0:00:02 > 0:00:03Ten days...
0:00:03 > 0:00:06From King of England to death and ruin.
0:00:06 > 0:00:09This is the last journey of King John,
0:00:09 > 0:00:11the Magna Carta King.
0:00:14 > 0:00:17Through the treacherous flatlands of East Anglia...
0:00:18 > 0:00:22..to the great cathedral at Worcester...
0:00:22 > 0:00:25Here we are, looking at his face and it..
0:00:25 > 0:00:27I mean, it's almost overwhelming.
0:00:27 > 0:00:28It is, it is.
0:00:28 > 0:00:31'..rediscovering the landscape of Magna Carta...'
0:00:31 > 0:00:34I can show you what it looked like in John's time.
0:00:34 > 0:00:36These are the old fossil creeks,
0:00:36 > 0:00:39this salt marsh that extended far inland.
0:00:39 > 0:00:42And that's the marsh that King John would have been confronted with.
0:00:42 > 0:00:45Nine great necklaces with many precious stones.
0:00:45 > 0:00:48'..searching for the King's lost treasure.'
0:00:48 > 0:00:50This is buried in the area where I'm standing.
0:00:50 > 0:00:53'Is it really still hidden somewhere in the Fens?'
0:00:53 > 0:00:54CLANKING
0:00:54 > 0:00:58About two, two-and-a-half foot to my right.
0:00:58 > 0:01:01'A legend still alive after 800 years.'
0:01:01 > 0:01:03What do they say around here?
0:01:03 > 0:01:06At the abbey, he's...
0:01:06 > 0:01:09poisoned by the monks, by poisonous toad.
0:01:09 > 0:01:13'A story told in the King's own words.'
0:01:13 > 0:01:18'We can actually show where the King was every single day of his reign.'
0:01:19 > 0:01:21'A lasting legacy.'
0:01:21 > 0:01:26It's the first, original will of an English king to survive
0:01:26 > 0:01:29- through to modern times. - An extraordinary thing.
0:01:29 > 0:01:33This is the last journey of the Magna Carta King.
0:01:43 > 0:01:47People have come to Bury St Edmunds, in Suffolk, to mark something
0:01:47 > 0:01:49that happened 800 years ago.
0:01:56 > 0:02:00A group of rebellious barons, fed up with the tyrannical
0:02:00 > 0:02:04behaviour of their king, met here, in 1214,
0:02:04 > 0:02:06to plan their demands.
0:02:10 > 0:02:14It was the opening scene in a drama that led to the
0:02:14 > 0:02:18making of Magna Carta, one of our most important medieval documents.
0:02:18 > 0:02:22Magna Carta inspired our modern democracy,
0:02:22 > 0:02:24but it would lead to the invasion of England,
0:02:24 > 0:02:27the country ripped apart by Civil War,
0:02:27 > 0:02:28and the King dead.
0:02:31 > 0:02:32We're setting out from Bury St Edmunds,
0:02:32 > 0:02:35where the rebellious barons met.
0:02:35 > 0:02:37Before we start this final journey,
0:02:37 > 0:02:39we're going to get to know the King.
0:02:41 > 0:02:43Travelling with me is Professor Stephen Church,
0:02:43 > 0:02:46a leading expert on John.
0:02:46 > 0:02:50Since becoming King, John had earned a reputation as a ruthless tyrant,
0:02:50 > 0:02:53a king who constantly travelled the land,
0:02:53 > 0:02:54asserting his control.
0:02:54 > 0:02:56Whoever you were,
0:02:56 > 0:02:59you'd know about it when the King arrived in town.
0:02:59 > 0:03:02He takes everything with him because government is done on the hoof,
0:03:02 > 0:03:05and that means the King's writing office,
0:03:05 > 0:03:08it means a part of the...
0:03:08 > 0:03:10the way in which the King collects money,
0:03:10 > 0:03:15it means his knights, it means his sergeants, it means...
0:03:15 > 0:03:18Actually, it means things like the royal hunt,
0:03:18 > 0:03:21which can include 300, 400 dogs,
0:03:21 > 0:03:23plus the huntsmen and all the accoutrements
0:03:23 > 0:03:26that go with that, and you have to have
0:03:26 > 0:03:30the material to maintain this household,
0:03:30 > 0:03:33so you have to have the bakers and the cooks
0:03:33 > 0:03:36and the stewards, and wine has to be collected.
0:03:36 > 0:03:38So, in other words,
0:03:38 > 0:03:41we're talking about something that is actually extremely complicated.
0:03:41 > 0:03:43The King has his own man who is responsible for carrying
0:03:43 > 0:03:45his own bed around the country.
0:03:45 > 0:03:49- That's just like taking a small town around.- Yes, it is.
0:03:49 > 0:03:52- Actually, quite a large town. - Quite a large town, yes, indeed.
0:03:52 > 0:03:55'It must have been an astonishing sight.
0:03:55 > 0:03:57'Hundreds of people travelling with the King,
0:03:57 > 0:03:59'from bakers to prostitutes.
0:03:59 > 0:04:02'Imagine this whole marketplace on the move.
0:04:02 > 0:04:05'The procession would have been over a mile long.'
0:04:05 > 0:04:07What a sight this must have been.
0:04:07 > 0:04:11For people who weren't used to seeing people in such great numbers.
0:04:11 > 0:04:14To see this great population moving through an area.
0:04:14 > 0:04:17And it is quite clear, we get some contemporary accounts which
0:04:17 > 0:04:20suggest it is a terrifying sight.
0:04:20 > 0:04:24We know so much about the King's journey from hundreds of letters,
0:04:24 > 0:04:28and Stephen has realised that they are actually the King's own words.
0:04:29 > 0:04:31For the very first time in English history,
0:04:31 > 0:04:34we can actually show where the king was
0:04:34 > 0:04:37every single day of his reign.
0:04:37 > 0:04:39Each of these letters is dated,
0:04:39 > 0:04:42it's dated with the place that it's issued from
0:04:42 > 0:04:46and the date that it's issued from, and so you can tell -
0:04:46 > 0:04:49that's where the King was at that particular moment in time.
0:04:49 > 0:04:53And when it says "witness myself", it really means the King has
0:04:53 > 0:04:56written these words - or spoken these words
0:04:56 > 0:04:57and they've been written for him.
0:04:57 > 0:05:02And it's in John's reign that for the first time, the chancery,
0:05:02 > 0:05:06the King's writing office, records his outgoing correspondence.
0:05:06 > 0:05:08So we don't have it for Richard I,
0:05:08 > 0:05:11we don't have it for Henry II, but we do have it for John.
0:05:11 > 0:05:14So this is actually the voice of the King,
0:05:14 > 0:05:18this is as close as we get to a medieval tape-recording.
0:05:18 > 0:05:20Absolutely, it is. That's precisely what it is.
0:05:20 > 0:05:22We have some wonderful examples.
0:05:22 > 0:05:25This particular letter from 1214,
0:05:25 > 0:05:27when the King is writing to the seneschal,
0:05:27 > 0:05:30who is his officer of Angouleme,
0:05:30 > 0:05:33ordering him to find for his huntsmen and dogs
0:05:33 > 0:05:36their reasonable expenses, and then he goes on to say...
0:05:48 > 0:05:50HE LAUGHS
0:05:50 > 0:05:52- Pretty specific stuff, isn't it? - Very specific.
0:05:52 > 0:05:54But what about these great matters of state,
0:05:54 > 0:05:57all these momentous events that were going on around him?
0:05:57 > 0:06:00Well, they are there too. So, letters to the Pope,
0:06:00 > 0:06:03letters to his officials,
0:06:03 > 0:06:07directing their activities. They are there too.
0:06:07 > 0:06:09So, this particular letter, for example,
0:06:09 > 0:06:13which comes from early on in the reign, but it gives you a flavour.
0:06:13 > 0:06:16"The King to all the citizens of Canterbury and the men
0:06:16 > 0:06:19"of Middleton and all the knights and free tenants of the whole of Kent."
0:06:19 > 0:06:22So it is a big letter. "Greetings, hello..."
0:06:41 > 0:06:44So it was a really quite threatening letter addressed to all
0:06:44 > 0:06:49the men of Kent, and the focus is on the big picture there.
0:06:49 > 0:06:53It's menacing behaviour. And not only that, John upset the wealthy,
0:06:53 > 0:06:58demanding money with a new 13th century style mansion tax.
0:06:58 > 0:07:03The rebels hoped to curb that with Magna Carta, in June 1215.
0:07:03 > 0:07:07Extraordinarily, an English king agreed to limit some of his
0:07:07 > 0:07:12God-given powers, but it wasn't long before he broke its terms.
0:07:12 > 0:07:15Civil war followed, the rebels declared the King deposed
0:07:15 > 0:07:19and invited Prince Louis of France to take the throne.
