so, he came to
these Acropolis or high place,
00:19:56.52\00:19:59.34
the citadel and
started searching.
00:19:59.91\00:20:02.32
Well, would you believe
it? He started digging here
00:20:03.80\00:20:07.22
and he found no
less than 10,000 tablets.
00:20:07.23\00:20:10.36
And most of them were
in the cuneiform script,
00:20:10.99\00:20:13.96
which he could read like
you read your daily newspaper
00:20:13.97\00:20:17.08
and in the Syrian
language which of course,
00:20:17.53\00:20:19.73
was his language, he
was very familiar with that.
00:20:20.31\00:20:23.21
And so, he was able to
learn a lot about the Hittites.
00:20:23.61\00:20:26.54
Well he, night-by-night,
he was very hard working man.
00:20:26.55\00:20:29.50
And night-by-night by the
flickering light of his lamp
00:20:29.94\00:20:32.44
you know, he'd pick up
a tablet and translate it,
00:20:32.45\00:20:34.67
pick up a tablet, and one
night he picked up a tablet,
00:20:34.90\00:20:38.00
and you could hardly
believe what he saw there?
00:20:38.01\00:20:40.67
He found himself reading
the Hittite version of the peace
00:20:41.39\00:20:45.68
treaty between Ramses
the Great, and Hattusilis.
00:20:45.69\00:20:48.68
The very one that was
on the wall at Karnack
00:20:48.80\00:20:51.32
and other places. And so, here
was the Hittite version of it.
00:20:51.33\00:20:56.19
And so, he was able to
learn a lot about the Hittite
00:20:56.90\00:20:59.46
history by reading
these translations.
00:20:59.47\00:21:02.29
In 1915, a scholar by
the name of Hosni confirmed
00:21:03.13\00:21:07.30
that the Hittite language
was indeed an Indo-European
00:21:07.67\00:21:12.03
language and from then on
there was no turning back.
00:21:12.04\00:21:15.24
And in 1929, a manual of the
Hittite language was published.
00:21:16.01\00:21:21.79
In other, words the
scholars could now not only read
00:21:21.80\00:21:24.49
the Hittite history
in Assyrian language,
00:21:25.10\00:21:29.77
but also in the
Hittite language.
00:21:29.78\00:21:31.91
So, two
problems had been solved.
00:21:32.60\00:21:34.61
First of all, the identification
of the Hittites, secondly,
00:21:35.01\00:21:38.72
to be able to
read their language.
00:21:38.73\00:21:40.33
But now there
was a third problem,
00:21:40.64\00:21:42.40
and that was to be able to read
00:21:42.88\00:21:45.01
their strange
hieroglyphic characters.
00:21:45.02\00:21:48.18
Actually our friend
Archibald William Sayce
00:21:49.62\00:21:53.03
had made an
attempt at this in 1890.
00:21:53.22\00:21:56.55
He'd come across what was
known as the Tarritktimme seal
00:21:56.97\00:21:59.61
and it was a bilingual.
00:22:00.28\00:22:01.91
That is the same thing in two
different languages or scripts.
00:22:01.92\00:22:05.56
And he thought by
comparing them he'd get a clue
00:22:05.57\00:22:09.01
to reading the hieroglyphics,
but it was not to be.
00:22:09.02\00:22:13.15
It was only a seal, didn't
give you much information.
00:22:13.16\00:22:16.43
In 1934, Kurt Bittel found here,
no less than 100 bilinguals
00:22:16.44\00:22:24.68
and the scholars
thought now we've got it made.
00:22:24.69\00:22:26.77
All these bilinguals that
is the same message in two
00:22:27.24\00:22:31.25
different scripts,
one readable the other,
00:22:31.26\00:22:33.76
the hieroglyphs
we'll be able to do it.
00:22:33.77\00:22:35.49
But they're only seals and
they're all said more or less
00:22:35.69\00:22:39.55
the same thing, and so
once more they had the problem.
00:22:39.56\00:22:42.59
And so the scholars had to
work on this to try and find out
00:22:43.10\00:22:48.11
how to unlock the
Hittite hieroglyphs.
00:22:48.12\00:22:52.57
The final breakthrough came from
rather an unexpected quarter.
00:22:53.45\00:22:57.10
There was a scholar by
the name of Helmet Bossiaea,
00:22:57.11\00:23:00.83
and he was
attending a convention,
00:23:00.84\00:23:03.08
at the same convention
there was a Turkish scholar.
