Barca! Barca! Barca! On Hannibal's Trail


Barca! Barca! Barca!

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We're on a ten-week journey,

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cycling 3,500km on the trail of the great Carthaginian warrior -

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Hannibal.

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Over 2,000 years ago,

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Hannibal marched his army from the south of Spain,

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across the Alps, and into Italy.

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He launched a spectacular assault on the heart of Roman power.

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Hannibal's brothers, Hasdrubal and Mago, were his generals.

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I'm Danny Wood,

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I'm a journalist, and like Hannibal I'm travelling with my brothers -

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Ben, a computer expert, and Sam, an archaeologist.

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Hannibal marched with over 100,000 soldiers,

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armed with swords, spears...

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..and 37 elephants.

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We're armed with three bikes.

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-Three tents.

-And a bike-cam.

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So far, we've cycled 350km up Spain's eastern coast.

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Now we're going to ride through two of Europe's most exciting cities,

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both ancient and modern.

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CROWD CHANTS: Barca! Barca! Barca!

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And we'll take on the challenge of the Pyrenees.

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Day eight of our journey -

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the River Ebro.

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Spain's longest river, the Ebro runs for nearly 1,000km

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across the north of the country.

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Hannibal arrived here in June 218BC.

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He'd already conquered the pro-Roman city of Saguntum,

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and Rome had declared war on Carthage.

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Now Hannibal was about to launch a new challenge to Roman power.

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Seven years earlier,

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the Carthaginians signed a treaty with Rome

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promising to never cross the Ebro in arms.

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All land north of the Ebro was regarded as under Roman influence.

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Hannibal decided to cross this river

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with his vast army of over 100,000 men.

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Now war was unavoidable.

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Hannibal probably commandeered local fishing boats

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to take him and his vast army across the river.

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Luckily for us, there's now a ferry.

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We're now riding through the Ebro River Delta,

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and Hannibal and his army also passed through here

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and it's probably reasonably similar to how Hannibal saw it in those days.

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It's very, very flat, lots of water,

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and a very pleasant place for a ride, actually, because it's so quiet.

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It's a also a wildlife sanctuary,

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and there's a ton of rice cultivation too.

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Interesting place.

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The Roman historian, Livy, tells us that Hannibal

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had a strange and vivid dream near here.

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In his sleep, Hannibal was visited by a young man

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who said he was a guide sent by Jupiter to lead him into Italy.

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He ordered Hannibal to follow him and not turn back.

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Hannibal obeyed, but overcome with curiosity, he turned around.

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He heard crashes of thunder and saw the wreckage of trees and houses.

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And in the midst of all of it was a huge snake,

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destroying everything in its path.

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When Hannibal asked what this vision meant, the young guide answered,

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"the destruction of Rome."

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Hannibal interpreted his dream as a premonition of victory.

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This was divine approval for his vendetta against Rome.

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He was spurred on as never before.

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Back in the real world, Hannibal did have the upper hand -

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the Romans had no idea what he was up to.

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They assumed that Hannibal was planning

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to expand Carthaginian territory in Spain.

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So they decided to send one army to confront him there,

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and another to strike at the heart of Carthage in northern Africa.

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The Romans had no idea that Hannibal was planning to invade Italy.

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Rome had the greatest navy in the western world,

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they knew he wouldn't dare attack by sea.

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And any notion that Hannibal would cross the Alps with his army on foot

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didn't even occur to them.

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One of the greatest elements of Hannibal's audacious plan

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was the element of complete surprise.

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The Romans thought Hannibal's march was physically impossible.

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We're beginning to see why.

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We're using Ben's hi-tech GPS to find our way,

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but every day seems to take longer than we expected.

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Just arrived in another campsite in northern Spain.

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And we've done two consecutive big days of riding,

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and the day before that I can't even remember, starting to get so tired.

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The legs don't feel like they're going to recover overnight any more.

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They feel like they're going to be sore all day tomorrow as well.

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I had two punctures today.

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Is that a puncture?

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Ah, god, yes. It's flat as!

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Yeah, it's dead as.

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The second one was a bit annoying because we were trying

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to get to the campsite before dark, so it slowed us down.

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I got so angry I nearly threw my bike, actually.

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-That's puncture number

-BEEP

-six.

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Yeah.

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In how many days?

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Well, second one today.

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But it's been a good day. We've had a nice day.

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And we'll go and have a big dinner.

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# Raindrops keep falling on my head

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# I'm just like the guy

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# Whose feet are too big for his bed... #

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Day ten, and it's our first day of rain.

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# Raindrops keep falling on my head

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# They keep falling... #

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We continue up the east coast of Spain, through the city of Tarragona.

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And then onwards through the seaside resort of Sitges.

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It's funny, because drivers don't get more cautious in the wet,

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they seem to turn mad.