0:07:19 > 0:07:22The King fought back, travelling the land, crushing his enemies.
0:07:22 > 0:07:26By spring 1216, he'd reached East Anglia.
0:07:26 > 0:07:28It was the run-up to his final journey.
0:07:29 > 0:07:32We follow the King to Framlingham, in Suffolk,
0:07:32 > 0:07:36stronghold of Sir Roger Bigod, one of the leading rebels.
0:07:58 > 0:08:02So this is what King John would have been confronted with,
0:08:02 > 0:08:06this incredible castle. It was built about 1190
0:08:06 > 0:08:10and it uses this naturally defensible location
0:08:10 > 0:08:12on a valley side. It accentuates it,
0:08:12 > 0:08:16this great mound here, onto which this huge curtain wall
0:08:16 > 0:08:21has been constructed and a deep ditch gouged out.
0:08:21 > 0:08:23These are incredible defences.
0:08:23 > 0:08:27There's a serious purpose here, but also it is a sort of visual signal.
0:08:27 > 0:08:30"Don't mess with us, we are big, we are powerful."
0:08:30 > 0:08:33You can just imagine the troops scurrying around there,
0:08:33 > 0:08:36poking their heads from around the battlements
0:08:36 > 0:08:39and loosing off the arrows at an attacking army.
0:08:39 > 0:08:44The prospect of taking this place must have been really intimidating.
0:08:53 > 0:08:55But King John wasn't intimidated.
0:08:55 > 0:08:58His campaign was going well, he's on a roll.
0:09:00 > 0:09:04From October onwards, he's just redistributing the lands
0:09:04 > 0:09:06of those who have rebelled against him,
0:09:06 > 0:09:08redistributing them to his supporters.
0:09:08 > 0:09:12He's very much trying to break them on that wheel of poverty.
0:09:12 > 0:09:16And he's here at Roger Bigod's castle of Framlingham,
0:09:16 > 0:09:19because Roger Bigod is one of the guarantors of Magna Carta,
0:09:19 > 0:09:21one of the enforcers of Magna Carta,
0:09:21 > 0:09:25and he wants to break Roger Bigod on that wheel of poverty, too.
0:09:27 > 0:09:30And yet there was no great battle.
0:09:31 > 0:09:35The constable of the castle decides to hand over
0:09:35 > 0:09:38the keys of the castle to the King.
0:09:38 > 0:09:42But that seems absurd, because this castle is almost brand-new
0:09:42 > 0:09:45and it's packed full with these state of the art defensive features,
0:09:45 > 0:09:48and they just open the gates and let him in!
0:09:48 > 0:09:52They sort of stared out at this, the assembled King's army,
0:09:52 > 0:09:55with his siege engines, his hundreds of knights.
0:09:55 > 0:09:57I mean, we know he has got miners and ditchers,
0:09:57 > 0:09:59whose job it is to undermine the walls.
0:09:59 > 0:10:01Would you want that to happen to your nice,
0:10:01 > 0:10:04brand-spanking-new castle, here at Framlingham?
0:10:04 > 0:10:08Maybe, then, it was just a simple, pragmatic decision.
0:10:08 > 0:10:10If the castle isn't stormed, it's not destroyed,
0:10:10 > 0:10:14we get to hang on to it, maybe for when the wind changes.
0:10:14 > 0:10:17For fairer times. We get to keep this great possession.
0:10:17 > 0:10:20And perhaps also to keep your own life as well.
0:10:20 > 0:10:22Because if you stand up to the King, then perhaps the King would
0:10:22 > 0:10:26have a reason for having you hung outside the walls of your castle.
0:10:28 > 0:10:31The King gave most of the rebels' land to his supporters
0:10:31 > 0:10:32to keep them on side,
0:10:32 > 0:10:36but his letters tell us he wanted Framlingham for himself.
0:10:36 > 0:10:39He tells the knights and free tenants of the fees
0:10:39 > 0:10:40of Earl Roger Bigod...
0:10:58 > 0:11:00He's taking the castle, the home of the Lord,
0:11:00 > 0:11:02he's taking all his lands.
0:11:02 > 0:11:05And he's putting his own guys in charge.
0:11:05 > 0:11:09Very much so, very much so. And this is such a swanky, nice castle
0:11:09 > 0:11:11and such a rich holding,
0:11:11 > 0:11:13that he wants to hold it in his own hands.
0:11:15 > 0:11:16Every day for a year,
0:11:16 > 0:11:19John the tyrant was taking land from the rebels.
0:11:19 > 0:11:23He was 49, fearless and at the top of his game.
0:11:23 > 0:11:26No-one could have predicted what was going to happen next.
0:11:26 > 0:11:28He'd brought the north of England under control,
0:11:28 > 0:11:31and now the east was being brought to heel.
0:11:31 > 0:11:34Only London was holding out against him.
0:11:34 > 0:11:37A commentator looking at the scene then would think this was
0:11:37 > 0:11:40a king who was about to crush the rebels.
0:11:40 > 0:11:42But that was about to change.
0:12:18 > 0:12:21From Framlingham, in Suffolk, we travel north-east
0:12:21 > 0:12:24to the coastal port of King's Lynn, in Norfolk,
0:12:24 > 0:12:27to see how fortune begins to turn against John.
0:12:28 > 0:12:31The critical point came in the spring of 1216,
0:12:31 > 0:12:35when Prince Louis of France actually arrived in the country
0:12:35 > 0:12:36to claim the throne.
0:12:36 > 0:12:39On October 9th, John comes to King's Lynn,
0:12:39 > 0:12:41where he still has support.
0:12:41 > 0:12:45Little does he know it, but his final journey has begun.
0:12:45 > 0:12:49He's about to fall sick and has just ten days to live.
0:12:49 > 0:12:52Ten days to save his dynasty from oblivion.
0:13:02 > 0:13:05By now, the country was a mess.
0:13:05 > 0:13:08King John and his entourage came to King's Lynn,
0:13:08 > 0:13:10where the people welcomed him with open arms,
0:13:10 > 0:13:13and this is because, a few years before,
0:13:13 > 0:13:17he'd given the town a great gift, a charter.
0:13:17 > 0:13:22It gave the townspeople economic, commercial and legal freedoms.
0:13:22 > 0:13:24It allowed trade to thrive.
0:13:27 > 0:13:29John left his mark on the town.
0:13:29 > 0:13:31You can see its wealthy past.
0:13:31 > 0:13:33Just look at these great buildings.
0:13:33 > 0:13:35Like the guildhall,
0:13:35 > 0:13:38built by the men who owed their power to King John -
0:13:38 > 0:13:40the merchant guild.
0:13:40 > 0:13:44800 years later, the town hasn't forgotten King John's gift.
0:13:45 > 0:13:49Gary, you've got a fantastic collection here in King's Lynn.
0:13:49 > 0:13:52The borough regalia is just fantastic.
0:13:52 > 0:13:55- Superb, isn't it?- And you've got items here that are associated
0:13:55 > 0:13:59with King John, or people thought were associated with King John.
0:13:59 > 0:14:02I think the King John associations are really important.
0:14:02 > 0:14:05The one thing which we know is definitely King John
0:14:05 > 0:14:07- is the 1204 charter.- Yes.
0:14:07 > 0:14:10Which is the charter which gave
0:14:10 > 0:14:12Lynn its rights, basically.
0:14:12 > 0:14:15You can see it is a grant in perpetuity.
0:14:15 > 0:14:17so it is granting those rights forever.
0:14:17 > 0:14:19It also grants them a...
0:14:20 > 0:14:23..merchant guild as well. That's up here.
0:14:23 > 0:14:25Oh, yes. Yes.
0:14:25 > 0:14:29This is really the beginning of the borough council, isn't it?
0:14:29 > 0:14:32- This is townspeople governing themselves.- Yeah.
0:14:34 > 0:14:37From the 12th century, Lynn was a thriving town.
0:14:37 > 0:14:38After London and Southampton,
0:14:38 > 0:14:41King's Lynn and Boston were the two main ports.
0:14:41 > 0:14:46So this area was extremely wealthy, and this was what was needed to give
0:14:46 > 0:14:51them those rights. It's what set off the town upon another 100 years of
0:14:51 > 0:14:54thriving, commercial success.
0:14:54 > 0:14:56And it was still being referred to in the 19th century,
0:14:56 > 0:14:58when people were given freedom of the borough.
0:14:58 > 0:15:01They're still referring to the charter of King John.
0:15:01 > 0:15:05Intriguingly to me, you've also got items here which are said to be
0:15:05 > 0:15:07associated with King John,
0:15:07 > 0:15:10but are actually later, they belong to later centuries.
0:15:10 > 0:15:13There's a very strong tradition of the association with King John,
0:15:13 > 0:15:15which shows the importance of King John to the borough.
