![]() In Hamilton’s possession is a wooden chest stuffed full of relics from medieval Christian pilgrimages. He also shows then a chalice of his own, found buried beneath Rosslyn Chapel, another famous Templar site made famous by The Da Vinci Code and believed by many to be the last resting place of The Holy Grail Episode Four: Pilgrim Warriors TX Date: Monday 27th September Wanting to find out more about the cult of the black Madonna, Carl and Hamilton travel to a spot in the south of France which has given rise to an extraordinary theory – made popular by the novel and movie The Da Vinci Code – that Mary Magdalene travelled from the Holy Land after the crucifixion and was carrying Jesus’ child.īack in the UK, Janina looks at some of the sources that inspired The Da Vinci Code and how the novel and the blockbuster movie came to grip the public’s imagination.Ĭarl and Hamilton end their journey in Scotland, visiting an expert stonemason who shows them evidence of how the Templars took refuge after they were outlawed by the French king and the Pope in 1307. Inside the Cathedral they also come across a famous depiction of a black Madonna which is at the centre of a Christian cult and was also revered by the Templars. They travel to Chartres Cathedral in France, believed to have been built by the Templars, to examine a depiction of a very similar chalice on the north portico. Episode Three: Knights Templar Chalice TX Date: Monday 20th SeptemberĬarl and Hamilton are back on more familiar ground with a stunning white marble chalice from Hamilton’s Knights Templar treasure hoard, where the relics they explored in the first series came from. He shows them how the Romans often assimilated the religions of other cultures, which helps them to precisely date and interpret the meaning of the altar. They want to find out more about the Roman symbolism that appears on the Celtic altar, and Roger takes them to the site of a Roman temple in the Cotswolds. The three men travel to the site of a very rare temple devoted to Endovelicus and explore how the temple might have been used to worship the god.Ĭarl and Hamilton meet up with forensic archaeologist and former police detective Roger Box. Travelling to Portugal, where most of the Celtic gold is from, Carl and Hamilton meet up with Joao, their long-time local guide and collaborator. Amongst the rare artefacts are a gold bowl worth over £1m, fine pieces of jewellery depicting the goddess Astarte, and a stone altar to the god Endovelicus which might have been used in rituals that involved blood sacrifice. Episode Two: Celtic Gold TX Date: Monday 13th SeptemberĬarl and Hamilton investigate an extraordinary collection of Celtic gold from the Iberian Peninsula that dates back thousands of years. They also make an extraordinary archaeological find in a ruined church and visit the last resting place of the Venetian Doge who led the attack on Constantinople in the magnificent Hagia Sofia. Travelling to modern day Istanbul, Carl and Hamilton learn how the Crusaders managed to breach the city walls from the sea and went on to loot many of Constantinople’s treasures, ultimately using them to decorate St Mark’s Cathedral. In the archives Janina discovers a powerful and vivid first-hand account of the “Sack of Constantinople” by a government official who was living in the city at the time. They also discover that, on the way to Jerusalem, the Venetians chose to attack the Christian city of Constantinople to recoup losses they had sustained in building the fleet. Travelling to Italy’s ‘floating city’, Carl and Hamilton learn more about how and why Venice adopted St Mark as its patron saint and went on to become a leading maritime power – eventually supplying crucial ships for the Crusades. Oxford historian Dr Janina Ramirez helps them decode the symbolism on these ancient relics to show that the sword may have been used in the First Crusade when Christian knights retook the holy city of Jerusalem, and that the helmet, embossed with the Lion of St Mark, was made in Venice. Episode One: The First Crusade TX Date: Monday 6th SeptemberĬarl Cookson and Hamilton White investigate a Crusader sword and helmet that date back more than 900 years. ![]() The items include a priceless collection of Celtic gold and stone carvings, which promise to shed new light on the Celts’ beliefs and forms of worship a sword and helmet believed to have been used by warrior knights in the First Crusade from 1096 CE a mysterious white marble chalice believed to have been one of the most coveted possessions of the Knights Templar as well as some extremely rare items decorated with the Jerusalem cross, thought to have been in the possession of Christian pilgrims on the road to the shrine of St James in Galicia, northern Spain. Discover more: Treasure Hunting Lost Relic Hunters
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