00:23:03.09\00:23:05.88
And the Turkish
scholar said to him,
00:23:06.46\00:23:08.13
say why don't you
come and teach at the
00:23:08.58\00:23:10.49
Istanbul University for a while.
00:23:10.64\00:23:12.67
And so Bossiaea
said, well, why not.
00:23:12.68\00:23:15.11
And so, he finished up
at the Istanbul University.
00:23:15.12\00:23:20.19
Well, during the holiday period,
00:23:20.20\00:23:22.14
Bossiaea decided to do some
excavating and he took a team
00:23:22.68\00:23:25.32
down to a place called Karatepe,
and there they did a season
00:23:25.33\00:23:29.65
of excavations, found a
lot of interesting things.
00:23:29.66\00:23:32.25
On the last day when everyone
was packing up their tents,
00:23:33.16\00:23:36.36
and goods and chattels,
Bossiaea just did a little
00:23:36.37\00:23:39.26
wandering around on his account.
00:23:39.27\00:23:41.08
And he saw a stone
protruding from the ground,
00:23:41.57\00:23:44.50
he did a little
scribing and he was very excited
00:23:44.51\00:23:47.03
to discover that
it was a slab of stone
00:23:47.04\00:23:49.65
on which there was a
Phoenician inscription.
00:23:49.66\00:23:52.75
And he thought
wouldn't it be fantastic
00:23:52.76\00:23:55.23
if this was a bilingual.
00:23:55.24\00:23:57.51
That is the stone that
tells us the same thing in two
00:23:57.97\00:24:00.18
different languages.
00:24:00.19\00:24:01.74
And so, he excavated
another stone over here,
00:24:01.75\00:24:05.65
and sure enough there
were some markings on it
00:24:05.66\00:24:08.66
which he thought were
Hittite hieroglyphics,
00:24:08.67\00:24:11.25
he thought we've got
it, and but you know,
00:24:11.43\00:24:13.53
what he did?
00:24:13.54\00:24:15.01
He just filled it
all in, left it there,
00:24:15.02\00:24:18.00
didn't say a word to anybody.
00:24:18.01\00:24:20.20
Just went back
packed up, next morning
00:24:20.21\00:24:22.54
they went back
to the university.
00:24:22.55\00:24:24.06
Well, I think Bossiaea
was one of these people
00:24:24.07\00:24:26.59
who had a sense of the dramatic.
00:24:26.60\00:24:27.80
In the next season of
excavations they all came
00:24:29.54\00:24:32.41
to the site and they
started out the next morning,
00:24:32.42\00:24:37.78
and Bossiaea said, well now
00:24:38.40\00:24:39.66
where shall we
start excavating today?
00:24:39.74\00:24:41.89
Why don't we start over here?
00:24:43.70\00:24:45.05
And so, he put his men to
work there and sure enough
00:24:45.80\00:24:48.81
few movements later
there were squeals of delight,
00:24:49.32\00:24:51.56
they found this stone with the
Phoenician inscriptions on it.
00:24:51.85\00:24:54.84
And Bossiaea said,
hey wouldn't it be great
00:24:55.39\00:24:57.53
if this was a
bilingual. Look, dig over here.
00:24:57.54\00:25:00.78
And so, they dug over
there and sure enough here
00:25:01.14\00:25:03.77
was this stone with
these markings on it.
00:25:03.78\00:25:06.54
But as it came
to the light of day,
00:25:07.44\00:25:09.17
Bossiaea realized that
what he thought had been
00:25:09.83\00:25:12.81
Hittite hieroglyphics were
nothing more than the cracks
00:25:12.82\00:25:16.81
and weathering of time.
00:25:17.00\00:25:18.73
Bossiaea's heart just
sank right down to his boots.
00:25:18.74\00:25:21.55
However they
continued with the excavations
00:25:22.58\00:25:24.29
and sure enough they
did find another stone
00:25:24.30\00:25:28.30
and it was a bilingual, it was
in the Hittite hieroglyphics.
00:25:28.31\00:25:31.73
And so, as a result of comparing
these two stones together
00:25:32.52\00:25:35.82
they were able to unlock the
meaning of the hieroglyphics.
00:25:35.83\00:25:39.99
And so, in 1954, a
manual of dictionary
00:25:40.80\00:25:45.92
of Hittite
hieroglyphics was published,
00:25:45.93\00:25:47.83
and this opened a vast
world of knowledge about
00:25:48.11\00:25:51.42
the Hittites to the scholars
and about the Hittite history.
00:25:51.43\00:25:54.80
In their hay day, the
Hittites were powerful,
00:25:57.52\00:26:00.74
well organized
and cultured people.