0:15:15 > 0:15:18This here is the King John cup.
0:15:18 > 0:15:21Dates from about 1325.
0:15:21 > 0:15:25It's a... Well, it is pretty unique standing cup.
0:15:25 > 0:15:27What's so special about it is it's a secular item.
0:15:27 > 0:15:29You associate chalices with church,
0:15:29 > 0:15:32but this clearly isn't a church item, because if you look at it,
0:15:32 > 0:15:37every scene on it relates to hunting. At the top here, we can see
0:15:37 > 0:15:40a lady with a bow and arrow and hunting dogs.
0:15:40 > 0:15:44On the bottom, we can see hounds chasing hares.
0:15:44 > 0:15:47I mean, one theory is it was used by the merchant guilds,
0:15:47 > 0:15:51here in this building, as part of an annual celebration for King John,
0:15:51 > 0:15:54because he is so significant to the town, because of the charter.
0:15:54 > 0:15:56This cup would have been used and passed around, perhaps,
0:15:56 > 0:15:57for people to drink out of,
0:15:57 > 0:16:00as part of that ceremony of a big feast.
0:16:00 > 0:16:04And here we have King John's sword, so-called.
0:16:04 > 0:16:06There is a very strong tradition that King John
0:16:06 > 0:16:08took the sword from his side
0:16:08 > 0:16:10and presented it to the town of Lynn.
0:16:10 > 0:16:12In fact, there is an inscription on the blade, in Latin,
0:16:12 > 0:16:15which says just that. But...
0:16:15 > 0:16:19there is a lot of doubt as to the date
0:16:19 > 0:16:23and how much of the original sword may have survived.
0:16:23 > 0:16:25Clearly, most of it has been added at a later date.
0:16:25 > 0:16:28In fact, there is an inscription referring to Henry VIII.
0:16:28 > 0:16:30But again, there's a very strong tradition
0:16:30 > 0:16:32of this sword being associated with King John.
0:16:32 > 0:16:34It shows the importance of King John to Lynn.
0:16:34 > 0:16:38In fact, it is still used today in ceremonial functions. 12 times a year
0:16:38 > 0:16:40it is taken out and used in procession,
0:16:40 > 0:16:44so again that keeps that tradition still very strong within Lynn.
0:16:44 > 0:16:49And so, in October 1216, no doubt King John was lobbying,
0:16:49 > 0:16:52cashing in on those good relationships with the folk of Lynn.
0:16:52 > 0:16:55But the good times were coming to an end.
0:16:55 > 0:16:59We think it was here that he began to feel unwell.
0:17:06 > 0:17:08October 11th, 1216,
0:17:08 > 0:17:11day two of his final journey.
0:17:11 > 0:17:14The King leaves the town and heads north through the Fens.
0:17:14 > 0:17:17Travelling that way today takes us along the A17
0:17:17 > 0:17:20and across the River Nene at Sutton Bridge.
0:17:20 > 0:17:24We can have a pretty good guess he was heading back to Lincoln.
0:17:24 > 0:17:26Which was his.
0:17:26 > 0:17:29The King has already spent a long period of time around Lincoln,
0:17:29 > 0:17:31shoring up its defences,
0:17:31 > 0:17:34because it is clearly an extremely important castle
0:17:34 > 0:17:36for the defence of his lands
0:17:36 > 0:17:38during this extraordinary time.
0:17:38 > 0:17:40That's his ultimate destination.
0:17:40 > 0:17:43Of course, he never gets there, but that's where he's heading.
0:17:43 > 0:17:47In 1216, this is a very different and treacherous landscape.
0:17:47 > 0:17:50There are no bridges and only rough roads.
0:17:50 > 0:17:53The King, his party of hundreds of men with all his baggage,
0:17:53 > 0:17:56are making a very dangerous journey.
0:17:56 > 0:18:00And disaster is just around the corner.
0:18:06 > 0:18:09'Thanks to technology, we can see why.
0:18:09 > 0:18:13'We can see back in time to the very landscape King John is crossing.'
0:18:13 > 0:18:17- I can show you what it looked like in John's time.- Fantastic.
0:18:17 > 0:18:20There's a bit of kit here. It's wonderful stuff.
0:18:20 > 0:18:22- This is a lidar image.- OK.
0:18:22 > 0:18:26And it basically creates a very detailed terrain map,
0:18:26 > 0:18:29so a map of the undulations in the surface of the earth.
0:18:29 > 0:18:31And we're not looking below the soil here,
0:18:31 > 0:18:36but it is giving you a sense of this landscape going way back in history.
0:18:36 > 0:18:39And you can see here, this is the modern coast.
0:18:39 > 0:18:42- This is the edge of the Wash right here.- Yep.
0:18:42 > 0:18:46Here's the River Nene, coming right out there.
0:18:46 > 0:18:48But what you can immediately see...
0:18:48 > 0:18:51See all these little, winding...
0:18:51 > 0:18:54tree-like, root-like paths coming through?
0:18:54 > 0:18:57It is difficult to make these out on the surface of the land now.
0:18:57 > 0:19:00They are there, but these are the old fossil creeks,
0:19:00 > 0:19:04this salt marsh that extended far inland.
0:19:04 > 0:19:07- You can see this is all reclaimed land.- Yes.- This area of green.
0:19:07 > 0:19:12But you're still seeing a pattern of the underlying, ancient salt marsh,
0:19:12 > 0:19:16and that's the marsh that John would have had to confront.
0:19:16 > 0:19:18So this is the stuff that they're crossing.
0:19:19 > 0:19:24'Today, a high bank protects the reclaimed farmland from flooding,
0:19:24 > 0:19:28'but on the other side, we can see why King John's baggage train
0:19:28 > 0:19:30'got into trouble.'
0:19:32 > 0:19:34Look at this, Stephen.
0:19:34 > 0:19:37I think this is precisely the sort of path, causeway,
0:19:37 > 0:19:41that King John's baggage train would have been confronted with.
0:19:41 > 0:19:45It's fine for you or I to traverse, or somebody with a horse,
0:19:45 > 0:19:47but we are not talking about two or three people,
0:19:47 > 0:19:50we are talking about hundreds of people who were involved
0:19:50 > 0:19:52in the King's baggage train,
0:19:52 > 0:19:55that there are these large four-wheeled carts,
0:19:55 > 0:19:58which are carrying a huge amount of weight.
0:19:58 > 0:20:00It changes from minute to minute, hour to hour.
0:20:00 > 0:20:02It's not just a seasonal thing.
0:20:02 > 0:20:06This... You have to know it, you have to be able to read it.
0:20:06 > 0:20:07I mean, look at that!
0:20:07 > 0:20:11Even as we are talking, the tide is sweeping in, and what was
0:20:11 > 0:20:15once salt marsh and visible to us is now becoming like a lake.
0:20:15 > 0:20:18It's extraordinary, the speed with which that's come in.
0:20:18 > 0:20:21Absolutely extraordinary. If we'd been out there...
0:20:21 > 0:20:23Well, we'd have been in trouble.
0:20:26 > 0:20:29'It appears that the baggage train makes the crossing
0:20:29 > 0:20:32'before the tide is fully out and gets stuck.
0:20:32 > 0:20:35'That's puzzling because we'd expect travellers to have a local guide
0:20:35 > 0:20:37'who knows the dangers.'
0:20:39 > 0:20:42It makes you wonder about John's situation,
0:20:42 > 0:20:46whether his baggage train actually had a guide or not.
0:20:46 > 0:20:49Because the baggage train does get into difficulty,
0:20:49 > 0:20:51but it gets into difficulty
0:20:51 > 0:20:55because it appears to start to cross
0:20:55 > 0:21:00at a point which is too early, before the tide is fully receded.
0:21:00 > 0:21:04Low tide is around about midday on the day of
0:21:04 > 0:21:06the 12th of October.
0:21:06 > 0:21:09And the baggage train clearly sets out too early.
0:21:09 > 0:21:14Well, would a fenman have allowed that to happen?
0:21:14 > 0:21:16Did a local guide deliberately lead them to danger
0:21:16 > 0:21:19so that the locals could pinch the treasure?
0:21:19 > 0:21:23Or is there another reason the King's men take such a wild chance?
0:21:23 > 0:21:25John is travelling separately.
0:21:25 > 0:21:28He's gone ahead to nearby Wisbech.
0:21:28 > 0:21:33And he isn't hanging about. He could cover 30 miles a day.
0:21:33 > 0:21:35The baggage train would have moved much more slowly,
0:21:35 > 0:21:39but it has to make it to the next meeting point with the King.
0:21:39 > 0:21:41The pressure is really on.
0:21:42 > 0:21:45Whatever the reason, legend has it that gold, silver,
0:21:45 > 0:21:49crown jewels and money all go down in the mud.