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But anyway, we've headed to the coast and we're going up

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through all these seaside resorts.

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They're all empty and it's all pretty dreary and miserable.

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But anyway, it'll hopefully stop soon.

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Four hours later,

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and we're arriving in one of the world's most vibrant and fashionable cities.

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In Hannibal's day, Barcelona was little more than a village.

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According to local legend, it was founded by Hannibal's father,

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Hamilcar.

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Some believe the name Barcelona comes from Hamilcar's family name,

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Barca - an ancient word for lightning.

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Barcelona's Carthaginian roots

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can still be found in some unlikely places.

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CHANTING: Barca! Barca! Barca!

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This is Camp Nou, home to FC Barcelona.

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Today, Barcelona are playing Madrid.

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This stadium holds almost 100,000 people -

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about the same number as Hannibal's army.

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And they can be just as fierce.

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CHANTING: Barca! Barca! Barca!

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They've no idea they're shouting Hannibal's family name.

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Barca! Barca! Barca! Barca!

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Go, Barca! Go, Barca!

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Go, Barca! Barca! Barca!

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Forca Barca!

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Go, Barca! Go, Barcelona!

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-ALL:

-Barca! Barca! Barca! Barca!

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-TOGETHER:

-# Forca Barca!

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# Da-daa da-daa daa

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# Forca Barca! #

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And the score?

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Madrid - two, Barca - four.

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It's nice to see that Hannibal's spirit lives on

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in this modern army of football fans.

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-So we just want to avoid the carretera, don't we?

-Yeah.

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We seem to have a nice yellow road...

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'The next morning we're ready for a day in the hills.

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'But Ben's GPS has broken down.'

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Yeah, so I feel a bit guilty about the GPS not telling us

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exactly where we need to go

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and we've ridden, perhaps, 100km extra due to GPS malfunctions.

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Well, we need to do to you what they did to Carthaginian generals who failed and crucify you.

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Yeah, please.

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We've been trying to find our way up the coastal paths of Spain,

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and it's really been quite difficult.

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You, more often than not, end up on a highway for long bursts,

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so we've done what Hannibal did and found ourselves a local guide.

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However, unlike him, who had a local tribesman,

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we've got the local professional mountain-bike rider.

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He just happens to be about 80 years old.

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He's just ahead with Danny.

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# Es una historia eterna

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# Que llena todo el alma... #

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We finally get going and reach the Costa Brava.

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# It's so romantic swaying

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# You're sliding into a love

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# In the silent of night... #

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Hundreds of thousands of people come here every year on holiday.

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But just beyond the beaches

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there's an extraordinary trace of Hannibal's lost world.

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These are the remains of Ampurias or Emporion -

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the most important Ancient Greek colony in Spain.

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By 218BC, the Greek empire was in decline,

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but this colonial outpost

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was still going strong when Hannibal passed by.

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So, Marta, what would Ampurias have been like in Hannibal's time?

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Well, in that time, at the end of the third century BC,

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Ampurias, Emporion, the Greek Emporion,

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continued to be a very active trading post.

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But at the same time it had political alliances with Rome,

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so the Greeks from Emporion were also worried

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about the military expansion of Hannibal.

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In fact, they sent embassies to Rome

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just after the crossing of the River Ebro by the Carthaginian army.

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Right.

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What do we know of the archaeology from Hannibal's time?

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We have one important element - a reinforcement of the city wall.

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It was built in this dangerous moment for the city

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with the advance of the Carthaginian army.

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Despite uneasy relations between the Greeks and the Carthaginians,

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Hannibal would have felt at home here.

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The Carthaginians were no barbarians -

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Their ancestors developed the alphabet adopted by the Romans,

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the one we still use today.

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And their advanced agricultural techniques

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were adopted by the Romans.

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Although Hannibal is best known as a military commander,

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he was also cultured and steeped in Greek learning.

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Hannibal even had a Greek tutor and he'd read the works of the authors like Homer.

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Ampurias must have seemed like a welcome stop,

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a home away from home on an arduous campaign like his.

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'Before we could leave Ampurias,

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'we were interviewed by the local TV news.

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'For one night only, we became minor celebrities on Costa Brava TV.'

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Hemos empezado en Cartagena,

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y vamos por toda la costa de Espana,

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por los Pirineos, por Francia, por los Alpes, y al final en Tunis.

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REPORTER SPEAKS CATALAN

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We're just getting up and about to pack up our tents

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and get ready for the cycle today.

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Got a great campsite actually,

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it's on the water and you could hear the water lapping all night.

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And I love sleeping in a tent - it's good fun and I generally sleep OK.

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Danny, on the other hand, We got a great photo of him -

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his face was puffed up, his eyes were totally swollen,

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and he's not enjoying camping much, I don't think.

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DJ. Hey, sorry. Time to get up.

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Are we actually going to film?