00:26:01.14\00:26:03.04
And they had some
very fine buildings.
00:26:03.67\00:26:05.27
Over there in the distance,
you can see their temple area.
00:26:06.08\00:26:09.45
It had well paved
roads, and those this huge area
00:26:10.28\00:26:14.93
that was for
the temple purposes.
00:26:14.94\00:26:17.34
And then there is
a very strange stone,
00:26:18.33\00:26:21.20
it's a green stone and it
doesn't come from this area,
00:26:21.21\00:26:24.89
it came from a total,
totally different area.
00:26:24.90\00:26:26.84
And that also
was a rather puzzle,
00:26:27.57\00:26:31.80
because nobody knew
just where it came from,
00:26:31.81\00:26:34.12
and nobody can figure out
just what it was used for?
00:26:34.52\00:26:37.94
They had these
huge storage jars,
00:26:38.38\00:26:40.72
and they had a very smart
way of doing their buildings.
00:26:41.22\00:26:44.54
You'll notice
these drilled holes here.
00:26:45.09\00:26:47.72
Well, this is an earthquake
prone area and so naturally
00:26:48.12\00:26:52.64
stone buildings
would tumble down.
00:26:53.46\00:26:55.43
So, what they had was
stone foundations and then
00:26:55.44\00:26:58.61
they used a wooden
superstructure with tenets
00:26:58.62\00:27:01.98
into these holes.
00:27:01.99\00:27:03.07
So that if was a bit of rumble
the building would stay intact.
00:27:03.08\00:27:07.48
But the end finally came,
it is usually considered to be
00:27:08.88\00:27:13.45
in about 1200 BC
when they were annihilated
00:27:13.46\00:27:17.04
by the peoples of the sea.
00:27:17.05\00:27:18.36
Personally, my own opinion
is that it was later than that,
00:27:18.37\00:27:22.51
in fact centuries later because.
00:27:22.52\00:27:24.69
For instance,
we have the records
00:27:24.70\00:27:27.45
of Shalmaneser the third,
in which he records his wars
00:27:27.46\00:27:30.95
against the Hittites.
00:27:30.96\00:27:31.93
We have even Sennacherib
in the eighth century BC,
00:27:31.94\00:27:35.63
who talks about
fighting against the Hittites.
00:27:35.64\00:27:37.40
So, I think that
they finally and actually
00:27:37.41\00:27:39.58
came at the
hands of the Assyrians.
00:27:39.59\00:27:41.63
However, it certainly came,
00:27:42.06\00:27:44.10
and then they were
lost and forgotten.
00:27:44.11\00:27:47.97
And the critics even denied
that they existed, they scoffed
00:27:48.45\00:27:52.01
at the Bible record and
said just another Bible blunder.
00:27:52.02\00:27:55.00
But remember the Bible
retained a record of them.
00:27:55.88\00:27:59.35
And today, of course
everyone knows the Hittites,
00:27:59.77\00:28:02.12
you've got the Hittite hotel,
00:28:02.13\00:28:04.34
you've got the
Hittite restaurant,
00:28:04.82\00:28:06.21
you've got the Hittite
antique shop and the Hittite
00:28:06.98\00:28:09.27
taxi company, it's a
very well known people today.
00:28:09.28\00:28:12.46
But it was only the Bible that
preserved the knowledge of them.
00:28:13.28\00:28:16.45
Remember in 1861,
just eight and a half lines
00:28:16.46\00:28:21.60
in the Encyclopedia Britannica,
00:28:21.61\00:28:23.98
but the Bible
retained the record.
00:28:23.99\00:28:26.73
And let me tell you, the
Bible is a fascinating book
00:28:27.79\00:28:31.25
and I can assure you, it
is historically reliable.
00:28:32.16\00:28:36.34
Well, I agree the
Bible is a great book,
00:28:39.66\00:28:41.68
but I do suggest that
you get a translation in
00:28:41.86\00:28:44.24
Modern English. I find
it much easier to read.
00:28:44.25\00:28:46.85
In our next
program, we'll be taking you
00:28:47.54\00:28:49.60
to the cradle of civilization
where history began.
00:28:49.61\00:28:52.79
And David will be telling the
exciting story of Henry Layard,
00:28:53.41\00:28:56.97
unearthing the
wind bulls of Assyria.
00:28:56.98\00:28:59.05
And Henry Rawlinson
scaling that the heisted rock
00:28:59.63\00:29:02.38
to find the key
to cuneiform writing.
00:29:02.67\00:29:04.85