0:21:49 > 0:21:51It's still some of the most sought-after treasure
0:21:51 > 0:21:53in the country.
0:21:53 > 0:21:56The problem is we don't know for sure where it sank,
0:21:56 > 0:21:58so how on earth do you find out where to look?
0:22:03 > 0:22:06London barrister Walton Hornsby and his brother-in-law,
0:22:06 > 0:22:11Philip Hayden Slayter, began trying to find out in 2003.
0:22:12 > 0:22:14As well as looking at ancient documents,
0:22:14 > 0:22:19they're using an unusual method to pinpoint the exact spot.
0:22:19 > 0:22:22So this is the exact route that..
0:22:22 > 0:22:25the baggage train would have taken...
0:22:25 > 0:22:27in...1216.
0:22:27 > 0:22:30- INTERVIEWER:- And how are you going to find the exact spot?
0:22:30 > 0:22:32Right, that's where Jim Longton comes in.
0:22:33 > 0:22:36This is our diviner, our dowser.
0:22:36 > 0:22:38And what we need him to do today...
0:22:38 > 0:22:40I mean, he's already done it, he's already shown us
0:22:40 > 0:22:44exactly where he thinks
0:22:44 > 0:22:48the remains of the baggage train is,
0:22:48 > 0:22:52but we want him to go right on the spot today,
0:22:52 > 0:22:56so that we can get a very precise reading from exactly where
0:22:56 > 0:22:59he tells us the...
0:22:59 > 0:23:01the treasure is.
0:23:01 > 0:23:04We need, really, to know and understand
0:23:04 > 0:23:06what the sediments are like,
0:23:06 > 0:23:08where the clay level is,
0:23:08 > 0:23:11how much water is down there.
0:23:11 > 0:23:14And really to be able to understand the conditions
0:23:14 > 0:23:17so that we can plan the excavation properly.
0:23:17 > 0:23:21It's possible that within these samples...
0:23:21 > 0:23:24will be found some of the debris,
0:23:24 > 0:23:28or even possibly some of the artefacts that actually went down.
0:23:28 > 0:23:32Now if that happens, obviously that would be highly encouraging.
0:23:34 > 0:23:36Not to say hugely exciting.
0:23:36 > 0:23:40One, two, three. It's either three or four
0:23:40 > 0:23:41of those...
0:23:43 > 0:23:45- Stand behind the rod.- ..trees.
0:23:45 > 0:23:47Stand behind the rod.
0:23:48 > 0:23:51Point me to where King John's treasure lies buried.
0:23:55 > 0:23:58That would be smack bang dab on where we were last time.
0:23:58 > 0:24:00Smack bang dab on where it came up before.
0:24:00 > 0:24:02Right, Walton has got the list.
0:24:02 > 0:24:04Jim Longton has found other treasure.
0:24:04 > 0:24:07The two amateur historians think he's the best hope
0:24:07 > 0:24:10of recovering some of our most precious heritage.
0:24:12 > 0:24:16I am absolutely convinced that he is a genuine guy, and that
0:24:16 > 0:24:20when he says that this is where the baggage train passed,
0:24:20 > 0:24:24and this is where whatever went down with the baggage train
0:24:24 > 0:24:28still now is, I'm quite convinced that he is genuine about that.
0:24:28 > 0:24:31Now, whether it is down there...
0:24:31 > 0:24:32is another matter.
0:24:36 > 0:24:40The place where the English royal regalia...
0:24:41 > 0:24:43..lies buried.
0:24:43 > 0:24:46Point to the place in King John's baggage where the English royal...
0:24:46 > 0:24:49Once the most likely spot has been identified,
0:24:49 > 0:24:53the next step will to be drill down and collect soil samples.
0:25:11 > 0:25:14'We are continuing our journey north through the Fens.
0:25:15 > 0:25:18'Even though it's eight centuries since the King
0:25:18 > 0:25:22'and his men passed this way, his last great journey is alive
0:25:22 > 0:25:25'in local folklore and marked in the landscape.
0:25:25 > 0:25:28'It's said that he stayed here at King John's Farm.
0:25:30 > 0:25:33'He certainly travels from Wisbech across the Fens.
0:25:33 > 0:25:37'By October 12th, he reaches Swineshead, in Lincolnshire,
0:25:37 > 0:25:40'where he stays with the monks at the local abbey.
0:25:42 > 0:25:45'Now the village is surrounded by farmland,
0:25:45 > 0:25:48'but here, too, lidar images reveal how this was a tiny island
0:25:48 > 0:25:51'in the middle of a huge marsh in John's time.
0:25:51 > 0:25:54'The yellow areas are the higher ground,
0:25:54 > 0:25:57'and you can just see the site of the abbey and a medieval castle.
0:26:00 > 0:26:03'On the ground, traces of those ancient buildings
0:26:03 > 0:26:05'and sites have almost disappeared.'
0:26:06 > 0:26:09You can see it's actually... Circular bank runs here.
0:26:09 > 0:26:12And there where it's clear of weeds and nettles.
0:26:12 > 0:26:14So it's a little motte and bailey castle, the central mound,
0:26:14 > 0:26:17and it would have buildings in it. Little memorial castle.
0:26:17 > 0:26:19This would have been in King John's landscape.
0:26:19 > 0:26:21This would have been a feature that he
0:26:21 > 0:26:22and his entourage would have seen.
0:26:22 > 0:26:25And very close to the abbey grounds over there.
0:26:25 > 0:26:26Yes, Swineshead's over there.
0:26:28 > 0:26:31Day three of King John's final journey.
0:26:31 > 0:26:32Things are not going well.
0:26:32 > 0:26:35It's here at Swineshead that the King gets the news
0:26:35 > 0:26:37that his baggage train has been lost,
0:26:37 > 0:26:39and by now he is very sick.
0:26:42 > 0:26:46It's said that travellers came to this very spot in King John's day
0:26:46 > 0:26:48to have a drink and pick up a local guide to take them
0:26:48 > 0:26:50across the treacherous marsh.
0:26:50 > 0:26:53And like us, no doubt, to hear the local gossip.
0:26:54 > 0:26:56Has John contracted dysentery?
0:26:56 > 0:26:59Or is there something more sinister going on?
0:27:00 > 0:27:04We have an account by a man called Roger of Wendover,
0:27:04 > 0:27:08writing in the 1220s, a man who was very much a hostile witness
0:27:08 > 0:27:11when it comes to King John. He didn't like King John at all.
0:27:11 > 0:27:14He actually describes for us the sort of...
0:27:14 > 0:27:18Something about his stay here at Swineshead,
0:27:18 > 0:27:19and says that
0:27:19 > 0:27:23"his sickness was increased by his pernicious gluttony..."
0:27:31 > 0:27:34- Well, that's not the story that's told around here.- There we go.
0:27:34 > 0:27:35Excellent.
0:27:35 > 0:27:37- Well, let's hear it. - What do they say around here?
0:27:37 > 0:27:41That he stayed at the abbey that night.
0:27:41 > 0:27:44Obviously they were monks.
0:27:44 > 0:27:48The monks didn't particularly like him. He's, um...
0:27:48 > 0:27:51poisoned by the monks.
0:27:51 > 0:27:55His food taster was killed in the abbey.
0:27:55 > 0:28:00He died there from food poisoning, by poisonous toad.
0:28:00 > 0:28:04And, apparently, King John passed through the village on his way
0:28:04 > 0:28:08to Newark, and that's where he died there. Um...
0:28:08 > 0:28:10Oh, poisonous toad.
0:28:10 > 0:28:14- Poisonous toad.- Why use a toad to poison the King?- Marshland.
0:28:14 > 0:28:17There will be frogs, toads around. You know, um...
0:28:17 > 0:28:20Obviously not now, it's a big farming community.
0:28:20 > 0:28:23- In them days, it was just marshland. - Yes.- You know?
0:28:23 > 0:28:27So...it's all hearsay, there's nothing ever been...
0:28:28 > 0:28:31..written down, that I know of. It's just stories that have been...
0:28:31 > 0:28:35It's a story that finds its way into Shakespeare's King John,
0:28:35 > 0:28:38although there is no toad in Shakespeare's King John.
0:28:38 > 0:28:41Apparently, John is poisoned by one of the monks
0:28:41 > 0:28:44of Swineshead, here,
0:28:44 > 0:28:48and...then, as your story says,
0:28:48 > 0:28:49makes his way to...
0:28:49 > 0:28:52makes his way to Newark, where eventually he's going to die.
0:28:52 > 0:28:57So, because it was all marshland, hence the story of his
0:28:57 > 0:29:00treasure being lost in the Wash.
0:29:00 > 0:29:02Because this was all Wash then.