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Yeah, I think so. Here's your outfit.

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Oh, thanks.

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'The whole camping experience is an interesting one.'

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Last night I didn't have a really good night's sleep,

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and I woke up with the puffiest face I've ever had.

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So, the whole crowded side of a campsite

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does kind of undermine the whole natural experience

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that can be so beautiful when you are camping.

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Campsites give me some sort of instant depression.

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I can't pinpoint exactly why, but I suspect it's some childhood issue.

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I remember going on Cub Scout camps

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and after about five hours going to my Scout leader and saying,

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"I want to go home now,"

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and 90% of the time I did.

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My parents would turn up and pick me up and take me home.

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So I think there's some childhood psychological problem I have.

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We're cycling further north, up into the hills above the Costa Brava.

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For Hannibal and his army, this was enemy territory.

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Again and again, Hannibal clashed with local tribes,

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including the Ilergetes, the Bargusii, and the Andosini.

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Hannibal had to be alert at all times for ambushes.

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Hannibal also had to find a way to feed his army of 100,000 men.

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This, plus all the people needed to service such a great army,

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which would have included cooks,

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servants, trades-people, even prostitutes...

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There was also the thousands of animals coming along too,

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which would have included donkeys, horses, and of course,

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the very important elephants which were so key to his vast army.

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This was a city on the move.

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Hannibal sent scouts ahead to search for the most fertile areas

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where food would be easiest to locate.

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Hannibal's army must have laid waste to whole swathes

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of the countryside in its search for grain and livestock.

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It must have been like a tornado passing through.

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But what would Hannibal's men have eaten?

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Our friend, chef Adam Melonas, is cooking us a Carthaginian feast.

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So, Adam, what have you been preparing for us on the beach here?

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Ok, this is a dish called the Trojan Pig.

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So it's a pig cooked on the spit with...

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The insides have been filled with sausages,

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and this would have been served on the head table with the VIPs.

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A knife is inserted in the stomach and cut open,

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so all the sausages fall out onto a platter in front of the people.

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So, are the sausages meant to look like intestines?

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Absolutely.

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-God, that's horrible.

-Very. In this day and age, yes.

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There weren't many Carthaginian vegetarians, then?

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THEY LAUGH

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Luckily for Adam, none of us are vegetarians...

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yet.

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THEY GROAN

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It's a bit like when Sam's dog had puppies in my bed.

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Undeterred, it was time to try the pig.

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Looks good.

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How is it?

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MUFFLED SPEECH

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It's excellent.

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-Really?

-Very, very nice.

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It's very, very good.

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Wow, that's a massive bit.

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Thanks - that's great. Yum.

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Mm. That's really good.

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It's delicious. It really is nice.

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Thank you. Hail pig.

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'Dessert was even more challenging.'

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Gosh, that looks... That looks very, very yummy.

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Mm.

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THEY LAUGH

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ALL: To Carthage.

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Nothing could stop Hannibal's march north.

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The Ancient Greek historian Polybius notes that, "He took several cities

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"by storm, and completed the campaign with remarkable speed."

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I'm not sure we can say the same thing about ourselves.

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We try to sleep every day, just because it's very tiring.

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And if you can shut your eyes for a while it really

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helps with the afternoon cycling.

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I think Danny sleeps the most, or sleeps the best anyway.

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And he manages to sleep at the drop of a hat, which I find very hard.

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I suppose, having lived in Spain for a few years,

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I'm used to having a quick 10 to 15 minute sleep,

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so that coupled with the exhaustion

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of bike riding means I can usually go to sleep pretty easily.

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As he approached the Pyrenees, Hannibal left one of his generals,

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Hanno, with 11,000 soldiers

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to hold the land he'd won since crossing the Ebro.

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Then, when Hannibal revealed his intention to cross the Pyrenees

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and the Alps, he faced mutiny.

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3,000 men refused to continue.

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Hannibal knew there was even tougher terrain ahead,

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and he knew he needed complete loyalty.

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So he sent the 3,000 men who refused to advance, along with a further

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7,000 soldiers whose loyalty he doubted, back to New Carthage.

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It's a credit to Hannibal's formidable leadership that even

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more of his men didn't turn back.

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He was leading an international army made up of Carthaginians

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along with Numidians, Mauretanians and Iberians.

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They bore no instinctive loyalty to Carthage.

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Livy tells us why Hannibal commanded the respect of his men.

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Mounted or unmounted, he was unequalled as a fighting man,

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always the first to attack, the last to leave the field.

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He could endure with equal ease excessive heat or excessive cold.

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When his work was done, then and only then he rested.

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Often he was seen lying in his cloak on the bare ground

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among the common soldiers.

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Hannibal would need all his leadership skills

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as he faced the next challenge,

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the Pyrenees.

