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National Geographic Treasure Seekers The Edge of the Orient
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It was the birthplace of civilization, |
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now a barren and exotic landscape, |
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For thousands of years, |
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the Middle East |
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But by the 19th century |
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it had become a battleground |
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eager for political control |
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It was a time when archeology |
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When politics was called |
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Into this arena stepped |
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a young adventurer named |
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who uncovered the treasures of |
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and a brilliant politician |
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the "brains" behind |
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Both would follow their dreams into |
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changing it forever. |
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In the spring of 1840, |
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an intrepid young Englishman found |
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between the Tigris and |
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He was on his way towards India |
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But there was something about |
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and wouldn't let him go. |
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More than 2,000 years ago, |
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two mighty empires had ruled |
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Their cities were fabled |
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Their power rivaled |
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The Assyrians were |
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Eight centuries before Christ, |
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City after city fell before them. |
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Thousands of captives were taken, |
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immortalized as the |
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And all this was written |
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But now almost all traces of these |
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There was nothing here but desert |
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Yet in this wasteland, Austin Henry |
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of a lifetime. |
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In the decade to come, |
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he would uncover the secrets |
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and reveal the truth |
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When he saw the mounds and saw |
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He saw opportunity for fame, |
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and he was looking as a way |
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From his earliest childhood, |
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Austin Henry Layard was |
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Most of his youth was spent |
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where he fell in love with |
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Formal schooling was not for him, |
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but he knew almost every painting in |
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churches of the city. |
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The rest of his time he spent |
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His favorite was a book only recently |
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The work in which I took the |
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My imagination became |
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that I thought and dreamt of |
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The Arabian Nights have had no little |
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To them, I attribute that love of |
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which took me to the East. |
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Ever since Napoleon rediscovered |
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at the turn of the century, |
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Europeans had been captivated by |
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From the time he was a boy, |
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Austin Henry Layard |
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His family tried to make |
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Layard hated the law, but he stuck it |
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Casting about, he learned of a |
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a British colony |
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It was the chance |
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Layard found another traveler |
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in the overland route |
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In 1839, this was a journey |
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which could take more than a year. |
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The two men wore Turkish dress |
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and lived out of their saddlebags. |
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They made their way down into Turkey, |
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This was my first glimpse |
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The booths in the covered alleys |
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the veiled women gliding |
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the dim and mysterious light |
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I felt myself in a new world, |
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since my earliest childhood. |
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When Austin Henry Layard |
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he was living |
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You know how sometimes you go to |
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and you just fit, |
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I don't think Layard, |
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was comfortable in |
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But when he got to Petra, |
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and had a terrible time, |
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because he felt a kinship |
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who were very volatile and friendly |