0:29:02 > 0:29:07You dig a hole locally and anybody that is from the area will
0:29:07 > 0:29:10ask you if you've found King John's treasure yet.
0:29:10 > 0:29:13There were rumours that people had found bits and pieces.
0:29:13 > 0:29:17- Nobody has ever said that to me. - You wouldn't tell me that...
0:29:17 > 0:29:18THEY LAUGH
0:29:18 > 0:29:20- ..if you had. - I shouldn't think he lost it.
0:29:20 > 0:29:22I should think he, or somebody had it away.
0:29:22 > 0:29:26If he's out of his mind on poison toad, he's probably given it away.
0:29:26 > 0:29:29And nobody is going to say anything, are they?
0:29:29 > 0:29:32Now matter how long ago it was, they will have flogged it on.
0:29:32 > 0:29:35I don't... As far as I know, nothing has ever turned up.
0:29:35 > 0:29:37So you've never had someone come in here, saying,
0:29:37 > 0:29:39- "How much for this gold coin"?- No.
0:29:39 > 0:29:40THEY LAUGH
0:29:40 > 0:29:42Unfortunately not, no.
0:29:43 > 0:29:47But the power of local storytelling turns out to be extraordinary.
0:29:47 > 0:29:50After we left the pub, digging deep in the archives,
0:29:50 > 0:29:53we find that, in fact, the story of poisoning by toad
0:29:53 > 0:29:56goes back to a medieval chronicler...
0:29:56 > 0:30:00'The monk found a great toad and put him in a cup and pricked
0:30:00 > 0:30:03'the toad thorough with a brooch many times,
0:30:03 > 0:30:05'till that the venom come out.
0:30:05 > 0:30:08'Then, he took the cup and filled it with good ale,
0:30:08 > 0:30:11'and brought it before the King.'
0:30:11 > 0:30:13So although the source had been all but forgotten,
0:30:13 > 0:30:15local sharing of this legend
0:30:15 > 0:30:18has kept it alive in Swineshead for 800 years.
0:30:18 > 0:30:21Whether it's true is another matter.
0:30:24 > 0:30:28Today is an important day for Walton and Philip's treasure hunt.
0:30:28 > 0:30:30Diviner Jim Longton has, they believe,
0:30:30 > 0:30:34identified the place where King John's baggage train went down.
0:30:34 > 0:30:37The field here was once part of a huge marsh,
0:30:37 > 0:30:40but now machinery is needed to explore further.
0:30:43 > 0:30:45What we think we're dealing with
0:30:45 > 0:30:52is large oak caskets bound with metal.
0:30:52 > 0:30:56And these caskets would have sunk down into the quicksands
0:30:56 > 0:31:02until they would have hit either bedrock or silt.
0:31:02 > 0:31:05And we estimate that that will be at about a depth
0:31:05 > 0:31:07of between 15 and 20 feet.
0:31:08 > 0:31:13I'm...anxious, expectant and hopeful.
0:31:13 > 0:31:16I've got, Jim, a more specific list.
0:31:16 > 0:31:21So the first item is a crown with precious stones,
0:31:21 > 0:31:24a cross and seven flowers.
0:31:24 > 0:31:27This is gold with precious stones.
0:31:27 > 0:31:31One last check from Jim that they are digging in the right place.
0:31:31 > 0:31:33It needs to be, as the pair are spending
0:31:33 > 0:31:36thousands of pounds of their own money.
0:31:36 > 0:31:37Philip's knowledge of soil
0:31:37 > 0:31:40gained from his background in mining is useful.
0:31:49 > 0:31:51With this logging of each section,
0:31:51 > 0:31:56we'll be able to find out exactly how each layer behaves
0:31:56 > 0:31:59in terms of the water contact,
0:31:59 > 0:32:03in terms of the silt, the sand, the sludge...
0:32:03 > 0:32:06And hopefully, you never know,
0:32:06 > 0:32:08a little bit of treasure might come up.
0:32:10 > 0:32:15But even taking the samples is proving difficult.
0:32:15 > 0:32:17- You understand the problem?- No.
0:32:17 > 0:32:23OK, the problem is that we are getting these blown sands,
0:32:23 > 0:32:25because the pressure down in that hole is so intense.
0:32:25 > 0:32:30It's forcing 1.4, 1.3 metres, into a metre,
0:32:30 > 0:32:35and so the sleeve that's inside is getting compacted inside the collar.
0:32:35 > 0:32:40So it's buckling the plastic collar and forcing it out
0:32:40 > 0:32:42and they can't get it out.
0:32:42 > 0:32:44I don't think they're going to get that out.
0:32:44 > 0:32:46So what I think we'll do is empty it out,
0:32:46 > 0:32:48which is what we want to do anyway.
0:32:51 > 0:32:55- Nothing at all.- No. - Leather and a little bit of wood...
0:32:55 > 0:32:57Some bit of bone...
0:32:59 > 0:33:00You know...
0:33:01 > 0:33:04- Yeah.- Some little...
0:33:04 > 0:33:09- relic might have given us a little bit more encouragement.- Yeah.
0:33:10 > 0:33:14Things are not going well for King John either.
0:33:14 > 0:33:16He leaves Swineshead knowing that Prince Louis of France
0:33:16 > 0:33:18is stalking the land.
0:33:18 > 0:33:21There's a real danger of Louis taking the throne.
0:33:24 > 0:33:26John travels on to Sleaford and from there,
0:33:26 > 0:33:28he arrives in Newark, Nottinghamshire,
0:33:28 > 0:33:32on October 16th, day eight of his last journey.
0:33:48 > 0:33:52This is a great way to travel, isn't it, and to come to Newark?
0:33:52 > 0:33:55Waterways were really important in the medieval world
0:33:55 > 0:33:57for getting people around and goods,
0:33:57 > 0:34:00but King John is not coming to Newark via the river.
0:34:00 > 0:34:04No, he's not. He's being carried to Newark by his men,
0:34:04 > 0:34:08bouncing along, presumably, on those horrible rutted October roads.
0:34:08 > 0:34:13We know that he's really unwell, because on the 15th of October,
0:34:13 > 0:34:18from his abbey, or from Sleaford,
0:34:18 > 0:34:20he writes to the Pope,
0:34:20 > 0:34:22and he writes to the Pope in this vein.
0:34:22 > 0:34:26"Since we are detained by a serious and incurable illness -
0:34:26 > 0:34:28"so much so that there was no hope at all for us..."
0:34:42 > 0:34:44"We gathered together our magnates in our presence
0:34:44 > 0:34:47"and made provision at that time for our kingdom."
0:34:47 > 0:34:51So he's preparing for death even on the 15th of October.
0:34:51 > 0:34:55- And his objective is this, the castle.- It is the castle.
0:34:55 > 0:34:57Which is in friendly hands, somewhere he knows he can go.
0:34:57 > 0:34:59It belongs to the Bishop of Lincoln
0:34:59 > 0:35:02but it's in John's own hands at this particular stage.
0:35:02 > 0:35:04The constable is John's man,
0:35:04 > 0:35:06so he knows it's going to be a safe location.
0:35:08 > 0:35:11So this is the object of his...
0:35:11 > 0:35:13This is where he is destined to go.
0:35:18 > 0:35:20Here too, in the town where he died,
0:35:20 > 0:35:25King John is still remembered by the locals, but it's not a fond memory.
0:35:27 > 0:35:30What do Newark people know about the story of King John?
0:35:32 > 0:35:35Well, the main history is that we know that the actual castle
0:35:35 > 0:35:39was owned by one of the chief clergymen,
0:35:39 > 0:35:41or the Bishop of Lincoln,
0:35:41 > 0:35:47and Prince John used to come here as a drop-off spot
0:35:47 > 0:35:48wherever he travelled.
0:35:48 > 0:35:52Do you think he was a bad king
0:35:52 > 0:35:55or just someone who's been misinterpreted
0:35:55 > 0:35:56and bit unlucky in history?
0:35:56 > 0:36:01Well, I'd say he would be rather unlucky in his history.
0:36:01 > 0:36:05We all believe in this town that the man died through poisoning
0:36:05 > 0:36:10and no other source, but that is open to conjecture.
0:36:12 > 0:36:15Do you think he got what was coming to him?
0:36:15 > 0:36:17Well...
0:36:17 > 0:36:19everybody would say what goes around comes around
0:36:19 > 0:36:23and I believe that that man may have got what he deserved.
0:36:25 > 0:36:28Incredible that after 800 years,
0:36:28 > 0:36:31people have such strong opinions about John.
0:36:31 > 0:36:34I guess that's what happens to rulers who overtax
0:36:34 > 0:36:37and terrorise their citizens.
0:36:37 > 0:36:40The king and his men stay here at Newark Castle.
0:36:44 > 0:36:48John is very weak. The kingdom is in crisis.