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We're approaching the Pyrenees through some beautiful vineyards,

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and you can see the foothills directly ahead of us.

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How are you feeling about this, Ben?

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I'm feeling fine. I'm looking forward to the climb, actually.

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-And Danny?

-I'm thinking of foothills and seeing all these vineyards

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-and looking forward to French wine.

-Very good.

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-What about you, Sam?

-I'm looking forward to climbing hills, actually.

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I'm looking forward to climbing another hill on the bike.

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-# Good morning

-Good morning... #

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Day 12.

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The morning of the great climb.

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And we're raring to go.

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Or we would be if we could find our way out of our tents.

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# Good morning, good morning To you... #

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Morning.

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Morning. Very good sleep. Very, very good sleep.

0:24:050:24:09

Best one in the tent so far.

0:24:090:24:11

I'm off for a shower now.

0:24:110:24:14

# Good morning, good morning... #

0:24:140:24:17

Nice to see you in the morning.

0:24:170:24:19

# Good morning to you. #

0:24:190:24:21

We've been climbing for over an hour now.

0:24:290:24:33

Polybius tells us that by this time Hannibal had about 60,000 soldiers

0:24:350:24:38

left, just over half of the number he'd set out with.

0:24:380:24:42

The remaining force began the long climb up into the Pyrenees.

0:24:450:24:51

Like much else concerned with Hannibal,

0:25:050:25:07

the actual pass he took across the Pyrenees is disputed.

0:25:070:25:11

But since historians imply that the crossing was easy and event-free,

0:25:110:25:15

it's thought he took the simplest route across.

0:25:150:25:18

We've chosen to take the most scenic route, the coastal pass.

0:25:180:25:22

I imagine this is one time when we can actually say that

0:25:290:25:32

we're probably having pretty similar feelings to Hannibal.

0:25:320:25:35

When he got here, he knew he had miles to go.

0:25:350:25:38

He had the Rhone to cross,

0:25:380:25:40

he had the Alps to go over and we're the same really.

0:25:400:25:43

I mean, it's great to be in the Pyrenees

0:25:430:25:45

and I love cycling in hills, but there's a very long way to go.

0:25:450:25:50

We're just about to cross the Spanish-French border on the Pyrenees.

0:25:500:25:55

I've always loved climbing mountains on the bike, actually,

0:25:550:25:58

but it's different when you're loaded down with all your stuff.

0:25:580:26:01

It takes a bit of the pleasure out, because it's so difficult.

0:26:010:26:04

And you're going so slowly.

0:26:040:26:06

But it's lovely, lovely in the mountains.

0:26:060:26:09

It's something different about being up in the hills here

0:26:130:26:17

in real mountains than it was down the coast of Spain where we were

0:26:170:26:20

in mountainous country, but you don't get quite the feeling

0:26:200:26:24

of height that we've got up here, looking down on those little

0:26:240:26:28

baby trees and the little cars looping around.

0:26:280:26:31

It must have been like that for Hannibal, looking down on his

0:26:310:26:33

soldiers snaking around the passes as he was snaking around

0:26:330:26:37

the higher passes, as we are now.

0:26:370:26:39

Finally, we reach the top.

0:26:420:26:44

France ahead, and below. It's time to burn.

0:26:470:26:51

Whee!

0:26:590:27:00

HE SCREAMS

0:27:000:27:02

This is unreal! Yes!

0:27:060:27:10

Viva Las Vegas!

0:27:110:27:13

BELL RINGS

0:27:160:27:17

We cycle north into France, to the little, walled town of Elne.

0:27:210:27:25

This was completely alien territory to Hannibal, inhabited by hostile

0:27:310:27:36

and dangerous tribes.

0:27:360:27:38

But Hannibal had sent scouts ahead

0:27:410:27:43

to gauge the mood and strength of the local population.

0:27:430:27:47

Reports had been promising.

0:27:490:27:51

Rome didn't have too many supporters in Gaul.

0:27:510:27:54

But when Hannibal arrived here in Elne, he immediately came across

0:27:560:28:00

resistance from a Celtic tribe called the Volcae.

0:28:000:28:02

So he sent a delegation to their leaders,

0:28:020:28:05

saying he'd come as a friend.

0:28:050:28:07

Rome was his only enemy.

0:28:070:28:08

The Volcae leaders gathered at Hannibal's camp.

0:28:080:28:11

The mood was tense, but Hannibal lavished treasures upon them.

0:28:110:28:14

The next day, they agreed to let his army pass.

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Now only the Alps stood between Hannibal and Rome.

0:28:170:28:21

In the next programme,

0:28:320:28:34

we cross the Rhone.

0:28:340:28:36

The gloves are off in a race to the top of Mont Ventoux.

0:28:380:28:42

And we prepare to scale the Alps.

0:28:420:28:45

Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd

0:28:530:28:55

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0:28:550:28:57

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