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Petra also satisfied Layard's |
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The city's fading grandeur |
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But there were other |
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and these proved |
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One day on his way through |
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he caught sight of |
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rising out of the flat desert plain. |
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I saw for the first time the great |
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the clear sky. |
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The impression it made upon me was |
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Layard vowed that |
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to investigate the mysterious mound. |
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In the meantime, |
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lost all interest |
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For a year, he lived with |
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whose way of life had not changed |
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And it was I think one reason |
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He learned how to |
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he learned how to |
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how to live in discomfort; |
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and above all, |
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His meager funds now growing short, |
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the enterprising Layard used his |
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to get a job with the British |
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For three years, |
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He was really a secret agent. |
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A lot of his work was very sensitive, |
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and negotiating with |
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And the skills he gained |
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but it is only a certain sort of |
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Very outgoing, very entrepreneurial, |
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Never at a loss. |
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Layard's new skills were just |
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A new kind of conflict was |
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Ever since Napoleon had brought back |
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the great powers had been on the |
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The idea of museums, |
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was one which was capturing the |
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The British, the French, the Germans |
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in which to place... well, |
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Like Layard, the French recognized |
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rising out of |
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Now they had begun to dig, |
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and at Khorsabad they were uncovering |
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There was certainly a competition |
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as to who could find |
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in order to stock the museums |
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And, in fact, newspaper articles |
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actually described these finds |
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To catch up with the French, |
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to fund a trial excavation |
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Within weeks, he was ready to begin, |
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On the 8th of November 1845, |
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and carrying with me a variety of |
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I declared that I was going to hunt |
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and floated down the Tigris |
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It was dark by the time Layard |
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Five years had passed |
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His head was filled with excitement. |
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He found it almost impossible |
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Visions of palaces underground, |
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of sculptured figures and endless |
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After forming plan after plan |
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for removing the earth |
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I fancied myself wandering |
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from which I could find no outlet. |
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At dawn the next morning, |
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the resourceful young Englishman |
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He had no experience, |
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and no guarantee of success. |
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He really had no expertise in what he |
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And he was rushing |
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and their influence over |
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his license to be digging |
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And he needed a good find quickly |
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because he knew that's what would |
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from the British government, |
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from the British community |
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Amazingly, on the very first day of |
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A piece of alabaster appeared |
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We could not remove it, |
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and on digging downward it proved |
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The men shortly uncovered ten more. |
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It was evident that the top of |
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Digging along the walls of the chamber, |
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within weeks the men uncovered |
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Layard was captivated by |
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But he knew they wouldn't be enough |
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He was looking for |
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which would dazzle the public, |