0:36:48 > 0:36:50For his followers, it's panic stations.
0:36:50 > 0:36:53A few days earlier, the King had been in good health.
0:36:53 > 0:36:55There's been no time to make a plan.
0:36:55 > 0:36:57The north of England is held by the rebels.
0:36:57 > 0:36:59So are London and Westminster.
0:36:59 > 0:37:02Prince Louis of France has laid siege to Dover Castle,
0:37:02 > 0:37:05gateway to the kingdom.
0:37:05 > 0:37:09On the night of October 18th, John lays in his bed dying.
0:37:11 > 0:37:16It must have looked, certainly to those who gave it any thought at all,
0:37:16 > 0:37:19as though the regime was going to come to an end.
0:37:19 > 0:37:22As though the dynasty was going to come to an end.
0:37:22 > 0:37:26And on the 18th of October, there is a great flurry of official letters
0:37:26 > 0:37:27that are being sent out,
0:37:27 > 0:37:31all of which are related to the needs of the King's royal advisers.
0:37:31 > 0:37:34So one of the letters concerns the movement of troops.
0:37:34 > 0:37:39Yes, indeed, and this is the very last letter, personal letter,
0:37:39 > 0:37:43if you like, that John sends.
0:37:43 > 0:37:45And he sends it to a man called Savaric de Mauleon,
0:37:45 > 0:37:49who is one of his Poitevin generals,
0:37:49 > 0:37:52one of his closest supporters, one of his closest adherents.
0:37:52 > 0:37:57And what this letter does is it sends troops to him. So here we go.
0:38:11 > 0:38:16So it's as though he's giving up the ghost at this particular moment.
0:38:16 > 0:38:20He realises that he has no more need for these 300 soldiers
0:38:20 > 0:38:24and he's sent them to his chief supporter,
0:38:24 > 0:38:28the one he thinks is going to be able to use them most wisely.
0:38:28 > 0:38:30It must have been very distressing.
0:38:30 > 0:38:33And you use an interesting word - "incapacitated".
0:38:33 > 0:38:36We know he was carried to Newark on a litter.
0:38:36 > 0:38:40He is not capable of riding. And yet, issuing letters.
0:38:40 > 0:38:43Is there a suspicion that actually someone else is doing this
0:38:43 > 0:38:46- on his behalf? - Well, yes, absolutely.
0:38:46 > 0:38:48I think there's a very good suggestion.
0:38:48 > 0:38:52There are these eight or so public letters that are issued
0:38:52 > 0:38:57on the very last day of his life, supposedly the very last of his life.
0:38:57 > 0:38:59And they seem to show a very coherent,
0:38:59 > 0:39:04thinking plan as to what is going to happen in the next stage
0:39:04 > 0:39:08of the war against the rebel barons
0:39:08 > 0:39:11and the war against Louis.
0:39:11 > 0:39:16And it's hard to believe that John was actually compos mentis enough
0:39:16 > 0:39:20to be able to think through those particular issues,
0:39:20 > 0:39:24and it does make one think of those dictators
0:39:24 > 0:39:28whose death we hear of only a few days after they die.
0:39:28 > 0:39:30So they create a bit of breathing space.
0:39:30 > 0:39:31A bit of time to think.
0:39:31 > 0:39:33I think they create a bit of breathing space.
0:39:33 > 0:39:35I'm sure that's right.
0:39:35 > 0:39:38So it's possible John's men hush up his death
0:39:38 > 0:39:40while they get themselves sorted out.
0:39:40 > 0:39:44When the news does come out, just like politicians today,
0:39:44 > 0:39:48they make sure the story is suitably spun in the King's favour.
0:39:50 > 0:39:54We have this, I suppose you might call it a semi-official version,
0:39:54 > 0:39:57of what happened at the point that John died,
0:39:57 > 0:40:02and we are told that John died in the night of the 18th or 19th of October,
0:40:02 > 0:40:05presumably in the early hours.
0:40:05 > 0:40:10Here the account says at about the middle of the night.
0:40:28 > 0:40:31So this dramatic event, the death of a king,
0:40:31 > 0:40:36is matched by this strange and dramatic weather and these visions.
0:40:36 > 0:40:41It's a moment of real crisis for the English polity.
0:40:41 > 0:40:45They don't know who the next king is going to be.
0:40:45 > 0:40:49John's son Henry is just nine, too young to rule.
0:40:49 > 0:40:53But the other option is a foreign prince. Civil war still rages.
0:40:53 > 0:40:56Can the dynasty be saved?
0:40:56 > 0:41:01As we'll see, John's last acts before his death prove critical.
0:41:06 > 0:41:09Meanwhile, in the field in Lincolnshire, Walton and Philip
0:41:09 > 0:41:11are hoping that the soil samples
0:41:11 > 0:41:13will hold some clues to their puzzle.
0:41:13 > 0:41:15Some sign that they are indeed digging
0:41:15 > 0:41:17where King's John treasure was lost.
0:41:17 > 0:41:21They trusted a diviner and now it's time to see if that's paid off.
0:41:21 > 0:41:25Four foot, five foot, six foot. Within six foot of where I'm stood.
0:41:25 > 0:41:26You can do all the research you want.
0:41:26 > 0:41:32At the end of the day, you really need a bit of kind of other world
0:41:32 > 0:41:36or other dimension sort of capability
0:41:36 > 0:41:39in pinpointing where it is that we need to dig.
0:41:39 > 0:41:42- You never know.- You never know. - There might be something.- Exactly.
0:41:42 > 0:41:44Up the tube, so to speak.
0:41:44 > 0:41:49All I want is just a little bit of wood, a bit of leather,
0:41:49 > 0:41:53a bit of fabric, a bit of gold and silver, a few jewels would be nice.
0:41:53 > 0:41:58But just a little something for the effort. Just...
0:41:59 > 0:42:02Just to show willing and give some encouragement.
0:42:07 > 0:42:10It looks pretty much like estuary mud, doesn't it? HE LAUGHS
0:42:10 > 0:42:13Which is...what it is!
0:42:16 > 0:42:19Walton, I'll tell you what, we can have...
0:42:19 > 0:42:23We can be the people in London with 13th century sandcastles.
0:42:23 > 0:42:25Estuarine sandcastles.
0:42:28 > 0:42:32Jim examines the soil samples for traces of anything
0:42:32 > 0:42:33that could be significant.
0:42:34 > 0:42:38Is there any metal? Give me yes or no. No.
0:42:38 > 0:42:42Any bronze, copper, silver, gold, any metal? None at all.
0:42:43 > 0:42:48Is there any fabric, any traces of fabric? Any traces of fabric?
0:42:48 > 0:42:49Is there any wood in this sleeve?
0:42:49 > 0:42:53A good reading. There's definitely wood in this sleeve.
0:42:54 > 0:43:00There's 17 to 18 particles of wood in this...in this sleeve.
0:43:04 > 0:43:06The samples are sent to the lab.
0:43:07 > 0:43:09Just as Jim has said, they contain no metal,
0:43:09 > 0:43:12but there's three-quarters of an ounce of wood.
0:43:12 > 0:43:15Could it have come from an oak casket?
0:43:15 > 0:43:16They never found out.
0:43:18 > 0:43:23- Whereabouts on the map are we? - I can show you exactly...
0:43:24 > 0:43:27'In the end, the pair decided Jim's divining alone wasn't enough
0:43:27 > 0:43:30'to justify further exploration.'
0:43:30 > 0:43:33So this is the old A17. Here is the old causeway.
0:43:33 > 0:43:35This is this house here...
0:43:35 > 0:43:38'But 12 years later, there's new technology
0:43:38 > 0:43:41'that could help. The hunt could be on again.'
0:43:41 > 0:43:44We couldn't be sufficiently sure,
0:43:44 > 0:43:47based on Jim's dowsing,
0:43:47 > 0:43:48that it was exactly here.
0:43:48 > 0:43:51We needed a further confirmation.
0:43:51 > 0:43:54We had the historical documentary confirmation, we had Jim,
0:43:54 > 0:43:57but what we needed is something technical.
0:43:58 > 0:44:03You need very sophisticated ground-penetrating radar
0:44:03 > 0:44:05or something of that sort.
0:44:05 > 0:44:08The time we were there with Jim, in 2003,
0:44:08 > 0:44:12there wasn't anything that we could give you a sufficient hit
0:44:12 > 0:44:16to be certain, right, this is where we want to dig a hole 30 feet deep.
0:44:16 > 0:44:18How frustrating for you, though.
0:44:18 > 0:44:21You think you're within touching distance of it but there's no way
0:44:21 > 0:44:26of getting the precise location and getting down that depth.
0:44:26 > 0:44:27What about now, though?
0:44:27 > 0:44:31- Here we are standing approximately on the spot...- Yes.