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I say this not out of |
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He was penniless. |
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And he knew it. |
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A few months later, |
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Layard was on his way |
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when two horsemen caught up with him. |
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"Hasten, O Bey," they cried. |
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"Hasten to the diggers, |
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Rising out of the earth was |
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The workmen were terrified of |
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and ran off to spread the news. |
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But Layard was elated. |
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He'd only been digging a few months, |
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and here was treasure |
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Unfortunately, the resulting uproar |
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they'd been looking for |
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Layard suspected |
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Quietly he kept a few men on |
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strange and awe inspiring. |
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With his knowledge of art history, |
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Layard knew that he had found |
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The British Museum agreed and finally |
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A year after he'd begun, |
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Layard launched full scale |
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Every day produced |
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My Arabs entered with alacrity |
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and felt almost as much interested in |
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Tunneling along the walls of |
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they found hundreds of |
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some disintegrating from |
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Layard drew what he could, |
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In the evening, |
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I often sat at the door |
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to the full enjoyment imparted to |
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I live among the ruins, |
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But still Layard had to face |
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Somehow he had to transport |
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It's quite one thing to dig up |
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headed lions or bas relief, |
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And quite another thing |
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And this is where Layard was a genius |
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He acquired the loyalty of |
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He got a cart built, and there were |
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of luring these lions with ropes |
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and the famous occasion |
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and the lion fell like this. |
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And they thought it was broken, |
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And the workmen burst into |
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And they towed this thing |
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And they built a raft of timber and |
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I watched the rafts |
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musing upon the strange destiny |
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After adorning the palaces |
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they had been buried unknown |
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beneath the soil trodden by |
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They were now to cross |
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to be finally placed |
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1848. The year of |
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is the year when all of |
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that Layard had discovered was |
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and it was a sensation. |
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He was lionized by society. |
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A young man who had gone out East |
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Look what he had bought |
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Layard wrote a best seller |
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uncovering the impressive |
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lost to history |
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But he struggled to understand |
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and which had taken London by storm. |
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This creature stood to |
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of an important location in the |
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And that lion's body |
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and those wings of a bird of prey |
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and that human head |
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And believe me, the Assyrians |
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and would have been suitably |
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just as the British were suitably |
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by this extraordinary exotic creature |
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The treasures of Assyria |
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But to many people, they were more. |
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In the secular 19th century, |
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the historical validity of |
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Were its stories true, |
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Perhaps the answer could be found |
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With mounting public interest, |
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the British Museum decided to fund |
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In 1849, Layard tackled a mound |
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near the banks of the Tigris River. |
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Tunneling deep inside, |
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that would prove he had found Nineveh, |
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Nearly two miles of |
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proclaiming the bloody conquests |
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A great library which would unlock |
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And most extraordinary of all, |
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of the Israelite city of Lachish |
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To dig and dig and dig, |
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then to uncover what you come to |
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and then corroborated by the cuneiform |
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The conquest of Lachish, |
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the carrying of captives from |
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Judean, the word is there, |
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back to other parts of Assyria |
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Here is a site that is |
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And, again, is it a real site? |
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Suddenly, it becomes real. |
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Suddenly, it is tangible, |
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and that provoked an enthusiasm |
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until our own time for the archeology |
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with specific respect to its |
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Layard's remarkable discoveries |
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placing it firmly in the pantheon |
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He went on to a successful career |
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and ambassador to Constantinople. |
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And by the time this Victorian |
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the Middle East was no longer |
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The Ottoman Turks were |
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and it had become a pawn |
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veering dangerously out of control. |
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In the new century, |
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another British adventurer would help |
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for the crown in the Middle East. |
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Her name was Gertrude Bell, |
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the brain behind the exploits |
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At the close of World War I, |
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it was she who redrew |
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She also championed |
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and insisted that a country had |
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Born in 1868, Gertrude Bell is |
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Despite a life of achievement, |
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she remained unsatisfied, |
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the treasure she was seeking |
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As a teenager, |
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the red headed young woman spent |
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surrounded by books. |
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Like Austin Henry Layard, |
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she was captivated by the mysterious |
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This was really the height of |
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so that all of these images |
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were even far more prevalent than |
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The museums by then were stocked with |
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Gertrude was especially fascinated |
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But she always felt as if she were |
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I wish I could go to |
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but there is no one to take me. |
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If I were a boy, I should go to |
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But being a girl, |
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Gertrude was an exceptional child. |
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As a girl in particular, |
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because her father encouraged her |
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to be adventurous, to explore. |
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And then she was sent off |
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one of the first women |
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And she left there with |
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Gertrude was 20 years old. |
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But now, instead of thinking about |
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for a person of her talents, |
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she go about the business |
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She had three chances. |
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Three seasons in which |
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And it was expected that she would |
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She didn't. |
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Either she didn't like the men |
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or the men she was attracted to |
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At the end of the three seasons, |
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and in British Victorian terms, |
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For a wealthy young woman |
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there was only one solution. |
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Travel. |
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Gertrude prevailed upon her father |
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in the place she'd dreamed about |
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When she arrived, she found it |
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"Persia," she wrote in her very |
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Gertrude Bell was 23 years old |
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in the spring of 1892. |
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She began studying |
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and within a few months was |
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Soon, she was happier than |
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She had finally met a man |
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a young British diplomat |
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It wasn't long before the two of them |
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He introduced her to the desert, |