0:44:31 > 0:44:33Not the exact spot, but somewhere near.
0:44:33 > 0:44:36You must be thinking we could actually be standing on top of it.
0:44:36 > 0:44:38Yes, absolutely. Absolutely.
0:44:38 > 0:44:40- Are you still in the hunt? - Absolutely.
0:44:40 > 0:44:43Are you still after trying to find it?
0:44:43 > 0:44:46If the technology is there, um, why not?
0:44:51 > 0:44:54But to this day, archaeologists and treasure seekers
0:44:54 > 0:44:57can't be certain where to look.
0:44:57 > 0:45:01The chances of finding King John's treasure are very slim indeed.
0:45:04 > 0:45:08A lot of people really believe that there is a treasure out there
0:45:08 > 0:45:11and I have to say, personally, I think something did happen
0:45:11 > 0:45:13and something was lost.
0:45:13 > 0:45:16I think the evidence is clear that there must be something there,
0:45:16 > 0:45:18there must have been something lost.
0:45:18 > 0:45:20The question is, what was lost?
0:45:20 > 0:45:22Erm, we know that
0:45:22 > 0:45:28John was hiring ships in order to take his baggage to Grimsby,
0:45:28 > 0:45:33so clearly a big part of the, of the King's material,
0:45:33 > 0:45:35is not in that baggage train.
0:45:35 > 0:45:39- So, only part of it is coming across the Wash on foot.- Only part of it.
0:45:39 > 0:45:42That's the first thing and when we're talking about treasure,
0:45:42 > 0:45:46we're not, we're not really just talking about gold and silver
0:45:46 > 0:45:49- and glittery stuff, are we? - No, we're not, we're not.
0:45:49 > 0:45:52Um, we know certainly from one source, one reliable source,
0:45:52 > 0:45:54that we're talking about relics.
0:45:54 > 0:45:56Relics of the saints.
0:45:56 > 0:45:58Large amounts of cloth.
0:45:58 > 0:46:01The King's tapestries, which he carried around with him,
0:46:01 > 0:46:04that would make his place of stay comfortable.
0:46:04 > 0:46:06So, in fact,
0:46:06 > 0:46:09treasure means all sorts of things. It doesn't just mean gold.
0:46:09 > 0:46:12It also means, you know, the luxuries that make a life that much
0:46:12 > 0:46:16more pleasant for the truly wealthy in this society.
0:46:16 > 0:46:19So, it's a mixture of stuff, some of which gets lost.
0:46:19 > 0:46:21Some of which gets lost.
0:46:21 > 0:46:24- Some of which might get recovered soon after.- Yeah, absolutely.
0:46:24 > 0:46:27And some of the stuff that's lost is, is...is perishable.
0:46:27 > 0:46:31It's going to disappear very, very quickly.
0:46:31 > 0:46:36And then, one wonders, OK, there's material that's lost
0:46:36 > 0:46:39but what are those Fen people doing?
0:46:39 > 0:46:41Are they watching it go down and thinking,
0:46:41 > 0:46:42"Oh, OK, we'll say goodbye to that."?
0:46:42 > 0:46:46or are they saying, "Actually, we want our share of that."?
0:46:46 > 0:46:49And they...there must have been some scavenging that went on.
0:46:49 > 0:46:53John's 17-year reign had been a disaster.
0:46:53 > 0:46:56Since the meeting of the rebels and the making of the Magna Carta, along
0:46:56 > 0:47:01with his treasure, the tyrant had lost a large part of the kingdom.
0:47:01 > 0:47:05Now, with John dead, Prince Louis of France controlled London
0:47:05 > 0:47:08and Westminster and was ready to claim the throne.
0:47:10 > 0:47:14And so, we travel from Newark and arrive at Worcester,
0:47:14 > 0:47:16the end of King John's last journey.
0:47:25 > 0:47:29In his final hours, did he save his dynasty from total destruction?
0:47:30 > 0:47:32The answer to that lies at Worcester Cathedral,
0:47:32 > 0:47:35the King's final resting place.
0:47:41 > 0:47:44King John artefacts kept here attract visitors
0:47:44 > 0:47:46from all over the world.
0:47:46 > 0:47:50This may or may not be his finger bone but I can't wait to see
0:47:50 > 0:47:54a document that we know is the real thing - his last will.
0:48:00 > 0:48:02- And here it is. - Oh, that's fantastic.
0:48:02 > 0:48:05Thank you so much for bringing this out.
0:48:05 > 0:48:09This is just an extraordinary thing to survive all this time.
0:48:09 > 0:48:14- And to be here, to be read by us today.- It's remarkable, actually.
0:48:14 > 0:48:15The survival of it is remarkable.
0:48:15 > 0:48:19It's the first original will of a...
0:48:19 > 0:48:23of an English king to survive through to modern times.
0:48:23 > 0:48:28The surprising thing to me is that it's so compact,
0:48:28 > 0:48:31not just in size, but it seems quite concise.
0:48:31 > 0:48:34I would expect it to say more about the King's possession
0:48:34 > 0:48:37and so-and-so gets this and so-and-so gets that,
0:48:37 > 0:48:39but it doesn't seem to say that at all.
0:48:39 > 0:48:41No, it doesn't. And you would, wouldn't you?
0:48:41 > 0:48:43I think when I first came to this document,
0:48:43 > 0:48:46I had exactly the same reaction.
0:48:46 > 0:48:50This is a tiny document and it says so little about what it is
0:48:50 > 0:48:52the King wants to happen to all his possessions.
0:48:52 > 0:48:56But then, when you look at, at other wills that survive from the period,
0:48:56 > 0:48:58you realise that, actually, they're not about
0:48:58 > 0:49:00getting rid of people's goods.
0:49:00 > 0:49:02They are very much thinking about their souls,
0:49:02 > 0:49:04what's going to happen to their immortal...?
0:49:04 > 0:49:06So the important things?
0:49:06 > 0:49:09Back to what really matters. When you're about to meet your maker,
0:49:09 > 0:49:11in a sense, the physical bits don't matter.
0:49:11 > 0:49:13It's what's going to happen to your soul.
0:49:13 > 0:49:16And you can see, there are the slits here.
0:49:16 > 0:49:19And these slits are designed for the seals of those people
0:49:19 > 0:49:22who are witnessing, so this central one would have been
0:49:22 > 0:49:26for the King's seal and then the side ones are for the eight people
0:49:26 > 0:49:30who are actually there witnessing the King's final moments.
0:49:30 > 0:49:33I'm really keen to hear the King's own words here
0:49:33 > 0:49:36and you've transcribed, translated this document,
0:49:36 > 0:49:40Give me an idea, a flavour of some of the key passages.
0:49:40 > 0:49:44Yes, indeed - in fact, John starts off by saying how unwell he is.
0:49:44 > 0:49:47He says he's "hindered by grave infirmity".
0:50:01 > 0:50:04And then he goes on to say something about what
0:50:04 > 0:50:07he wants to happen to his soul.
0:50:07 > 0:50:09But then this is the really important thing,
0:50:09 > 0:50:11as far as he's concerned at this particular moment,
0:50:11 > 0:50:15and what he does is he asks these executors of his will
0:50:15 > 0:50:17to, "Provide support to my sons..."
0:50:33 > 0:50:36So it's very much a document that's about the immediate future
0:50:36 > 0:50:41of the kingdom, as well as about the immediate future of the King's soul.
0:50:41 > 0:50:42The Latin is faltering,
0:50:42 > 0:50:46so Stephen believes John spoke these words as he lay dying
0:50:46 > 0:50:51and they're being hastily translated by his scribe.
0:50:51 > 0:50:54The survival of this precious document is miraculous.
0:50:55 > 0:50:58You can see all these fold marks, can't you?
0:50:58 > 0:51:02Originally, this was folded up into something really quite small
0:51:02 > 0:51:05and, actually, I've got a representation of it here.
0:51:05 > 0:51:08That's the size that it would have been
0:51:08 > 0:51:10as it sat in the archive from 1216.
0:51:10 > 0:51:14So, I mean, how many people would lose a piece of paper like that?
0:51:14 > 0:51:17In fact, I've made a representation of that
0:51:17 > 0:51:19over a number of occasions, cos I keep losing it.
0:51:19 > 0:51:23So, you know, it's so easy to lose and yet it does survive.
0:51:23 > 0:51:24That's incred...
0:51:24 > 0:51:29To modern eyes, that being a king's will just seems incredible.
0:51:29 > 0:51:31- It is.- Amazing.
0:51:31 > 0:51:33But what a miraculous survival.
0:51:33 > 0:51:36I mean, how wonderful to have it here in the collection.
0:51:36 > 0:51:38But what a responsibility, as well.