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But when the two of them |
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asking for his permission to marry, |
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They waited and they waited |
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And it was not |
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Gertrude's father was very upset. |
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He had checked out her fiancée, |
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and discovered that he was a gambler, |
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this was not a man who was steady |
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And so, as a Victorian daughter, |
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She came home, and she gave |
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For eight months the heartsick |
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Gertrude did everything she could |
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Then a telegram arrived from Tehran. |
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Henry Cadugan had fallen into |
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had developed pneumonia and died. |
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At that moment, |
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Gertrude knew that she would have to |
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But it wasn't until she returned to |
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that she felt like herself again. |
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In November of 1899, |
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I am extremely flourishing, |
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and so wildly interested in Arabic |
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I have not seen the moon shine |
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In England, she could barely |
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Here, she could come and go |
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Once Gertrude Bell arrived in |
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she felt like a free spirit. |
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She could really soar, and she did, |
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And the Arabs respected her. |
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They had no problem with |
| 00:32:43 |
From Jerusalem Gertrude began to |
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into the uncharted desert. |
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She learned to ride like a man, |
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The barren landscape brought back |
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Henry Cadugan. |
| 00:33:03 |
It was almost is if she was |
| 00:33:07 |
searching for his spirit. |
| 00:33:18 |
"Daughter of the Desert" |
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or sometimes "The Desert Queen." |
| 00:33:25 |
It was, as she gleefully informed |
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her first taste of notoriety. |
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I am a person in this country. |
| 00:33:35 |
One of the first questions everyone |
| 00:33:40 |
"Have you ever met |
| 00:33:45 |
The quest to be recognized |
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as a person would haunt Gertrude |
| 00:33:53 |
She sought recognition in a series of |
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writing books about her travels, |
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and documenting the culture |
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in thousands of photographs. |
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Along the way, she discovered |
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flourishing here in these years |
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It was like a banquet |
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At site after site, |
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archeologists were unearthing |
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of humanity's |
| 00:34:37 |
Staking their claims to this booty |
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At the ruins of Babylon, |
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as German archeologists brought |
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It is the most extraordinary place. |
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I have seldom felt the ancient world |
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She stopped to visit English archeologists |
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A dig strategically placed |
| 00:35:13 |
near the construction of a new |
| 00:35:20 |
One of the archeologists |
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was a promising young graduate |
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In these uneasy years before wartime, |
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to see the English doing double duty |
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digging and keeping watch over |
| 00:35:42 |
This complete separation between |
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that we have today or at least |
| 00:35:52 |
was not true at that time. |
| 00:35:59 |
Archeology and politics were |
| 00:36:07 |
Gentleman archeologist, |
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gentleman spy, |
| 00:36:15 |
It was part of what in the 19th |
| 00:36:20 |
And there was this constant interplay |
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at a very informal level. |
| 00:36:32 |
It is no coincidence |
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that a lot of archeologists became |
| 00:36:38 |
because they had done it before |
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Gertrude was intrigued |
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but she had other things on her mind. |
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In the spring of 1913, |
| 00:36:58 |
she fell hopelessly in love |
| 00:37:05 |
His name was Richard Doughty Wiley, |
| 00:37:08 |
and he was everything |
| 00:37:11 |
A soldier and a scholar |
| 00:37:14 |
and radiated British pluck. |
| 00:37:19 |
Unfortunately, he was also married. |
| 00:37:23 |
She was completely intrigued |
| 00:37:25 |
and fell madly in love with him. |
| 00:37:28 |
He was a bit of a callous man. |
| 00:37:30 |
He was a man |
| 00:37:32 |
and he even told her about |
| 00:37:35 |
which was kind of cruel, |
| 00:37:39 |
But no matter, she was wildly |
| 00:37:42 |
and he encouraged her and her work. |
| 00:37:46 |
Secretly they met for a passionate |
| 00:37:50 |
in the English countryside. |
| 00:37:53 |
Victorian to her core, |
| 00:37:58 |
The situation seemed hopeless. |
| 00:38:02 |
And then he was sent off |
| 00:38:08 |
and it was a heartbreaking thing |
| 00:38:11 |
but it also stimulated her desire |
| 00:38:16 |
as intrepid, as indomitable |
| 00:38:21 |
So Gertrude Bell actually set off |
| 00:38:32 |
Her destination was Central Arabia, |
| 00:38:40 |
Gertrude embarked on |
| 00:38:42 |
to meet with two of the desert's |
| 00:38:48 |
Men whose rivalries had kept the area |