0:51:38 > 0:51:40It is. It's very nice to have it here in Worcester Cathedral,
0:51:40 > 0:51:43and it's something that many of the visitors
0:51:43 > 0:51:46particularly come to see in this collection.
0:51:46 > 0:51:48So there's still a fascination with it
0:51:48 > 0:51:51and people still want to look at the actual document.
0:51:51 > 0:51:53That's right. That's right.
0:51:53 > 0:51:55And rightly so. I mean, it is splendid.
0:51:55 > 0:51:59A CAPPELLA SINGING IN LATIN
0:52:03 > 0:52:06And so we approach the final resting place
0:52:06 > 0:52:09of a man who must have been terrified.
0:52:09 > 0:52:12He squandered the gifts that God gave to him as a king,
0:52:12 > 0:52:15and now he's about to meet his maker.
0:52:15 > 0:52:17Is this a man who was sorry,
0:52:17 > 0:52:19at least for the sake of saving his soul?
0:52:25 > 0:52:28- King John asked to be buried at Worcester.- Yes, he did.
0:52:28 > 0:52:30But why Worcester in particular?
0:52:30 > 0:52:32Well, I think there are two very clear reasons.
0:52:32 > 0:52:36There's the sound practical reason that the kingdom is in chaos -
0:52:36 > 0:52:40there's a civil war, there's a foreign prince stalking the land,
0:52:40 > 0:52:43much of the kingdom is just not accessible to the King,
0:52:43 > 0:52:48so, from a practical point of view, where is he going to be buried?
0:52:48 > 0:52:52And then there's a good spiritual reason why he's being buried here.
0:52:52 > 0:52:57The most recent saint for this community is St Wulfstan,
0:52:57 > 0:53:00who was made a saint by the Pope in 1204,
0:53:00 > 0:53:03and it's very clear that John played a really important role
0:53:03 > 0:53:08in getting Wulfstan recognised by the papacy as a saint.
0:53:08 > 0:53:11In return for that, presumably, one of the things that he hopes
0:53:11 > 0:53:15is that the saint is going to look after John's immortal soul.
0:53:15 > 0:53:19- So, Worcester was able to look after his body and his soul?- Very much so.
0:53:19 > 0:53:22And, in particular, look after his soul.
0:53:22 > 0:53:25They promised to sing masses on a daily basis, which they then
0:53:25 > 0:53:28continued to do throughout the rest of the Middle Ages
0:53:28 > 0:53:29down to the Reformation.
0:53:29 > 0:53:33They promised to sing the coronation song over his body
0:53:33 > 0:53:37which, again, they continued to do for the rest of the Middle Ages,
0:53:37 > 0:53:40and what they are attempting to do is to massage his soul
0:53:40 > 0:53:42through Purgatory on into the everlasting joys
0:53:42 > 0:53:44of the kingdom of heaven.
0:53:47 > 0:53:52Finally, the moment has come to meet the King himself.
0:53:52 > 0:53:55Fittingly for this most controversial of English rulers,
0:53:55 > 0:53:58even his choice of resting place caused a squabble.
0:54:00 > 0:54:02And here we are at the end of our journey
0:54:02 > 0:54:06and here's the burial place, and it is actually almost overwhelming.
0:54:06 > 0:54:08It is, completely overwhelming.
0:54:08 > 0:54:12I mean, it's a fabulous, fabulous image of our king,
0:54:12 > 0:54:13the king we have been following.
0:54:13 > 0:54:17I'm looking right into King John's face here,
0:54:17 > 0:54:19and we think, actually, it's a pretty good likeness.
0:54:19 > 0:54:21Yeah, there's every reason to suppose
0:54:21 > 0:54:24that it is a good likeness of this particular individual.
0:54:24 > 0:54:27What we know about the way that effigies are created
0:54:27 > 0:54:30is that they are created according to the likenesses
0:54:30 > 0:54:32of the person who's buried within them.
0:54:32 > 0:54:34And this is a place of great honour.
0:54:34 > 0:54:37I mean, he's right in front of the high altar here.
0:54:37 > 0:54:40This is the position that everyone aspires to.
0:54:40 > 0:54:42Very much so, very much so, yes.
0:54:42 > 0:54:46And, interestingly, it's not the place that John himself chose.
0:54:46 > 0:54:50John asked to be buried at Worcester - that's all he asked.
0:54:50 > 0:54:55But this particular location is the location that is chosen for him,
0:54:55 > 0:54:58so it's the monks who are deciding to bury him here,
0:54:58 > 0:55:02it's the monks who want him in this particular location.
0:55:02 > 0:55:05And they want him here because what they're trying to do is
0:55:05 > 0:55:09they're trying to persuade John's son, Henry III,
0:55:09 > 0:55:12that this is the place that John needs to stay,
0:55:12 > 0:55:15because there's a battle going on for John's body.
0:55:15 > 0:55:20The Abbot of Beaulieu wants John's body reinterred in Beaulieu Abbey,
0:55:20 > 0:55:24because Beaulieu is John's foundation and what he says
0:55:24 > 0:55:28is that John promised his body to Beaulieu, in Hampshire.
0:55:28 > 0:55:30But the monks of Worcester have got hold of this
0:55:30 > 0:55:32and what they want to do is to hang onto it,
0:55:32 > 0:55:36so they're going to show Henry III that they are the right people to be
0:55:36 > 0:55:41looking after the body and the right people to be looking after the soul.
0:55:41 > 0:55:42And the imagery is very, very clear on this.
0:55:42 > 0:55:46I can see these things are laden with symbolism,
0:55:46 > 0:55:49and I can see he's got two saints flanking him here.
0:55:49 > 0:55:53He does, he does, the saints Oswald and Wulfstan.
0:55:53 > 0:55:57And Oswald is the 10th century saint of this particular community
0:55:57 > 0:56:01and Wulfstan is the saint that John, of course, has promoted.
0:56:01 > 0:56:04And here we have them, looking after the King,
0:56:04 > 0:56:07looking after the King's soul, and his head is clearly in heaven.
0:56:15 > 0:56:19And the lion is supposed to symbolise for us the world.
0:56:19 > 0:56:22So here's the King, doing as he's supposed to be doing,
0:56:22 > 0:56:25standing on the world, dominating the world.
0:56:25 > 0:56:30This is a very, very interesting image, a very unusual image
0:56:30 > 0:56:34because, I hope you can see here, his sword is unsheathed.
0:56:34 > 0:56:38Kings don't normally go around with their swords unsheathed,
0:56:38 > 0:56:41particularly on their effigies,
0:56:41 > 0:56:43And this particular sword is, as you can see,
0:56:43 > 0:56:45in the mouth of our lion. It's a male lion.
0:56:45 > 0:56:48- He's nibbling on the end of it. - Yeah, absolutely.
0:56:48 > 0:56:50It's not just nibbling, it's worse than nibbling.
0:56:50 > 0:56:53If you can see, the stonemason has deliberately shown
0:56:53 > 0:56:55the sword being bent.
0:56:55 > 0:56:59The sword is the symbol of the King's power, the King's office.
0:56:59 > 0:57:03This is the thing that's really important because what it's showing
0:57:03 > 0:57:07is the King dealing with a world that's in rebellion.
0:57:07 > 0:57:12This wasn't just a moment in time straight after his burial.
0:57:12 > 0:57:16This is a lasting legacy that descends through generations.
0:57:19 > 0:57:22John's association with this place brought such riches
0:57:22 > 0:57:24that the monks were able to undertake
0:57:24 > 0:57:27a 50-year rebuilding programme.
0:57:27 > 0:57:28It turned Worcester into
0:57:28 > 0:57:31the magnificent Gothic cathedral we have now.
0:57:34 > 0:57:38I've been struck by how King John's story
0:57:38 > 0:57:40is still talked about today.
0:57:40 > 0:57:43He'll be forever remembered as a true tyrant,
0:57:43 > 0:57:44our most disastrous king,
0:57:44 > 0:57:48who taxed his people heavily and lost the royal treasure.
0:57:49 > 0:57:52But we've got something to thank him for.
0:57:52 > 0:57:56Even though it would have been the last thing he intended,
0:57:56 > 0:58:00Magna Carta went on to inspire the democracy we enjoy today.
0:58:00 > 0:58:03At Worcester, we see a king respected
0:58:03 > 0:58:07and revered in his own time because, despite the rebellion
0:58:07 > 0:58:10and his sudden death, John's efforts to secure the throne
0:58:10 > 0:58:12for his son were successful -
0:58:12 > 0:58:14the dynasty was saved.
0:58:17 > 0:58:22800 years on, he still holds pride of place in the cathedral,
0:58:22 > 0:58:26where visitors flock to see the final resting place of John,
0:58:26 > 0:58:28the Magna Carta King.
0:58:49 > 0:58:52Subtitles by Red Bee Media