| 00:38:55 |
Turkish and British authorities |
| 00:39:01 |
But as usual, |
| 00:39:07 |
When Gertrude set off on her |
| 00:39:13 |
she would take with her |
| 00:39:19 |
the silver flatware, |
| 00:39:24 |
her linen clothes, her fur coats, |
| 00:39:29 |
her petticoats and her crinolines, |
| 00:39:32 |
and she would use those to hide |
| 00:39:37 |
and her theadolite |
| 00:39:39 |
because she did not want the Turks to |
| 00:39:49 |
With her imperious manner, |
| 00:39:50 |
Gertrude had a way of |
| 00:39:53 |
with even the most elusive sheiks. |
| 00:39:58 |
She impressed them with her command |
| 00:40:10 |
When she would present herself |
| 00:40:13 |
or to a tribal leader |
| 00:40:16 |
the way that she spoke |
| 00:40:18 |
and the way that she held herself |
| 00:40:25 |
that they saw her not as a woman, |
| 00:40:32 |
And so her gender was forgotten about. |
| 00:40:42 |
In fact, they saw her as a person |
| 00:40:46 |
And that was something that |
| 00:40:50 |
to be seen as a person |
| 00:40:59 |
I think by paradox, in the Arab world, |
| 00:41:08 |
both because she dressed |
| 00:41:13 |
Englishwoman, and because at the same |
| 00:41:16 |
she spoke Arabic, she could |
| 00:41:20 |
and yet she looked |
| 00:41:23 |
yet not one of theirs, but a foreign, |
| 00:41:28 |
made her such a fascinating creature |
| 00:41:32 |
paradoxically, into their world as a |
| 00:41:40 |
To Bell it was clear that |
| 00:41:43 |
was fading in the Middle East. |
| 00:41:46 |
To be replaced, she believed, |
| 00:41:54 |
Some Arab sheiks favored the British, |
| 00:41:59 |
On this trip in 1913, tensions |
| 00:42:06 |
She headed home and wrote up her |
| 00:42:12 |
Just a few months later, |
| 00:42:16 |
And the report that she had written |
| 00:42:22 |
became vital to the British. |
| 00:42:26 |
She was the person |
| 00:42:29 |
the shifting alliances. |
| 00:42:32 |
She had contacts which were |
| 00:42:36 |
and the respect of the chieftains. |
| 00:42:40 |
Gertrude's report reflected |
| 00:42:43 |
of the opportunity |
| 00:42:46 |
The time had come, she wrote, |
| 00:42:48 |
to organize the Arabs |
| 00:42:53 |
In wartime, |
| 00:42:56 |
as the Ottoman Turks had sided with |
| 00:43:05 |
The same British who had forbade her |
| 00:43:09 |
turned around and drafted her as a spy |
| 00:43:18 |
Working closely beside Gertrude |
| 00:43:22 |
were several ex archeologists, |
| 00:43:28 |
A.K.A. Lawrence of Arabia. |
| 00:43:33 |
Gertrude Bell was actually the brains |
| 00:43:38 |
He had actually never been to Arabia. |
| 00:43:41 |
It was Gertrude Bell |
| 00:43:43 |
and so she was the one |
| 00:43:46 |
which sheiks he should contact, |
| 00:43:52 |
She was as essential or more so |
| 00:43:56 |
in convincing Arab leaders |
| 00:44:02 |
She had their trust in a way that |
| 00:44:04 |
I think no Western man |
| 00:44:10 |
But, of course, |
| 00:44:11 |
when it came time to |
| 00:44:13 |
and become the liaison with |
| 00:44:16 |
the British said, |
| 00:44:19 |
and when Gertrude Bell said, |
| 00:44:21 |
they said, Don't be ridiculous; |
| 00:44:26 |
Now, of course, she was the one |
| 00:44:30 |
But the British being the British, |
| 00:44:34 |
and they would not let her go. |
| 00:44:38 |
Gertrude remained desk bound, feeding |
| 00:44:45 |
She knew every important oasis |
| 00:44:48 |
every Arab sheik who might be |
| 00:44:58 |
Slowly, the tide of the war turned. |
| 00:45:03 |
In January of 1917, |
| 00:45:05 |
Lawrence led his famous charge |
| 00:45:10 |
one of the finest moments |
| 00:45:14 |
Two months later, |
| 00:45:18 |
Gertrude Bell wasn't far behind. |
| 00:45:21 |
When the Armistice came |
| 00:45:24 |
she was exactly where |
| 00:45:30 |
There was always this sense of |
| 00:45:36 |
And she loved it in a very |
| 00:45:40 |
with this attitude that she, herself, |
| 00:45:45 |
that she could decide |
| 00:45:50 |
There was one letter that |
| 00:45:52 |
where she said, |
| 00:45:58 |
She was so aware that the British |
| 00:46:04 |
Puppet states, if you will, |
| 00:46:06 |
But starting from scratch. |
| 00:46:10 |
There had never been |
| 00:46:12 |
There had never been |
| 00:46:16 |
In this great expanse of empty desert |
| 00:46:19 |
Gertrude Bell drew the lines, |
| 00:46:25 |
Defining the contours of |
| 00:46:28 |
still in contention today. |
| 00:46:33 |
In 1919, nationalism seethed |
| 00:46:36 |
as the British and French divided |
| 00:46:41 |
At first, Gertrude believed that |
| 00:46:45 |
But T.E. Lawrence helped change |
| 00:46:49 |
He argued that the throne belonged to |
| 00:46:53 |
the charismatic leader |
| 00:46:58 |
At a conference in Cairo in 1921, |
| 00:47:01 |
Gertrude Bell took her place between |
| 00:47:08 |
There were these famous pictures |
| 00:47:11 |
where she is the only woman. |
| 00:47:15 |
This must have been incredibly hard, |
| 00:47:23 |
She was a woman in a world |
| 00:47:29 |
Surprisingly, |
| 00:47:35 |
Back in England, she had campaigned |
| 00:47:42 |
In her gut, |
| 00:47:43 |
she really never did believe that |
| 00:47:48 |
She believed that |
| 00:47:51 |
but of course, if all women were |
| 00:47:54 |
that would also have made her |
| 00:47:56 |
It would have made her |
| 00:47:58 |
who happened to be an extraordinary |
| 00:48:05 |
Now, this extraordinary woman prepared |
| 00:48:15 |
She made sure he couldn't do |
| 00:48:18 |
hosting a series of teas and dinners |
| 00:48:24 |
These were some of the best years |
| 00:48:27 |
She was very close to the King, |
| 00:48:31 |
In fact, she had an almost |
| 00:48:35 |
and he was very fond of her. |
| 00:48:38 |
And everybody relied on her, |
| 00:48:40 |
so she had a great sense |
| 00:48:46 |
On pleasant afternoons, |
| 00:48:49 |
to view the ancient ruins |
| 00:48:53 |
"We shall make Iraq as great as |
| 00:49:02 |
But it wasn't long before Faisal had |
| 00:49:10 |
To occupy Gertrude's time, |
| 00:49:11 |
he appointed her honorary director |
| 00:49:16 |
She took the position seriously, |
| 00:49:18 |
insisting that her British |
| 00:49:20 |
turn over 50 percent of the treasures |
| 00:49:24 |
to form the nucleus of |
| 00:49:30 |
Gertrude Bell wrote some of the first |
| 00:49:34 |
to safeguard its ancient treasures. |
| 00:49:40 |
Yet her letters home were |
| 00:49:45 |
Except for the museum, |
| 00:49:52 |
The role of the British |
| 00:49:55 |
and with it, Gertrude's power. |
| 00:49:58 |
As time went by, |
| 00:50:00 |
there were no more dinner parties |
| 00:50:09 |
And so she found herself there |
| 00:50:12 |
with less and less to do. |
| 00:50:15 |
She became sadder and sadder, |
| 00:50:19 |
until she felt as if a great black |
| 00:50:26 |
She felt that there was nothing left |
| 00:50:31 |
and certainly nothing left |
| 00:50:37 |
One has the sharp sense of being |
| 00:50:41 |
with no certainty as to what, |
| 00:50:48 |
It is a very lonely business |
| 00:50:55 |
In her mind she felt that |
| 00:50:59 |
to be recognized as a person. |
| 00:51:04 |
She was tired, ill, and alone. |
| 00:51:08 |
Haunted by doubts about the choices |
| 00:51:13 |
On July 11, 1926, |
| 00:51:19 |
Gertrude Bell took an overdose |
| 00:51:27 |
She was buried the next day |
| 00:51:33 |
attended by thousands of people. |
| 00:51:37 |
One of her colleagues paid tribute: |
| 00:51:42 |
Hers was the brightest spirit that |
| 00:51:52 |
Gertrude's dream of the East |
| 00:51:55 |
through a life of public achievement |
| 00:52:01 |
She may have died doubting it, |
| 00:52:03 |
but to history |
